FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

My godson Brody and his big brother Madden came up with a few questions for me (with some help from their mom, Amy).

How long have you been writing?

For as long as I can remember! When I was really young, I used to staple pieces of paper together and write “books.” In fifth grade I started writing stories on my mother’s computer, which is how I wrote my first chapter book, Dara’s Eyes. It was about a ten-year-old girl, named Dara, whose older sister, Abigail, ran away from home. I don’t even have a copy of it anymore, but I remember sitting in front of the computer and writing it, and I remember how proud I felt when I finally finished it and printed the whole thing out.

Where did you get the idea for My So-Called Family?

The idea came to me in pieces – I have a friend who used a donor to have a baby, and my best friend told me about a movie that featured a number of donor kids. Then one day I was watching The Today Show, and there were a bunch of women being interviewed whose kids all had the same donor. I thought about what it would be like to have siblings you might not even know about, and the character Leah was born.

What about Positively?

Positively was inspired by my involvement with an amazing organization called the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. I began volunteering for the Foundation when I was thirteen years old. Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time with kids who are HIV-positive, and I’ve imagined what it would be like to live with a serious illness. The story is completely made up, but it’s also really personal.

Are any of your characters based on real people?

Sort of – while everything I’ve written so far is technically fiction, I get a lot of inspiration from my family, friends and especially my own childhood memories. I also often name characters after people I know. For example, in My So-Called Family, Leah’s friends Avery and Chase are named after my friend Lindsay’s twins. Brenna and Callie are named after my friend Gina’s cousins, and the boy Callie has a crush on, Ian Michaelson, is named after the son of my mother’s boyfriend. I also named Leah’s mother Meredith after Meredith Vieira, because I watched her on The View and now I see her every morning on The Today Show. In Positively, some of Emmy’s friends are named for people in my extended family, like Emmy’s best friend Nicole, and the boys in school, Zach and Andy.

But what about us?

Don’t worry—there are characters named after you guys, too. Someone named Brody Hudson appears in both My So-Called Family and Positively, and there’s a boy named Madden in my next book, Sincerely, Sophie / Sincerely, Katie.

So you’re going to write more books?

Definitely—Sincerely, Sophie / Sincerely, Katie in 2010, and I’m working a new book, You Can’t Even Measure It, which will come out in 2011.

How did you get published?

For a few years I had two jobs—on weekdays, I was working as a litigation associate at a law firm in Manhattan, and on weekends, I was writing. When I finished my first book, I called a law school professor of mine who was also a novelist. He gave me an incredible gift—the name of his agent. I ended up signing with someone else in the same agency, and the book was sold to Simon & Schuster a month after that. I remember sitting in my office at the law firm, getting the call from my agent that the offer from Simon & Schuster had officially come in. It was one of the best moments of my life.

What are your favorite things?

Favorite singers: Carly Simon, Sheryl Crow and Madonna. I also often listen to Bon Jovi (like Charlie in My So-Called Family), Cyndi Lauper, Stevie Nicks, Kelly Clarkson, Michelle Branch, Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos and Broadway show tunes (but only from certain shows).

Favorite foods: cheese and all sorts of cheesy things – like macaroni and cheese, pizza, mozzarella sticks and cheeseburgers. Sushi is another favorite and I recently tried a tuna roll that had melted cheese on top.

Favorite books: I can’t possibly name all of my favorite books, but they include: The Littlest Rabbit by Robert Kraus, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, A Summer to Die by Lois Lowry, Autumn Street by Lois Lowry, Dicey’s Song by Cynthia Voigt, and just about everything ever written by Judy Blume.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Write a lot. If you’re anything like me, you can’t help but write. Don’t worry about what you’re writing or how good it is, just keep going. Find a place where you’re comfortable – whether it’s outside, or in a coffee shop, or at a desk, or in bed – and write there. Give yourself time to write every day. Focus on getting the words on the page (not about getting published). Start a journal and write about your life – it’s great practice, and later on you’ll have a lot of material to go back to.

And read. Read even more than you write. Read at the library or a bookstore, or read in bed. Read anything and everything that you find interesting – novels, biographies, fashion magazines, comic books, blogs, whatever.

Most of all, have patience – this one is the hardest for me. Believe in yourself and your writing, and the rest of it will fall into place . . . eventually!

Okay, can we play a game now?

Of course!