ABOUT ME
I grew up in Baltimore, MD, where the winters were snowy and the summers were hot and humid. I had an older brother and a yappy dog and a best friend who lived just up the street. It was pretty great. I spent a lot of time at our local library which had a massive circular ramp from the street up to the book level. Walking up that ramp made each visit feel important. I loved getting new books every week, but I also hated returning ones that I liked, so sometimes I hid them in my room so they couldn't be returned. This resulted in a lot of overdue fines, which my mom wasn't so thrilled about. (Sorry, Mom!) You could probably call me a book hoarder, since I also liked to collect series books just to admire them all lined up on my shelf.
I kept a journal starting at age ten, and wrote in it faithfully until I was about twenty-five. I still have all of those journals, and use them sometimes as inspiration for my books. I wrote a lot of poetry and short fiction as a kid, but didn't really think of becoming a writer until after I'd graduated college and was working in new media in New York City. I felt overwhelmed by the need to write, so I started working on some short stories. I quickly realized that most of my ideas were about school-aged kids, so I decided to concentrate on middle grade fiction. I began taking creative writing classes and ended up completing a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing at The New School. I started my first novel while I was there. Now I live in Washington, DC, and I'm a teacher as well as a writer! I'm an adjunct professor in the graduate writing program at McDaniel College, helping other writers turn their ideas into books.
I grew up in Baltimore, MD, where the winters were snowy and the summers were hot and humid. I had an older brother and a yappy dog and a best friend who lived just up the street. It was pretty great. I spent a lot of time at our local library which had a massive circular ramp from the street up to the book level. Walking up that ramp made each visit feel important. I loved getting new books every week, but I also hated returning ones that I liked, so sometimes I hid them in my room so they couldn't be returned. This resulted in a lot of overdue fines, which my mom wasn't so thrilled about. (Sorry, Mom!) You could probably call me a book hoarder, since I also liked to collect series books just to admire them all lined up on my shelf.
I kept a journal starting at age ten, and wrote in it faithfully until I was about twenty-five. I still have all of those journals, and use them sometimes as inspiration for my books. I wrote a lot of poetry and short fiction as a kid, but didn't really think of becoming a writer until after I'd graduated college and was working in new media in New York City. I felt overwhelmed by the need to write, so I started working on some short stories. I quickly realized that most of my ideas were about school-aged kids, so I decided to concentrate on middle grade fiction. I began taking creative writing classes and ended up completing a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing at The New School. I started my first novel while I was there. Now I live in Washington, DC, and I'm a teacher as well as a writer! I'm an adjunct professor in the graduate writing program at McDaniel College, helping other writers turn their ideas into books.
Q&A
Q: How long have you been writing?
A: I've always loved words--reading them and writing them. I started writing poems when I was about eight years old. I even had one published in our school lit journal in sixth grade. It was about a bird and the first line went something like, “Oh, happy is the bird that sings in flight, whose eyes shine like jewels in the early sunlight.” It wasn't great, but it was a step in the right direction.
Q: Why do you write for kids and teens?
A: Mostly because I love children's books more than adult books. But also because books are one of the ways kids and teens learn about the world, and for an author, it's exciting to know you are helping to shape your readers.
Q: What are some of your favorite books?
A: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, The War That Saved My Life, A Northern Light, Raymie Nightingale, Counting by 7s, Hattie Big Sky, Catherine, Called Birdy, all the Ivy and Bean books. Everything by Beverly Cleary, Eleanor Estes, and Ellen Conford. I have a million favorites.
Q: Did you always want to be a writer?
A: No, I wanted to be a ballerina. Then a pediatrician. Then a judge. But I've always liked writing, and writing is what keeps me interested and challenged and excited.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: A new middle grade book about three kids with a big idea who want to change the world, and a delicious new middle grade series called Sprinkle Sundays.
Q: How long have you been writing?
A: I've always loved words--reading them and writing them. I started writing poems when I was about eight years old. I even had one published in our school lit journal in sixth grade. It was about a bird and the first line went something like, “Oh, happy is the bird that sings in flight, whose eyes shine like jewels in the early sunlight.” It wasn't great, but it was a step in the right direction.
Q: Why do you write for kids and teens?
A: Mostly because I love children's books more than adult books. But also because books are one of the ways kids and teens learn about the world, and for an author, it's exciting to know you are helping to shape your readers.
Q: What are some of your favorite books?
A: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, The War That Saved My Life, A Northern Light, Raymie Nightingale, Counting by 7s, Hattie Big Sky, Catherine, Called Birdy, all the Ivy and Bean books. Everything by Beverly Cleary, Eleanor Estes, and Ellen Conford. I have a million favorites.
Q: Did you always want to be a writer?
A: No, I wanted to be a ballerina. Then a pediatrician. Then a judge. But I've always liked writing, and writing is what keeps me interested and challenged and excited.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: A new middle grade book about three kids with a big idea who want to change the world, and a delicious new middle grade series called Sprinkle Sundays.