Author of over 400 Books for Children and Adults
Q: From Kaden (14 years old) A while ago I read the first book of the pit dragon trilogy. There are four books in that series so I know you ended up writing one more than you intended. Are you planning on writing a fifth book? I would love to know! J: Thanks for …
Q: Why do you still write poetry every day? J: 3 Reasons 1. It’s a Finger exercise first thing in the morning, that wakes up my sleeping brain, forcing me to think about words and writing. 2. I have many subscribers I do not want to disappoint, who have promised that in exchange, at month’s …
Q: What is the one thing you’ve never written about that, secretly, you want to write about? If nothing, does this means you have written about everything? Or just that there is more to discover and you haven’t found it yet? This is kind of a question about looking forward… J: I cannot say …
Q: You have written 3 holocaust novels. Why, after one, did you dive back in to such a heavy subject? J: Honestly, each time I finished a Holocaust novel I said: “That’s it.” Because both the research and writing took a great toll on me. But each time, when a new place or time showed …
Q: How is your writing schedule different when you are at your summer home in Scotland? Do you write the same things? During the same times? J: My writing time in Scotland is dictated by where we are going… or if we are going anywhere interesting. I need to be in a quiet place with my …
Q: You have files filled with stories you haven’t finished or that haven’t been sent out in a while. What do you do with them? J: Every few months I go into my unsold files and sometimes I find a way to rewrite or remake one or two of the pieces there. Some of these …
Q: How do you concentrate on just one thing while you’re writing? J: Hahaha–I don’t. I write on something until it is done or I am done, then turn to something else. This may not be a a great way to work for all people, but it seems to work for me. Follow Up Q: So what …
Q: After all these years of typing stories, you are still not the best typists. Why is that? (Note from Heidi: I am going to leave the answer as it came to me, and then add the “JY translation.”) J: Never l;earned to typoe. The school coounelor said, “Con’t take typing. You want tp …
Q: You recently had your 427th book come out. What is your goal? And how do you have so many books? J: I just love writing. And we never counted them (my family and me) until it was clear there were over 100. And now we are all counting them religiously. Or frantically….take your …
Q: You recently rebooted the GIANTS FARM books which originally came out 30 or 40 years ago. What was that process like? J: It was both interesting and a bit terrifying for three reasons. One …illustrator Tomie DePaola, a good friend and the original illustrator had just died. Second, because I hadn’t read the books …