-This post comes from Eden of BookPeople’s Teen Press Corps
Where did you get the idea for Trouble is a Friend of Mine?
From looking out the window; no lie. I lived across from a cult. Digby is someone I’ve been thinking about for a while. As for Zoe, I took all of the energy that went into trying to fit in when I was young and moving from place to place, and I gave it to somebody else. I think she’s doing a better job fitting in than I did.
What’s the very first thing you wrote?
I guess the first long, not-for-school thing I wrote was a script. It was a really long time ago, when I was living in LA, and it was about two girls on a road trip. I didn’t sell it, but I got an agent because of it, and then I got assignments, which is kinda like a typical L.A. story.
Do you have any projects you’re working on?
Well, I have to write the sequel. It’s kicking my butt. I think part of the problem is that when you write something, people react to it, and then you have to incorporate those reactions. And that’s not great for your mind space. It’s not easy to do that, while sticking to the plan.
So what sort of things are you incorporating this time?
Everybody seems to want more romance, and I’m struggling with that because I think part of what makes them so special is that they don’t think of boy-girl stuff all the time.
Could you give me any more details about said sequel?
It’s called Trouble Makes a Comeback and I have to finish it. It’s really hard.
Do you have any advice for young writers?
Besides just, “Sit down and write all the time,” I would say the whole Sherlock Holmes thing, like noticing what you see, really paying attention. I think lots of times we see things and we don’t think about it. We don’t think about what else they could be. That’s where most stories come from, though.