whereistheluv asked: When writing your books, did you actually think about the intended age of your readers and write specifically for an age range, (if so how did that influence you original idea) or did you just write a story and then realize it was a YA novel?

2K9 authors answered:

Donna St. Cyr: My book is midgrade and in the beginning I just wrote what ( Read more... )

Lesley asked: How do you go about tackling research? How much research do you do for a particular project and how do you know when it's time to stop researching and start writing?

2K9 authors answered:

J.T. Dutton: I invented the voice of Scotty Loveletter (from Freaked) based on the Deadheads I had known and one or two experiences I had had at a ( Read more... )

stirlingbennett asked: Did you ever read back over your first draft and just shudder? Wonder how you could have ever been pleased with it? If so, how did you deal with it? Was your confidence in your ability to make it better just so strong there was no stopping you, or did you have to talk yourself into believing you were, indeed, a good writer and this draft ( Read more... )

rhondastapleton asked: What has been the most memorable part of the author's journey for you so far?

2K9 authors answered:

Donna St. Cyr: The most memorable part, for me, has been meeting so many wonderful people at every stage of the journey. While I must write alone, I write for others, and the friendship and support offered to me by fellow writers has been ( Read more... )

sdabd said: I am interested to learn what authors the 2K9 authors read when they were teenagers and what books they loved as teenagers.

2K9 authors answered:

Donna St. Cyr: I loved Beverly Cleary’s book Fifteen. I must have read it ten times. I also loved The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.  In junior high, Nancy Drew was a staple for ( Read more... )

ahsitan asked: What books and or classes helped you most in refining your craft?

2K9 authors answered:

J.T. Dutton: Since I was already spending time in smoky back rooms talking art with friends and getting into deep personal arguments about Collette with roommates, deciding to get an MFA in Fiction wasn't a big a stretch. It seemed a good way to dodge ( Read more... )

Welcome, Edie!  Would you please tell our readers a little bit about your book?

Thank you, Fran.  I’m very excited to be talking about the launch of my book!  Road To Tater Hill is a middle grade novel, set in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina during the summer of 1963.  Eleven-year-old Annie Winters struggles with grief after the ( Read more... )

tvwizard asked: What was that one book? You know the one I'm talking about. The one book that inspired you, and made you feel things a book had never made you feel before. Have you read it yet? If you have, what was it? And what was so special about it? Or, if you haven't, do you think you ever will? What would a book have to have in it to make it epic for ( Read more... )

kdhuck asked: Do you have memories of a teacher who made you love reading? Do you have memories of a teacher who almost killed reading for you?

2K9 authors answered:

Edith M. Hemingway: I have specific memories of two teachers who opened up the wonderful world of reading for me! My second grade teacher, Mrs. Daly, started a "50 book" club, into which ( Read more... )

sarahbear9789 asked: What was the hardest part in publishing your book?

2K9 authors answered:

Donna St. Cyr: The waiting!

Suzanne Morgan Williams: Waiting.

Kathryn Fitzmaurice: The hardest part for me in the publishing process is knowing when to stop trying to fix every little detail and just let it be. Even now, I pick up my book and find things I wished I ( Read more... )