The Writer's Block Interviews: Lois Lowry

1) Tell us a bit about yourself and where you live and work.

I have two homes, one n Massachusetts and one in Maine, where I spend summers. In both places I have a room where I work. I think its important for a writer to have a private and individual space.


2) At what point did you know that writing was what you were meant to do?

I knew form the time I was eight or nine that I wanted to be a writer.


3) Describe your body of work. Do you gravitate toward specific genres in your writing?

I have written 40 books for young people and they have varied in genre from fantasy to humor to realism to historical. I like doing different kind of things.


4) My daughter is a huge fan of your Anastasia Krupnik series and the Sam Krupnik series. Who or what inspired you to write it?

I had four children and I have four grandchildren as well. So I have had plenty of kids to observe and to know. But in addition to that I think Anastasia and Sam also reflect my own young self and my little brother.


5) Please share your most recent projects.

I have just completed a novel called SON, which is #4 following THE GIVER, turning the trilogy into a quartet. SON will be published in the fall of 2012.


6) As an established and successful author, do you promote your work differently now than you did in your earlier days? What methods have worked best for you?

I don't think much about promotion. I have had the same publisher for thirty five years and they take care of promotion. I'm happy to make public appearances and to do signings, but it is the publisher who sets those things up.


7) Who are your favorite authors? What is on your reading list right now?

I like Ian MacEwan and I am also a fan of many of the Scandinavian mystery writers, Jo Nesbo for one. I have just finished reading (and liking) a book called THE SNOW CHILD.


8) Should books ever be censored? Why or why not? Please weigh-in on this ongoing debate.

No. Freedom of speech (and of writing) is one of the basic freedoms of our country and our constitution. Censorship has always been part of totalitarian regimes, It is to be feared.


9) When you are not writing, how do you spend your time?

I read, go to movies, travel, spend time with grandchildren.


10) What advice would you offer to aspiring authors?

They should spend less time talking about writing and more time sitting alone in a room and doing it.


Author Bio

Born in Honolulu, writer Lois Lowry spent her early childhood in Pennsylvania, teenage years in Tokyo and New York, and was educated at Brown University and the University of Southern Maine. Mother of four and grandmother of four, she now divides her time between Cambridge, Massachusetts and an 18th century farm in Maine. She has received the National Jewish Book Award, the Boston Globe Horn Book Award, the Mark Twain Award, two Newbery Medals, the Golden Kite Award, and the Margaret Edwards Award, given by the American Library Association for Lifetime Achievement. She has twice been the United States nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal.

Website: http://www.loislowry.com

The Writer's Block Interviews: Allison Quering

1) Describe your journey to becoming an author.

I started writing stories when I learned to spell. When I was 13 years old I began typing the first chapter of The Second Hand, while scribbling notes and ideas in a composition book. The story took a backseat to high school, but after my freshman year in college, I found the first chapter and my composition book. I wrote throughout the summer and finished the first draft of the manuscript a few days before starting my sophomore year.


The process of turning the draft into a published book first involved a little serendipity, and then some luck, and then encouragement and help from very good people. I don’t know where The Second Hand would be if I didn’t have so many people cheering for me throughout the journey.


I decided to illustrate The Second Hand in black fountain pen, with the intention of pulling together the look of old storybook artwork and slightly grungier ink drawings of graphic novels and the like.


I’m so proud to see this work available online. I know it will be the first of many, and that I will continue to grow as an author.



2) What kinds of books do you write? Who is your ideal reader?

So far, I write for young adults. My ideal reader is someone who enjoys vivid, cinematic adventures.



3) Where do you find your inspiration?

I get inspired by real relationships and interactions between people. As for the fantasy, I like to draw from what I remember from make-believe as a kid.



4) How do you choose your publisher(s)?

Star Cloud Press gave me so much artistic freedom with The Second Hand’s design and artwork, and I think I needed that with my first book.



5) Who are your favorite authors? What is on your reading list right now?

I finished The Hunger Games trilogy this summer, which has a remarkably creative storyline and dynamic characters. I recently enjoyed Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and The Night Circus is next on my list. Sensing a pattern?



6) How do you promote your work? What methods have worked best for you?


Social media have been very helpful in spreading the word about my book, as well as word of mouth.



7) What are your upcoming plans for 2012?

I will be finished my master's degree in May, and then I'll be moving back to the East Coast this summer. Also, I am simultaneously working on two more books. I hope to have both drafts finished within the year.


8) What is your definition of success as an author?

I think success, for anyone, is about setting an important personal goal and then achieving it; satisfaction that follows is the feeling of success.



9) What advice would you offer to aspiring authors?

Bring a notebook everywhere and write down ideas as they come. When you’re ready, get someone to read your work critically. Use the amazing tools at your fingertips to reach out to people. Don’t stop!


Author Bio:

Allison Quering grew up in New Jersey. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism, and she is working on a master’s degree in rhetoric and professional writing. Allison is currently writing and illustrating other books.


Links:
http://www.allisonquering.com

http://twitter.com/allisonquering

http://www.facebook.com/thesecondhandbook

http://www.amazon.com/author/allisonquering