Summer Blog Blast Tour Schedule Day #4!

Elisha Cooper at Chasing Ray: "It was sort of like shopping, but with kids. Which brings me to something. Throughout the year, and the writing of the book, I tried to respect as much as possible that these were real kids living their lives (obvious, yes)."

Dar Williams at Fuse Number 8: "Usually the ten year olds ask me if I was like Amalee, while the eleven year olds ask about the editor, and the twelve year olds ask if I have a platinum record. Every group has been wonderful."

Jennifer Bradbury at Bildungsroman: "I think we're all storytellers at heart. And I think most of us use the material we've lived through to tell those stories to ourselves. So there's something about the way we remember something happening that often supersedes the event itself. And I sort of hate taking photos on vacation. My husband's gotten used to it now, but I'd almost rather not have the picture to diminish the memory. That said, I'm grateful my husband ignores my whining and manages to get some good pictures anyway."

E. Lockhart at The YA YA YAs: "It’ll come out in Fall 09! Tentative title: The Treasure Map of Boys. I can tell you this much: There are pygmy goats. There are a lot of baked goods. Jackson is still up to stuff. There’s a lot of Noel. Birkenstocks figure seriously in the plot. Beyond that, my lips are sealed."

Mary Hooper at Miss Erin: "The thing that helps is the restrictions: when you’re dealing with real-life people or real-life happenings (as with Anne Green in NEWES FROM THE DEAD, or the Great Plague in AT THE SIGN OF THE SUGARED PLUM) you’re controlled by the truth. This, for me, makes it easier to write than purely imaginative, contemporary stuff, which could go in any direction and is thus more difficult to control."

Charles R. Smith at Writing and Ruminating: "Basically, I tried to tailor each poem’s style to each player’s game. For somebody like Tim Duncan, his game is based on fundamentals so his poem is written in a basic fundamental style. For somebody like Tracy McGrady, his poem moves fast the way he does on the court. I always try to challenge myself on every poem I do and the challenge was to match the style and game of each player."

Mary Pearson at A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy: "I remember when a tree branch fell through our roof and when I went to Home Depot for supplies the sales guy took one look at me and said, "you'll never be able to fix it." Ha! That was the wrong thing to say to me. After that I think I would have fixed it myself if I had to cut each shingle with my teeth."

[Post title from Dar Williams.]