Writing is a passion. Publishing is a business.

DIANE ZAHLER

Interview with DIANE ZAHLER

Diane Zahler is the author of four middle-grade fairy-tale retellings: The Thirteenth Princess, A True Princess, Princess of the Wild Swans, and Sleeping Beauty’s Daughters. She has also written two nonfiction books for older readers, The Black Death and Than Shwe’s Burma, and an incalculable quantity of textbook materials for elementary and high school students. She’s made her home in Seattle, Morgantown, Ithaca, Solana Beach, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Belgium, but now lives with her husband and dog in an old farmhouse in the Hudson Valley. She really likes chocolate.

What are you reading right now?

I’m reading a fabulous middle grade adventure story that I can’t tell you about, because I’m doing it for a job I’m working on. It’s in galleys and I’m sworn to secrecy. So instead I’ll say I’m just finishing Hilary Mantel’s BRING UP THE BODIES, which is brilliantly written. I can’t remember when I last read something that made me stop every few pages and just marvel over a turn of phrase or the construction of a paragraph.

What first sparked your interest in writing?

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to write, so I can’t really answer that. My earliest memories of reading combined joy in the work itself with a burning desire to write something as wonderful.

What do you love the most about writing? The least?

There’s not much I don’t love about it. For me, being struck with an idea is almost magical, and the early stages of writing, when nearly anything is possible, are wonderful. Later, the challenge of figuring out where a story is going and how best to get it there can be frustrating, but I still find it enjoyable. I don’t love getting stuck at points in the narrative, but even the difficulties of working out what seems not to be right in a story is a fascinating challenge. I’ve never been a writer who agonizes over writing (though my husband, who has to listen to me moan and complain, might disagree!).

Tell us a little about your writing process.

I’m not sure I have a process. I like to have my day’s work in my head before I put words on paper. So often I’ll figure out what I’m going to write while I’m driving somewhere, or walking on the treadmill. Then, after I’ve finished my other writing (usually textbook materials), I’ll open the manuscript I’m working on, read the previous day’s work, revise it if it needs it (and it always needs it!), and then write what I’ve been mulling over all day. (Reading this over, it seems like I could have a better process. But somehow it works for me.)

What are your passions?

Reading. Writing. Chocolate. Belgian beer. Travel. Chocolate. My husband and son. My new(ish) rescue dog, Flora. Did I say chocolate?

What inspires you?

Travel, more than anything else. If I’m in a place that’s unusual or marvelous in some way – lost in the maze of Venice’s canals, wandering through an ancient Irish graveyard, paddling a canoe along the moon trail of a Maine evening – I file it away in my head to pull out when I’m thinking about what I want to write next.

Why middle reader?

The books that meant the most to me and that I remember most clearly are the ones that I read when I was a middle-grader myself. I write for that girl, as well as for the kids who are my readers today. I can’t imagine anything better than having my books affect a reader the way the books I read at that age affected me.

Why fantasy?

That middle-grade reader in my head always loved fantasy best. That’s not to say it’s all I loved to read, but books by Edward Eager, C.S. Lewis, Roald Dahl, Susan Cooper, E. Nesbit – those were the ones I returned to again and again.

Why fairy tale retellings?

Fairy tales focus on such universal feelings and fears – the feeling of powerlessness, the fears of being left behind, of being lost, of losing parents…the stories have meaning for just about everyone. And most people are familiar with them. So the idea of taking these well-known stories and doing something different and new with them was really intriguing to me.

How was SLEEPING BEAUTY’S DAUGHTERS born?

The title actually came first. I had a contract for two books, one that I’d finished and one called “Title to Come.” My editor and I had lunch, and we were tossing ideas back and forth. She was the one who came up with “Sleeping Beauty’s Daughters,” and immediately that struck a chord with me. I wasn’t quite sure what I’d do with it, but by the time I was ready to write, there was a story in my mind to tell.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

I tell aspiring authors three things: read as much as you can, write as much as you can, and be persistent. Reading in the genre and at the age level you want to write will help you figure out how to write in that genre and for that age group. Writing – well, it’s a craft, and practice is the only thing that will make you better at it. Every published author has drawers or files of manuscripts that never saw the light of day. Those are part of our practice. Each failed story or manuscript makes us better writers. And persistence – and sometimes a thick skin – is absolutely necessary. Often publication is the result of luck and timing, your story hitting an editor’s desk at the instant that editor is looking for something like what you’ve written. But that happy moment can take years to come about. DON’T GIVE UP!

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself?

Did I mention that I am a huge fan of chocolate?

SOMAN CHAINANI


Interview with SOMAN CHAINANI

Soman Chainani’s first novel, THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL, debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List, has been on ABA’s National Indie Bestseller List for 15 weeks, has been translated into languages across six continents, and will soon be a major motion picture from Universal Studios, produced by Joe Roth (SNOW WHITE & THE HUNTSMAN, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, OZ THE GREAT & POWERFUL) and Jane Startz (TUCK EVERLASTING, ELLA ENCHANTED). Soman is a graduate of the MFA Film Program at Columbia University, and the recipient of the school’s top prize, the FMI Fellowship for Writing and Directing. His writing awards include honors from Big Bear Lake, the Sun Valley Writer’s Fellowship, and the coveted Shasha Grant, awarded by a jury of international film executives. Before joining the Columbia University film program, Chainani graduated Harvard University summa cum laude, with a degree in English & American Literature. While at Harvard, he focused on fairy tales and wrote his thesis on why evil women make such irresistible fairy-tale villains, winning the Thomas Hoopes Prize and Briggs Prize for his work.

What are you reading right now?

THE MAGICIAN’S LAND by Lev Grossman

What first sparked your interest in writing?

I just always seemed to have a gift for storytelling and really enjoyed the process of working out the perfect story structure. I'm not a linguist like some authors - more a dramatist, and enjoy the process of finding ways to surprise readers and myself in the process.
What do you love the most about writing? The least?

I love being stunned by something as I'm writing - and getting caught up in the fever of a particular plot moment or a character arc. When it's all racing along and you feel the book writing itself is when it's all very special (usually towards the end of a book.)

As for the least, I think sometimes the solitude and the deadlines, which preclude you from taking your time with it and really enjoying the process at times, can be tricky.

Tell us a little about your writing process.

I write from about 10am-4pm every day, with a short lunch break in there. I try to get 500 solid words in a day in terms of new material, plus reviewing the material from the day before. I write fairly slowly but consistently.

What are your passions?

Tennis, movies, and storytelling.

What inspires you?

Good characters and a penchant for high comedy.

Why middle reader?

Because it's so undefined. I feel like the teen genre has been a bit John Green-ified in recent years, so there's not much room to find a tone. In middle grade, it feels like I can really dive in and work with a blank canvas.

Why fantasy?

Fantasy requires the strongest characters to make up for the lack of grounding in the world.

How was THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL born?

I'd had the idea for a very long time - I've been a fairy tale “expert” since college, to some degree, so the idea of a princess and witch switching places was irresistible to me.

This series seems like it must be so much fun to write. Is that true?

It's definitely a blast at times - but it's a very, very difficult series to write. The number of characters, the level of difficulty, the intensity and complexity for a first series is a bit insane.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Only write a story you care deeply about.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself?

Check out the interactive website at www.schoolforgoodandevil.com. All sorts of fun things on there, including my personal blog, which features a lot of tips about writing.