Question: Do you have any kids?

Answer: Yes.  My daughter, a teacher, is married and I have a young granddaughter.

 

Question: Do you have a pet?

Answer: I have a dog.  His name is BOB for Big Old Boy but I call him Bobbie. When he was a puppy, friends found him running near the freeway. They asked if I would like to adopt him. I took one look at his big brown eyes and melted.  He is part Boxer and English Lab.

 

Question: Do you write every day?

Answer: I try to write two to four hours every day.  My favorite places to write are my home office and local library. I am not a morning person so I write mostly in the afternoon and at night.  Even when I am not writing, I am thinking about my project.  That is why I like to focus on one book at a time.

 

Question: Where do you get your ideas for a book?

Answer: Ideas are everywhere.  The trick is to capture them.  I keep an idea journal.  I write things in my journal, draw pictures, and tape things I have collected onto the pages.  When I need inspiration, I pull out my journal and           look through the pages.

When I was writing about Thomas Nast, I came across a humorous cartoon Nast drew of Mark Twain and pasted it in my journal. The cartoon was Nast’s response to Twain visiting the Nast home in Morristown, New Jersey. The clocks ticking in the house kept Twain awake so he tip-toed around the house in his night shirt turning off the clocks.  The next morning everyone over slept.  When Nast questioned Twain, he responded the clocks needed a rest.  In looking through my journal several years later, this cartoon reminded me I wanted to write about Twain.  I submitted a proposal and my biography of Twain was published in 1999.

 

Question: What are you working on right now?

Answer: I am updating my biography of Amelia Earhart. When most women were looking for husbands, Earhart was taking flying lessons. She was the first women to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and wrote three books about flying. Next year, Amelia Earhart:  Legend of will be published as an eBook and in print.

 

Question: Is it hard to write a book?

Answer: Writing a book is a lot of hard work.  But it’s fun.  My favorite part is doing the research.  After I finish my research making myself sit down and write the book is the hardest part. It takes a while to “get into the zone” and focus so the words just start to flow.

 

Question: Where do you do research for your books?

Answer: I spend time in libraries and museums.  I also like to go on research trips.  When I was writing about Mathew Brady, I visited the Bull Run Battle Field in Virginia, the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and the National Archives in Maryland.

 

Question: Do you ever get stuck?

Answer: Sometimes I do.  A change of scenery or a long walk usually helps me get the words flowing again.

 

Question: What advice would you give a new writer?

Answer: READ, READ, READ.

 

Question: How do you reward yourself at the end the day when your writing goes well?

Answer: I reward myself with a great big peanut butter cookie.

 

Question: What do you like to do when you are not writing?

Answer: Hang out with my granddaughter.  I am also an artist and plan to someday illustrate my own picture books.