An Inside Look with Donna Gephart
(Author of In Your Shoes)
*During the summer of 2016, I added this feature to my blog which was called "Season #ONE". This first season ran from June of 2016 to March of 2017.
*I started up the interviews again in June of 2017. It was great to get back to Season #TWO. This season ran throughout the summer.
*Season #THREE ran during the school year of 2017/2018.
*I started up the interviews again in June of 2017. It was great to get back to Season #TWO. This season ran throughout the summer.
*Season #THREE ran during the school year of 2017/2018.
*It has been such an honor to connect with authors and "chat" about their novel, characters, and thoughts about the story.
*This is the THIRTEENTH interview of what I'm calling Season #FOUR.
*Thank you to Donna Gephart for being the Sixty-Fourth author that I've had the pleasure of interviewing. I truly appreciate it.
*Here are links to the first Sixty-Three interviews…
SEASON #ONE
SEASON #TWO
Interview#38 with Terri Libenson (Author of Invisible Emmie)
Interview#39 with Tony Abbott (Author of The Summer of Owen Todd)
Interview #40 with Rob Buyea (Author of The Perfect Score)
Interview#39 with Tony Abbott (Author of The Summer of Owen Todd)
Interview #40 with Rob Buyea (Author of The Perfect Score)
SEASON #FOUR
Interview #54 with Jonathan Auxier (Author of Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster)
Interview #55 with Sharon Creech (Author of Saving Winslow)
Interview #56 with Stacy McAnulty (Author of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl)
Interview #57 with Kelly Yang (Author of Front Desk)
Interview #58 with Jennifer A. Nielsen (Author of Resistance)
Interview 59 with Christina Collins (Author of After Zero)
Interview #60 with Eric Walters (Author of Elephant Secrets)
Interview #61 with Phil Bildner (Author of The Rip and Red Series)
Interview #62 with Erin Soderberg (Author of Milla in Charge)
Interview #63 with Laura Shovan (Author of Take Down)
*I have loved every Donna Gephart novel I've read. In my opinion, they just get better and better. I've also had the honor of meeting her in person. Donna is absolutely delightful and such a beautiful person. She was kind enough to send me an ARC of her upcoming novel called In your Shoes. I think I read it in one sitting. The story was wonderful and important.
*Donna was kind, gracious, and giving with her answers to the questions. It is an honor to post her responses here on the blog.
*Here is a link to my review of the book...
*Thank you Donna Gephart for writing this book...
In Your Shoes
by Donna Gephart (October 9, 2018)
How did you come to know Miles and Amy?
What do you think are Miles and Amy's most admirable qualities?
Miles may be a nervous wreck, but he has a big heart and really cares about other people. I love how Amy grows to understand why her dad does the work he does. They are both good friends to each other, when it’s most important.
Is there anything you wish they would have changed or done differently in their story?
Oh sure. They make mistakes or do things they wish they’d have done differently. But those mistakes are necessary to learning to do better in the future. Their mistakes are so human and understandable and lead to growth, so nope. I wouldn’t have changed anything they do. Characters, like kids, need to be allowed to make mistakes and learn from them.
What do you think Miles and Amy can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what they went through?
I feel like IN YOUR SHOES provides an emotional roadmap for dealing with grief/loss, and that’s something every one of us could use.
How did you research the two characters and the circumstances they found themselves in?
I love challenging myself with new stories that require research. This book has me touring a funeral home and interviewing one of the people who worked there. It was fascinating. I researched people who have a compulsion to write, which was interesting. I learned tons of things about the world of bowling, which was fascinating and fun. And maybe the most interesting thing was looking up strange and unusual ways people have died throughout history . . . to inform Miles’ fascination with that subject.
Do you and Miles and Amy share any similarities?
Of course! It wasn’t a stretch to write about a character who filters and understands her world through the stories and poems she writes. It was really fun to write Amy’s fairy tale that threads throughout the novel and mirrors what’s going on in the novel, because I had always wanted to write a fairy tale and I got to do that through my character. Very meta!
What was the hardest scene to write about them?
Oh my gosh. You don’t want to know how many snack breaks I needed to write and then revise the two heart-wrenching scenes near the end of the book. No spoiler zone here, but oh . . . my . . . word . . . those two scenes — you know which ones! — tore my heart out bit by bit every time I revisited them. Still do!
Who do you think was their biggest supporter and why?
What was the hardest scene to write about them?
Oh my gosh. You don’t want to know how many snack breaks I needed to write and then revise the two heart-wrenching scenes near the end of the book. No spoiler zone here, but oh . . . my . . . word . . . those two scenes — you know which ones! — tore my heart out bit by bit every time I revisited them. Still do!
Who do you think was their biggest supporter and why?
Grandparents! It’s always the grandparents who play such a pivotal role in my novels, and this one was no exception. But Miles and Amy ultimately supported each other, didn’t they? And of course, they found strength and support from both family and friends.
Why do you think some young people are accepting of others that are different from themselves, and others can’t seem to step out of their world and accept the differences?
Why do you think some young people are accepting of others that are different from themselves, and others can’t seem to step out of their world and accept the differences?
That’s why reading is so important. If we can, ahem, put ourselves in a character’s shoes, then we can imagine how they feel and therefore be more empathetic toward them. It’s that simple . . . and that complex. Empathy is one of the most important skills we can foster for young people.
What do you think Miles and Amy are doing as the present time?
I hope they’re bowling (a 300 game) and writing (the next great novel) or just hanging out, enjoying a root beer and a hot chocolate (with marshmallows, of course).
What do you think Miles and Amy are doing as the present time?
I hope they’re bowling (a 300 game) and writing (the next great novel) or just hanging out, enjoying a root beer and a hot chocolate (with marshmallows, of course).
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