(Author Sticks and Stones)
*During the summer of 2016, I added this feature to the 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.
*The next season (season #FOUR) of interviews took place during the summer and fall of 2018. With each interview I became more and more impressed with the authors I was having interactions with.
*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.
*The next season (season #FOUR) of interviews took place during the summer and fall of 2018. With each interview I became more and more impressed with the authors I was having interactions with.
*It has been such an honor to connect with authors and "chat" about their novel, characters, and thoughts about the story.
*This is the SECOND interview of what I'm calling Season #FIVE.
*Thank you to Abby Cooper for being the Seventy-Third author that I've had the pleasure of interviewing. I truly appreciate it.
*Here are links to the first Seventy-Two 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)
Interview #64 with Donna Gephart (Author of In Your Shoes)
Interview #65 with Alan Gratz (Author of Grenade)
Interview #66 with Barbara O'Connor (Author of Wonderland)
Interview #67 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of Just Like Jackie)
Interview #68 with Katherine Marsh (Author of Nowhere Boy)
Interview #69 with Dusti Bowling (Author of 24 Hours in Nowhere)
Interview #70 with Christina Uss (Author of The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle)
Interview #71 with Adam P. Schmitt (Author of Speechless)
SEASON #FIVE
Interview #72 with Dan Gemeinhart (Author of The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise)
*I'm so lucky to have gotten to know so many authors. I'm even luckier to have gotten to know some wonderful authors that live right here in the Twin Cities. Abby Cooper is one of those authors. She has been kind enough to visit my classroom on multiple occasions. Her first visits were about her first novel Sticks and Stones. Then she started to visit about her second book called Bubbles. I recently read an ARC of her upcoming story called Friend or Fiction.
*I'm going to be running a three-part series with Abby Cooper. Each interview will be about one of the three books. We are starting with the novel that started it all.
*I'm going to be running a three-part series with Abby Cooper. Each interview will be about one of the three books. We are starting with the novel that started it all.
*Abby was kind, gracious, and giving with her answers to the questions. It is an honor to post her responses here on the blog.
*Thank you Abby Cooper for writing this book...
Sticks and Stones
by Abby Cooper (July 3, 2017)
How did you come to know Elyse?
The character was brewing in my head for a long time before I started writing. I sort of heard her voice, in a way, telling me her story. After some time piecing together her experiences and background, I was able to get a clear sense of who she was.
What do you think is Elyse's most admirable quality?
I think it's admirable that Elyse maintains a sense of humor despite various tough situations and circumstances. Even when she's upset, she's always able to find something to laugh about.
Is there anything you wish Elyse would have changed or done differently in her story?
Elyse makes a lot of mistakes and bad choices, but she needs to do that (as do we all!) in order to learn and grow. There are definitely scenes where I feel for her, but I wouldn't change a thing.
What do you think Elyse can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?
I hope that Elyse will reassure kids who struggle with bullying and/or self-esteem issues that they are not alone, and that they can and will get through it and come out on the other side.
How did you research Elyse and the circumstances she found herself in?
The initial idea for this character and this book came from working in a school library, where I observed tons of kids and conversations every day. I once had a student tell me she was "too dumb" to check out a certain book, and my heart broke into a million pieces. From that experience, I knew I needed to write my story. I don't know that I really researched as much as I observed, listened, and tried to be the best librarian/supporter/friend I could be.
Do you and Elyse share any similarities?
I definitely put little snippets of myself in each main character I write! Like Elyse, I can be pretty introverted, and I'd usually rather hang out with a book than with a bunch of people. I'm also a huge fan of chocolate cupcakes, grilled cheese, string cheese . . . all the cheese, really. Mmm, cheese.
What was the hardest scene to write about Elyse?
The soccer field scene toward the beginning was pretty tough to write. In this scene, Elyse is thinking about her former friends and wondering what happened and why they don't want to hang out with her anymore. I think it was hard to write because I've been through similar situations in my life and I know how much that stings, and how confusing it can be to still miss your friend even when it's clear that your friend doesn't miss you.
Who do you think was Elyse's biggest supporter and why?
That's tough - I think a lot of characters in the book support Elyse in their own ways, and I can't really say any type of support is bigger or better than any other. I will say that Elyse is very lucky to have the support she does, even if she doesn't always recognize it.
Why do you think young people/children say such mean things to each other during the elementary & middle-school years?
I think there's a lot of insecurity at that age, and it's a lot easier to put others down instead of taking a serious look at yourself. I want kids to understand that it's okay not to feel 100% amazing about yourself all the time, but you can still know that you're good overall, and hurting someone else's feelings is not the way to make yourself feel better.
What do you think Elyse is doing as this present time?
Well, right now it's about 8:30 AM on a nice summer morning, so I'm guessing Elyse is sound asleep, dreaming of nice words, nice people, and super chocolatey cupcakes. :)
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