(Author of Friend or Fiction)
*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 FOURTH interview of what I'm calling Season #FIVE.
*Thank you to Abby Cooper for being the Seventy-Fifth author that I've had the pleasure of interviewing. I truly appreciate it.
*Here are links to the first Seventy-Four 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)
Interview #73 with Abby Cooper (Author of Sticks and Stones)
Interview #74 with Abby Cooper (Author of Bubbles)
*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. The last two weeks we did interviews about Sticks and Stones and Bubbles. This week it is all about Abby's upcoming novel 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. The last two weeks we did interviews about Sticks and Stones and Bubbles. This week it is all about Abby's upcoming novel called Friend or Fiction.
*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...
Friend or Fiction
by Abby Cooper (October 8, 2019)
How did you come to know Jade?
I've known a lot of "Jades" over the years - the quiet, thoughtful students who are always writing or doodling in a notebook. In large classes often filled with louder, more outgoing personalities, these students can sometimes be overlooked. As a teacher, it was always important to me to let them know they were seen. As a writer, I really wanted to bring a character like this to life.
What do you think is Jade's most admirable quality?
Jade is very thoughtful and observant. She takes the time to notice the little things, to ask questions, to wonder why things are the way they are. I think those are great qualities for aspiring writers (or anybody!) to have.
Is there anything you wish Jade would have changed or done differently in her story?
Nope! My characters always make mistakes, but that's life. I want my characters to be relatable, and to show that mistakes, while tough at the time, ultimately help us learn and grow.
What do you think Jade can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?
I hope that Jade will be a comfort to readers who are experiencing any of her same circumstances. Hopefully Jade can show readers that they're not alone and inspire them to find a creative outlet to help them deal with tough times.
How did you research Jade and the circumstances she found herself in?
While I've never had a story character come to life (that I know of!), I know what it's like to become so focused on someone or something that it's hard to notice what else is going on around you. A lot of my book research is simply reflecting on my own experiences and thinking deeply about how my characters would internalize similar feelings or events.
Do you and Jade share any similarities?
We both love to write, and we get very absorbed in our stories!
What was the hardest scene to write about Jade?
It's hard to answer this without spoiling anything, but it's always hard to write scenes where something bad happens in your main character's life. I never like breaking my character's hearts! On the flip side, I love writing the scenes where they find their power and rise to the challenges they face.
Who do you think was Jade's biggest supporter and why?
Jade is lucky because she has a lot of supporters, but due to various tough circumstances, she struggles to see that support. Part of Jade's journey is learning to recognize and appreciate the great support system that she has.
Why do you think children sometimes want to be friends with the popular or “in” crowd, while the real deal friend might be standing right in front of them?
I wish I knew! I'm no psychologist, but I think it probably has something to do with the validation that being "cool" provides - having the approval of the in-crowd maybe makes kids feel better about themselves. Ultimately the validation from a real friend (and from ourselves) is much more authentic/meaningful, but that's something people often need to learn for themselves.
Why do you think children sometimes want to be friends with the popular or “in” crowd, while the real deal friend might be standing right in front of them?
I wish I knew! I'm no psychologist, but I think it probably has something to do with the validation that being "cool" provides - having the approval of the in-crowd maybe makes kids feel better about themselves. Ultimately the validation from a real friend (and from ourselves) is much more authentic/meaningful, but that's something people often need to learn for themselves.
What do you think Jade is doing as the present time?
Jade is probably spending time with family and friends, or working on her latest story.
Jade is probably spending time with family and friends, or working on her latest story.
No comments:
Post a Comment