(Author of Eventown)
*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 SEVENTH interview of what I'm calling Season #FIVE.
*Thank you to Corey Ann Haydu for being the Seventy-Eighth author that I've had the pleasure of interviewing. I truly appreciate it.
*Here are links to the first Seventy-Seven 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)
Interview #75 with Abby Cooper (Author of Friend or Fiction)
Interview #76 with Padma Venkatraman (Author of The Bridge Home)
Interview #77 with Anne Ursu (Author of The Lost Girl)
*This was a novel that I picked up as an ARC during #NCTE18. The publishing representative spoke very highly of it and I was excited to read it. The story was fresh, unique, and quite special. I found myself thinking about the story and what was truly going on within the pages.
*I reached out to Corey Ann Haydu after I finished and asked if I could "pick her brain" on the story, the characters, and her writing. As with most authors, she gave me a very generous yes.
*I reached out to Corey Ann Haydu after I finished and asked if I could "pick her brain" on the story, the characters, and her writing. As with most authors, she gave me a very generous yes.
*Corey Ann Haydu 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 for writing this book...
Eventown
by Corey Ann Haydu (February 12, 2019)
The first thing I knew about Elodee was that she had a twin sister. And the second thing I knew about her was that she loved cooking and baking. So much of the story's themes and plot points came from those two little decisions! Who she was inside took longer for me to figure out. But I knew that she would be a curious character.
What do you think is Elodee's most admirable quality?
A few reviews have identified Elodee as a brave character, and I really love viewing her that way. I think that's probably her most admirable quality. She's very brave, and she's also really willing to be vulnerability. Which I think is sort of the same thing. Vulnerability takes a lot of bravery, and Elodee knows that more than anyone.
What do you think Elodee can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?
I hope that Elodee shows kids that every story they have, every part of their life, is meaningful and worthy and can be told.That there's never anything they have to hide away, never anything in their life to be ashamed of. As I said above, I think Elodee is proof that vulnerability, openness, honesty, messiness are things to be embraced, are connected to strength and bravery. I want kids to know that they don't have to be perfect to survive. They don't have to do things easily or prettily.
Do you and Elodee share any similarities?
I like to think so! I think Elodee and I are both get lonely when we don't feel that we fit in. I think we both try to be ourselves, even when it's really hard to do so. I think we both want to understand the people around us, even when they do things we don't understand. We both try really hard and get sad when what we try for doesn't work out. And we both love food and making food for our families and friends.
What was the hardest scene to write about Elodee?
Honestly, figuring out how to start the book was a challenge. I wanted to show Elodee in a tough moment, and I decided that I needed to starts with her being angry. I don't think we see a lot of young girls getting to be angry in literature. So figuring out how to make Elodee angry and relatable and in that moment without giving away any of the book was a challenge, but one that was really important to me.
Who do you think was Elodee's biggest supporter and why?
I think Veena is one of Elodee's biggest supporters. Veena's ready to meet someone new, to have her mind opened. I think Veena needs Elodee and Elodee needs Veena. They both are looking for something new, in a world where most people want everything to just stay the same. So Veena's able to be Elodee's supporter because she's open-minded and inspired by her new friend.
Why do you think some people “run” from or try to avoid the painful events from their lives and others “stay-put” and face the hardship head on?
Such a tough question! I think however people work through the tough stuff in their lives is valid. There's not one way to survive, not one way to get through, not one way to be. But in my life, it's been better to face thing, to be open about things, and to not try to shy away from the hard parts of stuff. I've found wonderful connections with friends, with art, with the world through owning the painful parts of my life. And it took me time to get there. Hiding away the painful parts didn't work for me. It made me feel lonely and scared and confused. For me, sharing myself, owning my stories, being open is what works. That's what makes me feel fully present in the world and what allows people to support me. But I would never want to say there's only one way to manage hardship. But I would never want anyone to feel lonely in their hardship.
What do you think Elodee is doing at the present time?
Hopefully baking something delicious!
What do you think is Elodee's most admirable quality?
A few reviews have identified Elodee as a brave character, and I really love viewing her that way. I think that's probably her most admirable quality. She's very brave, and she's also really willing to be vulnerability. Which I think is sort of the same thing. Vulnerability takes a lot of bravery, and Elodee knows that more than anyone.
What do you think Elodee can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?
I hope that Elodee shows kids that every story they have, every part of their life, is meaningful and worthy and can be told.That there's never anything they have to hide away, never anything in their life to be ashamed of. As I said above, I think Elodee is proof that vulnerability, openness, honesty, messiness are things to be embraced, are connected to strength and bravery. I want kids to know that they don't have to be perfect to survive. They don't have to do things easily or prettily.
Do you and Elodee share any similarities?
I like to think so! I think Elodee and I are both get lonely when we don't feel that we fit in. I think we both try to be ourselves, even when it's really hard to do so. I think we both want to understand the people around us, even when they do things we don't understand. We both try really hard and get sad when what we try for doesn't work out. And we both love food and making food for our families and friends.
What was the hardest scene to write about Elodee?
Honestly, figuring out how to start the book was a challenge. I wanted to show Elodee in a tough moment, and I decided that I needed to starts with her being angry. I don't think we see a lot of young girls getting to be angry in literature. So figuring out how to make Elodee angry and relatable and in that moment without giving away any of the book was a challenge, but one that was really important to me.
Who do you think was Elodee's biggest supporter and why?
I think Veena is one of Elodee's biggest supporters. Veena's ready to meet someone new, to have her mind opened. I think Veena needs Elodee and Elodee needs Veena. They both are looking for something new, in a world where most people want everything to just stay the same. So Veena's able to be Elodee's supporter because she's open-minded and inspired by her new friend.
Why do you think some people “run” from or try to avoid the painful events from their lives and others “stay-put” and face the hardship head on?
Such a tough question! I think however people work through the tough stuff in their lives is valid. There's not one way to survive, not one way to get through, not one way to be. But in my life, it's been better to face thing, to be open about things, and to not try to shy away from the hard parts of stuff. I've found wonderful connections with friends, with art, with the world through owning the painful parts of my life. And it took me time to get there. Hiding away the painful parts didn't work for me. It made me feel lonely and scared and confused. For me, sharing myself, owning my stories, being open is what works. That's what makes me feel fully present in the world and what allows people to support me. But I would never want to say there's only one way to manage hardship. But I would never want anyone to feel lonely in their hardship.
What do you think Elodee is doing at the present time?
Hopefully baking something delicious!
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