An Inside Look #98 (Author INTERVIEW)

Inside Look with Cynthia Lord

(Author of Because of the Rabbit)

*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.  

*Season #FIVE ran during the 2018/2019 school year.  I took a little break during June of 2019.

*I'm thrilled to be back with season #SIX featuring all new books, authors, and conversations.  

*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 #SIX.

*Thank you to Cynthia Lord for being the Ninety-EIGHTH author that I've had the pleasure of interviewing.  I truly appreciate it.  

*Here are links to the first Ninety-Seven interviews…

SEASON #ONE (2016-2017)

Interview #1 with Elly Swartz (Author of Finding Perfect)

Interview #2 with Jeff Zentner (Author of The Serpent King)

Interview #3 with Nora Raleigh Baskin (Author of Nine, Ten, A September 11 Story)

Interview #4 with Cammie McGovern (Author of Just My Luck)

Interview #5 with Kate Messner (Author of The Seventh Wish)

Interview #6 with Paul Griffin (Author of When Friendship Followed Me Home)

Interview #7 with K.A. Holt (Author of House Arrest)

Interview #8 with Abby Cooper (Author of Sticks and Stones)

Interview #9 with Melanie Conklin (Author of Counting Thyme)

Interview #10 with Claire Legrand (Author of Some Kind of Happiness)

Interview #11 with Lynn Plourde (Author of Maxi's Secrets)

Interview #12 with Shaun David Hutchinson (Author of The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley)

Interview #13 with Gae Polisner (Author of The Memory of Things)

Interview #14 with Mike Grosso (Author of I Am Drums)

Interview #15 (Towers Fallings by  Jewell Parker Rhodes)

Interview #16 (My Seventh Grade Life in Tights by Brooks Benjamin)

Interview #17 with Donna Gephart (Author of Lily and Dunkin) 

Interview #18 with Ally Condie (Author of Summerlost)

Interview #19 with Phil Bildner (Author of Rip and Red Series)

Interview #20 with Barbara O'Connor (Author of Wish)

Interview #21 with Monika Schroder (Author of Be Light Like a Bird)

Interview #22 with Jeff Zentner (Author of The Goodbye Days)

SEASON #TWO (Summer 2017)

Interview #23 with Elena K. Arnold (Author of A Boy Named Bat)

Interview #24 with Dusti Bowling (Author of The Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus)

Interview #25 with Melissa Savage (Author of Lemons)

Interview #26 with Elaine Vickers (Author of Paper Chains)

Interview #27 with Kate Messner (Author of The Exact Location of Home)

Interview #28 with Paul Griffin (Author of Saving Marty)

Interview #29 with Elly Swartz (Author of Smart Cookie)

Interview #30 with Ellie Terry (Author of Forget Me Not)

Interview #31 with Katherine Paterson (Author of wishtree)

Interview #32 with Jordan Sonnenblick (Author of The Secret Sheriff of Sixth Grade)

Interview #33 with Alan Gratz (Author Refugee)

SEASON #THREE (2017/2018)

Interview #34 with Corey Ann Haydu (Author of The Someday Suitcase)

Interview #35 with Amy Sarig King (Author of Me and Marvin Gardens)

Interview #36 with Jared Reck (Author of The Short History of the Girl Next Door)

Interview #37 with Shelley Johannes (Author of Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker)

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 #41 with Alan Gratz (Author of Ban This Book)

Interview #42 with Sally J Pla (Author of Stanley Will Probably Be Fine)

Interview #43 with Jake Burt (Author of Greetings from Witness Protection)

Interview #44 with John David Anderson (Author of Granted)

Interview #45 with Jarrett Lerner (Author of Enginerds)

Interview #46 with Leslie Connor (Author of The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle)

Interview #47 with Cordelia Jensen and Laurie Morrison (Every Shining Thing)

Interview #48 with Jacqueline Resnick (Author of Raffie on the Run)

Interview #49 with Sarah Weeks (Author of Soof) 

Interview #50 with Dan Gemeinhart (Author of The Good Dog)

Interview #51 with Gae Polisner (Author of In Sight of Stars)

SEASON #FOUR (Summer 2018)

Interview #52 with Tony Abbott (Author of Denis Ever After)

Interview #53 with Preston Norton (Author of Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe)

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 (2018/2019)

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)

Interview #78 with Corey Ann Haydu (Author of Eventown)

Interview #79 with Jeff Zentner (Author of Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee)

Interview #80 with Allison Varnes (Author of The Property of the Rebel Librarian)

Interview #81 with Tony Abbott (Author of The Great Jeff)

Interview #82 with Susan Ross (Author of Searching for Lottie)

Interview #83 with Gillian McDunn (Author of Caterpillar Summer)

Interview #84 with Rebecca Ansari (Author of The Missing Piece of Charlie O'Reilly)

Interview #85 with Ali Standish (Author of August Isle)

Interview #86 with Shaun David Hutchinson (Author of The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried)

Interview #87 with Greg Howard (Author of The Whispers)

Interview #88 with Lynda Mullaly Hunt (Author of Shouting at the Rain)

Interview #89 with Lynda Mullaly Hunt (Author of One for the Murphys)

Interview #90 with Laurie Morrison (Author of Up for Air)

Interview #91 with Jody J. Little (Author of Mostly the Honest Truth)



SEASON #SIX (Summer 2019)

Interview #92 with John David Anderson (Author of Finding Orion)

Interview #93 with Lisa Thompson (Author of The Light Jar)

Interview #94 with Keith Calabrese (Author of A Drop of Hope)

Interview #95 with Alicia D. Williams (Author of Genesis Begins Again)

Interview #96 with Kim Ventrella (Author of Bone Hollow)

Interview #97 with Natalie Lloyd (Author of Over the Moon)

*Cynthia Lord 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 Cynthia for writing this incredible and thought-provoking book.

*Here is my book review...

Over the Moon Book Review

Because of the Rabbit

by Cynthia Lord (March 26, 2019)

How did you come to know Emma?

Many of my novels begin with setting, and that was true for Because of the Rabbit. I love Maine’s Western Mountains. It’s a place of great natural beauty and wildlife. So I started by asking myself, “Who lives here?

What do you think is Emma's most admirable quality?

She is brave. One way she shows that is being willing to admit when she has made a mistake. That takes a lot of courage.

Is there anything you wish Emma would have changed or done differently in her story?

As a person, I would want Emma to be completely comfortable in her own skin, but as a writer, I know that every character has to have some flaws. Those flaws are what make the character relatable and give the character room to grow and change. If the character starts off perfect, there’s no room for growth—the character doesn’t need to change, and neither does the reader.

What do you think Emma can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?

I would hope Emma could give kids an understanding that they are not alone when they have mixed feelings about trying new experiences. I also hope that she would give them some courage to take a risk and grow in their friendships, like Emma does.

How did you research Emma and the circumstances she found herself in?

I homeschooled my children for many years. We began homeschooling when my autistic son’s sound sensitivities made a traditional school building painful for him. My son was homeschooled, at least part-time, for his whole school career. My daughter was homeschooled from the end of third grade through eighth grade. She and I had many wonderful conversations about the transition from homeschooling to public school for this book.  Also I have three pet rabbits of my own, and we foster rabbits for an animal rescue. So over the past five years, we’ve had 27 foster bunnies. Even though I knew a lot about rabbits from those real-life experiences, I did need to research the facts that are included in the book.

Do you and Emma share any similarities?
We both live in Maine and love animals. We both struggle sometimes to be brave, but always learn that we’re braver than we think.



What was the hardest scene to write about Emma?
The hardest scene was when Emma denies Jack to the girls she’s trying to befriend. It’s one of those moments where a main character falls short of what you’d want them to do. Those moments are important in a book to build conflict, but they’re never easy to read—or to write.



Who do you think was Emma's biggest supporter and why?
I think it’s Jack, because he is willing to forgive her.



Why do you think humans, especially children, have such a special connection with animals?
Unlike people, animals never pretend to be happy or sad when they are not.  When you understand their ways of communicating, it’s refreshingly simple. If we’re kind and respectful, pets come to trust us and love us for who we are inside.  Also with children, they are so often on the receiving end of nurturing—and pets provide the chance to be the giver.

What do you think Emma is doing as this present time?
I think she had a great school year and is now happy to be home for the summer with her family and her pet bunny, Lapi. She made new friends this year and is anxious to invite them over. The next big step for her will be middle school, so I think she’s again feeling that mix of Scared and Excited, but Excited is way ahead in that race.