An Inside Look #102 (Author INTERVIEW)

An Inside Look with Varsha Bajaj

(Author of Count Me In)

*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 ELEVENTH interview of what I'm calling Season #SIX.

*Thank you to Varsha Bajaj for being the One-Hundred Second author that I've had the pleasure of interviewing.  I truly appreciate it.  

*Here are links to the first One Hundred One 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)

Interview #98 with Cynthia Lord (Author of Because of the Rabbit)

Interview #99 with Tina Athaide (Author of Orange for the Sunsets)

Interview #100 with Elly Swartz (Author of Give and Take)

Interview #101 with Amy Rebecca Tan (Author of A Kind of Paradise)

*Varsha Bajaj 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 Varsha for writing this incredible and thought-provoking book.

*Here is my book review...

Count Me In Book Review

Count Me In

by Varsha Bajaj (August 27, 2019)

How did you come to know Karina and Chris?

Karina and Chris are both composite characters. They are inspired by kids I have encountered in my life. Some of their mannerisms are borrowed, some of their interests are borrowed, some of their experiences are based on real ones.

What do you think is Karina and Chris' most admirable qualities?

Both Karina and Chris are optimistic. They both have a sense of humor. They’re both loyal to each other and their families and they both have an open mind which allows them to become friends despite their rocky beginning.

Is there anything you wish the two characters would have changed or done differently in their story?

No. I truly believe that everything we do helps us to become the people we are. In giving Chris a second chance, Karina realizes that she had misjudged him. Chris realizes that it is important to “do” the right thing too.

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

I hope their story reinforces the positive role that empathy, community, and family support play in helping us get through life. Papa reminds them that there is both good and evil in the world and we must fight for good.

How did you research the two characters and the circumstances they found themselves in?

I did a lot of research on hate crimes and racism which was tough. I spoke to doctors to find out how Papa would be treated after his injury. I spoke to law enforcement to understand how the perpetrator would be dealt with. Though in this case he dies soon after. I wanted the story to focus on how they deal with the aftermath of trauma.

Do you and the children share any similarities?

A part of the author always permeates into the characters they create. Like Chris, I had a hard time with Math in middle school and I wish Papa had been there to tutor me. I wish I could take pictures like Karina. I do share their love of cake 😊

What was the hardest scene to write about Karina and Chris?

The scene where Papa gets attacked was the hardest to write. I struggled with that scene for months. I found myself in tears after I finally got it right. It was tough to imagine that we humans are capable of being so ugly and hurtful of each other.

Who do you think was their biggest supporter and why?

Papa was their biggest supporter. He truly cared about their wellbeing. He moved from California to Houston to help care for Karina, and after the trauma he helps her move forward. He is invested in Chris. He is not just tutoring him for the hour in school, but he cares about Chris succeeding and overcoming his fear of Math.

Why do you think young people, like Karina and Chris, are able to stand up for what is right in the world; when some adults can’t even do that?

Karina and Chris are special people with courage that few possess. Karina’s strength also comes from the fact that her grandfather, someone she loves very dearly is attacked. She feels his pain as if it is her own. Chris, has also grown to love Papa and he is outraged that someone would treat him so unfairly.  There are such young people in the world. I remember reading the news stories about Malala and I was dumbfounded at her daring.

What do you think they are doing as the present time?

I wrote this book in 2016-2017. They were in middle school back then. So they would be in High School. I hope that they are still friends and watching out for each other. They are probably in the process of taking their SATs and applying for college and imagining an amazing future.