An Inside Look with Leslie Connor
*Season #SIX (Summer 2019)
My characters are always composites, inspired by people I have met, observed, or read about. Often, my research helps me flesh them out, as does my imagination. When I can hear them, I can write them. That was the case with Aurora and Frenchie, neurodiverse friends coming up on the changes and challenges of middle school.
What do you think are their most admirable qualities?
Though they are quite different on the page, I think both Aurora and Frenchie are relentlessly loyal, steadfast, and earnest. Both are capable of being exceptionally good friends, but this story is likely to make readers think twice about what that looks like.
What do you think Frenchie and Aurora can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what they went through?
Comfort! In the story, mistakes are made. Yet, no one person is really to blame. I think readers will agree. The emphasis is on being helpful, counting on others, and coming together as a community.
How did you research the two characters and the circumstances they found themselves in?
I see both characters as being somewhere on the autism spectrum. My interest was in how vast the range of this type of neurodiversity is. For instance, Aurora is loud and impulsive while Frenchie is non-vocal, reserved, and vulnerable. I was deeply interested in what happens when one friend is (eventually) better able to master social strategies than the other. Does the friendship change and how?
Do you and Frenchie and Aurora share any similarities?
Yes. Our deep love of the natural world.
I wrote chapters in alternating points of view at a time in the story when the tension is high. I had to maintain that back forth, but I really just wanted to get these two friends out of their emotional pain! I’ve learned that I can’t rush that. When I suffer that sense of desperation along with the characters, it’s probably good for the emotional heart of the story.
Who do you think were their biggest supporters and why?
Why do you think some young people are able to understand and take the time to get to know and include others who may be different and/or communicate differently?
Oh, gosh, I’m sure it has to do with empathy and example. Perhaps they have felt othered themselves; perhaps they’ve observed the adults in their lives taking similar initiative on someone’s behalf. I’d like to believe that everyone is capable of reaching out, of reading behavior. I think that skill comes at different times, and that’s okay. It takes a certain confidence and maturity to try. Small steps always count!
What do you think they are doing as the present time?
This is a meaningful question because we watched Aurora expanding her social circle—increasing her orbit-- from her one, intense friendship with Frenchie. I imagine her being tender and inclusive when it comes to Frenchie. She’d be changed by the experience at the story’s core. Frenchie, however, is more of a steady mystery.
SEASON #SIX (Summer 2019)
Interview #122 with Tamara Bundy (Author of Pixie Pushes On)
Interview #123 with Lindsay Lackey (Author of All the Impossible Things)
Interview #124 with Tae Keller (Author of When You Trap a Tiger)
Interview #125 with Jamie Sumner (Author of Roll With It)
Interview #126 with Hena Khan (Author of More to the Story)
Interview #127 with Phil Bildner (Author of A High-Five for Glenn Burke)
Interview #128 with Leslie Connor (Author of A Home for Goddesses and Dogs)
Interview#129 with Gillian McDunn (Author of Queen Bee and Me)
Interview #130 with Jody J. Little (Author of Worse Than Weird)
Interview #131 with Jenn Bishop (Author of Things You Can't Say)
Interview #132 with Kaela Noel (Author of Coo)
Interview #133 with Rebecca Stead (Author of The List of Things That Will Not Change)
Interview #134 with Gae Polisner (Author of Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me)
Interview #135 with Emily Blejwas (Author of Like Nothing Amazing Ever Happened)
Interview #136 with Joy McCullough (Author of A Field Guide to Getting Lost)
Interview #137 with Kim Baker (Author of the Water Bears)
Interview #138 with Erin Entrada Kelly (Author of We Dream of Space)
Interview #139 with Jess Redman (Author of Quintessence)
Interview #140 with Melanie Conklin (Author of Every Missing Piece)
Interview #141 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of Brave Like That)
Interview #158 with Rebecca Ansari (Author of The In-Between)
Interview #159 with John David Anderson (Author of One Last Shot)
Interview #160 with Tracy Holczer (Author of Brave in the Woods)
Interview #161 with James Bird (Author of The Brave)
Interview #162 with Marcella Pixley (Author of Trowbridge Road)
Interview #163 with Barbara O'Connor (Author of Halfway to Harmony)
Interview #164 with Alan Gratz (Author of Ground Zero)
Interview #165 with Lisa Fipps (Author of Starfish)
Interview #166 with Ann Braden (Author of Flight of the Puffin)
Interview #167 with Kimberly Willis Holt (Author of The Ambassador of NoWhere Texas)
Interview #168 with Elana K. Arnold (Author of The House That Wasn't There)
Interview #169 with Erin Soderberg (Author of The Great Peach Experiment)
Interview #170 with Donna Gephart (Author of Abby, Tried, and True)
Interview #171 with M. Evan Wolkenstein (Author of Turtle Boy)
Interview #172 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of Bea is for Blended)
Interview #173 with Jess Redman (Author of The Adventure is Now)
Interview #174 with David Levithan (Author of The Mysterious Disappearance of Aiden)
Interview #175 with Chris Grabenstein (Author of The Smartest Kid in the Universe)
Interview #176 with Ali Standish (Author of The Mending Summer)
Interview #177 with Holly Goldberg Sloan (Author of The Elephant in the Room)
Interview #178 with Jeff Zentner (Author of In the Wild Light)
SEASON #ELEVEN (Fall/Winter 2021)
Interview #179 with Katherine Applegate (Author of Willow)
Interview #180 with Padma Venkatraman (Author of Born Behind Bars)
Interview #181 with R.J. Palacio (Author of Pony)
Interview #182 with Kyle Lukoff (Author of Too Bright to See)
Interview #183 with Barbara Dee (Author of Violets are Blue)
Interview #184 with Anne Ursu (Author of The Troubled Girls of Dragonmir Academy)
Interview #185 with Margaret Finnegan (Author of We Could Be Heroes)
Interview #186 with Jasmine Warga (Author of Shape of Thunder)
Interview #187 with Joseph Bruchac (Author of Rez Dogs)
Interview #188 with Kathryn Erskine (Author of Lily's Promise)
Interview #189 with Elly Swartz (Author of Dear Student)
Interview #190 with Heather Clark (Author of Lemon Drop Falls)
Interview #191 with Veera Hiranandani (Author of How to Find What You're Not Looking For)
Interview #192 with Elizabeth Eulberg (Author of The Best Worst Summer)
Interview #193 with Cathy Carr (Author of 365 Days to Alaska)
Interview #194 with Carol Cujec and Peyton Goddard (Authors of REAL)
Interview #195 with Gillian McDunn (Author of These Lucky Stars)
Interview #196 with Alyssa Colman (Author of The Gilded Girl)
Interview #197 with E.L. Chen (Author of The Comeback)
Interview #198 with J.M.M. Nuanez (Author of Birdie and Me)
SEASON #TWELVE (Winter 2022)
Interview #199 with Jamie Sumner (Author of One Kid's Trash)
Interview #200 with Chad Lucas (Author of Thanks a Lot, Universe)
Interview #201 with Jenn Bishop (Author of Where We Used to Roam)
Interview #202 with Rebecca Caprara (Author of Worst-Case Collin)
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