F.A.Q.
  • Are you ever going to write a sequel to Story of a Girl or Sweethearts?
    I’d never say never, but it’s not likely. I would only write a sequel if I came up with the exact right story for those characters. I feel like all my characters are sent off into their futures in a way that makes me confident in their survival, but I don’t feel like I need to write more about them. If that makes sense. But, like I say, I’d never say never.
  • What’s going on with the Story of a Girl movie? Can you get me an audition?
    Independent movies (well, all movies, really) can take a long time to get going. At the time of writing this FAQ, there is a writer/director—the amazing Laurie Collyer, who wrote and directed Sherrybaby—and a screenplay. The most important part of the process before you can actually get the movie made is financing. So, you know, if you have a big pile of money you’d like to invest in a movie, let me know! (And, no, I can’t get you an audition, sorry! I’m not really involved in the movie at all, though I did get to meet producers Kyra Sedgwick and Emily Lansbury, which was cool enough in itself.)
  • I have a book report on you and one of your books due, um, tomorrow. Can you answer a bunch of questions right now and send them back to me ASAP kay thanks!?
    I’m sorry that I can’t answer individual homework-related requests. The good news is that if you look carefully around my site, including the Bio section, the On Writing section, articles and interviews in the Press section, and the individual pages for each book, I bet you will find everything you need to know. Fun fact: when I was in junior high and high school doing book reports, there was no such thing as email, or any way to reach any author within a period shorter than three months!
  • Do you read all your own email and stuff, or is it just a robot/droid or assistant replying to me?
    It’s me! Depending on my schedule, it can take me a few weeks to respond to some email, but when I do, I promise you it is I.
  • I sent you a letter through your publisher and you never wrote back. Why?
    It can take an unbelievably long time for snail mail to go through the mail system at my publisher and get to me. Often by the time I get a letter, it’s been four to six months. But when I finally get it, I do write back!
  • Do you do school and library visits? What about conference speaking and stuff?
    Yes, I do! I can come to you in person, or do a virtual visit using modern tech. Please email Lisa McClatchy for details. If you would like me for an interview, book store event, or the like, contact my publicist, Ames O’Neill.
  • I am a 38-year-old woman / 72-year-old man / 23-year-old hipster / 56-year-old empty nester / 41-year-old dropout / 20-something web designer / [insert other forms of “not a teenager] – which means I can’t read your books, right?
    WRONG! The label “young adult” or “teen” fiction exists to help publishers and booksellers know how to market a book. It doesn’t mean that the book is not Real Literature, or that anyone over 17 won’t appreciate it, or that it doesn’t deliver everything you expect a story to deliver. I have many, many adult fans ranging from twenty-somethings on up to seventy-somethings. If you’re still skeptical, let me ask you this: do you remember anything about your adolescence? The identity questions? The hormones? The painful transition into adulthood? Yes? Then you are well-qualified to read YA fiction, and enjoy it without apology.
  • Will you ever write a book that is not YA?
    I hope to have a long career with opportunities to try all sorts of things, including fiction for an adult audience, nonfiction, screenplays, and more.
  • Where do you get your ideas? What inspires your books? What is your writing process? What should I do if I want to be a writer? How do I get published?
    There’s a separate section on this site called On Writing. Check it out. There’s also a how to get started post here. Also, if you look at the Books page and then click on individual titles, you can read more about what went into that particular book.
  • Wow, you’ve written a book a year! How do you do it?
    That’s actually a deception. Just because I may have had a book published per calendar year since 2007 does not mean I’m writing a book a year. I started Story of a Girl in 2002, in fact. I started Sweethearts in 2006. I wrote the original version of Once Was Lost in 2003 or 2004. I began what will likely be my 4th book in 2008, though it probably won’t be out until 2010 or 2011. Writing a book is a long process, and usually it starts in some fetal form long before it’s published.
  • Are you Mormon?
    No, but I do live in Salt Lake City, UT, where about half of the population is. I grew up in a Baptist church and now go to a Presbyterian church, except for when I don’t, and I have a lot of friends here who are L.D.S. (Latter Day Saints – which is how Mormons refer to themselves.)