After reading
A Crooked Kind of Perfect several years ago, I immediately decided that Linda Urban is one of my very favorite children's book authors. I was thrilled to find out that Linda has a new book coming out this fall (This week! September 20!) called
Hound Dog True. I was even more thrilled when she kindly offered to mail me an advanced copy. Then, I was over the moon when she let me interview her for my blog!
In
Hound Dog True, Linda "...traces a highly self-conscious child's cautious emergence from her shell in this tender novel about new beginnings and "small brave" acts... Urban's understated, borderline naïf narrative gives voice to Mattie's many uncertainties ("Always Mattie has been shy. Always school had made her feel skittish and small") while expressing the quiet yet significant moments in her day-to-day life. Mattie's growing trust of others and her attempts to be "bold and friendly" lead to gratifying rewards for Mattie and poignant moments for readers.."—
Publishers Weekly, starred reviewNow, for the interview!!
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Q: When you were a child, what did you like to ‘pretend’ most? How much of a role did your imagination play in your life?
A: I pretended all the time. Even when I was a kid in school at my desk, I seemed to be pretending to be a kid at school at my desk – sometimes I’d pretend I was smarter or prettier or more outgoing than I was, just to see what that felt like. Good training for being a writer, I think. And yeah, sometimes I still pretend I’m a better, more effortless, more confident writer than I am. It’s amazing what a little pretend can do.
Q: Do you have a favorite word, words, or quote?
A: I don’t know if it is all-time favorite, but lately I have been ruminating on two quotes from my hero Fred Rogers. Here’s one:
"The connections we make in the course of a life--maybe that's what heaven is."
And here’s another:
"Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. The people we trust with that important talk can help us know that we are not alone."
I try to think about this when I write. And I want to mail it to every scared parent or school board that wants to ban a book for its content.
Q: When you were growing up, was there a specific book (or books) that changed you somehow—a book that you feel is responsible for a little (or big) piece of who you are today?
A: Little Women. I blazed through the reading of it and I don’t think I paid attention to some of the plot bits, but I was laser-focused on Jo. Oh, how I wanted to write in a garret in the cold like Jo did. I was certain that would make me a brilliant author. We lived in a semi-finished house at the time, and the room above the garage had plywood floors and no insulation. It was winter in Michigan and I was wearing layers of sweaters and scarves, but I sat at that card table and I wrote. It was brilliant. (Not the writing, but the experience.)
Q: If you could pick any book to live inside for a day, what book would it be and why?
A: Feels like I do live inside the books I read. But okay, I suppose I’d like to be a student at Hogwarts for a day – provided I could be a Gryffindor. (I suspect I’m more the Hufflepuff type – though I might be able to convince the sorting hat to sneak me into Ravenclaw.) How cool would it be to fly on a broomstick, to turn pincushions into hedgehogs, and to pal around with Fred and George Weasley? Let’s just not schedule this for a Dark Lord Returns day, okay?
Q: What do you do when you have a tough writing day? How do you get through it?
A: My biggest writing challenge is staying focused. When things get hard, I often shop for boots on Zappos. (Shop, not buy, mind you.)
But I think a better strategy – and one I employ on my best days -- is to shift the framework of the day. So, instead of staring at the same paragraph on my computer screen, what would happen if I drew a picture of the scene? What would happen if I wrote the scene longhand from the point of view of some inanimate object in the room? What would happen if I made a list of all the many things my character might be thinking about over the course of the scene (from the obvious to the way the tag on the neck of her sweater is itchy) Anything to sink me into the scene and to distance my awareness from the fact that I am writing it.
Q: How do you like to celebrate when you finish writing a book?
A: I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve ever felt really DONE with writing a book. You know, you send it in, then there are line edits and then the tiny details. By then, I’m trying to work on something else. I do celebrate when the books come out, though. (This year, I’m actually going to buy a pair of those Zappos boots, I think.)
Q: What’s up? Tell us about where you are in your writing process right now. What’s out? What’s coming? What are you currently working on?
A: So, HOUND DOG TRUE is out on September 20 and I’ll be doing a bit of touring and meeting readers.
I’m also finishing a draft of my third novel which features a young girl, a regret, a wish, a parade, and donuts. (Research – yum!) That book has no real title yet, but I refer to by the main character’s name, Ruby Pepperdine. It will be out in Spring 2013.
Thank you, Linda! Now I can't wait until next spring.
it!"
