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When did you first start writing?
I don’t remember exactly when I first began to write, but it was pretty much as soon as I could hold a pencil and form complete sentences. Since I loved to read so much, it wasn’t long before I discovered that I could make up my own stories about characters I wanted to meet and new places I wanted to explore. When I was around eight, I started writing short stories about a cat named Alley Cat, who, for a crayon scribble, looked remarkably like my cat Sonny. It just snowballed from there. |
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Where do you write?
I am ever on the hunt for a good place to do my writing. Recently, I’ve been moving between my apartment, the main branch of the New York Public Library — which is gorgeous and very inspiring — and various cafes in my neighborhood. I prefer to work outside my apartment, because I get so easily distracted in the house, by my husband, my dog, the perpetual clutter, the television… |
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What are your hobbies?
I have been taking a sculpting class for a few years now and am deeply committed to it and to my teacher, the illustrious Rhoda Sherbell. I love to travel — recently, my husband, my sister, a friend, and I took a ride on the Trans-Siberian Railway, which was amazing. I love to ride my bike, read, listen to music, go to the theater, and play the trumpet (I’m trying to re-learn!). |
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Why do you write in free verse?
Writing in verse comes naturally to me. I don't seem to approach the world or storytelling in very structural terms; rather, I tend to be more attracted to the sensual, and to see life as a loosely tied string of scenes. In writing, this translates really naturally to verse, and the economy of language allows each scene, each moment to have the greatest impact.
I didn't originally intend to write Song of the Sparrow in verse. But, as Elaine's world came alive for me, and I started to exist in her world of trees and birds and plants, the language sort of naturally fell into the free verse. Also, as I thought about how this story would live within the canon of Arthurian myth, the free verse started to make a lot of sense to me, and it felt organic to the story.
When I look back at my own experiences in Israel, I recall scents and colors and textures. As I thought about the events I wanted to relate in The Weight of the Sky, Sarah's voice came to me in poems, as, for her, too, the essence of the land was wrapped up in the perfume of the jasmine and the dustiness of the desert.
All this said, though, my short story in 21 Proms is not written in verse, and I’m currently at work on a new novel that will also be in straightforward prose. Stay tuned! |
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Why do you write for young adults?
I find writing for young adults so exciting and challenging. Young adulthood is this brief moment (although, when you're in it, it usually feels endless), when all of the qualities that an individual will embody and possess as an adult are incubating. It's the time when people are making the decisions and discoveries about who and what they want to be when they grow up, and this is totally fascinating and almost always makes for good drama—the best ingredients for storytelling. Moreover, teens are an amazing audience—they're incredibly receptive and open to experimentation in ideas and form—and they give back. I hear from readers every day, and it's truly the most rewarding experience I can imagine. |
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What inspired you to write about Elaine of Ascolat, or, as she’s also known, the Lady of Shalott?
I have always loved the stories of King Arthur, but one thing that has always bothered me was the way the female characters were treated. Traditionally, they are portrayed as deceitful manipulators or damsels in distress — villains who destroy the men or ladies who need the men to rescue them. For instance, Elaine fell in love with Lancelot on sight, and then died of a broken heart when he spurned her. How unfair! So, one day, when I was studying in London during college, I escaped a gray and rainy day outside to wander the halls of the Tate gallery, and suddenly I came across a gorgeous painting that stopped me in my tracks. It was John William Waterhouse’s luminous painting of “The Lady of Shalott” from 1888. When I saw the terrible, haunted expression in her eyes, and reflected on how unkindly she’d been treated, I knew I wanted to give her a better, more meaningful story. |
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What are your favorite books or authors?
I have a hard time picking favorites, but if I were to try to narrow it down to a short list, here goes:
Favorite grown-up books include Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, Atonement by Ian McEwan, On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan, The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce (I think this could be a YA title, too!), Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks, The Quiet American by Graham Greene, The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham, among others.
Favorite kid and teen books: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, Love that Dog by Sharon Creech, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, The Winter Room by Gary Paulsen, and pretty much anything by Judy Blume (particularly Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret), Beverly Cleary, Kevin Brooks, Kate DiCamillo, Dav Pilkey, and, oh, there are so many others! |
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Who are your favorite literary figures?
Meg from Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quartet was my hero when I was a kid. She embodied everything I felt, all of the awkwardness and loneliness of pre-adolescence, and everything I hoped to achieve and to be when I grew older. Her passage from childhood to pre-adulthood is one of the most beautiful, moving, and true portraits I've ever read. Also, I have always idolized Robert Jordan from Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls. His adventures in Spain during the Spanish Civil War are terribly romantic. |
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If you could have any other job, what would it be?
I’d be a sculptor. |
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