I’m thrilled to announce our Author Spotlight this week is the super-talented Ellen Potter.
Here is a brief bio:
Ellen Potter is the author of several middle-grade novels, including the award-winning Olivia Kidney series, Pish Posh, SLOB, and The Kneebone Boy. Her non-fiction book, Spilling Ink; a Young Writer’s Handbook, was co-authored by Anne Mazer.
Olivia Kidney was awarded Child magazine’s “Best Children’s Book Award” and was selected as one of the “Books of the Year” by Parenting magazine. Additionally, it was one of the finalists for the Ottakar’s Children’s Book Prize in the United Kingdom.
SLOB was selected for the Junior Library Guild Spring 2009 List and the 2010 Texas Lone Star Reading List.
Her middle-grade novel The Kneebone Boy will be published by Feiwel & Friends on September 14, 2010.
What was your road to publication?
It was a seasonal access road; bumpy at best and sometimes impassable. It took years of writing while doing odd-jobs (dog grooming, waitressing, etc.) before I was actually published. Still, I’m glad I had those experiences. During those years I met drifters, Tibetan refugees, actors. It was a great education for a young writer. And the tips weren’t bad either.
Can you tell me a bit about your writing process? Do you plot or not?
I don’t plot out my books. I’ve tried, but it never works for me, and I generally wind up with an ugly case of writer’s block. Whenever I have a preplanned storyline, I eventually have to force my characters to do things that they wouldn’t really do, just to make the story move according to plan. That’s when my characters rebel. They stiffen up and refuse to move. Instead, I prefer to stay more fluid and to follow my characters’ lead. I trail behind them and see what they will do next. Sometimes I know what will happen in the following scene, but that’s about it. It’s a little scary to write this way, and I often go down dead-end streets and have to backtrack. Still I find that the story tends to flow more naturally this way, and since I’m surprised at the things that happen, I know my readers will be too.
Describe your studio or usual work space for us.
I’m not fussy. I’ll write in bed, in a café, in a park. It’s like having a floating office. Hmm, there’s an idea! Writing on a raft would be interesting . . .
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
A baker. Whenever I watch Ace of Cakes I have an uncontrollable urge to make a fondant replica of the Millennium Falcon.
What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?
I have never, ever in my entire life worn flip flops.
How do you balance your writing and family life?
Now THAT is the million-dollar question! It’s tough, no kidding. For the first five years of my son’s life I woke up at 4:30 am to write. I conducted important business calls while changing poopy diapers. There are all sorts of strategies for successfully juggling work and family—writing lists, delegating chores. But I think the most important thing you can do is make friends with sleep deprivation.
Is there a reason that Pish Posh, Slob and the Olivia Kidney series are all set in New York City?
I write about NYC in part because I grew up there. But also it’s a great setting for children’s’ books because kids are very mobile in the city. They don’t necessarily need their parents to drive them places. They can walk or take public transportation, so there is great potential for independent adventure.
Are you working on any new projects that you can tell us about?
I’m working on a new middle-grade novel now, which should be out in 2011. I’m also very excited about my newest book The Kneebone Boy. I loved writing about the quirky Hardscrabble siblings and their adventures.
We here at Writing on the Sidewalk tend to procrastinate with our writing, where do you fit in Procrastinator or Proactive?
I’m a hyperactive procrastinator. I procrastinated for the first half of my life and now I am hyperactively trying to make up for lost time.
Ellen is a truly talented author and I have enjoyed reading many of her other books including
SLOB and
Spilling Ink which I have quoted on this site more than once. I was fortunate to receive an ARC of Ellen’s new book “The Kneebone Boy” and will post my book thoughts next week. For more information on Ellen please check out:
ellenpotter.com or for more writing tips check out
spillinginkthebook.com.
Thanks Ellen.
Suzanne Santillan
Writing on the Sidewalk
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This year the American Library Association has chosen San Diego for it’s midwinter meeting. From January 7-11th nearly 10,000 leaders in the library and information media industry will gather for meetings, events and exhibits. My blog buddy Sarah and I are planning to check out the exhibits some time this weekend (I’ll be the one with the comfy shoes).
Writing on the sidewalk 