"I had this notion about writing a truly American fantasy, set in a small Midwestern college town. Small towns are like laboratories: people interact who would never encounter each other in a big city. You can never escape your history in a small town."

—on THE WARRIOR HEIR (YA)

“The story began to stir in my head set in the most desolate yet wonderful part of Texas I could imagine; beautiful and powerful Big Bend.”

— on PHOEBE CLAPPSADDLE AND THE TUMBLEWEED GANG (PB)

“The fairy tales had to work within the plot as well as the subtext, which demonstrates the many ways dominant discourses influence us without our knowing.”

— on DANCING IN RED SHOES WILL KILL YOU (YA)

"I had been chewing on what I love in books and movies, particularly the idea that all this mundane stuff that happens all the time (like the ridiculous excesses of the prom) can have a supernatural origin or resonance."

—on PROM DATES FROM HELL (YA)

" It's a story about how Mike learns to work through his sadness and embrace Corky's memory. Total tear jerker."

—on THE FOREVER DOG (PB)

"The book took about four years from brainchild to binding."

— on SAHARA SPECIAL (MG)

AUTHOR UPDATE: Esme Raji Codell

"As it turned out, however, a lot of Felix's mother's concerns are my concerns, too, and a lot of the first-generation experience is similar no matter which country your parents hail from."

—on FREE BASEBALL (MG)

"One of the members of my writers' group at the time tossed me a challenge, wondering if I really wanted to keep bringing the reader's focus back to that dusty stable rather than the baby. I thought about that for a bit, and realized that, for me, an important part of this story is the idea of something great coming from something very humble."

—on THIS IS THE STABLE (PB)

“I have been known to dance down grocery store aisles.”

— on TESSA’S TIP-TAPPING TOES (PB)

Carolyn Crimi (and John Manders):

“Suddenly my sweet, innocent bunnies were wearing eye patches and saying things like ‘Great blimey bilges!’”

— on HENRY AND THE BUCCANEER BUNNIES (PB)

“It explored the issues of shame and dignity, and talked of how people felt when they became the poor ones pictured in the media for the entireworld to see. Suddenly I knew what my story would be!"

— on SPITTING IMAGE (MG)

"...kids always ask; how did the monster lose his toe? That's a question I'm not ready to ask the monster yet."

— on WHO TOOK MY HAIRY TOE? (MG)

See also Shutta's interviews on THE BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE (PB) and A FAMILY FOR OLD MILL FARM (PB).