"I would have taken practically anything as long as it was going to be published and in bookstores."

— on SAY HEY! A SONG OF WILLIE MAYS (PB)

Illustrator Update: Don Tate

"What I like best about writing historical fantasy fiction is that it opens up a forgotten world by connecting me with people who are often long-dead. Getting to know someone's past, even through something as simple as the weather she experienced in 1865, is an excellent exercise for the imagination."

—on IN THE SERPENT'S COILS (YA)

"We sent out the final art for this book the very week fighting first broke out in Israel. At first we thought, what awful timing, but then we thought, no, no, now is time children need to hear this message of hope."

— on SNOW IN JERUSALEM (PB)

"At some point while I'd been writing the story, I'd heard the Righteous Brothers' 'Unchained Melody.' Being in a vampire mood, I heard the words in a different context than I'd ever taken them in before..."

— on COMPANIONS OF THE NIGHT (YA)

Also read The Story Behind the Story on BEING DEAD (MG).

“I find toddlers to be among the most discriminating readers around. If your book is boring, or doesn’t meet their emotional needs, toddlers will just walk away.”

— on writing for Pre-K (PB)