That letter, which made me miserable at the time, no longer has the power to hurt me. Nowadays, when I visit schools, I often read my worst rejection letter to the kids. That day, April 17, 1996, was one of the happiest in my life. The first book of mine to be accepted for publication was ELLA ENCHANTED, and not one but two publishers wanted it. At the beginning I mostly wrote picture books, which were rejected by every children’s book publisher in America. It took me nine years to get anything published. What inspired you to write professionally? Can you tell us a little bit about your path to publication? I think lots of people hear a voice like that, and we all have to learn to tell it to shut up! I’ve since realized that the negative voice I used to hear was my internal enemy, the enemy of my creativity. And I discovered that my negative, critical voice is quiet when I write, and I like my writing. During the class I discovered how much I liked to write - and how little I liked to illustrate. I became a writer after taking a class in writing and illustrating for children. I’d hear a voice in my mind that would tell me I wasn’t any good and my work wasn’t any good. I was unhappy about it, though - because I was too self-critical. I gave up the acting idea pretty early on, but I painted and drew for years. When did you first decide to become a writer? Were you a child who scribbled your own short stories, or was it something that came to you later in life?Īs a child I didn’t want to be a writer, although I did like to write stories.

Konigsburg, Sharon Creech, Karen Cushman, Louis Sachar, Kevin Henkes, and Karen Hesse, to name more than a few. I like a lot of children’s book authors: Joan Abelove, Lucy Frank, Karen Romano Young, Virginia Euwer Wolff, Doris Orgel, Suzanne Fisher Staples, Megan Whalen Turner, Joan Aiken, Donna Jo Napoli, E.L.

Who are some of your favorite authors today? And I loved A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR’S COURT, HEIDI, BAMBI, and BLACK BEAUTY. I also liked everything Louisa May Alcott wrote and anything by L. Barrie - the novel, not the picture book or the movie. I used to spend hours reading in the bathroom - and we only had one bathroom in our small apartment! As a kid, my favorite book was PETER PAN by James M. So books were my privacy, because no one could join me in a book, no one could comment on the action or make fun of it. We didn’t get along well, and I felt that I had no privacy. I had to share a room with my sister, who is five and a half years older than I am. What role did books play in your childhood? What were your favorites? This interview was conducted via email in December 2000. Newbery Honor winner Gail Carson Levine has delighted fans with her award-winning first novel ELLA ENCHANTED (HarperCollins, 1997), as well as DAVE AT NIGHT (HarperCollins, 1999), THE PRINCESS TALES, THE WISH (HarperCollins, 2000).

Ever by gail carson levine