Jessica Lee Anderson is the author of Calli, Border Crossing, and Trudy, winner of the Milkweed Prize for Children's Literature. She studied writing for young adults at Hollins University and Roehampton University, and she teaches writing through the Institute of Children's Literature. She lives outside Austin, Texas, with her husband.
Calli has two loving moms, a good-looking boyfriend, and a best friend who’s always been there for her, but her charmed life takes a turn when Cherish, her new foster sister, comes into the family picture. Cherish lies, steals, and antagonizes Calli, but what Calli does in revenge brings her face-to-face with her guilt, and into a real world of consequences.
Manz is sure of one thing: he lives on the wrong side of the tracks in dusty Rockhill, Texas. Life is tough for everyone, but especially for Manz, the mixed-race son of migrant apple pickers. When the summer heat sets in, Manz takes a job outside town—but there his bright and questioning mind begins to give in to its own claustrophobic temptations.
Trudy’s parents are older than other kids’ parents; they’re so old, in fact, that most people mistake them for her grandparents. When Trudy and Ma notice that Pop is acting funny—he forgets to pick Trudy up from school and starts to put groceries away in the bathroom—they embark on a quest to find out what is wrong.
Do you think of the plot first or the characters when you write a story?
Kathy B
A:
I almost always think of characters first.
Q:
How do you organize your thoughts before you write a novel? Do you write an outline?
Don J
A:
I write one scene at a time. I keep a notebook before I start a book with everything I can think of about my characters, so that I'm never totally alone with a blank screen or page. Once I begin a book, I try to sit at my desk for two or three hours every morning.
FAF2DBD4-A96B-40DB-9D52-83124C08318E.jpeg Shilpi Suneja's mother in Gao on her honeymoon. Shilpi Suneja's debut novel House of Caravans is filled with life...
