The humiliation that Jane had felt turned to something else--grief perhaps, or regret. Regret that she had not known how to act with a boy, regret that she had not been wiser.

Otis was inspired by a boy who sat across the aisle from me in sixth grade. He was a lively person. My best friend appears in assorted books in various disguises.

The key to writing successful YA is to keep the adults out of the story as much as possible.

She was not a slowpoke grownup. She was a girl who could not wait. Life was so interesting she had to find out what happened next.

When I was in the first grade I was afraid of the teacher and had a miserable time in the reading circle, a difficulty that was overcome by the loving patience of my second grade teacher. Even though I could read, I refused to do so.

I read my books aloud before they were published.

My mother would read aloud to my father and me in the evening. She read mainly travel books.