This week I interviewed children’s writer, Dori Butler. Her book TRADING PLACES WITH TANK TALBOTT just won the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award (reader’s choice for grades 4-6). That book is also on award lists in Iowa, Florida, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Many of her other award winning books are available too, and this spring she has two new picture book releases, MY GRANDPA HAD A STROKE (Magination Press) and F IS FOR FIREFIGHTING (Pelican Publishing Company). Visit Dori’s website at http://www.kidswriter.com/index.htm to learn more about her!

Q. What were your favorite books when you were a teen?
A. My favorite author was Judy Blume. Judy Blume got me through my adolescence. She told me what I needed to know.

I also liked the Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace (I grew up just one hour from where those stories were set!)…and I loved mystery/thrillers!

Q. What’s on your iPod or CD player?
A. I don’t actually have an iPod. But we have all our music (and one of my husband’s friends entire music collection, too!) converted to MP3 and we can listen to it anywhere in the house (or put it on CDs to listen to in the car). I’ve got a wide range of stuff…classical, new age, jazz, music that was popular when I was a teen…there’s nothing like a certain song from my youth to put me right back in that time.

Q. Do you eat right, get plenty of exercise, and sleep eight hours, or do you sit in front of your computer writing all the time?
A. I eat too much chocolate and too much Chinese food. And I don’t sleep as well as I used to…I need a good thunderstorm during the night if I want to sleep really well. I’m pretty good about getting exercise, though. I try and walk four miles or bike 14-24 miles almost every day.

Q. I gave you ten questions and asked you to answer five. Were you tempted to answer all ten?
A. Yup. 🙂

Q. Do you use an outline when writing, or just let it flow and write as fast as you can?
A. Sort of a combination. I’m a reluctant outliner, so I don’t sit down and outline until I get stuck. Then, when I’m stuck I pull out my character and plot charts…and I start outlining. Either I get tired of the outlining and go back to my WIP out of boredom…OR I figure out what was wrong with the story in the first place (why I got stuck).

Q. What’s the most embarrassing thing that happened to you in high school?
A. I played the oboe in high school, which I loved…but I never liked being the center of attention, so I never wanted to play solos. I would flub my auditions on purpose just so I would end up second chair rather than first. But I ended up first chair my senior year anyway. The first time I had a solo in a concert, I was so scared! I was sure I was going
to throw up or pass out or both. Well, I didn’t throw up or pass out…but when it came time to play, my first note came out in the most god-awful SCREECH you can imagine! Not a pretty oboe sound at all. But I had to keep going, even though my hands were shaking and my face was hot and I could hardly breathe. After an eternity (about a measure or two), I sort of went on auto-pilot and managed to finish the solo. By the end
it actually sounded pretty good.

And now a word from your sponsor (me!).

Thanks, Dori! Also, just a quick reminder, I have an agent now…oh, wait, that wasn’t what I meant to say! I just can’t help myself. What I meant to say is don’t forget to enter to win a free book this week! Scroll down to Monday for the rules. It’s easy peasey and this week you get your choice from a whole list of fabulous books.

Also, I just want to add that I didn’t choose to interview Dori because she loves Betsy-Tacy like I do, but since she brought it up, don’t forget to read those fabulous books and you can join the B-T Society here: http://www.betsy-tacysociety.org/