Author Interview - Leslie Margolis

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Leslie Margolis

Annabelle Unleashed Series

Maggie Brooklyn Mystery Series

I am psyched to have one of my all-time favorite middle grade authors here today.  That’s right, it’s Leslie Margolis.  Wowza!  She is just so So SO talented when it comes to clicking with us tweens.  Let’s get right to it!

You have a great sense for writing to tween readers in a voice we can relate to.  What is your secret?

Cool.  Thanks!  I rely on a mix of

1)  Memory:  my own tween years were full of drama and giggles and heartache.

2)  Research:  I always interview a handful of eight to twelve year olds during my writing process.  And I also have a few kids read and edit my manuscripts before I turn them in to my official, grown-up editor.  

3)  Immersion in tween culture:  I read a ton of my contemporaries, including Meg Cabot, Jacqueline Woodson, Lisa Graff, Blue Balliett, Gordon Korman, Lisa Greenwald, Wendy Mass, Sarah Weeks, and Rebecca Stead.  I also try to keep up with popular TV shows.  It’s amazing what watching three straight hours of iCarly and Victorious episodes can inspire.

What is your favorite way to celebrate when you finish writing a new book?

Sleep!  Just kidding.  No, not really.  Writing seriously exhausts me, and it’s also extremely isolating.  After I finish a major project I try to take a few days or even a week or two off so I can reconnect with my family and friends and spend some time outside. 

What is the most common question you hear from kids who have read your books? 

Usually readers ask if there will be more Annabelle Unleashed novels and the answer is – yes, most likely!

Fans also ask me if there’s going to be a Boys Are Dogs movie and if they can star in it.  Disney Channel just optioned Boys Are Dogs, so it’s possible that there will be a made-for-television movie.  That would be amazing!  But if it happens, I will have no say in casting or in any other aspect of the production. 

Is there a story to go along with the naming of the Annabelle Unleashed books?  They have such fun and quirky titles.

Thank you!  I love the titles, too.  And I think my publisher has done an amazing job with the covers.  When I first wrote Boys Are Dogs I didn’t realize it was going to turn into a whole series of books about Annabelle.  When my publisher asked for a second book, Girls Acting Catty seemed to come naturally.  Then from there, we’d already established the three-word/animal themed pattern of titles.  Naming book three – Everybody Bugs Out – took some time.  I suppose that since I’d already written about boys and girls, it was time to write about everybody.  Kids have written to me with great suggestions for future books.  “Stepdads are Spidery,” is one of my favorites.  Someone else told me I should write something about Fish or Hamsters or an Armadillo.  If the series makes it to book ten, I will definitely write about Armadillos.  

There is no doubt that you are an animal lover.  I hear you even have a six toed dog named Aunt Blanche.  What advice would Aunt Blanche give to Annabelle’s puppy Pepper?

Aunt Blanche has some serious attitude.  She’d probably tell Pepper, “Don’t worry about learning too many new tricks.  Humans are suckers.  They will love you and feed you even if you tear up their couch and jump all over their guests.  Just relax and have a good time.  Seriously, as long as you don’t bite anyone, it’s all good.”

In Annabelle’s new book, Everybody Bugs Out, there is a school dance and Annabelle has a crush.  What do you remember about your own first school dance?

I remember that a bunch of people dared me to kiss my first boyfriend, Rodney, behind the gym and they all gathered there after the dance to watch.  There may have been chanting involved but luckily this was all way before the camera phone - or even the cell phone - had been invented.  I’m not going to share what happened.  I’d rather write about the experience as fiction one day!   

In Girl’s Best Friend, we meet Maggie Brooklyn and go on a mystery.  Did you find writing a mystery to be a different sort of challenge? 

Writing a mystery was certainly different and fun and exciting.  Certain things need to happen, which means more planning, and more writing backwards, in a sense. Writing in that genre really gave me a huge appreciation for and a new understanding of story structure.  Thinking about the many different ways of telling a story has helped my writing tremendously.

Do you have any new projects or books that you would like to mention?

Yes!  I’m hard at work on a new Annabelle Unleashed novel, tentatively titled, One Tough Chick. 

I also recently finished Vanishing Acts, the second in the Maggie Brooklyn Mystery Series.

Thank you to Leslie for all her great answers and to Bloomsbury for making this all possible.  I can't wait to read Leslie's new books!