| Interview with Grace E. Howell |
First off, thanks so much for joining us for an up-close and personal interview for TeensReadToo.com! My
name is Jen, and I'll be your server toda...oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time out
of your writing schedule--which I'm sure is busy!--and answering a few questions for your readers and fans.
Let's get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you
wanted to be a writer?
Shortly after learning to read, I discovered the magic and the power of the written word. By second or third
grade I knew I wanted to be a writer.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
As a child and through school I was always writing. Teachers encouraged me to write, and I did, dreaming
of the day a book with my name as author would be in the library. During my years as a teacher, I wrote
plays, poems, and stories to use in my classes. My first published work was "A Teacher's Diary" in Memphis
Magazine. It told the story of my first year as a teacher in a tough, inner-city public school. Before
publication, people in the neighborhood somehow got a copy of the story and were greatly offended by it.
My safety was threatened, but I was determined to let the story run. My stomach still turns flips when I think
about that awful time. After that, my urge for publication was squelched for a while, but I kept writing and
began to focus on stories for young people. A few years ago, after serving five years as regional editor for
The Lutheran Witness, I realized it was now or never for me to be known as a writer so I resigned and now
spend all my time writing. I sent TRUE FRIENDS and other manuscripts to publishers' contests and then to
various editors with no results. In 2004, at the Southern Festival of Books I met the publisher of Echelon
Press, she asked for the TRUE FRIENDS manuscript, read it, and gave me a contract. Super happy ending!
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing
about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
In TRUE FRIENDS, you enter the world of 1918 and find Annie struggling to be true to herself and yet be
accepted by the in crowd. Her friends are accused of being German spies and the world's worst flu
epidemic sweeps in, causing her to make some very difficult decisions.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
I have to say most of my stories have been inspired by someone in my family. For example, in TRUE
FRIENDS you can see my grandfather as Mr. Bolman who also came from Switzerland and spoke with a
heavy German accent.
Let's hear about your family, who I'm sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
I live with my husband Frank who is my greatest fan, and we have three sons, one daughter, two daughters-
in-law, two grandsons, and one granddaughter. They are my life. My sisters and I grew up with our cousins
next door, and they all mean a lot to me, too. Our family loves to get together and celebrate any and every
occasion.
Now for some fun facts. What's your greatest comfort food?
Popcorn! When I'm down or just dull and dumb, nothing cheers me like pigging out on popcorn, not a little
bag or bowl, but a huge amount that I stuff in by the handful.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
I plop in my big rocking chair for daily devotion and meditation. Then it's to the floor for yoga and pilates.
After that I can hardly wait for breakfast, the same old thing every day, oatmeal, banana, walnuts, and lots
of milk.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what's the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
I'm probably not very surprising. You might see bags of manure on my patio along with my pruning saw,
clippers, spade and hoe. You see, I'm a master gardener and I love nothing better than being in my garden
getting my hands dirty.
Everyone asks the question about "if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?" so I want to know: If
you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
I might like to be green because it's such a soothing color, and I love all the greens in nature. But I have to
say red. I wear a lot of red and want something red in every room. Red is such a warm, cheery color that I
would definitely have to be red.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
I've always liked Batman. Maybe I'm more like Wilma Flintstone than any other cartoon character because
she takes life and situations as they come, and that's what I try to do.
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world ("Beam me up, Scotty!"), during any time in history,
where and when would it be--and why?
I think I would stay here in the good old USA in the present. It's not perfect but I love all the modern
conveniences, medicine, our freedom to choose the type of life that we live even if we happen to be a
woman, and so on. If I were going anywhere else, it would have to be a fantasy world in which people care
for each other and crime doesn't exist. There's no such place and never has been.
So what's your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you're writing?
I like all kinds of music from rock to traditional church music. My favorite listening type depends on my
mood. I like music from Broadway shows because hearing the music, I can almost see the show again. I
don't listen to music when I write because when I listen, I can't think of anything but the music.
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie you
saw at the theater?
I don't watch a lot of TV, mostly sports. The movies I like best are adventures with a little humor, mystery,
and romance like the old "Romancing the Stone." I've enjoyed all the Harry Potter movies and impatiently
wait for the next one.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Read all kinds of books. Don't let yourself get stuck reading only one genre or you'll miss out on some
great experiences. I know a person who refuses to read any story with an animal in it. Imagine how much
she is missing!
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
Currently I am working on a contemporary four book series, in which three seventh grade misfits form an
alliance to solve mysteries involving them. I also have characters from a novel set in the late 1800s running
around in my head.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
name is Jen, and I'll be your server toda...oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time out
of your writing schedule--which I'm sure is busy!--and answering a few questions for your readers and fans.
Let's get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you
wanted to be a writer?
Shortly after learning to read, I discovered the magic and the power of the written word. By second or third
grade I knew I wanted to be a writer.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
As a child and through school I was always writing. Teachers encouraged me to write, and I did, dreaming
of the day a book with my name as author would be in the library. During my years as a teacher, I wrote
plays, poems, and stories to use in my classes. My first published work was "A Teacher's Diary" in Memphis
Magazine. It told the story of my first year as a teacher in a tough, inner-city public school. Before
publication, people in the neighborhood somehow got a copy of the story and were greatly offended by it.
My safety was threatened, but I was determined to let the story run. My stomach still turns flips when I think
about that awful time. After that, my urge for publication was squelched for a while, but I kept writing and
began to focus on stories for young people. A few years ago, after serving five years as regional editor for
The Lutheran Witness, I realized it was now or never for me to be known as a writer so I resigned and now
spend all my time writing. I sent TRUE FRIENDS and other manuscripts to publishers' contests and then to
various editors with no results. In 2004, at the Southern Festival of Books I met the publisher of Echelon
Press, she asked for the TRUE FRIENDS manuscript, read it, and gave me a contract. Super happy ending!
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing
about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
In TRUE FRIENDS, you enter the world of 1918 and find Annie struggling to be true to herself and yet be
accepted by the in crowd. Her friends are accused of being German spies and the world's worst flu
epidemic sweeps in, causing her to make some very difficult decisions.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
I have to say most of my stories have been inspired by someone in my family. For example, in TRUE
FRIENDS you can see my grandfather as Mr. Bolman who also came from Switzerland and spoke with a
heavy German accent.
Let's hear about your family, who I'm sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
I live with my husband Frank who is my greatest fan, and we have three sons, one daughter, two daughters-
in-law, two grandsons, and one granddaughter. They are my life. My sisters and I grew up with our cousins
next door, and they all mean a lot to me, too. Our family loves to get together and celebrate any and every
occasion.
Now for some fun facts. What's your greatest comfort food?
Popcorn! When I'm down or just dull and dumb, nothing cheers me like pigging out on popcorn, not a little
bag or bowl, but a huge amount that I stuff in by the handful.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
I plop in my big rocking chair for daily devotion and meditation. Then it's to the floor for yoga and pilates.
After that I can hardly wait for breakfast, the same old thing every day, oatmeal, banana, walnuts, and lots
of milk.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what's the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
I'm probably not very surprising. You might see bags of manure on my patio along with my pruning saw,
clippers, spade and hoe. You see, I'm a master gardener and I love nothing better than being in my garden
getting my hands dirty.
Everyone asks the question about "if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?" so I want to know: If
you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
I might like to be green because it's such a soothing color, and I love all the greens in nature. But I have to
say red. I wear a lot of red and want something red in every room. Red is such a warm, cheery color that I
would definitely have to be red.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
I've always liked Batman. Maybe I'm more like Wilma Flintstone than any other cartoon character because
she takes life and situations as they come, and that's what I try to do.
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world ("Beam me up, Scotty!"), during any time in history,
where and when would it be--and why?
I think I would stay here in the good old USA in the present. It's not perfect but I love all the modern
conveniences, medicine, our freedom to choose the type of life that we live even if we happen to be a
woman, and so on. If I were going anywhere else, it would have to be a fantasy world in which people care
for each other and crime doesn't exist. There's no such place and never has been.
So what's your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you're writing?
I like all kinds of music from rock to traditional church music. My favorite listening type depends on my
mood. I like music from Broadway shows because hearing the music, I can almost see the show again. I
don't listen to music when I write because when I listen, I can't think of anything but the music.
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie you
saw at the theater?
I don't watch a lot of TV, mostly sports. The movies I like best are adventures with a little humor, mystery,
and romance like the old "Romancing the Stone." I've enjoyed all the Harry Potter movies and impatiently
wait for the next one.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Read all kinds of books. Don't let yourself get stuck reading only one genre or you'll miss out on some
great experiences. I know a person who refuses to read any story with an animal in it. Imagine how much
she is missing!
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
Currently I am working on a contemporary four book series, in which three seventh grade misfits form an
alliance to solve mysteries involving them. I also have characters from a novel set in the late 1800s running
around in my head.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
