| Interview with Beverly Stowe McClure |
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?
I can’t pinpoint an exact time. When I was a kid I actually hated to read and wrote only for class
assignments. But I went to college anyway, wrote a lot of papers, and became a teacher. I think reading to
my own boys and reading great Newbery books with my students were the beginning of my love for books.
From there I tried my hand at writing, starting with magazine articles.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
It’s been long. I had a few small successes in children’s magazines, but it took twelve years before my first
book was published.
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?
Listen to the Ghost, released last November, is a story about a ghost who doesn’t want to be a ghost, a
girl who wants to forget her ex-boyfriend and his lying lips, a one-hundred-year old neighbor who talks in
riddles, and a handsome sax player who changes everything.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
My family who has encouraged me in my writing.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
My husband, Jack, and I have been married for fifty years this coming December. We’re both retired, Jack
from firefighting, me from teaching. We have four sons (one an angel in heaven), five granddaughters
(one also an angel), two grandsons, two great-grandsons, and one great-granddaughter. I’m really too
young for so many grands.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Chocolate and strawberries.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
One, private. Two, put on my glasses. Three, get a cup of coffee and turn on the computer.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
How stuffed the closets are. I save everything: Nintendo games, old homecoming mums, newspaper
articles, boxes (you never know when you might need one), old magazines, and things I’ve forgotten about.
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?
Blue – it’s cool, relaxing, and reminds me of the summer sky and baby boys.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Charlie Brown. In spite of even his mailbox rejecting his writing, he hangs in there.
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 the early 1920s in Texas. It was a simpler time, yet exciting things were happening, mostly in the big
cities, with the flappers and the Charleston dance. I’d also like to see what life was like on the farm where
my mother grew up.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
Country music. Elvis (I was in his fan club), Toby Keith. I do not listen to music while I’m writing because I’m
easily distracted.
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?
T.V.—Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, NCIS
Movies—Gone With the Wind, The Patriot
It’s been so long since I went to the movie theater I don’t recall.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Read what you enjoy. When I was a teen I hated to read, and I missed out on so much wonderful stuff.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
“Caves, Cannon, and Crinolines,” my teen novel about the Civil War in Vicksburg, Mississippi, will be out
this spring in e-book. And possibly next year in trade paperback, no date yet. Another novel for teens,
“Rebel in Blue Jeans” is now out in e-book and will be published in trade paperback 2006 or 2007, date to
be determined.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
You’re welcome. I’ve enjoyed talking with you, Jen.
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?
I can’t pinpoint an exact time. When I was a kid I actually hated to read and wrote only for class
assignments. But I went to college anyway, wrote a lot of papers, and became a teacher. I think reading to
my own boys and reading great Newbery books with my students were the beginning of my love for books.
From there I tried my hand at writing, starting with magazine articles.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
It’s been long. I had a few small successes in children’s magazines, but it took twelve years before my first
book was published.
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?
Listen to the Ghost, released last November, is a story about a ghost who doesn’t want to be a ghost, a
girl who wants to forget her ex-boyfriend and his lying lips, a one-hundred-year old neighbor who talks in
riddles, and a handsome sax player who changes everything.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
My family who has encouraged me in my writing.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
My husband, Jack, and I have been married for fifty years this coming December. We’re both retired, Jack
from firefighting, me from teaching. We have four sons (one an angel in heaven), five granddaughters
(one also an angel), two grandsons, two great-grandsons, and one great-granddaughter. I’m really too
young for so many grands.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Chocolate and strawberries.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
One, private. Two, put on my glasses. Three, get a cup of coffee and turn on the computer.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
How stuffed the closets are. I save everything: Nintendo games, old homecoming mums, newspaper
articles, boxes (you never know when you might need one), old magazines, and things I’ve forgotten about.
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?
Blue – it’s cool, relaxing, and reminds me of the summer sky and baby boys.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Charlie Brown. In spite of even his mailbox rejecting his writing, he hangs in there.
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 the early 1920s in Texas. It was a simpler time, yet exciting things were happening, mostly in the big
cities, with the flappers and the Charleston dance. I’d also like to see what life was like on the farm where
my mother grew up.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
Country music. Elvis (I was in his fan club), Toby Keith. I do not listen to music while I’m writing because I’m
easily distracted.
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?
T.V.—Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, NCIS
Movies—Gone With the Wind, The Patriot
It’s been so long since I went to the movie theater I don’t recall.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Read what you enjoy. When I was a teen I hated to read, and I missed out on so much wonderful stuff.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
“Caves, Cannon, and Crinolines,” my teen novel about the Civil War in Vicksburg, Mississippi, will be out
this spring in e-book. And possibly next year in trade paperback, no date yet. Another novel for teens,
“Rebel in Blue Jeans” is now out in e-book and will be published in trade paperback 2006 or 2007, date to
be determined.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
You’re welcome. I’ve enjoyed talking with you, Jen.
