sue alexander > children's book author

What kind of pets do you have?

Right now I don't have any pets. But we had two dogs-- Yorkshire Terrier/Poodle mix -- Georgie Girl and Sam-Sam. When they died, I decided not have any other pets.

Which college did you go to?

I started out at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa and then went to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois (I lived not far from there so I was a commuter student).

What is your favorite book you've read?

I don't know how to answer that! I have so many favorite books! And I'm always finding a new one to love. At the moment, I've just finished The Doll People by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin, about two sets of doll house families that have adventures when the people who own them are asleep or gone from the house. It's a terrific book!

What do you do everyday?

I work at my desk almost every day -- at least in the morning. If my work is going well, I'll go back to it in the afternoon; if not, then I do errands, go to the grocery store and do all the kinds of things around a home that have to be done. And I always find time to sit down and read a book (or part of one, depending on how long the book is). Some days, however, I go to schools or libraries to talk to young people.

What is your favorite food?

Potato chips.

How long have you been writing books?

My first book, Small Plays for You and a Friend was published in 1973.

Is it hard work writing books?

Yes, but I love to do it.

Do you write true books and fiction stories?

I've written a couple of true books; my new book, coming out in the spring of 2001, is a true book. It's called Behold the Trees and is about the trees in Israel. Most of what I write, though, is fiction.

How did you get the idea for the book called "Nadia the Willful"?

I wrote Nadia the Willful because my brother died and my father didn't want anyone to talk about him. I needed to talk about my brother and I knew my father was wrong, but I didn't know how to tell him so. So I did what I've always done when I've had a problem -- I wrote a story.

How long did it take you to write the book & come up with the idea?

I knew that I couldn't write that story set here and now -- it would have too painful. When I was in fifth grade, I'd become intrigued with the Bedouin people and read a lot about them. So when I was looking for a place to set the story, I decided to set it among the Bedouin and in the desert where they lived. So I went to the library and began to read about the Bedouin and their desert again. I read everything I could find -- fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, ordinance surveys -- for about three months before I started to write. Most of the story was written over a period of four months -- writing, crossing out, re-writing, and re-writing some more. The first paragraph, however, took much longer. I must have re-written it fifty times before I found the right words for that paragraph. I didn't find the right words until about a month after the rest of the story was finished.

These questions – and my responses – are excerpted from an e-mail communication between the students in Cara Senterfeit’s class at Crayton Middle School in Columbia, South Carolina and myself in the fall of 2000. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What kind of pets do you have? Right now I don't have any pets. But we had two dogs-- Yorkshire Terrier/Poodle mix -- Georgie Girl and Sam-Sam. When they died, I decided not have any other pets. Which college did you go to? I started out at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa and then went to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois (I lived not far from there so I was a commuter student). What is your favorite book you've read? I don't know how to answer that! I have so many favorite books! And I'm always finding a new one to love. At the moment, I've just finished The Doll People by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin, about two sets of doll house families that have adventures when the people who own them are asleep or gone from the house. It's a terrific book! What do you do everyday? I work at my desk almost every day -- at least in the morning. If my work is going well, I'll go back to it in the afternoon; if not, then I do errands, go to the grocery store and do all the kinds of things around a home that have to be done. And I always find time to sit down and read a book (or part of one, depending on how long the book is). Some days, however, I go to schools or libraries to talk to young people. What is your favorite food? Potato chips. How long have you been writing books? My first book, Small Plays for You and a Friend was published in 1973. Is it hard work writing books? Yes, but I love to do it. Do you write true books and fiction stories? I've written a couple of true books; my new book, coming out in the spring of 2001, is a true book. It's called Behold the Trees and is about the trees in Israel. Most of what I write, though, is fiction. How did you get the idea for the book called "Nadia the Willful"? I wrote Nadia the Willful because my brother died and my father didn't want anyone to talk about him. I needed to talk about my brother and I knew my father was wrong, but I didn't know how to tell him so. So I did what I've always done when I've had a problem -- I wrote a story. How long did it take you to write the book & come up with the idea? I knew that I couldn't write that story set here and now -- it would have too painful. When I was in fifth grade, I'd become intrigued with the Bedouin people and read a lot about them. So when I was looking for a place to set the story, I decided to set it among the Bedouin and in the desert where they lived. So I went to the library and began to read about the Bedouin and their desert again. I read everything I could find -- fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, ordinance surveys -- for about three months before I started to write. Most of the story was written over a period of four months -- writing, crossing out, re-writing, and re-writing some more. The first paragraph, however, took much longer. I must have re-written it fifty times before I found the right words for that paragraph. I didn't find the right words until about a month after the rest of the story was finished.