Ask the Author: Jamie Sumner
Answered Questions (13)
Jamie Sumner
Hi! I'm so glad you loved it! No plans for a sequel BUT if you loved Hugo in ONE KID'S TRASH, you will love Lenny in SCHOOLED (my book that just came out)! He's funny and sneaky and talented just like Hugo.
Jamie Sumner
Thank you for reading Maid for It and I'm so happy you enjoyed it. Cedarville is a fictional town, but it is set in the state of Tennessee. Sometimes I use real places and sometimes I let my imagination draw the map and make them up!
Jamie Sumner
You're right, Roll With It will be a trilogy, but I haven't thought about a sequel for Tune It Out or Summer of June yet! I think Lou's story does lend itself to more -- her next year in theater, what happens with her mom, and Well! I could write an entire novel on sweet, quirky Well. I never feel like a story is "done," so this has me thinking of possibilities. That's the thing about writing...as the author, you can keep creating as long as you feel inspired. Thank you for inspiring me with your question.
Jamie Sumner
Hi Saniya,
Both Roll with It and Time to Roll are fiction, but do pull from my experiences as a kid visiting my grandparents in Oklahoma. Many of the issues Ellie goes through are also ones my son has experiences as a wheelchair-user with Cerebral Palsy. I think when most authors write, they create a kind of mosaic of true-life events and ones dreamed up -- that makes for the best story!
Both Roll with It and Time to Roll are fiction, but do pull from my experiences as a kid visiting my grandparents in Oklahoma. Many of the issues Ellie goes through are also ones my son has experiences as a wheelchair-user with Cerebral Palsy. I think when most authors write, they create a kind of mosaic of true-life events and ones dreamed up -- that makes for the best story!
Jamie Sumner
Well, I don’t currently have plans to, BUT never say never because I didn’t plan to write a sequel to ROLL WITH IT and now there will be three! I’m glad you want more of June. She is so special to me.
Jamie Sumner
Hi Mina,
Thank you for your question! While I don’t have a book in the works that features someone with diabetes, the sequel to ROLL WITH IT comes out this April and will see the return of Ellie who as you know has cerebral palsy.
There are also two other books of mine that feature kids who process the world differently: TUNE IT OUT followed Lou who has a sensory processing disorder while THE SUMMER OF JUNE focused on anxiety and trauma.
I hope that you are able to find yourself in the books you read and that you feel both seen and empowered. Everyone deserves that.
All my best,
Jamie
Thank you for your question! While I don’t have a book in the works that features someone with diabetes, the sequel to ROLL WITH IT comes out this April and will see the return of Ellie who as you know has cerebral palsy.
There are also two other books of mine that feature kids who process the world differently: TUNE IT OUT followed Lou who has a sensory processing disorder while THE SUMMER OF JUNE focused on anxiety and trauma.
I hope that you are able to find yourself in the books you read and that you feel both seen and empowered. Everyone deserves that.
All my best,
Jamie
Jamie Sumner
That's an excellent question. The answer is a two-parter:
1. I interviewed many experts in the field including occupational therapists, school counselors, and pediatricians. The therapists in particular were quite helpful with hands-on information and real-life data.
2. My son has a sensory processing disorder, which inspired me to write the story in the first place. I would never claim to understand SPD completely, however seeing him work to navigate it gave me an up-close view.
I'm so glad the book rang true for you!
1. I interviewed many experts in the field including occupational therapists, school counselors, and pediatricians. The therapists in particular were quite helpful with hands-on information and real-life data.
2. My son has a sensory processing disorder, which inspired me to write the story in the first place. I would never claim to understand SPD completely, however seeing him work to navigate it gave me an up-close view.
I'm so glad the book rang true for you!
Jamie Sumner
Thank you for your question, Nithila! I wrote ROLL WITH IT for my son who is nine who also has cerebral palsy.
When I began to look at kindergarten for him, we would tour the libraries of the schools and I couldn't help but notice that there weren't any books with kids on the cover who looked like him. I did not want him growing up thinking he was alone, that there were no other people who understood how he lived and the beauty of it.
ROLL WITH IT is for him and all the other kids with disabilities who deserve to see themselves in the center of a story, just as they are the center and star of their own lives.
When I began to look at kindergarten for him, we would tour the libraries of the schools and I couldn't help but notice that there weren't any books with kids on the cover who looked like him. I did not want him growing up thinking he was alone, that there were no other people who understood how he lived and the beauty of it.
ROLL WITH IT is for him and all the other kids with disabilities who deserve to see themselves in the center of a story, just as they are the center and star of their own lives.
Jamie Sumner
Hello Heidi,
Thank you for writing. My son is part of a wheelchair warrior basketball team and they proudly call themselves "the crips" in an effort to reclaim a formerly derogatory word for their own use and empowerment. I hope my son and others will continue to be proud of their bodies and what makes them unique.
~Jamie
Thank you for writing. My son is part of a wheelchair warrior basketball team and they proudly call themselves "the crips" in an effort to reclaim a formerly derogatory word for their own use and empowerment. I hope my son and others will continue to be proud of their bodies and what makes them unique.
~Jamie
Jamie Sumner
Yes, I do. My son has SPD. And when I taught high school, I had a few student with the diagnosis as well. It's much more common than people think, which is why I wanted to tell Lou's story!
Jamie Sumner
TUNE IT OUT came to be as a sort of spin off of one of the character's in my first middle grade novel, ROLL WITH IT. There's a character, Coralee, who dreams of being a famous singer. It's all she's ever wanted and she'd give anything to get it. In TUNE IT OUT, I thought...what if you had the talent to be famous, but not the desire? What if you weren't wired for that kind of life but everyone important to you told you it's your destiny? How would someone navigate that kind of decision while also learning who they are as a person? That's how Lou in TUNE IT OUT came to be!
Jamie Sumner
Just keep writing! Even if it is just TERRIBLE. More words eventually work themselves to more and better words. Sometimes the act of simply typing nonsense in a Word doc gets moving. Also, I tend to do my best thinking on runs or walks, so if I'm stuck, I'll put on my tennis shoes and go wandering.
Jamie Sumner
Jennifer Weiner's Big Summer is currently at the top of the stack. I'm also working my way through Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Boys series and loving it!
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