Ask the Author: Cynthia Leitich Smith
Answered Questions (6)
Cynthia Leitich Smith
I would travel to Neverland and help the Indigenous people return home to Turtle Island, which is why I wrote SISTERS OF THE NEVERSEA.
Cynthia Leitich Smith
Your stories go out into the world and make friends and have adventures of their own. You'll only learn about a handful of those, but that's okay. What matters is that stories have wings.
Cynthia Leitich Smith
Quoting co-author Kekla Magoon about The Blue Stars middle grade graphic novel series, ill. by Molly Murakami (Candlewick):
"Cynthia and I were colleagues for years before we became close friends, and as soon as we spent more time together, we totally clicked!
"When I visited her in Austin, we had so much fun exploring and adventuring that we felt like kids again. We’d race to her little blue car shouting, 'To the Bluebird!' at the top of our lungs, as though it was our superhero mobile.
"We started to imagine: what if we had known each other in sixth grade, when we both could have used a cool and quirky best friend? What if we had been middle school superheroes with a Bluebird that flew?"
"Cynthia and I were colleagues for years before we became close friends, and as soon as we spent more time together, we totally clicked!
"When I visited her in Austin, we had so much fun exploring and adventuring that we felt like kids again. We’d race to her little blue car shouting, 'To the Bluebird!' at the top of our lungs, as though it was our superhero mobile.
"We started to imagine: what if we had known each other in sixth grade, when we both could have used a cool and quirky best friend? What if we had been middle school superheroes with a Bluebird that flew?"
Cynthia Leitich Smith
Luigi, The Spider Who Wanted to Be a Kitten by Michelle Knudsen & Kevin Hawkes; Connor Kissed Me by Zehava & Sara K. Turner; My Name is Long as a River by Suma Subramaniam & Tara Anand; Being Home by Traci Sorell & Michaela Goade; The Minor Miracle by Meredith Davis; The Strange Wonders of Roots by Evan Griffith; The Portal Keeper (The Misewa Saga, Book 4) by David A. Robertson; We Are the Medicine (Surviving the City, Vol. 3) by Tasha Spillet & Natasha Donovan; The Secret Library by Kekla Magoon
Cynthia Leitich Smith
UPDATE: The final title is: LEGENDARY FRYBREAD DRIVE-IN, and in the stories, the name Davy June's was changed to Sandy June's because the younger contributors (who grew up on the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie franchise) thought it sounded too much like "Davy Jones."
I'm working on a YA anthology, featuring established, up-and-coming, and new Indigenous authors. The working title is Davy June's Legendary Fry Bread Drive-In, but I suspect that it'll change before publication.
I'm working on a YA anthology, featuring established, up-and-coming, and new Indigenous authors. The working title is Davy June's Legendary Fry Bread Drive-In, but I suspect that it'll change before publication.
Cynthia Leitich Smith
I deal with writer's block by dancing around my little Austin condo to the "Xanadu" soundtrack. It forces me out of my self-consciousness and entertains the Chihuahuas, who always join in.
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