Ask the Author: T.L. Haddix
Answered Questions (20)
T.L. Haddix
Aside from all the happy, new-romance giddiness and the way he made me laugh, I was comfortable with him in ways I'd never been with anyone else, both physically and emotionally. He made me feel safe, and it was like part of me recognized him from the get-go. "Oh, there you are. I wondered when you'd show up." He's the first guy I ever went on a real date with too. I didn't see the point of the process before him because I knew with other guys, things weren't going anywhere beyond friendship. I won't say it was love at first sight, but I do think we recognized something within each other as being special from day one.
T.L. Haddix
Valery, I absolutely love this question! The notion had not occurred to me, but it certainly presents intriguing possibilities. I've had heroines who were not comfortable kissing, but not someone who had made it to adulthood without being kissed or kissing someone. I'll have to think about that. I think I even know a heroine in an upcoming planned book who might be ideal for that scenario. Thanks for asking the question and making me think. :)
T.L. Haddix
New ideas can be pesky critters because they often happen when you're least ready for them - say when you're smack dab in the middle of working on a book with a tight deadline. I write the ideas down with as much detail as I can muster, then get back to work on what I'm currently involved in.
I don't worry much about someone else having the same idea as there really is nothing new under the sun. If you give a room with ten authors the same story prompt, chances are excellent you'll get ten different stories. Some of the elements might be the same, but the stories won't be.
I worry more about new story ideas in that I fear I'll run out of time before I can write them all--there are so many stories I want to tell, and I want to get as many out as I can. Obviously, none of us come with an expiration date, but that is the pressure I feel most. I'm not finished telling stories and I hope I can beat the clock. I worry that if I live forty more years, there won't be enough time. :)
I don't worry much about someone else having the same idea as there really is nothing new under the sun. If you give a room with ten authors the same story prompt, chances are excellent you'll get ten different stories. Some of the elements might be the same, but the stories won't be.
I worry more about new story ideas in that I fear I'll run out of time before I can write them all--there are so many stories I want to tell, and I want to get as many out as I can. Obviously, none of us come with an expiration date, but that is the pressure I feel most. I'm not finished telling stories and I hope I can beat the clock. I worry that if I live forty more years, there won't be enough time. :)
T.L. Haddix
I don't mind answering, and no, I don't mind if hubby looks through my phone. We have an "open phone" policy, if you want to call it that. I borrow his phone frequently to take pictures with, as I'm horrible about not having my phone on me - I hate the phone (all phones). I don't look through it but I could if I wanted.
For us, "sharing a life" means we really share a life. We're individuals with separate interests and hobbies, a spectrum of beliefs that mesh well together but aren't exactly the same, but there's very little "his" and "hers" in this marriage, especially about the big stuff. I know that doesn't work for everyone, but we're happy with the arrangement. That "sharing" extends to phones - I only use mine rarely, as I hate the things, and he uses his more often. But neither of us would have a problem with the other picking up our phones, no.
Thanks for the question! That was a good one. :)
For us, "sharing a life" means we really share a life. We're individuals with separate interests and hobbies, a spectrum of beliefs that mesh well together but aren't exactly the same, but there's very little "his" and "hers" in this marriage, especially about the big stuff. I know that doesn't work for everyone, but we're happy with the arrangement. That "sharing" extends to phones - I only use mine rarely, as I hate the things, and he uses his more often. But neither of us would have a problem with the other picking up our phones, no.
Thanks for the question! That was a good one. :)
T.L. Haddix
Oh, wow! Okay.... this is interesting. First, thank you so much, both for the kind words and for the question. I'm so glad you enjoy the Campbells and all their zaniness. :) So....let's see.
Firefly Hollow - Magic.
Butterfly Lane - Endurance.
Dragonfly Creek - Hope.
Cattail Ridge - Calamity.
Cricket Cove - Stubbornness.
Snapdragon Way - Redemption.
Stardust Valley - Longing.
Kathy - Rebirth.
For Firefly Hollow, "magic" fits both the book because of the paranormal elements, the fireflies, the falling in love, and my own feelings about it - it came from a place, I don't know where, and it just resonates with people in such a way that it has to be magic.
Butterfly - "endurance" because marriage and love isn't always easy, but if cared for, it does endure.
Dragonfly - "hope" because there was so much hope on both Ben and Ainsley's part, and they weren't afraid to reach past the hurt to embrace it.
Cattail - "calamity" fits Archer and Emma, as it was a comedy of errors of sorts here and there from the very beginning when her water broke on his shoes. Their relationship through the years has been similar, had so many little goofball moments that came out of nowhere, they make me smile to think about them. Hopefully I can capture some of those moments in "Letters from Owen" and share them with you all.
Cricket - What's the saying about irresistible forces and immoveable objects? "Stubbornness" describes Amelia and Logan to a tee. They keep each other on their toes with it, and they both (eventually) start to enjoy the heck out of that.
Snapdragon - Seeing Eli gain "redemption" and forgiveness for what he'd done, seeing how he grew, is (to this point) one of the favorite stories I've told. Showing that he wasn't perfect, but showing that he was still worthy of love... yeah.
Stardust - "Longing" describes Noah and Sophie's feelings for each other, as well as their desire to fit in somewhere.
Kathy - "Rebirth." It's never too late to start over, to find happiness and peace. Sometimes we just have to go through a rebirth to get there.
Thanks so much for the question!
Firefly Hollow - Magic.
Butterfly Lane - Endurance.
Dragonfly Creek - Hope.
Cattail Ridge - Calamity.
Cricket Cove - Stubbornness.
Snapdragon Way - Redemption.
Stardust Valley - Longing.
Kathy - Rebirth.
For Firefly Hollow, "magic" fits both the book because of the paranormal elements, the fireflies, the falling in love, and my own feelings about it - it came from a place, I don't know where, and it just resonates with people in such a way that it has to be magic.
Butterfly - "endurance" because marriage and love isn't always easy, but if cared for, it does endure.
Dragonfly - "hope" because there was so much hope on both Ben and Ainsley's part, and they weren't afraid to reach past the hurt to embrace it.
Cattail - "calamity" fits Archer and Emma, as it was a comedy of errors of sorts here and there from the very beginning when her water broke on his shoes. Their relationship through the years has been similar, had so many little goofball moments that came out of nowhere, they make me smile to think about them. Hopefully I can capture some of those moments in "Letters from Owen" and share them with you all.
Cricket - What's the saying about irresistible forces and immoveable objects? "Stubbornness" describes Amelia and Logan to a tee. They keep each other on their toes with it, and they both (eventually) start to enjoy the heck out of that.
Snapdragon - Seeing Eli gain "redemption" and forgiveness for what he'd done, seeing how he grew, is (to this point) one of the favorite stories I've told. Showing that he wasn't perfect, but showing that he was still worthy of love... yeah.
Stardust - "Longing" describes Noah and Sophie's feelings for each other, as well as their desire to fit in somewhere.
Kathy - "Rebirth." It's never too late to start over, to find happiness and peace. Sometimes we just have to go through a rebirth to get there.
Thanks so much for the question!
T.L. Haddix
Hi, Jamiee! I can't say definitively that someone who has never been in love wouldn't be able to write about it and write well. That said, I suspect it helps but to varying degrees which would depend on the writer.
People who've never fallen in love still have needs and longing and desire, and those are three big components of any good love story. I guess it would depend on what that writer's personal experiences were - if they were raised by or around people who were deeply in love and showed that affection publicly, if the writer paid attention, they would likely have some good foundations to build on. If they came from a highly dysfunctional family, their perspective would be entirely different, but sometimes not having something enhances how we interpret it too.
So I guess my final answer is no, the writer doesn't have to have fallen in love to write about it, but they might miss subtle nuances that make the fictional relationship feel more real. Then again, they might nail it out of the gate.
People who've never fallen in love still have needs and longing and desire, and those are three big components of any good love story. I guess it would depend on what that writer's personal experiences were - if they were raised by or around people who were deeply in love and showed that affection publicly, if the writer paid attention, they would likely have some good foundations to build on. If they came from a highly dysfunctional family, their perspective would be entirely different, but sometimes not having something enhances how we interpret it too.
So I guess my final answer is no, the writer doesn't have to have fallen in love to write about it, but they might miss subtle nuances that make the fictional relationship feel more real. Then again, they might nail it out of the gate.
T.L. Haddix
Oooh, that's a good one! It also has a somewhat convoluted answer. We "cut the cord" a few months ago, and we don't watch traditional television anymore. Some of my favorite shows from the past were Criminal Minds, the non soap-opera style shows on Investigation Discovery, Sherlock, Endeavour, anything with Mike Rowe (except the fishing shows), Haven, Dallas (the original), M*A*S*H. I was a huge fan of The Walking Dead until the Negan incident in the season opener, and I can't watch it now. I know that was a controversial episode for a lot of people, that the season allegedly got better after that, but I won't go back. It was too traumatic and unnecessary. That's the one thing I wish I could flip a switch and get out of my head, no joke.
Now, we still watch new shows but we tend to binge them via Netflix and the like. I'm saying "we" because hubby and I watch TV together most of the time. New favorites - Foyle's War, Father Brown. The Fall was excellent, and so was a show called River that featured Stellan Skarsgard. Old favorites - we just finished Deep Space Nine last night, and we're into season two of Voyager now. (We overlapped the two shows a bit.)
I also like history-themed documentaries and paranormal shows like Ancient Aliens, and I don't like anything mob-themed or set in a cold, big city.
A lot of this stuff, particularly the documentaries, I'll have on as background noise. YouTube has become a popular entertainment/knowledge stop in this household, and it's probably used more than Netflix.
Thanks for the question! :)
Now, we still watch new shows but we tend to binge them via Netflix and the like. I'm saying "we" because hubby and I watch TV together most of the time. New favorites - Foyle's War, Father Brown. The Fall was excellent, and so was a show called River that featured Stellan Skarsgard. Old favorites - we just finished Deep Space Nine last night, and we're into season two of Voyager now. (We overlapped the two shows a bit.)
I also like history-themed documentaries and paranormal shows like Ancient Aliens, and I don't like anything mob-themed or set in a cold, big city.
A lot of this stuff, particularly the documentaries, I'll have on as background noise. YouTube has become a popular entertainment/knowledge stop in this household, and it's probably used more than Netflix.
Thanks for the question! :)
T.L. Haddix
*dusts off the hat box and cranks up the old memory* ;) Awesome question.
Hands down, the biggest challenge with the first book was that I so drastically underestimated the amount of work and world building I had to do before I could start to write. This will sound arrogant, but I promise you it came more from a place of being completely naive when it comes to the process of writing a book. I thought I could sit down and just tell a story, using words and paper or the computer, then find an editor and throw it out there as a finished work. I think the universe is still giggling at me over that one.
What happened in reality was that when I sat down with a very simplistic story in mind, within the first two or three paragraphs, I was beset by the horrifying realization that I knew next to nothing about my characters. I didn't know their motivations, I didn't know where they worked, what kind of house they lived in, who their family and friends were... nothing. So all the actual writing came to a screeching halt, and it took me about six months to build the world of the fictional Leroy, Indiana. By the time I was finished, I had a thick binder full of notes, including genealogy charts going back generations. The businesses each had a biography, even. And all that legwork paid off in the end when the characters came to life on the page.
Looking back, if I'd known then what I was in for, I'd probably have been scared away. I wouldn't have had the confidence to pull it off. So it's a good thing I was full of blind optimism and naïveté. Even now, when I'm starting to build a new world for a new series, I ask myself at least three or four times a day "are you nuts????" Fortunately, I know there are good things on the other side of that work, so I'm not giving in to the self-doubt.
Thanks so much for the question! Please don't hesitate to ask if you're curious about something more, or want more details on this answer. :)
Hands down, the biggest challenge with the first book was that I so drastically underestimated the amount of work and world building I had to do before I could start to write. This will sound arrogant, but I promise you it came more from a place of being completely naive when it comes to the process of writing a book. I thought I could sit down and just tell a story, using words and paper or the computer, then find an editor and throw it out there as a finished work. I think the universe is still giggling at me over that one.
What happened in reality was that when I sat down with a very simplistic story in mind, within the first two or three paragraphs, I was beset by the horrifying realization that I knew next to nothing about my characters. I didn't know their motivations, I didn't know where they worked, what kind of house they lived in, who their family and friends were... nothing. So all the actual writing came to a screeching halt, and it took me about six months to build the world of the fictional Leroy, Indiana. By the time I was finished, I had a thick binder full of notes, including genealogy charts going back generations. The businesses each had a biography, even. And all that legwork paid off in the end when the characters came to life on the page.
Looking back, if I'd known then what I was in for, I'd probably have been scared away. I wouldn't have had the confidence to pull it off. So it's a good thing I was full of blind optimism and naïveté. Even now, when I'm starting to build a new world for a new series, I ask myself at least three or four times a day "are you nuts????" Fortunately, I know there are good things on the other side of that work, so I'm not giving in to the self-doubt.
Thanks so much for the question! Please don't hesitate to ask if you're curious about something more, or want more details on this answer. :)
T.L. Haddix
Annie, thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoy the books, and you are very, very welcome.
Ah, editors. Where to start? I've been very fortunate and blessed to have worked with some wonderful, talented, and patient people. I've also worked with a few who perhaps we should say were "not as advertised." Finding a good editor is an area in which it absolutely pays you to do your due diligence and then some.
All the editors I've worked with, I've basically found through word of mouth. Some I met on forums, some I met through friends who are also writers. The importance of word of mouth can't be overstated. Listen to your friends, your favorite authors, popular authors in your genre who post on forums and the like. See who they use. Also, see who they *won't* use. Who had a bad experience with person A? Who had an awesome project result with person B? Obviously, one person's results don't necessarily mean everyone will have the same experience. But if you see the same issues or the same positive points coming up in relation to an editor's name over and over, it's a good indicator that they're consistent, be it good or bad.
Something else I can't stress enough is that you should try to learn as much as you can about proper grammar and usage, the technical bones of writing. Educate yourself enough that you know when something is wrong even if you're not great at correcting it on your own. Honestly, this advice carries over to as much of life as is reasonably possible - there are a lot of people out there who are only as good and honest as they have to be, and if you go in with your eyes open, you have a better chance at spotting a scammer before they do any lasting damage.
Just because someone is "supposed to be" a good editor, that doesn't mean they are. I've had horribly edited manuscripts come back to me where more errors were introduced than were in the original, where the entire message and voice of the piece were destroyed, and if I'd not known what was wrong, I'd have been in big trouble. (Yes, those editors and I parted ways post haste.)
Confession - I did learn some of that the hard way, which is why I stress the importance of self-education so much. Get a copy of the Chicago Manual of Style and study it. Get "Rules for Writers" and keep it on hand. I was extremely lucky in that I had a superb editor who worked with me, who helped teach me things, and that made a world of difference.
When you find an editor you think you might want to work with, see what else they've put their names on. Go to Amazon and use the Look Inside! feature. Scan through the sample and look for errors. You *can* read reviews to see if they mention poor editing, but those aren't always reliable. These days, it's not uncommon for people to publish new editions with corrections, but the reviews still remain. It can be a useful tool, but use it with caution.
Most editors will do a sample edit. Take advantage of that. See what their editing style is. You don't want someone who only marks in red every third or fourth paragraph, but you don't want someone who turns the document bloody, either. Does their style match yours? Do they stomp all over your voice, or do they enhance it? Talk to them via e-mail, Skype, or telephone if they have it and just touch base, see who they are as a person insofar as it pertains to their work. How do they think of books? How do they approach their work? Are they professional or not?
I hope that helps. I've found, and from what I've heard from writer friends this is not uncommon, that editing is a personal thing. It's a magical blend of finding the person with whom you can work comfortably and who "gets" what you're after. Someone who doesn't preach to you (unless that's what you want) or talk down to you. It's a team effort, and you want your team to be built of people you like and trust and respect.
Thanks so much for the question. Happy Reading! :)
Ah, editors. Where to start? I've been very fortunate and blessed to have worked with some wonderful, talented, and patient people. I've also worked with a few who perhaps we should say were "not as advertised." Finding a good editor is an area in which it absolutely pays you to do your due diligence and then some.
All the editors I've worked with, I've basically found through word of mouth. Some I met on forums, some I met through friends who are also writers. The importance of word of mouth can't be overstated. Listen to your friends, your favorite authors, popular authors in your genre who post on forums and the like. See who they use. Also, see who they *won't* use. Who had a bad experience with person A? Who had an awesome project result with person B? Obviously, one person's results don't necessarily mean everyone will have the same experience. But if you see the same issues or the same positive points coming up in relation to an editor's name over and over, it's a good indicator that they're consistent, be it good or bad.
Something else I can't stress enough is that you should try to learn as much as you can about proper grammar and usage, the technical bones of writing. Educate yourself enough that you know when something is wrong even if you're not great at correcting it on your own. Honestly, this advice carries over to as much of life as is reasonably possible - there are a lot of people out there who are only as good and honest as they have to be, and if you go in with your eyes open, you have a better chance at spotting a scammer before they do any lasting damage.
Just because someone is "supposed to be" a good editor, that doesn't mean they are. I've had horribly edited manuscripts come back to me where more errors were introduced than were in the original, where the entire message and voice of the piece were destroyed, and if I'd not known what was wrong, I'd have been in big trouble. (Yes, those editors and I parted ways post haste.)
Confession - I did learn some of that the hard way, which is why I stress the importance of self-education so much. Get a copy of the Chicago Manual of Style and study it. Get "Rules for Writers" and keep it on hand. I was extremely lucky in that I had a superb editor who worked with me, who helped teach me things, and that made a world of difference.
When you find an editor you think you might want to work with, see what else they've put their names on. Go to Amazon and use the Look Inside! feature. Scan through the sample and look for errors. You *can* read reviews to see if they mention poor editing, but those aren't always reliable. These days, it's not uncommon for people to publish new editions with corrections, but the reviews still remain. It can be a useful tool, but use it with caution.
Most editors will do a sample edit. Take advantage of that. See what their editing style is. You don't want someone who only marks in red every third or fourth paragraph, but you don't want someone who turns the document bloody, either. Does their style match yours? Do they stomp all over your voice, or do they enhance it? Talk to them via e-mail, Skype, or telephone if they have it and just touch base, see who they are as a person insofar as it pertains to their work. How do they think of books? How do they approach their work? Are they professional or not?
I hope that helps. I've found, and from what I've heard from writer friends this is not uncommon, that editing is a personal thing. It's a magical blend of finding the person with whom you can work comfortably and who "gets" what you're after. Someone who doesn't preach to you (unless that's what you want) or talk down to you. It's a team effort, and you want your team to be built of people you like and trust and respect.
Thanks so much for the question. Happy Reading! :)
T.L. Haddix
A couple of things come to mind, and both stem from events that took place during my childhood.
When I was growing up in Eastern Kentucky in the 1980s, there were reports of couples--sometimes two men, sometimes a man and a woman--who were roaming around the countryside stealing blond children. I was probably seven or eight at the time, and I can remember vividly being told that if anyone strange started up our driveway while I was outside playing, to run inside and hide. I can also remember quite vividly my terror when a car I'd never before seen did just that, and moreover, that it looked very similar to the car in the news descriptions. (I was told more as a child than I probably should have been.) To everyone's relief, it was a cousin, long unseen, come to visit with my grandparents. I think, in the end, the rumors turned out to be just that - an urban legend.
The other mystery was in actuality more nefarious if the truth is known. I can remember lying in bed as a little girl, around the same age as I was during the urban legend era, and listening to the small airplanes flying over the mountains at night. There were a couple of years where there was heavy traffic, several planes a night, and I always liked the sound. It lulled me to sleep, that droning buzz. We weren't remotely close to the airport, but somehow I suppose we were in the flight path in one way or another. What makes that event nefarious is that I now realize that those small planes were in all likelihood carrying drugs to our remote region, part of a rather large pipeline that sounds like something out of the movies but is a devastating part of real life. A pipeline that's still open today, though the small planes might not be the chosen route of entry anymore. It does make me curious to know who all was behind the smuggling, and I do wonder what all substances or "goods" were smuggled. I know some of the names, as they've come out in various news stories through the years, but I know the roots run much, much deeper than what we are aware of.
The other side of that particular mystery is that one night, while getting ready for bed, I was staring out the window toward the top of the mountain where there was a TV tower. This was something I liked to do, to just watch the lights blink, watch the planes fly over. One particular night, I saw a craft that had multiple lights, multiple colors, and it moved differently than any other aircraft I'd seen before or since, for that matter. To this day, I think it was a UFO. And I've never mentioned that publicly before, so I hope you all don't think I'm nuts. ;) I'd love to go back to that one moment in time and see it again through my eyes today. I'd like to know if I really saw what I thought I did.
When I was growing up in Eastern Kentucky in the 1980s, there were reports of couples--sometimes two men, sometimes a man and a woman--who were roaming around the countryside stealing blond children. I was probably seven or eight at the time, and I can remember vividly being told that if anyone strange started up our driveway while I was outside playing, to run inside and hide. I can also remember quite vividly my terror when a car I'd never before seen did just that, and moreover, that it looked very similar to the car in the news descriptions. (I was told more as a child than I probably should have been.) To everyone's relief, it was a cousin, long unseen, come to visit with my grandparents. I think, in the end, the rumors turned out to be just that - an urban legend.
The other mystery was in actuality more nefarious if the truth is known. I can remember lying in bed as a little girl, around the same age as I was during the urban legend era, and listening to the small airplanes flying over the mountains at night. There were a couple of years where there was heavy traffic, several planes a night, and I always liked the sound. It lulled me to sleep, that droning buzz. We weren't remotely close to the airport, but somehow I suppose we were in the flight path in one way or another. What makes that event nefarious is that I now realize that those small planes were in all likelihood carrying drugs to our remote region, part of a rather large pipeline that sounds like something out of the movies but is a devastating part of real life. A pipeline that's still open today, though the small planes might not be the chosen route of entry anymore. It does make me curious to know who all was behind the smuggling, and I do wonder what all substances or "goods" were smuggled. I know some of the names, as they've come out in various news stories through the years, but I know the roots run much, much deeper than what we are aware of.
The other side of that particular mystery is that one night, while getting ready for bed, I was staring out the window toward the top of the mountain where there was a TV tower. This was something I liked to do, to just watch the lights blink, watch the planes fly over. One particular night, I saw a craft that had multiple lights, multiple colors, and it moved differently than any other aircraft I'd seen before or since, for that matter. To this day, I think it was a UFO. And I've never mentioned that publicly before, so I hope you all don't think I'm nuts. ;) I'd love to go back to that one moment in time and see it again through my eyes today. I'd like to know if I really saw what I thought I did.
T.L. Haddix
I've been wracking my brain for a week and I'm no closer to being able to decisively answer this now than I was when I first saw it. There are so many couples to choose from, I can't pick just one. I can't even pick one from the couples whose stories I myself have written! For argument's sake, I suppose I'll say Holmes and Watson, even though there was no romance there. There was a very real, very solid devotion, though, and that's not something that should be overlooked despite the lack of romance.
T.L. Haddix
Juuh, hi! Thanks for the question.
We were both raised as only children, but have large, extended families. So while our families are not direct inspiration at all for the Campbells, I'll say that the Campbells are an idealized version of what family means to me, what I think it should mean if pettiness wasn't allowed to get in the way. I didn't want to write about a family that fought and scrapped and feuded all the time. I've seen that all too often in the real world, experienced it myself, and have the battle scars. Instead, I wanted to create one that truly tries to support the other members because it's them against the world and they understand that. I try hard to make them as realistic as possible without making them too perfect.
Thanks so much for the question and for the kind words. :) Happy Reading!
We were both raised as only children, but have large, extended families. So while our families are not direct inspiration at all for the Campbells, I'll say that the Campbells are an idealized version of what family means to me, what I think it should mean if pettiness wasn't allowed to get in the way. I didn't want to write about a family that fought and scrapped and feuded all the time. I've seen that all too often in the real world, experienced it myself, and have the battle scars. Instead, I wanted to create one that truly tries to support the other members because it's them against the world and they understand that. I try hard to make them as realistic as possible without making them too perfect.
Thanks so much for the question and for the kind words. :) Happy Reading!
T.L. Haddix
Awesome! I love random questions.
- Hot chocolate.
- Cake, hands down.
- Both? So... spring! ;) No, wait. That's allergy season. Winter so long as it isn't harsh, but then when summer comes around, I love the light.
- McDonald's coffee.
- Lasagna. It's more satisfying.
- Fries!
- Bath, so long as it is a soaking tub. Otherwise, shower.
- The F bomb in any iteration, and I rely on it much too often.
- Um.... I don't know. Since Disney owns Marvel, I'll say Thor. ;)
- Sentimentally, Firefly Hollow. It represents so much good to me. Purely based on prettiness? Dragonfly Creek. I just want to go sit there and listen to the water flow.
Thanks so much for the questions. That was fun!
- Hot chocolate.
- Cake, hands down.
- Both? So... spring! ;) No, wait. That's allergy season. Winter so long as it isn't harsh, but then when summer comes around, I love the light.
- McDonald's coffee.
- Lasagna. It's more satisfying.
- Fries!
- Bath, so long as it is a soaking tub. Otherwise, shower.
- The F bomb in any iteration, and I rely on it much too often.
- Um.... I don't know. Since Disney owns Marvel, I'll say Thor. ;)
- Sentimentally, Firefly Hollow. It represents so much good to me. Purely based on prettiness? Dragonfly Creek. I just want to go sit there and listen to the water flow.
Thanks so much for the questions. That was fun!
T.L. Haddix
Juliana, hi! You certainly can. It won't hurt to read "Butterfly Lane" next, but chronologically, "Kathy" does take place first. As a reader, I probably would read "Kathy" first just to keep things in order time-wise, but it's entirely up to you. :) Hope that helps.
T.L. Haddix
My work-in-progress, "Inside," came from my own life in a way. Lydia, the female protagonist, suffers from panic disorder with agoraphobia. That's something that I struggled with on and off from my mid-teens through about age thirty or so. And I was thinking about that, and started wondering if that happened today, if I had to stay inside my house and was not able to leave, how would I cope with life? And what if there were a mystery to solve attached to that? As simply as that, I was off. The story ideas were floating around, swirling wildly, clamoring for attention. That was well over a year ago, maybe closer to two now.
I've hesitated to put pen to paper on "Inside," however, because it is such a personal issue for me. I do have so much in common with Lydia, and it's a painful shared experience. To get in her head, I have to go to a dark place that it's taken me a long while to work up the courage to go. I hope it will be worth it in the end, and I guess we'll see soon.
I've hesitated to put pen to paper on "Inside," however, because it is such a personal issue for me. I do have so much in common with Lydia, and it's a painful shared experience. To get in her head, I have to go to a dark place that it's taken me a long while to work up the courage to go. I hope it will be worth it in the end, and I guess we'll see soon.
T.L. Haddix
Life! Literally everything around me can serve as inspiration, and so can dreams. Or I'll see something on TV and say "I would have done it differently," which leads to the "what-if" train.
One of the latest things to spark some interest was getting behind my father-in-law on the road. We happened to be behind him, going up the same road, and while he turned off at one restaurant (it was lunchtime) and we went to another, I wondered "what if…" The place we went to was across from a somewhat seedy motel, and as I waited in the car for hubby to get our order (it was take-out, of course), I thought "Wow, what if he'd been going there?" Now, my FIL would NEVER do such a thing. But what if that situation did happen? What if a child did end up accidentally following a parent and discovered that parent was having an affair?
I immediately started thinking "How can I use that?" and I came up with something that, I think at least, will be utterly hilarious if I can pull it off. Things aren't always as they appear. And in this case, how I intend to use it, it is but it isn't, and there are going to be some very embarrassed adult children by the time it all comes unraveled.
One of the latest things to spark some interest was getting behind my father-in-law on the road. We happened to be behind him, going up the same road, and while he turned off at one restaurant (it was lunchtime) and we went to another, I wondered "what if…" The place we went to was across from a somewhat seedy motel, and as I waited in the car for hubby to get our order (it was take-out, of course), I thought "Wow, what if he'd been going there?" Now, my FIL would NEVER do such a thing. But what if that situation did happen? What if a child did end up accidentally following a parent and discovered that parent was having an affair?
I immediately started thinking "How can I use that?" and I came up with something that, I think at least, will be utterly hilarious if I can pull it off. Things aren't always as they appear. And in this case, how I intend to use it, it is but it isn't, and there are going to be some very embarrassed adult children by the time it all comes unraveled.
T.L. Haddix
I'm currently taking a break from pure romance to write a suspense book that is very likely going to be the kick-off novel for a new series. Titled simply "Inside," it follows the life of Lydia, an agoraphobic recluse who helps solve crimes. There is some romance in the book, as I can't fully cut that cord (and I think all good fiction contains romance to some degree, even if it's just mentioned in passing.) I'm looking at a late-February release for that, but don't hold me to that date.
Also, I have Rachel's story, the seventh book in the Firefly Hollow series, sitting on my hard drive waiting for me to get off the anti-romance kick. It's nearly finished, and if I can fall back in love with falling in love, I might have it ready for release by Valentine's Day.
As to why I'm on the anti-romance kick? Sometimes a girl needs to throw things around and blow things up. There can't always be a happy ending, and that's where I'm at now mentally. Since writing romance in this mood would be doing the characters and series an injustice, I'm putting it on hold. Not permanent hold, just until I'm finished breaking things. ;)
Also, I have Rachel's story, the seventh book in the Firefly Hollow series, sitting on my hard drive waiting for me to get off the anti-romance kick. It's nearly finished, and if I can fall back in love with falling in love, I might have it ready for release by Valentine's Day.
As to why I'm on the anti-romance kick? Sometimes a girl needs to throw things around and blow things up. There can't always be a happy ending, and that's where I'm at now mentally. Since writing romance in this mood would be doing the characters and series an injustice, I'm putting it on hold. Not permanent hold, just until I'm finished breaking things. ;)
T.L. Haddix
Write, write, write. And then write some more.
T.L. Haddix
I can create worlds and characters who can do things I'm never going to be able to do, go places I'm never going to be able to go. I can explore all kinds of scenarios that I'd never get to experience otherwise, and I get to share those with other people. :)
T.L. Haddix
Several ways - get up and walk away from the computer, change from writing on the laptop to writing with pen and paper, go outside and play with the neighbors dog. And if that doesn't work, I'll consider whether I'm coming at the scene/story from the wrong angle. Maybe the muse is blocked because I have the wrong character telling the story, etc. Sometimes, though, I just have to wait it out.
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