Ask the Author: Alison Lohans
Answered Questions (3)
Alison Lohans
No Place for Kids was written in response to my Mystery of the Lunchbox Criminal (Scholastic Canada, 1990). In that lighthearted chapter book for grade 3 students, lunches start going missing at school. J.J. and his friends set out to catch the "criminal"--which turns out to be two sisters, runaways, who are hiding out in the school. People kept asking me about the girls' story, so I took the plunge and No Place for Kids was born, a considerably darker story for kids aged 9-12.
My other recent book, Leaving Mr. Humphries (2013), explores the bond between young Josh--who's very attached to his teddy bear--and his grandfather. The story, set at a cottage much like the one in Dorset, Ontario, where my dad spent all his summers as a boy, acquaints Josh with the idea of Grandpa as a boy, and features a bit of "coming of age" for the youngest set. It was a great treat working with my cousin Gretchen Ehrsam, who did the art. Gretchen has also spent time at that cottage, and it was a joy to see her renditions of the place we've both visited, and where our parents enjoyed a wealth of summer experiences as children.
My other recent book, Leaving Mr. Humphries (2013), explores the bond between young Josh--who's very attached to his teddy bear--and his grandfather. The story, set at a cottage much like the one in Dorset, Ontario, where my dad spent all his summers as a boy, acquaints Josh with the idea of Grandpa as a boy, and features a bit of "coming of age" for the youngest set. It was a great treat working with my cousin Gretchen Ehrsam, who did the art. Gretchen has also spent time at that cottage, and it was a joy to see her renditions of the place we've both visited, and where our parents enjoyed a wealth of summer experiences as children.
Alison Lohans
The freedom to explore fascinating ideas and bring them to life through sympathetic characters.
Writing can also be a highly cathartic experience for dealing with major life issues such as loss and grief. In placing characters in difficult situations and having them live through these challenging situations and come to some sort of resolution, the writer empathetically experiences all of this. For some of my books I've come out a different person after having worked through, and completed, a novel--for example, Foghorn Passage, which deals with Sammie Franklin's "complicated grief" after her dad's death of cancer.
Writing can also be a highly cathartic experience for dealing with major life issues such as loss and grief. In placing characters in difficult situations and having them live through these challenging situations and come to some sort of resolution, the writer empathetically experiences all of this. For some of my books I've come out a different person after having worked through, and completed, a novel--for example, Foghorn Passage, which deals with Sammie Franklin's "complicated grief" after her dad's death of cancer.
Alison Lohans
I'm actually working on two different projects.
Over the short term, I'm working on a sequel to No Place for Kids - titled No Choice for Kids. This novel for ages 9-12 follows sisters Sarah and Jen who have an unexpectedly bumpy ride settling in with their Aunt Ellen, after having had a chaotic, unhappy life with their drifter alcoholic dad.
The second project is an adult novel for which the working title is Murder at Glencoe. Featuring a middle-aged woman of Scots ancestry, it explores links between her troubled past and the Glencoe Massacre of 1693.
Over the short term, I'm working on a sequel to No Place for Kids - titled No Choice for Kids. This novel for ages 9-12 follows sisters Sarah and Jen who have an unexpectedly bumpy ride settling in with their Aunt Ellen, after having had a chaotic, unhappy life with their drifter alcoholic dad.
The second project is an adult novel for which the working title is Murder at Glencoe. Featuring a middle-aged woman of Scots ancestry, it explores links between her troubled past and the Glencoe Massacre of 1693.
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