Ask the Author: Dana Bate
Answered Questions (6)
Dana Bate
Thank you so much! I'm thrilled to hear you enjoyed it! You made my day :). I'm in the very early stages of a fourth book now -- I will keep you posted on my progress!
Dana Bate
Thank you so much! I'm thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the book. My third one comes out a week from today! It might be my favorite so far -- I hope you and others agree!
Dana Bate
I don't have plans for a sequel at the moment -- but never say never!! Like you, my mom is hoping I'll write a second installment of Hannah's story :).
Dana Bate
I had a few sources of inspiration -- one of them being an experience I had after meeting my husband. We met one night at a party for a mutual friend and really hit it off, but when I got home and Googled him, I didn't like what I saw. I won't go into details here (I'm currently working on an essay where you can read all about it!), but suffice it to say, he had written and done some things in his past that turned me off. He eventually persuaded me to go on a date with him, and I realized he was nothing like the person I'd read about online. That date led to another, and another, and now six years of marriage. The experience got me thinking about permanent Internet histories, which led to the idea about second chances and who deserves them.
Another inspiration was my brief stint as a hired hand at several farmers' markets in and around Washington, DC. While I was working on my first book, I was looking for a job or other opportunity that would get me out of the house. Writing is very isolating, and I was afraid I was on the cusp of naming my pens and calling the my friends. I ended up working for a few different market vendors a few days a week, and I loved the experience, even though it was, at times, a lot more grueling than I'd anticipated. But I realized a farmers' market was such a rich setting for a story, and I knew I wanted to set my next book there. I hope I was able to do the setting justice!
Another inspiration was my brief stint as a hired hand at several farmers' markets in and around Washington, DC. While I was working on my first book, I was looking for a job or other opportunity that would get me out of the house. Writing is very isolating, and I was afraid I was on the cusp of naming my pens and calling the my friends. I ended up working for a few different market vendors a few days a week, and I loved the experience, even though it was, at times, a lot more grueling than I'd anticipated. But I realized a farmers' market was such a rich setting for a story, and I knew I wanted to set my next book there. I hope I was able to do the setting justice!
Dana Bate
I don't -- in the sense that I don't let myself succumb to the idea that I can't write because I'm not motivated. When I was a journalist, I didn't have the luxury of telling my boss, "Sorry, I don't have a story for you today because I didn't feel inspired." If I'd said that, I probably would have been fired. The show had airtime to fill, and it was my job to fill it. I approach my creative work with the same sort of discipline.
That isn't to say I always feel motivated to write. Some days it's a slog. A painful, laborious slog. But I've found that if I just push through, I'll eventually get to a happy place where the writing flows more easily.
That isn't to say I always feel motivated to write. Some days it's a slog. A painful, laborious slog. But I've found that if I just push through, I'll eventually get to a happy place where the writing flows more easily.
Dana Bate
At the moment, I'm waiting to hear back from my editors about my third book(!!), which I submitted in July! While I wait, I'm compiling a list of people to whom I plan to send ARCs of my second book, which comes out in November -- only about three months from now! I'm also working on a short story and gathering ideas for a fourth book.
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