LURENE MCDANIEL Q&A

QUESTION: You are considered the young adult Diva, elegant and ageless. How have you managed to keep your books so current and so in sync with teens, as the years have passed?

LURLENE MCDANIEL: Fan mail has been a huge factor.  Kids write and they tell me just what's on their minds.  I also surf the web and "peek" in on teen sites, message boards, etc.  I skim their magazines and I often work with SWEET 16, a girly magazine that's always keeping current on teens and their likes and dislikes.  Teen advice columns are helpful too because they help me understand what's important to todays' kids.  I also watch some teen TV shows (although these TV teens are always unexplainably beautiful), but the basic research that goes on behind the writing is often up-to-the-moment.

QUESTION: How have teens changes through the years, and how have you adapted your work to line up with those cultural shifts?  Or have you?

LURLENE MCDANIEL: Teens are bolder now.  They do more, are busier and sometimes interested in the wider world.  Their problems are more out in the open---drugs, homelessness, divorced parents---are not hidden from view.  They blog, they journal, they talk so it's easier to find out what they're thinking and feeling than ever before.  I have more ethnic and culturally diverse characters than I have in the past, but still I'd like to have more.  Besides I focus my plots on what hasn't changed---a desire for deep and lasting friendships, someone to love and who loves in return, the straining of family relationships as the teen grows and comes into her own sense of self.

QUESTION: What one issue facing teens to you see as the most dangerous for them, and do you ever try to address that issue (or others) in your work?

LURLENE MCDANIEL: I could never narrow it to one issue.  Life is just too full of too many issues.  Plus, I think a writer can take on ANY teen issue IF they can handle it and have a compelling story to tell and fascinating characters to tell it.  Who'd have thought Mideval history could spark teen interest, and yet CATHERINE CALLED BIRDY and THE MIDWIVES APPRENTICE did.

QUESTION: Who is your average reader?  Can you describe a composite girl who loves your "tear and tissue" books?

LURLENE MCDANIEL: The librarians call my books "cryin' and dyin'" novels---cute.  But yes, I can see my reader coming in any crowd.  She's 11 to 17, sweet, sensitive, often introverted, loves to read.  Yes, boys read the books too, but not as openly as girls.  I get great letters from the guys, mostly to say they like the books and they read one because their girlfriend/teacher/relative insisted they do.

QUESTION: Why do you think you've inspired such loyalty in your readership? 

LURLENE MCDANIEL: I'm not sure, unless it's just the nature of the teenager.  When they like something, they really really like it, and when they don't....well, it's over.  Oddly though, I have grown women who tell me they began reading my books with their daughters and now they buy them when a new one comes out although their daughters have grown and gone.  Plus, I think us girls just love a good heart-tugging story.

QUESTION: You've been writing for enough time that some of your readers are now parents themselves -- even teachers and librarians.  Have any of your fans gone on to become professional allies? 

LURLENE MCDANIEL: Absolutely.  Like fine wine, the older I get, the better I'm appreciated.   I love it when a woman comes up during a signing and says, "I used to read your books all the time when I was in middle/high school."  Sometimes it makes me feel old, but it's also rewarding.

QUESTION: Have you ever mentored any new writers?  If so who and how?  If not, why not?

LURLENE MCDANIEL: I have, but not in my genre.  Time is an enemy to a writer who must produce frequently, and mentoring takes huge amounts of time (different from encouraging, which I do frequently).  Remember, I've written over 50 titles for Random House in the past 17 years...and have sales of over 10-million.  So I write a LOT.

QUESTION: How do you guide young writers who hope to follow in your footsteps?  What do you tell them when they share their hopes and dreams?

LURLENE MCDANIEL: I always encourage young writers to journal.  Writing down their thoughts and feelings will help them stay in touch with their sensitivities and emotions.  I also urge them to read in a wide variety of subjects, spend less time watching TV, and stay busy.  Giving to others is an excellent way to broaden your horizons and make you feel good about life.

QUESTION: How has your work changed from your first novel to your most recent?  Are you better now as a craftperson than you once were?

LURLENE MCDANIEL: Goodness, I hope I am!  Practice really helps a writer strengthen skills and good editing with feedback by savvy and thoughtful editors improve style and techniques.  Never become so obstinate that you can't take direction or listen to an editor who knows the business inside and out.  I'm very grateful for the wonderful editing I've had over my career!

QUESTION: I've said your books don't age, but LURLENE:, neither do you. How do you stay so youthful and lovely?  Do you have a portrait hidden in a closet somewhere? 

LURLENE MCDANIEL: I think the kids keep me young.  Them and a good cosmetic surgeon!  (ha-ha)  I'm also of Mediterranean descent and good DNA is a great thing to have.   I eat pasta whenever I can---love the stuff!

QUESTION: What dreams do you have that you've not yet seen come true, and do you think you ever will?

LURLENE MCDANIEL: I'm very fortunate to have seen my sons grow up into fine men, marry wonderful women, produce lovely (and perfect) grandsons---yes, so far four grandsons.  I've had a fabulous career and many travel adventures.  The only thing I'd love to see is a cure for diabetes in Sean's lifetime---soon enough to take him off daily insulin management so that he can grow old without diabetes.

QUESTION: If you could go back in time and give your 18-year-old self self one piece of advice, what would it be and why?

LURLENE MCDANIEL: Life is a journey.  Enjoy the ride.  Don't sweat so many details.  You can have it ALL, but just not all at the same time.

QUESTION: Last but not least, would you have read LURLENE MCDANIEL books when you were a young reader? Why or why not?

LURLENE MCDANIEL: Absolutely!  I loved books that told heart felt stories---dog and horse stories, especially.  I loved a good cry because I could cry over characters in a book when I felt too "mature" to cry over my own teen angst---friends who snubbed, not having a special boyfriend, a bad grade even though I'd studied hard---all the things that seemed so important at the time, but really weren't.