Q & A
When did you start writing?
I think I first started writing for fun when I was eight years old, and since then, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t working on some writing project or other. I always wanted to grow up to be a writer, but I had heard that becoming a writer was a long, hard road, and I worried that I didn’t write well enough. The more I tried out different jobs, though, the more I realized that all I wanted to do was read and write, so I did, and eventually, my work got published. My first book came out in 2006.
How do you get the ideas for your stories?
I get ideas from a lot of different places. Often my sources are snippets of overheard conversations, people-watching, and daydreaming. Sometimes, I get ideas from friends who know that I’m always on the lookout for something exciting to write about. The ideas for Maggie and the Chocolate War and Yeny and the Children for Peace both came from friends who knew I was looking for inspiring stories about amazing kids. The idea for After Peaches came from talking to a school nurse about a kid who worked on a farm. Out of the Box was inspired by some of my own experiences, both here in Canada and traveling in Argentina. (To find out more about how I developed the story for Out of the Box, please click here.)
Can you describe the place where you work?
My desk looks out a window onto a cherry tree, which I love watching through the changing seasons, from bare winter branches to summer boughs heavy with cherries (and raccoons clambering along to pick). From my window, I can also hear the birds and the clip-clop of horse-drawn carriages taking tourists around Victoria. It’s quiet enough so I can think, but lively enough so that I always have entertainment if I want to look up from my work for a few minutes.
What are you working on now?
I’m starting research for a nonfiction book for ages 8 to 11, all about the surprising ways bicycles are used around the world. If you’d like to follow me along the research process, please visit my new blog. Also, please feel free to let me know what you think of the project idea and anything you think I should include.
What are your favourite books?
That’s a question with a long answer! I love reading about the lives of children and teenagers in different parts of the world. I’ve just finished what might be the best book I’ve ever read: The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. I also love books by Deborah Ellis, especially her Cocalero series. Other novels I admire include Garbage King by Elizabeth Laird, No Laughter Here by Rita Williams-Garcia, Sold by Patricia McCormick, Word Nerd by Susin Nielsen, and Iqbal by Francesco D’Adamo. I like nonfiction, too, and enjoyed Ryan and Jimmy: And the Well in Africa that Brought Them Together by Herb Shoveller. My two favourite picture books are The Composition by Antonio Skarmeta and Lily and the Paper Man by Rebecca Upjohn. What are some of the best books you’ve ever read?
Do you have a question that you’d like me to answer here?
Send me a message at
michelle (at) michellemulder.com