Four Questions with Author LB Schulman

LB Schulman is coming to The Wandering Jellyfish Bookshop Author Signing Fair from 11-12 on December 4th! She writes for middle grade and young adult readers. Her latest YA novel, Stolen Secrets, was named a notable selection by the Sydney Taylor Book Awards. Get to know her with these fun interview questions and stop by the store to say hi and snag a copy of her books!

1. What got you into writing and what genres inspired you in your early writing career?

When I had my first baby, I realized that I should have a career with more flexibility. My interest in writing seems an obvious choice. Right from day one, I was drawn to young adult. I guess I never grew up!

2. What was the greatest challenge you dealt with while writing your book and what advice would you give to young writers?

It took me ten years to get published. I revised League of Strays hundreds of times until someone said yes. I would never have been published if I hadn’t educated myself on how to write through classes with the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

3. What purpose do you find in your writing? In other words, why do you write?

One life is interesting, but writers get to live many. I never get bored.

4. What is the question you wish people would ask during interviews?

What is the most detrimental side of publishing a novel? I would definitely say it’s the ease with which people try to destroy writers on social media. We are sensitive people, who are doing the best writing we can, with the most sensitivity we can muster. If you like our work, buy our books. If you hate our work, don’t. Please don’t try to ruin our careers on social media. Also, we write characters who do not necessarily reflect our own views. Fiction helps us better understand the world. Its purpose is not to define the way society should work.

BONUS LIGHTNING ROUND

Would you rather write in a secluded lighthouse or in a cabin in the woods?

Secluded lighthouse because it’s so different. Plus, I always hope to meet a real ghost. Seems my chances are better in a lighthouse. Just the potential of meeting a ghost in such a location would surely inspire my plot!

Book or movie you could read or watch repeatedly?

Across the Universe. I always find something new in that movie. It has a great deal of depth. Also, Les Miserables for the same reason. Complicated and flawed characters are way more interesting to me than superheroes who do no wrong.