FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Here are the questions most often asked by students in letters and when I visit schools. If you are looking for background information, click here: Biography

Question: How long have you been writing?
Answer: I started writing in high school. I've been a published author since 1982.

Question: How many books have you written?
Answer: Twenty-seven so far. For a list of my children's books click here: Books

Question: How much money do you make?
Answer: I never know how much money I am going to make during the year. One year it might be up, the next year it might be down. That's because an author is not paid a steady salary like an office worker or a teacher. An author is paid a percentage of each book sold (this is called a royalty). The royalty for a picture book is usually 5% for the author, so each time you pay $15 for a book at the bookstore, the author gets a whopping .75 cents. Whoopee!! If it's a paper back book, or if it's bought from a book club, the author may only get a few cents. Most authors don't make much money until they have written many books, or if they suddenly have a bestseller. A lot of beginning authors have to work at a second job to make ends meet. My second jobs were mostly working in libraries or working for home builders. I am a full time author now.

Question: Where do you get your ideas?
Answer: Everywhere! Everything I see, hear, read, or do and everyone I meet becomes grist for the mill. I get a lot of ideas from real events, things that appear in the newspapers, on TV, or things that really happened years ago.

Question: Why do you write about Vietnam so much?
Answer: Seven of my twenty-seven books are about the Vietnamese culture. I befriended many Vietnamese families when I lived in Houston. They taught me about their culture and I was so fascinated that I did a lot of research. I even traveled to Vietnam. It is a beautiful and fascinating country.
Green coconuts in Da-Lat, Vietnam

Question: How to you know so much about different subjects?
Answer: I do a lot of research on the topic before I write a book. Most research takes me about a year. Traveling to different locations for research is one of my favorite things about being an author.
Research is fun! Big Bend, Texas -- setting for Indio.

Question: Do you write every day? Where do you write?
Answer: I write at home, in an office that has a picture window overlooking two acres of woods. I watch birds and squirrels and raccoons while I work. I do not work on my books every day. Some days I have to do other business like answering e-mail and fan letters, doing research at the library or on location, going to the post office, visiting schools, talking to editors, or preparing income taxes (aurrrgh!!!).
My property is covered with wildflowers in the spring.

Question: Are you working on any new books now?
Answer: Yes, always. I try to write at least one book a year.

Question: What's the favorite book that you have written?
Answer: I don't have a favorite. That's like asking a mother which is her favorite child. I like all my books the same.

Question: What books did you read as a child? Who is your favorite author?
Answer: As a child I loved books about animals, especially horses. I read all the Black Stallion Series books several times each. In high school, I read as many of the classics as I could. I loved Mark Twain, Shakespeare, William Faulkner, Ayn Rand, and the Greek tragedies, to name just a few. Two of my favorite books are To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway. One of my favorite modern children's authors is Katherine Paterson. Today, I read mostly non-fiction for my research. When I get a chance to read fiction for fun, it is usually a mystery. Tony Hillerman is one of my favorite mystery writers.

Question: Do you have pets?
Answer: Yes. I love animals. Over the years I have had cats, dogs, chickens, rabbits, a pig, a calf, a donkey, a parrot, a turtle, and fish as pets. Right now I have one cat, Kato, a part-Siamese with beautiful blue eyes and an attitude.
. Monkee lived for 17 years. Kato is ten years old.

Question: How old are you? When is your birthday?
Answer: Ahhh, that question again. I was born on July 24th. I won't say the year, but the man who was President is famous for saying, "The buck stops here!"

Question: What are your hobbies?
Answer: I used to have dozens of hobbies before I became an author, especially arts and crafts. I don't have time for that any more. I work in the garden every chance I get -- it is very relaxing. I watch birds; I've counted about 31 different species in my woods. I play golf occasionally. I love camping, hiking, and climbing mountains. I walk about three miles every day. Oh, and I read a lot, but that's not a hobby anymore -- it's work.

. Drawing is a hobby. Gardening is a hobby.

Question: How do I become a published author? Where can students sell their work?
Answer: Becoming published is a long, complicated process. For some tips on writing and how to sell your work, click here: Writing Tips.

Question: Do you like being an author?
Answer: Absolutely! Since I work at home, I don't have to put on make-up and get dressed up to go to work. I can go to my office wearing an old ratty t-shirt and shorts with holes in the seat. And I get to eat peanut M&Ms and ice-cream all day long! I think I'll go get some now.