The DMS was lucky enough to interview Margaret Peterson Haddix. Lizzy recently reviewed a few of her stories: Takeoffs and Landings, Among the Hidden, and Double Identity, and it was great to share our thoughts about it and hear yours. We are excited to learn a little bit more about the story behind her awesome stories. So, without further ado... take it away, Margaret!
What
inspired you to write the Shadow Children series?
I got the idea for the first book in
the series, Among the Hidden, when my
husband and I were talking about whether or not to have a third child. One of
the things we talked about was the issue of overpopulation, and at a certain
point, I just thought, “Well, if that were such a huge problem, there’d be a
law, that nobody could have a third child!” And then I thought, “Wow, what if
there were a law like that?”
How long did it take you
to write Among the Hidden? Which book in the series took the
longest to write?
It took me about two or three months
to write the first draft of Among the
Hidden, then another couple months after that to do the revision. Probably Among the Barons took the longest to
write, because it took the most revision.
What was your inspiration
for the characters Luke and Jen?
Luke was one of those rare characters
who just appeared pretty much fully formed—I felt like I knew him very well,
right from the start. In Jen’s case, I knew before I started writing about her
that I wanted her to be a bold, brave character, largely to serve as a contrast
to Luke at that point in the story, because he was terrified, even as he did
courageous things. Then I started writing about Jen, and it almost felt like
she took over—like she was standing there with me saying, “Oh, no, don’t put
words in my mouth; this is what I’d
say in that instance’, and this is how I’d react in this other circumstance…” I
usually have to have more “get acquainted” time with my characters, and I felt
very fortunate with both of those characters that their personalities were so
clear so quickly. They were just completely themselves.
What are some of your
favorite books from childhood? Were there any specific authors who inspired
you?
I was a huge bookworm as a kid, and
pretty much read anything I could get my hands on. Books were especially
important to me when I was in about fourth-sixth grade, and some of my favorite
books then included From the Mixed-Up Files of Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg; She the Adventuress by Dorothy Crayder; The Long Journey by Barbara Corcoran; The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett; Enchantress from the Stars by Sylvia Engdahl… and about a million others. I would say that I was influenced and
inspired by all of those authors.
If you could live
anyplace real or fictional, where would it be? Why?
Hmm. I am perfectly happy living
where I currently live (Columbus, Ohio) but I would definitely enjoy visiting
lots and lots of different places. I love to travel, pretty much anywhere.
Because I am in the midst of writing a time travel series right now, my mind
also jumps to historical time periods I would love to visit (but only if I don’t
have to put my life in danger to go there). London during World War II springs
immediately to mind, because I am fascinated with that time, and I’m curious if
people really were as brave as they sound in the historical accounts—but I am
certainly glad that I didn’t have to live through such a dangerous place and
time.
If you could befriend a
character from one of your books, who would you befriend? Why?
Probably Luke would be my first
choice, because he is so lonely during much of Among the Hidden. He definitely needs a friend!
Takeoffs and Landings shows
a family with tension and struggles. The characters are so believable. Did the
multiple points of views and emotional differences make this a challenging book
to write?
Yes, the changing points of view did
make this a challenging book to write, but that also made it a very fun book to
write. I could tell something from Lori’s perspective and then switch to Chuck
and realize that even though I’d had them standing in the very same room, they
were experiencing everything very differently. The hardest part was figuring
how not to just tell every scene twice, which would have become very boring for
the reader.
You write books in a
variety of different genres. Is there a genre that you prefer? Or is there a
way you decide which genre you are going to write next?
I love being able to switch
back and forth between genres, so I guess my best answer to which I prefer is, “a
variety!” Usually I don’t think about which genre I want to do next as much as
I try to determine which story I have growing in my head is begging the
loudest, “Write me next! Write me next!”
I work pretty far ahead—right now I
am working on the eighth and final book in the Missing series (tentative title:
Redeemed). It won’t actually come out
until Sept. 2015, so I feel a little foolish saying much about it this far out
except it’s going to end the whole series, and hopefully that will be very
satisfying for readers. In the meantime, I have the sixth book in the series, Risked, newly out now, dealing with the
Romanovs in Russia, and the seventh book, Revealed,
will be out next year.
Otherwise, I have a stand-alone young adult novel coming out in
November called Full Ride, which is
about shame, guilt, family secrets—and a full-ride college scholarship. And
then in fall of 2014, I’ll have a book called Palace of Lies come out. It is a companion to two of my earlier
books, Just Ella and Palace of Mirrors.
