1. Where did you get the idea for Ethan, Suspended?

I taught seventh and eighth grade English at a junior high school much like the one Ethan attends in the book. But the plot and characters were from my imagination: I imagined what might happen if someone arrived at school who was in some ways — but not all ways — different from most of the other students.

2. You live in Washington, D.C., now, but you grew up in Baltimore. Is it strange to occasionally pass areas that you wrote about in Ethan?

Actually, what's strange is how seldom I do pass those areas now that I'm no longer teaching at that junior high. I just don't often have reason to visit "Ethan's" neighborhood, just like Ethan never had reason to come to my neighborhood. One thing that I'd love is a chance for kids from different parts of D.C. to get together sometime and chat about the book. It seems like there aren't enough opportunities for kids — or adults — from "east of the park" to be in the same room with those from "west of the park," and I'd love to hear what that dialogue sounds like.

3. How much research did you do before you began Ethan?

Before I began, zero, other than the "research" that happened accidentally while I was teaching. But after I completed the first draft, I spent time at the Washington Historical Society and the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library researching the 1968 riots and other topics related to the Civil Rights Movement. I also spent many tangential hours on the Internet investigating such tantalizing questions as, "What comic books were popular in the early 1960s?" and "What flavors does Fruit-by-the-Foot come in?" And I remain grateful to the friend who brought her oboe to a meeting of our writing group for a hands-on demonstration.

4. Is Ethan based on anyone you know? Are there other characters that are based on people you know?

No, all the characters are their own people. A real-life music teacher I knew might have inspired Ethan's music teacher, but he wasn't someone I knew well, so all the details of his personal life were definitely made-up. And occasionally details from real life found their way into the novel. For instance, my dad really used the person-to-person calling system described by Ethan's grandfather when he called home from the army, and my mother-in-law discovered her talking microwave in Ethan's father's new kitchen.

5. What is your favorite scene from the book?

My favorite scene has to be the one where Felix talks like a robot into his flashlight. This scene was virtually unchanged since Draft 1, back when the manuscript was called Out of Blue Hills. That's probably the only scene of which that's true.

6. What's a typical workday like?

For many months, my daughter's morning nap was my dedicated writing time. You should have seen the efforts I went through to make sure Talia took that morning nap. Currently, my most productive writing time is when she plays with some friends whose mom is also a writer, and the other mom and I trade writing time. But she'll start preschool later this year, and I am hoping to rediscover the concept of a "typical" writing workday.

7. Do you have any plans for future books that you'd like to share?

I'm finishing up a manuscript set in rural West Virginia about two teenagers who set fire to a classmate's house in an anti-gay hate crime. The novel is told in multiple perspectives, almost like a collection of short stories.

8. Do you have any advice for would-be authors and illustrators?

Connecting with others has turned out to be an incredibly important step for me and is something I'd definitely recommend. My writing group, which has been meeting for almost six years, has been helpful not just because of the wonderful feedback and suggestions for revision but because there's nothing quite so motivating as knowing that five people are coming to your house to ask, "So what have you written this month?"

Another great source for connections has been the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Ethan first connected with Eerdmans when Eerdmans announced in an SCBWI newsletter that they were looking for young adult novels with male protagonists and multicultural themes, and I thought, "Hey, I wrote one of those!" Two years later, here we are.

9. What characteristics do writers need most?

I'd say openness to new experiences. My first two novels were each inspired by times when I plunked myself into a completely new place: a junior high on the "other side" of D.C. and an AmeriCorps experience in rural western Maryland. I can no longer easily pick up and plunk down my family in a new community, but fortunately every day with a two-year-old has a wealth of new experiences - though not always the ones I bargained for. Sometimes it might seem like I'm fishing a toy duck out of the toilet, but in reality I'm just having a new experience.

10. Can you tell us one thing people may not know about you?

When I was ten, I earned a certificate at summer camp that said, "I can nearly juggle." That statement summarizes my current life pretty well, actually.

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