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the
latest:
I visit lots of schools to talk about my books, and I always leave time for
discussion. Here are a few of the questions I seem to get a lot.
Q: Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
A: Yes, definitely, but it took me a long time to figure out how to make a living at it. When we were young kids, my brother and I used to spend hours writing comedy sketches, and then videotaping them (he's a good actor; I'm pretty bad). After college we decided to write movies together, and we ended up writing and directing our own feature film, a comedy called A More Perfect Union. We financed the whole thing with credit cards, which I don't recommend. The film got some good reviews, but never made money. So I looked for a new way to be a writer, and stumbled into writing textbooks. And after about ten years of that I got so sick of it that I decided to write good books instead.
Q: How do you decide what to write about?
A: I started with books on the American Revolution, Civil War, and westward expansion, because I had tons of great material on these subjects. Over the years of writing textbooks, I came across literally hundreds of amazing stories and characters and quotes - and stuffed them all in files, vowing to use them in my own books someday. After those books, I knew I wanted to write about Benedict Arnold, because I'm obsessed with the guy's story. Then I got really into the race to build the atomic bomb during World War II, and the spies who stole the secret bomb designs, so I decided to write about that. That's the cool thing about my job - I get a pick a story, and then really dive in.
Q: Of all your books, which is your favorite?
A: I know a parent isn't supposed to say which child he likes best, but right now I guess I'd have to go with The Notorious Benedict Arnold. It's a story I badly wanted to tell, and it's got it all: great characters, action, suspense, a little romance... It would make a great movie, I think.
Q: Why do you like history?
A: History gets a bad rap. I remember, years ago, working with a fifth grade kid at a tutoring center, and telling him I wrote history books. He looked at me and said, "History sucks." I was offended at the time, but I came to realize that what he really meant was, "History textbooks suck." He'd only read history in textbooks, so naturally he thought he hated history.
To me, history is the search for stories. I think my job is sort of like detective work. I'll start with a tiny bit of information about a person or story. Then I'll search for clues that tell me more. I look in libraries and online, make phone calls and write emails, travel to historic sites - all in search of a bit more information, a scrap of dialogue, anything to make a character or scene come to life.
Q: How long does it take you to write a book?
A: Usually about a year or a year and a half. I spend the first half of that time just reading and taking notes. Every source I find is like a little clue, leading me to another source, another character, another angle. The research is fun, and could go on forever, but I cut myself off after about six months. Then comes the hard part: writing. I'm telling you, even professional writers get scared when staring at a blank page/computer screen. After I get a draft finished, I read it over a few times, then send it to my editor. She reads it, makes comments, and we usually go back and forth for a couple of months until it's finally done.
Q: Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
A: Yes, definitely, but it took me a long time to figure out how to make a living at it. When we were young kids, my brother and I used to spend hours writing comedy sketches, and then videotaping them (he's a good actor; I'm pretty bad). After college we decided to write movies together, and we ended up writing and directing our own feature film, a comedy called A More Perfect Union. We financed the whole thing with credit cards, which I don't recommend. The film got some good reviews, but never made money. So I looked for a new way to be a writer, and stumbled into writing textbooks. And after about ten years of that I got so sick of it that I decided to write good books instead.
Q: How do you decide what to write about?
A: I started with books on the American Revolution, Civil War, and westward expansion, because I had tons of great material on these subjects. Over the years of writing textbooks, I came across literally hundreds of amazing stories and characters and quotes - and stuffed them all in files, vowing to use them in my own books someday. After those books, I knew I wanted to write about Benedict Arnold, because I'm obsessed with the guy's story. Then I got really into the race to build the atomic bomb during World War II, and the spies who stole the secret bomb designs, so I decided to write about that. That's the cool thing about my job - I get a pick a story, and then really dive in.
Q: Of all your books, which is your favorite?
A: I know a parent isn't supposed to say which child he likes best, but right now I guess I'd have to go with The Notorious Benedict Arnold. It's a story I badly wanted to tell, and it's got it all: great characters, action, suspense, a little romance... It would make a great movie, I think.
Q: Why do you like history?
A: History gets a bad rap. I remember, years ago, working with a fifth grade kid at a tutoring center, and telling him I wrote history books. He looked at me and said, "History sucks." I was offended at the time, but I came to realize that what he really meant was, "History textbooks suck." He'd only read history in textbooks, so naturally he thought he hated history.
To me, history is the search for stories. I think my job is sort of like detective work. I'll start with a tiny bit of information about a person or story. Then I'll search for clues that tell me more. I look in libraries and online, make phone calls and write emails, travel to historic sites - all in search of a bit more information, a scrap of dialogue, anything to make a character or scene come to life.
Q: How long does it take you to write a book?
A: Usually about a year or a year and a half. I spend the first half of that time just reading and taking notes. Every source I find is like a little clue, leading me to another source, another character, another angle. The research is fun, and could go on forever, but I cut myself off after about six months. Then comes the hard part: writing. I'm telling you, even professional writers get scared when staring at a blank page/computer screen. After I get a draft finished, I read it over a few times, then send it to my editor. She reads it, makes comments, and we usually go back and forth for a couple of months until it's finally done.
Q and A
The
Nortorious
Benedict
Arnold wins
the YALSA
Award for
Excellence
in
Nonfiction!