Frequently Asked Questions

What are you working on now?
I'm currently working on a play about the Chinese Zodiac for Storyworks Magazine (Scholastic), a mystery set in 19th century New England and a story about Michelangelo and how he got his first job. 
Where do you get your ideas?
I particularly like stories about famous people before they got that way.
A editor suggested Queen Victoria as a teenager to me, but by the time I wrote it, the editor wasn't around anymore. (Thank goodness because that meant I got to work with Chronicle Books.) We all are familiar with Queen Victoria - and a grouchier looking old lady there never was... but she wasn't always like that. Once she was a teenager. She dreamed of boys. And parties. What might she have worried about at night? Did she think she was up to the task?
My second novel is about Beryl Markham. She survived a wild childhood in Africa to grow up to be a world-famous pilot. I got the idea to write about her from my mom (also a pilot). When my third grader had to dress up as someone for a biography project, I suggested Amelia Earhart (because I knew I could manage an aviator costume). But three other girls also had sewing-challenged moms, and my daughter went to the fair as Louis Braille. I told my mom the story and she said "You should have done Beryl Markham." So I reread her auto-biography West Into the Night (a wonderful book) and the book was well begun.
My work in progress is about Renaissance Florence and a certain famous artist. I started on this one because I wanted to find stories that would get my kids interested in traveling around Italy. They have since had to schlep through museums, churches and down Florentine alleys. But they're still interested! (it probably didn't hurt that we did the New Moon tour in Volterra either).
Do you have to do a lot of research?
Yes! Thank goodness. I studied multi-disciplinary history in college (this means I tackled a particular time-period from every academic angle I could think of - art, literature, language, history, archeology, political science... you get the picture). So the research part is easy.
I start with reading several good biographies about my subject. There are different types of biographies, which often depends on when they were written. Some are political, others are psychological. But I read through to the very end to get a picture of the whole life. But most of my attention is on the early chapters. While I read, I'm looking for little nuggets. With Victoria my interest was piqued when I read that she had to share a room with her mother (despite living in an enormous palace with lots of bedrooms) and she wasn't permitted to walk down stairs by herself. A prisoner in her very own palace!
Then I look for more information. For Prisoners in the Palace I needed to know about thieves and how they talked. I found information about maidservants who threw themselves off the London Monument. I looked at old restaurant reviews to find the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub. Quite often I stumble on something that creates a whole subplot on its own. (This is my favorite thing).
Do you visit the places you write about?
Another resounding Yes! I have been to London, particularly Kensington Palace. You learn so much by visiting a place. For instance, I realized that there was a reason I was having a hard time figuring out the floor plan of Victoria's palace. Her mother, the Duchess, stole and renovated seventeen rooms for her own use, unbeknownst to the King. Since it was a big secret, there are no plans. This gave me some flexibility as I moved my characters through drawing rooms and into the servants' quarters.
I'm proud to have climbed the 221 steps of the London Monument. And once I did, I knew I had to rewrite the scene where Annie is in the Monument. Only someone who was truly desperate would make that climb.
I haven't been able to go to East Africa yet. And I worry that the East Africa that Beryl Markham knew isn't there any longer. That's not to say I would turn down a trip to Kenya!