TB: Of the books you’ve written, which one is your
favorite and why?
My books are all my babies, so I love them all. That
said, I’ve two that are especially dear to my heart:
RUFUS AND MAGIC RUN AMOK, about ten-year-old
Rufus Breckenridge who discovers he has magical
powers but refuses to tell his family because they’ll
make him take magic lessons, and GIVING UP THE
GHOST, a Long Island-set ghost mystery. Bad-boy
Cameron Leeds knows that his death was no accident.
He nags Gabbie Meyerson, who rents his family
cottage, until she agrees to find out who murdered him.
Even though I wrote it, I get choked up thinking about
Cam’s final farewell to the woman he loves.
TB: What books have most influenced you as a
writer?
I imagine everything I read when I was young
influenced me as a writer. I started reading novels for
adults very early on. If I remember correctly, I was in
second grade when my mother took A TREE GROWS
IN BROOKLYN away from me, claiming its subject was
too “adult.” I did get to finish it the following year. I
loved reading series, most of which were mysteries,
and I’m sure they had an impact: Nancy Drew, Trixie
Belden, Judy Bolton, and Cherry Ames (she was a
nurse.)
TB: What do you find to be the most challenging
part of writing? And the most rewarding.