When
I
began
my
first
job
in
advertising,
I
was
so
quick
at
writing
advertising
copy,
I
ran
out
of
work
before
I
ran
out
of
day.
To
kill
time
and
because
I
liked
to
play
with
words,
I
began
writing
“Dr.
Seuss-‐type”
poems.
I
soon
realized
there
was
only
one
Dr.
Seuss
and
I
needed
to
find
my
own
niche.
I
began
writing
other
picture
books,
but
I
realized
I
had
far
too
many
words
in
me.
So
I
experimented
with
the
gamut
of
novels
from
chapter
to
edgy
young
adult
books,
but
found
my
stride
in
writing
for
tweens.
SW:
How
did
The
Gollywhopper
Games
come
about?
JF:
As
I
mentioned
in
the
Acknowledgments
of
the
book,
I
was
volunteering
in
my
daughter’s
school
library
when
a
fifth
grader
came
in
looking
for
a
book
just
like
Charlie
and
the
Chocolate
Factory
by
Roald
Dahl.
The
librarian
searched
for
something
which
might
interest
him,
but
he
left
totally
unsatisfied.
That’s
when
I
decided
to
write
a
book
that
he,
or
other
kids
like
him,
might
want
to
read
after
Charlie.
It
took
a
lot
of
pacing
and
several
discarded
ideas
before
I
got
excited
about
basing
my
book
on
toys
and
games.
After
that,
I
spent
time
walking
in
a
daze,
contemplating
character,
setting,
plot,
theme,
and
premise.
I
wrote
the
book,
sent
it
off
to
publishers,
and
received
a
file
folder
full
of
rejections.
I
abandoned
that
manuscript
and
started
working
on
other
writing
projects,
honing
my
craft
as
a
writer.
About
a
decade
later,
I
took
that
book
out
of
its
drawer
and
dusted
it
off.
After
revising
it
greatly,
I
was
able
to
secure
an
agent
who
helped
me
get
it
into
the
hands
of
a
publisher.
The
Gollywhopper
Games
was
published
in
2008.
SW:
Were
you
ever
able
to
tell
the
boy
in
the
library
about
the
book?
JF:
I
never
knew
his
name,
and
after
all
this
time
(he
would
be
an
adult
now)
the
librarian
didn’t
even
remember
that
incident.
It
was
important
to
me,
but
not
to
her.
Still,
I
do
thank
him
for
the
inspiration.
SW:
How
do
you
come
up
with
the
puzzles
and
games
found
in
The
Gollywhopper
Games
and
now
in
the
recently
published
The
Seventh
Level?
JF:
I
have
always
been
interested
in
word
play.
I
think
that
is
why
I
found
writing
advertising
so
easy.
Also,
I
have
been
a
subscriber
to
Games
magazine
since
its
first
edition.
I’ve
spent
countless
hours
working
the
magazine’s
puzzles,
riddles,
and
brainteasers.
This
has
given
me
a
solid
foundation
for
creating
puzzles
of
my
own.
When
I
brainstorm
puzzle
ideas,
I
start
with
an
11
x
17
sheet
of
paper
and
a
set
of
colored
pens,
and
I
open
my
mind,
always
keeping
plot
and
character
stashed
somewhere
in
there.
I
doodle,
draw,
make
word
connections
and
suddenly,
instinctively,
intuitively
(I
apologize
for
not
having
a
better
explanation
than
this),
the
puzzles
start
to
take
shape.
Then
I
bring
the
story
elements
into
focus
to
make
sure
whichever
puzzles
I’m
creating
fit
into
the
context
of
the
plot
and
characters.
While
we’re
this
subject
of
brainstorming,
I
should
mention
that
the
process
I
use
to
name
my
characters
is
much
the
same.
I
sit
with
paper
and
pens
again,
this
time,
with
a
baby-‐naming
book
and
take
great
care
that
the
personality
of
the
character
relates
to
his
or
her
name.
As
an
aside,
I
have
the
TV
on
during
most
every
brainstorming
session.
The
spoken
words
and
visual
images
give
me
some
great
ideas.
Teachers
and
parents
don’t
necessarily
like
me
telling
that
to
kids,
but
that’s
what
works
for
me;
it’s
how
I