An Interview with Author Donna Gephart

Celebrating Day 2 of Darcy Pattison's Random Acts of Publicity.

Gephart: Embracing her inner nerd.

I met Donna Gephart through a lucky accident: We were stuck in line for a bus at last year’s SCBWI-Florida conference. Which was my great good fortune, since she invited me to come to the monthly SCBWI critique group she co-hosts in Palm Beach Gardens (the group just celebrated its seventh anniversary). Donna has made her mark with gut-bustingly funny middle grade novels about smart, quirky kids; her newest book, Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen, about a girl determined to get on the TV quiz show Jeopardy!, comes out in March from Delacorte Press/Random House (pre-order it at Amazon and Barnes and Noble).  Her most recent novel, How to Survive Middle School, received a starred review from Kirkus and School Library Journal (click here for the singing hamster video).  Her first book, As If Being 12-3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running for President won the Sid Fleischman Humor Award. Visit Donna at http://www.donnagephart.com, where you'll also find out she makes a mean lemon square and apple cake.

Questions for Donna Gephart:

Seven Great Years with SCBWI

No seven-year itch happenin' here.

Just a quick shout-out today to my peeps at the Palm Beach Gardens SCBWI critique group, which celebrated its SEVEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY last Wednesday. Under the guidance of Donna Gephart and Linda Marlow, who each bring along their unique literary and critical talents (and cookies!), this group gathers in one place the strongest passel of kidlit authors I've ever been blessed to spend time with. 

A Few Things This Writer is Grateful For

Okay, maybe it's a little corny to do the gratitude stuff, but last night I just had this wave of it wash over me, and I felt so damn lucky. Or, all the yoga I've been doing is finally starting to have an effect.

1. I'm Free
I get to spend my days doing exactly what I want: Writing. Reading. Thinking about writing and reading. Teaching what I'm reading. Talking to other writers about what I'm writing and reading. Reading to other writers what I'm writing. Listening to other writers read what they're writing.

2. I'm awed by the writers I've met.
Incredible talent within my two writers groups. So many distinctive voices, ways of looking at the world and figuring out what's important to say. The most beautiful ways to say it. How to best arrange all those wonderful insights. Every one a role model.