Maw Books

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I’m so excited!  Cynthia Lord, author of the Newbery Honor book Rules, has been kind enough to stop by for a great author interview!  Read my book review of Rules and then make your way back here for some awesome Q&A!

Maw Books:  Welcome Cynthia!  It’s my pleasure to have you!  I know that Rules was inspired by your own son who has autism.  I know  that most authors write about what they know, and obviously, you were  no exception.  How was the family in Rules like your own, and how were they not?

Cynthia Lord:  The major elements in RULES are all made up (the characters, the story, etc.), but a lot of the little things are true. I have two children: an 18-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old son. My son is in the middle of the autism spectrum, just as David is in RULES.  When my son was little, he did some of the things David does in the book. He liked to drop toys in our fish tank, he repeated lines from books and videos (including Arnold Lobel’s “Frog and Toad” books), and he was very bothered by certain sounds. I wanted David to feel real as a character, so I gave him some of my son’s characteristics.

Catherine is more “me” than my daughter. However, my daughter was a big help when I was writing. She talked to me about her feelings about her brother, and she read my drafts.  She would point out to me whenever she thought I was thinking “like a mom,” and not “like a sister.” Her help was invaluable.

Maw Books:  Emotionally, what was it like to write about something that meant so  much to you and hit so close to home?

Cynthia Lord:  It was easy to write RULES because I knew the world I was writing about so well. But it was hard to bring up all that emotion, over and over. RULES took a long time to be published, and that meant I had to hold onto those feelings for years. Sometimes what’s best for the novel isn’t what’s best for the writer. Having the book take so long was hard on me and on my whole family.

Maw Books:  Because Rules is so realistic for those who do live or work with  autistic children, have you received any touching stories from  children or adults sharing how much Rules impacted them?  Any one that  particularly stands out?

Cynthia Lord:  I receive amazing mail. I could spend weeks telling you about the people who’ve written to me, but a few that stand out:

A retired principal (a man in his 80s) wrote to me. He grew up with a brother with Down’s Syndrome. Though his brother died more than 20 years ago, he said reading RULES brought back to him what it felt like growing up. He told me that he’d never written to an author before, but he wanted to tell me about his brother.

Another was from a mom who has six children, five of whom have autism. There is much I could say about that email, but what stood out first to me was that she didn’t write to me about the five. . . she wrote about the one.  She told me about her child who doesn’t have autism. You can take it from me that a mother with five children with autism has NO free time.  And yet, she took the time to write to me and tell me how much her child had loved RULES.

One mother told me her daughter slept with the book. Another told me her son brought it home and asked her to read it so she’d know how he felt.

Finally, I remember a child who wrote simply “I was so scared I was the only person who felt this way.”

Of course it’s not a book that speaks to everyone–no book can do that.. But the outpouring of love that’s come back to me has been beyond anything I could’ve ever imagined.

Maw Books:  Amazing to have such great feedback!  What were you doing when you found out that Rules was a Newbery Honor?  And how did you celebrate?

Cynthia Lord:  When the phone rang, I was on the computer, trying to access the American Library Association’s live webcast of the award announcements. I already knew RULES had won the Schneider Family Book Award, and I was hoping to see that award announced.  The phone rang, and to be honest, I was a little mad!  Because I was afraid if I left the computer, I’d miss my chance to watch the webcast!

I was not expecting it to be the Newbery Committee at all.  For one thing, I didn’t think RULES had any chance of winning, and for another it was 9:45 in the morning!  I would’ve assumed those calls were made at the crack of dawn.

That day, I went out to supper with my husband, I took lots of congratulations phone calls, etc.  But honestly, it is so overwhelming to get that news that it took a long time to feel like truly celebrating. It feels more like when someone surprises you with a gift, something you can’t believe is yours, more than an accomplishment.

One of the most powerful moments came between “the call” and the official announcement.  I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone yet, and I went to the library with my son to use up some time.  While he was looking at books, I listened to the librarian doing preschool story-time in another room.

Standing there, with the sound of someone reading aloud around me, I suddenly realized RULES would have a seal on its cover.  As a child, I remember vividly taking my index finger and running it around Newbery and Newbery Honor seals on books.  To realize that a child might now do that to a book I wrote–well, I had to sit down. If I hadn’t been in public, I probably would’ve burst into tears.

Maw Books:  The publication of Rules was a long and bumpy road.  If you could go  back and change anything about the way in which you wrote your debut  novel, what would it be?  Or not be?

Cynthia Lord:  RULES took about a year to write and then another year of revision with my editor.  But the whole process took six years, because it was bumped two years for scheduling reasons (and then the publication process takes about a year).  When you’re a first-time author, you have a book that can be moved if a list needs to shift.  If I had it to do it over, I would try hard not to tie how I felt about myself as a writer to my place in the publishing world.

Maw Books:  What’s on your nightstand now?  Any great recommendations of books that you’ve read this year?

Cynthia Lord:  At the moment, I’m reading an adult memoir: HERE IF YOU NEED ME by Kate Braestrup. It’s a powerful story about a woman who became a chaplain to the Maine Warden Service (they set up search and rescue missions) after her husband died. I’m speaking at a library conference in October where Kate is the keynote speaker.

Maw Books:  I have begun to ask authors in my interviews to share a recipe.  It’s one of the favorite features on my blog (well, at least it’s one of MY  favorite features).  I do not have my copy of Rules on hand at the moment, and cannot remember if there were any dishes mentioned in the  book.  If so, would you share the recipe.  If not, what’s a yummy favorite of yours?

Cynthia Lord:  The only special food I remember in RULES is grape soda (which my family uses to toast special moments for RULES).

However, my mom makes great whoopie pies. When I was growing up, it was always a special treat when she made them.  They are a New England specialty–a bit like a moon pie in other parts of the US, but different, too.

Here’s her recipe:

Mix the following in a large bowl.

 6 tablespoons shortening                       l-l/2 teaspoon of baking soda
l cup sugar                                           2 cups flour
l cup milk                                              5 tablespoons of cocoa
l teaspoon of vanilla                                l teaspoon salt

 Drop by teaspoonsful (or more if you want bigger ones) on a cookie
sheet.  Bake 8 to 10 mins in 350 oven..

 Filling:

l/2 cup shortening                                  6 tablespoons marshmallow fluff
l teaspoon of vanilla                                scant l/4 cup milk
3/4 cup confectioners sugar

 Beat all together.  When cookies are cool, spread filling on one cookie
and cover with another one.

Maw Books:  Oh man, I’ll seriously be making a trip to the grocery store to pick up what I need to make that!  Tell us about the book that you are currently working on and when can we expect to see it in bookstores.

Cynthia Lord:  I sold three books after RULES: two novels and a picture book.  The next novel is called TOUCH BLUE and that title comes from a superstition: “Touch blue and your wish will come true.”  I was a school teacher before I had children and one of my teaching jobs was on an island off the coast of Maine.  So that is the setting for TOUCH BLUE. It’s another middle-grade novel, and I think readers who liked RULES will like this one, as well.  It doesn’t have a release date at the moment, though it’s likely to be 2010.

My picture book is called HOT ROD HAMSTER! and is being illustrated (right now!) by the talented Derek Anderson.  Derek is a writer/illustrator of his own work and he is also the illustrator for the “Little Quack” books, written by Lauren Thompson.  At the moment, HOT ROD HAMSTER is on the Spring 2010 list at Scholastic. My editor tells me she will let me peek at his sketches sometime soon, and I’m excited to see them.

The other novel is “to be determined” after TOUCH BLUE.

Maw Books:  2010 is to far away!!  I can’t wait.  Congrats on your success and I wish you all the best. Thanks Cynthia!

Cynthia Lord:  My pleasure!

Visit Cynthia Lord’s website.

Would you like to win a copy of Rules?  Cynthia Lord has graciously donated two copies to be given away in conjunction with my Darfur awareness campaign.  Click here for details on how to get involved and entered to win. It’s really easy! Check back (you are subscribed to this blog, aren’t you?!) at the end of the month to put your name in the hat for this one.  Prizes will build up throughout the month.  Thanks Cynthia!

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