Anna Myers is an award winning children’s and young adult novelist. Her books include: Stolen by the Sea (Walker, 2001); When the Bough Breaks (Walker, 2000); and Fire in the Hills (Walker, 1996). She lives in Oklahoma. We last visited with Anna in July 2002; see An Interview with Children’s/YA Book Author Anna Myers (note: my site is under redesign, so if this link doesn’t work, try the sidebar or search engine).

What’s new in your writing life since we last chatted?

After doing fourteen books of historical fiction for young people, I am working on a contemporary story about an eighth grade girl who goes to a new school and is mistaken for the interim principal. For two days she gets to run the school. As yet, there is no title.

Do you have a new/upcoming book(s) to tell us about?

My book Assassin (Walker, 2005) was just released. It is told in part by John Wilkes Booth and in part by Bella, a fourteen-year-old girl, who works both at the White House and at Ford’s Theatre. Everything about Booth, the Lincolns, and the Civil War is historically accurate. Only Bella is made up.

If so, could you give us some insight into how this book(s) came to be?

My editor, Emily Easton of Walker Publishing, suggested I write about the Civil War. My husband, John Calvin, suggested I write about a boy who gets involved with John Wilkes Booth. I liked the idea, but made the character a girl.

How about children’s/YA books that you’ve read lately? What are yourfavorites and why?

Lately, I have been reading adult books because I have been working on one for a while and am determined to finish it this year.

What are your writing goals for the immediate future?

For a few months, I will be working on the eighth-grade principal story. It is different for me to write humor, and I am finding it difficult. However, I enjoy the stretch.

Cynsational News & Links

Congratulations to WriteFest alumni Sean Petrie and Cathren Page Koehlert, who have been accepted to the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College. Congratulations also to Austin writer/illustrator Gene Brenek, who also was recently accepted to the program.

The Purple Crayon blog has been updated for October. Topics include copyright infringement on the Internet, chapter length, and manuscript format issues.