Interview with Lois Duncan

http://loisduncan.arquettes.com/

First off, thanks so much for joining us for an up-close and personal interview for TeensReadToo.com! My name is Jen, and I’ll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time out of your writing schedule—which I’m sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers and fans.


Let’s get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?

I was born knowing I wanted to be a writer. I started submitting stories to magazines when I was ten and made my first sale at thirteen. Throughout my teens I wrote regularly for youth publications, and I wrote my first novel, DEBUTANTE HILL, when I was 20. (That book is now long out of print.)


Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?

I entered DEBUTANTE HILL in a contest that was sponsored by a publishing company, and it won. Part of the prize was having the novel published. The publisher then optioned my next book, and I was off and running. I’m now the author of over 50 books, ranging from children’s picture books to adult novels, but am best known for young adult suspense novels such as I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, DON’T LOOK BEHIIND YOU and KILLING MR. GRIFFIN.


Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release.

My next book will be NEWS FOR DOGS, a humorous story for 8-12-yr-olds. It will be published in April 2009.

If you could only tell your readers one thing about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?

It’s a sequel to my book, HOTEL FOR DOGS. (I’m talking about the real book, not the novelization of the film script.) And I think it’s funnier and better written than the first book.


What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?

Life itself and all the experiences it’s provided.

Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!

I’m married to Don Arquette, an electrical engineer, and we’re the parents of five children. The oldest four are grown with careers of their own. Robin is a musician and videotographer, (you can hear excerpts from some of her songs at http://www.lullabysongs.net/. Kerry is an author, artesian, and a publisher of craft books. Brett manages the computer system for a county court system and is also a published author. Donnie is a locksmith and an artist.

Our youngest child, Kaitlyn Arquette, was chased down in her car and shot to death in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1989. Her murder remains unsolved. To motivate informants and prevent the facts of the case from becoming buried, I wrote a non-fiction book, WHO KILLED MY DAUGHTER?. That book was written for adults, but young people have gravitated to it, perhaps because they relate to Kait, who was a teenager, and it’s won several Young Readers Awards. The Web site about our family’s continuing personal investigation is at http://www.kaitarquette.arquettes.com/

Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?

Chocolate.


What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?

Brush my teeth, fix breakfast for my husband, and sit down at the computer.


If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise me the most?

Probably the number of mouse droppings in the attic.

Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?

Yellow. Because just looking at yellow makes me happy.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

I don’t have one, because I don’t watch cartoons.


Which cartoon character is most like you?

Same answer as above.


If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history, where and when would it be—and why?

I wouldn’t want to go back in history. I’d rather project ahead and look into the future.


So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while you’re writing?

I enjoy piano music and folk guitar. But I don’t listen to music while I write. I would find that distracting.

Do you have any favorite T.V. shows?

American Idol.

Movies you watch over and over again?

If I watch a movie once and know how the story ends, I have no desire to watch it again. I’d rather watch something I haven’t seen before.

What was the last movie you saw at the theater?

My husband and I attended the Hollywood premiere of HOTEL FOR DOGS.


You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?

Do what you know in your heart is right, regardless of what other people may say or do. Don’t give in to peer pressure; take responsibility for your actions.


One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?

MOVIE FOR DOGS, a sequel to NEWS FOR DOGS, (it completes the HOTEL FOR DOGS trilogy), will be published in 2010. My suspense novel, STRANGER WITH MY FACE, is currently being filmed and will soon be a made-for-TV movie on the Lifetime Channel.

Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!