Exclusive Author Q & A with Anne Mazer!

A couple months ago, the amazing author Anne Mazer took time to participate in our Quick (and Painless!) Author Q & A. As you all know, she is the co-author of the new book, Spilling Ink: a Young Writer's Handbook, which we recently reviewed on this blog. Anne is the author of over 40 books, including one of my personal favorite picture books, The Salamander Room. She is probably best known for her series The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes. And now... without further ado!

Quick and Painless Author Q & A

Megan: What are you currently working on?

Anne: I’ve just finished SPILLING INK: A HANDBOOK FOR YOUNG WRITERS, which I co-wrote with my friend and fellow author, Ellen Potter. It will be published in March 2010. And now I’m working on a young adult novel.

Megan: What are you currently reading and/or planning to read?

Anne: I have fifteen books downstairs… I recently read Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor, Res Judicata by Vicki Grant, and four of the Enola Holmes mysteries by Nancy Springer.

Megan: What are your favorite genres? Your favorite authors?

Anne: I love all genres except horror. Favorite writers (so many I can’t list) include: Nancy Farmer, Katherine Paterson, Ellen Potter, Daniel Pinkwater, E. Nesbit….and on and on and on….

Megan: What do you do when you are not reading/writing?

Anne: Hike, take photographs, travel, bake bread, hang out with family and friends, laugh.

Megan: One book that you will never be too old to love is...

Anne: Pippi Longstocking

Megan: What were you like as a teenager? If you could redo your teen years, what would you do differently?

Anne: This is not a quick, painless question! I was a rebel as a teen and skipped school a lot, lied to my parents, and hung out in libraries and cemeteries. I don’t really regret any of it.

Megan: What was your first job?

Anne: Cashier in a supermarket. I lived on Twinkies and orange soda.

Megan: The last movie you saw was...

Anne: Avatar.

Megan: The last thing you ate was...

Anne: grapefruit.

Megan: Do you have any pets?

Anne: Allergic.

Megan: You desperately wish you knew how to...

Anne: stand on my head.

Megan: Does your life have a soundtrack?

Anne: Not that I noticed.

Megan: How do you make a bad day better?

Anne: Eat a lot of popcorn.

Megan: Go to the nearest window and look outside. What do you see?

Anne: A very cold, snowy street. (note: like we said, this was a couple months ago... oops!)

Megan: Participating in this interview has conveniently enabled you to avoid...

Anne: my email inbox.

It's been a lovely visit. Thanks for stopping by our blog, Anne! She's also on twitter as @AnneMazer. Also, visit and read Anne's Official Blog and Website to find out more fascinating info, such as:

Fun Facts About Anne Mazer:

• Her favorite foods are popcorn, rice pudding and blueberries.
• When she was a kid, she would sometimes read up to ten books a day.
• If she had magic powers, she'd choose invisibility.
• She painted the rooms in her house yellow, orange, and violet.
• One of her favorite childhood books was The Twilight of Magic by Hugh Lofting.
• When Anne was a teenager, her room was so messy that she needed a map to get from the door to the bed. (sort of)
• In school Anne often flunked her favorite creative subjects, like writing and art