From My Dad ... I Think We

[my Mom] Had Always Wanted To Write A Children's Book. She Was A Children's Librarian And An Elementary School Teacher, So Of Course She Loves Children And Children's Literature.

I Hope To Continue To Be An Activist For Kids And Teenagers And Especially Girls Who Are Living With Hiv/aids, Because All Over The World, People Don't Have The Same Rights That We Do In The United States.

Writers Know - Especially New Writers - [that] A Lot Of It [creative Process] Is The Prewriting Stage, The Talking, Brainstorming, The Narrative Arc And The Character Sketches.

I Didn't Go To Latin America Thinking, 'i'm Gonna Write A Book. This Is What I'm Gonna Do.' I Went There To Work For Unicef And To Learn.

I Care What People Who Know Me Think Of Me.