INTERVIEW WITH SARAH COMBS:

How did you get started writing?

 

My first triumph came during the first grade Young Authors competition, which I entered with a story about a girl who was so obsessed with her favorite striped shirt that she refused to wear a coat on the playground during recess. The story was abysmal, but I had found my calling!

 

Who influenced you?

 

My grandmother is the one who taught me to love words, stories, and books. I was enchanted with her word-a-day calendar, and my mind's ear still hears The Velveteen Rabbit in her voice every time I read it, which is often.

 

Do you have a favorite book/subject/character/setting?

 

I'm a sucker for the Bildungsroman! Coming of Age, man. It's my jam. As for characters: I will never not feel a deep kinship with Ramona Quimby, Claudia Kincaid, Harriet the Spy, Ann(E!) Shirley, and Franny Glass. Those girls feel as much a part of me as my arms and eyes and ears. I can't imagine life without them!

 

 

What advice do you have for someone who wants to be an author?

 

Read, read, read, read, read, read, read. And then read some more. 

 

Where is your favorite place to write?

 

In my house, at a cherished table that used to belong to the same grandmother who taught me to love books (see above). I'm in that spot as I write this, and I have a great view of this cozy inner corner of our porch where, during springtime, I can watch robins build their nests. I have fallen in love with several robin families during the writing of my stories. 

 

What else would you like to tell us?

 

Well, I would like to say THANK YOU for all you do for readers, books, and authors! Keep up the good work.