Interview Tuesdays

Chris Baron  is the award winning author of novels for young (and young at heart) readers including:  All Of Me,  an NCTE Notable Book  The Magical Imperfect,  a Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable Book/SLJ Best Book of 2021  The Gray  (23) a ProjectLIT 23-24 Selection  Spark  (25) from Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan  The Secret of the Dragon Gems,  a Middle Grade novel co-authored with Rajani LaRocc...

Tomeko Brown is the author of AN INSTRUMENT FOR FLORENDA. Tomeko is a North Carolina native with a lifelong passion for writing, music, and education. She began her creative journey by playing the clarinet as a child, which sparked her love for the arts.  She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Education from East Carolina University. She also earned a Master of Education in Instructional Des...

Nathalie Laine  lives a safe distance away from the ocean, in Paris, France. She enjoys: poking her finger into the mini whirlpools that form above bath drains, randomly understanding words in a language she doesn’t know, wrongly guessing the double-agent in cold war spy stories, sharing a Turkish meal of “Lion’s milk”, fish and turnip juice with friends, and getting spurned by grumpy cats.  She m...

Tiffany Moore was born and raised in a small town in Wyoming and is the proud owner of Emmylou and Oliver. During the summer months, she and her spouse RV around the country with these wonderful felines. They have such grand adventures exploring that Tiffany wanted you to join in the fun through  The Magical Tales of Emmylou and Oliver  series!  Find out more: https://www.emmylouandoliver.net/

Diane Namm has been a storyteller her whole life. She's authored over 65 children's books, YA teen romance novels, adult non-fiction books, and feature-length screenplays. Diane has written & directed stage plays and short films. But, at this moment, being "Nana" is the thing she enjoys most! #authorinterviews #picturebooks #whathappensafterdeath #griefsupport

Teachers always told  Jamie Scheumann  to keep writing because she was good at it, but it was only a hobby for most of her life. However, as the mother of two daughters, she now feels called to pursue her passion for writing in a way that will create a legacy for her girls and empower other young readers as well.  Reflecting on the scars from going through the loss of a parent, she decided that if...

Fantasy author, ER doctor, and proud dog mom, H.B. Reneau is best known for her character-driven, genre-bending fiction that draws on her experiences in both medicine and the military.  When not writing or at the hospital, she can be found hiking, drinking coffee to excess, and getting lost in new cities with her spaniel Rory.  Look for H.B. at  https://hbreneau.com/  

Content Warning: The topic of this interview is a difficult one. We will discuss the Holocaust, including events that are violent and disturbing. If you need to take a break at any time, please feel free to do so. Author Frank W. Baker is the lead writer on the acclaimed graphic novel We Survived the Holocaust: The Bluma and Felix Goldberg Story. Frank has worked in television news, public educati...

Caroline Adderson  grew up in Sherwood Park, Alberta, which at the time was surrounded by farms and acreages. The housing development she lived in was right on a golf course, buffered by woods where she and her friends ran wild and only came home to eat. When she finished high school, Caroline left home to spend a year traveling around Canada with the youth program Katimavik, doing all kinds of jo...

Jennifer Jones is an award winning author who lives in a small town in North Carolina, and Alex Flies is her first children’s book. She stays busy writing, writing, writing, and has several books currently in the publication process. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, the outdoors, spending time with her family, friends, and two dogs, and playing board games and VR.  Learn more here: http...

Sarah Allen  is the award-winning author of  WHAT STARS ARE MADE OF,   BREATHING UNDERWATER ,  THE NIGHTMARE HOUSE , and  MONSTER TREE. ​ Sarah's books are filled with quirky, neurodiverse characters, STEAM elements, and a sense of finding Joy in the weirdest and most unlikely of places. Her books have been Jr. Library Guild selections, Whitney Award winners, A Mighty Girl Best Of pick, and state...

Christine Liu-Perkins  was born in Boston and grew up near Kansas City. Reading has always been one of Christine's favorite things to do, and after her daughters were born, she started writing fiction and nonfiction for children as well as magazine articles for grown-ups.  A big influence for Christine is having visited many parts of the world, including more than 36 states and 39 countries on 6 c...

Jeremy Mueller is an artisan, baker, entrepreneur, and father of four. His builds have been featured in international publications.    Karl Buechner is a ground braking musician and earth/animal rights activist, known for his bands Earth Crisis and Freya. He has been writing touring his music for over 30 years.  Keith Ward is a teacher, comic, writer, and board game designer/author.  

Donna Galanti wanted to be a writer ever since she attended an English school, housed in a magical castle, where her wild imagination was held back only by her itchy uniform (bowler hat and tie included!). She is the author of middle-grade books with the Unicorn Island series, Joshua and the Lightning Road series, and Loon Cove Summer . She’s also the author of the paranormal suspense Element Tril...

Brendan Corbett  grew up in a military family, always on the move, living in North Carolina, Virginia, Rhode Island, and Okinawa, Japan all before he was ten. Books were both the foundation of stability and the ultimate escape, companions to other worlds that could journey with him even when friends could not. Brendan has always been drawn to fiction and more particularly fantasy, offering the abi...

Diana Schaffter  is a teacher, educator, international speaker, mother, and grandmother. Diana is no stranger to adventure. She is fluent in Thai, has traveled to over fifty countries, raised her two boys overseas, and lived in seven countries in Asia and Eastern Europe for forty-two years, including two years in Pyongyang, North Korea, where her husband worked for UNICEF. Wherever she has lived,...

Fleur Bradley is the author of numerous short crime fiction as well as novel-length mysteries for kids, including award-winning Daybreak on Raven Island and Midnight at the Barclay Hotel (Viking/PRH), and the Double Vision trilogy (HarperCollins). She is also a literacy advocate and speaks at educator conventions on reaching reluctant readers. Fleur lives in a cottage in the foothills of the Color...

Alda P. Dobbs is the author of the historical novels Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna and its followup, The Other Side of the River . Her debut novel received a Pura Belpre Honor and is a Texas Bluebonnet Master List selection. Alda was born in a small town in northern Mexico but moved to San Antonio, Texas as a child. She studied physics and worked as an engineer before pursuing her love of storytel...

Kristin Nilsen  grew up in California and Minnesota, listening to the radio, watching Brady Bunch after school, and reading after bedtime. Vinyl records were still a thing and she had her very own collection of albums in her bedroom — like ABBA, The Bee Gees and the soundtracks to Grease and Star Wars. This is where she met all of her first crushes; they sang to her from the radio, her record play...

As a passionate dance teacher, Terrel witnessed the transformative power of movement, and she’s committed to nurturing young learners’ creativity and confidence. On this mission, Terrel has published 40 interactive books under the author name Once Upon a Dance. Each weaves whimsy, inspiration, and joyful movement, and most feature her daughter, a professional ballet dancer. Truly a passion project...

Angela Hsieh  is a Taiwanese American illustrator and author whose life choices can mostly be explained by her love of goofy animals. Her life experiences include fireman-carrying a sedated bear cub and catching a belligerent wallaby.** **She also wishes to include a disclaimer that this all occurred while working in zoos and wildlife centers so as not to encourage this kind of behavior in the wil...

Phil Hall  is an elementary school principal who realized during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that young people needed more than anything to learn the value of prosocial behavior—acting in ways that benefit others. That is when he wrote the first draft of  The Day the Children Saved the World , hoping he could spread his message to kids everywhere. Phil lives in Rutland, Vermont, with his f...

Tracy Badua  is an award-winning Filipino American author of books for young people. By day, she is an attorney, and by night, she squeezes in writing, family time, and bites of her secret candy stash. She lives in San Diego, California.  Tracy’s work has garnered such accolades as the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Sid Fleischman Humor Award, the Children's Literature Council...

Stan Yan is an award-winning, first generation American-born-Chinese, Denver-based writer, illustrator, caricature artist, and instructor. He's also currently Co-Regional Advisor of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. For more information, visit: https://www.stanyan.me/.

Antoine Bandele  is an Amazon bestselling author in Action Adventure Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, African American Fantasy, and African Literature.  He was born and raised in Los Angeles, though he spent one year in Fort Lewis near Tacoma, Washington while his father served in the U.S. Army. Since 2017, Antoine has written fantasy and sci-fi stories for and about the African motherl...