Snacks: What inspired you to write your first book? 

Diane: It all started when my daughter, Jennifer, was 2 years old.  I had taken her to the doctor that day and she had to get a shot.  She was a good little girl and the doctor gave her a sticker. That night I let her crawl in bed with me, and I told her a bedtime story about a little girl who had to go to the doctor to get a shot, etc., and the doctor gave her a sticker.  (Like I tell the kids, "write what you know!")  But in my story, the little girl got the sticker stuck on her tongue. Well, my daughter thought it was the funniest thing she had ever heard.  Of course, I was talking like Sylvester the Cat most of the time, with my tongue between my teeth. But, I thought, if my daughter likes it I'm sure the whole world will.  So the next morning I got up and started writing "Sthicker Tongue-Tied."  (I wrote it in rhyme because I loved reading rhyming picture books to Jenn.)    Unfortunately that book was never published, but that story is what inspired it all!  

Snacks: Are your stories based on your experiences? 

Diane: Yes, my family is a great inspiration for several of my books.  My daughter Jennifer inspired “Look Both Ways” after she ran out into the street, and my son Sam inspired my beginning reader, “How to Drive Your Sister Crazy.”  (I don’t even have to explain that one!)

Snacks: How did you come up with those great titles for your books?   

Diane: Usually I look at the story and see if I can pull something from the text.  The original title for Bus-A-Saurus Bop was School Bus Bop, but after the illustrations were finished and the school bus looked like a dinosaur, (which was something I didn’t at all envision)  the editors asked me to come up with something more dinosaurish for the title. 

Snacks: Do you write to a title or does it come to you during development? 

Diane: I usually start with a working title, and then revise according to the text.  

What book are you reading now?  I’m reading “Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.”   It’s actually an adult mystery novel, but the protagonist is an 11 year old girl named Flavia de Luce. It’s very very good!!

Snacks: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest? 

Diane: Actually the author of Sweetness… who is Alan Bradley.  Sweetness is his debut novel, and Alan is 70 years old.   It’s never too late!!

Snacks: You are so busy with writing, school visits and conferences.  Tell us about what you are working on right now. 

Diane: I am currently working on a couple of stories.  One is titled “Dear Mr. President, My Room Is a Disaster Area!”  about a boy who writes to the president asking for government assistance after his mother declared his room a disaster area.  It’s actually a book about the importance of volunteering.    The other is titled   “How to Get a Puppy.”  I use the same character as the one in “How to Drive Your Sister Crazy.”

Snacks: What is the hardest part of writing for you? 

Diane: I would have to say spending a lot of time writing a story only to get it rejected.  I am not a natural born writer, so the writing part is very challenging, yet very rewarding once a story if finished and you feel it is a very good piece of work.   It’s very hard to receive a rejection letter on something you’ve worked so long and hard on.

Snacks: And of course we must ask, what writing snacks keep you energized? 

Diane: Oh, that’s easy… M & M’s both plain and peanut, and I’m dying to try the new ones with pretzels! Yum!