Sometimes, the Publishing Biz takes you in strange directions that you never could foresee. For example, tomorrow morning I’m going into a studio on Park Avenue to interview a legitimate living legend of young adult literature.
If you don’t know the name Lois Duncan, well… Shame on you, first of all. But second of all, even if you don’t know her name, you probably know of her books, especially I Know What You Did Last Summer and Hotel for Dogs (both made into movies, with varying levels of fidelity to the original source material). Lois has been writing literally since before I was even conceived and she shows no signs of stopping, with a new book — Movie for Dogs — out this year. I want to still be writing when I’m her age!
So, how did I get to interview her? And why?
Little, Brown is re-releasing some of Lois’s classic young adult suspense novels beginning this summer, updating some of the references and technology to reflect the 21st century, and part of the re-release is a series of Q&A sections in each book. Someone at Little, Brown thought, “Hey, isn’t there some guy writing a new series of YA thrillers?” and thought it would be fun to have me conduct the Q&A.
And, yeah, it’s been fun so far. I’ve spent the past several days re-reading I Know What You Did Last Summer, Killing Mr. Griffin, and Don’t Look Behind You, as well as looking over the new, updated editions. Then I compiled a whole mess o’ questions, and tomorrow I get to throw ’em at Lois and see what she says.
I’m really looking forward to the interview, and I hope Lois enjoys it half as much as I’m sure I will.