I get a general idea before starting, then refine as I go along.  Sometimes I makes changes as I go along, too.

Question 2  If you could recommend only one of your novels for us to read, which one would it be and why? 

Maniac Magee—for the message, the story, and the language.

Question 3   What types of things did you read when you were a child? 

Not enough.  A few sports novels.  Bugs Bunny comics.  Maniac Magee carries a book everywhere, but I didn't.

Question 4   Which character, if any, out of all of your books do you feel is the most like yourself?  Why? 

Jason Herkimer in Space Station Seventh Grade because I relate to him the most.

Question 5   First, have you ever experienced the level of bullying and pressure to conform that you describe in Wringer? 

No, not really, but I've seen it and felt it on behalf of others.  Incidentally, my novel Crash focuses even more on the bully issue.

Question 6   Secondly, I thought that possibly the father's conversion to accepting his son's feelings was maybe a little too neat.  He seemed so gungho for all the macho business, and then all of a sudden, he seemed to totally understand his son's feelings. Can you explain why the father finally comes to his son's defense? 

The pigeon. As Mrs. LaRue tells Palmer toward the end, his parents have known about the bird in the bedroom for some time.  Mr. LaRue loves his son.

Question 7   Have you had any reaction from the town that actually sponsors a pigeon shoot each year? 

No.

Question 8   Did you do any research about pigeons? 

I spoke with friends who keep pigeons.  And I read an interesting book about someone in England who had one.

Question 9   In Wringer, why did you make the boy 9 going on 10?  He seems so much older. 

I thought 9/10 was the right age to carry my story.

Question 10   How does it feel to be a successful writer? (From a class in Japan) 

Terrific.  Especially knowing I have readers all the way over  in Japan.

Question 11   How many books have you  written? 

The answer is 23, but nobody wanted the first four, so 19 have been published.

Question 12   Is it easy to get good ideas? 

It's easy to get ideas, but not easy to get good ideas.

Question 13   Did you ever write a book about GRADE 5? 

Sorry.  Not specifically.

Question 14  Did you have a lot of problems when you were in Grade 4? 

My biggest problem in grade 4 was that my girlfriend dumped me.

Question 15   What can you tell us about new books coming out? 

Coming out in April '98 will be my autobiography Knots in My Yo-Yo String.  It's about my life as a kid.

Question 16  Do you have any brothers and sisters, and what are their names? 

I have one younger brother, Bill.

Question 17   My students are always interested in the background of authors they admire.  In looking up information about you (and your wife Eileen) they encountered information that mentioned six children and other sources which said you had seven children.  In fact, on the site with information about Eileen it said "seven" children.  So which is it?  My students want to know how people get this type of information  mixed up? 

We have six children -- and 11 grandchildren.  We often read information about ourselves that is wrong.  Mistakes happen.  I don't know why, they just do.

Question 18  Are any of your characters based on any of your family members? 

Megin (Megamouth) and Greg (El Grosso) in Who Put that Hair in my Tooth-Brush? were inspired by two of our kids, Molly and Jeffrey.

Question 19   What was your environment like when you were a child and what is it like now? 

I grew up in Norristown, PA.  You can read all about it in Knots in My Yo-Yo String, coming out in April.

Question 20   Where did you get the title Maniac Magee, and why did you call it that? 

I got the name "Maniac" from a newspaper column.  I thought it fit the character.

Question 20   Where is your favorite place to write? 

My office in my house on the second floor.

Question 21   Is there anything special you like to wear while you're writing? 

Comfortable jeans, moccasins, and a flannel shirt.

Question 22   Do you eat or drink while you're writing? 

Yes, orange juice and water.

Question 23  What is your favorite book you've written and why is it your favorite? 

Space Station Seventh Grade.  It was my first published book, that's why it's my favorite.

Question 24   Which is your least favorite book you've written and why? 

I don't have a least favorite, sorry.

Question 25   How long does it usually take to write a book? 

From one month to one year, it depends on the book.

Question 26   Who is your favorite author and why? 

Eileen Spinelli.  Her stories and poems touch me.

Question 27   Do you travel much and do you ever visit schools? 

We travel for vacations, but I'm not traveling on author tours or for book reasons as much as I used to.

Question 28   What advise would you give young writers? 

Write what you really care about.

Question 29   If you hadn't become a writer, what other profession would have been your choice? 

Being a baseball player would have been nice.

Question 30   I've noticed that names play an important role in some of your books. For instance: the names Palmer & Snots in Wringer and Penn Webb in Crash. Where do you get the ideas for the names? 

Most names I simply make up.  Usually, I try to match the name  to the character.   It's a matter of feel and fit, like trying on a shirt.  I got the name "Maniac" from a newspaper column.

Question 31   In your books Crash, Maniac Magee, Wringer, and There's A Girl in My Hammerlock, someone gets picked on. Why do you like to do that? 

Because "picking on" someone is conflict, and interesting things happen with conflict.  Try to write a good story without it.

Question 32   In Wringer, when you were talking about the pigeon on the roof outside of his bedroom window, why did you talk so little about the pigeon?  Why didn't you focus in on the pigeon and not Palmer?  All  you talked about was what Palmer was thinking, never about what the pigeon was thinking. 

I think the story talks a lot about the pigeon; it's just that  it's from the boy's point of view. And this story is basically about the boy, not the bird.

Question 33  Where do you get your ideas for your books; outside walking around, or from your head? 

Both -- from everyday life and from imagination.  And also from memories.

Question 34  I don't understand why you made Bean's house pretty and clean because I thought you were going to make his house weird. 

A person does not always reflect the house he or she comes  from.

Question 35   I don't understand why you made Beans the boss of the other kids. One more thing - what's Bean's real name? 

Beans' real name is in the book, but I don't remember what  page.

Question 36   Since Palmer's Dad is a shooter, is that why Palmer had to be a wringer, or does every boy have to be a wringer? If so, why doesn't he try to change the tradition to boys over 10 who want to be wringers? 

In the story, every boy has to be a wringer. Palmer is too busy trying to be himself to change the whole town; but in the end, that's what he begins to do.

Question 37   Do you plan for your books to be happy, sad, and funny? I mean to say that if you were playing volleyball and one person was sad, another person was happy, and the last person was being funny, it  would still look alright. 

I think a person's life is a mixture of happy, sad and funny.  So I try to make my books that way, too.

Question 38   As I began reading Wringer for the first time, I found myself puzzled by your incorporation of the violent act of pigeon killing in children's literature, albeit done extremely well. Following a limited  research review, I discovered the Hegins, PA Pigeon Shoot. Did you experience a pigeon shooting personally or become intrigued by the publicity? 

I feel that most things in real life can be the subject for a  story.

Question 39   How did you own children react to pigeon shooting? Wringer offers many teachable moments! Well done, my author friend! 

Actually, my children have never experienced pigeon shooting.

Question 40   When Beans and Dorothy in Wringer stand in a staredown it  reminds me of the confrontation between Mars Bar and Jeffrey in Maniac Magee. I've noticed other common descriptions some of your books share. Are these tricks you use to link your books for fans, memories you have of your childhood, or something else? 

Sometimes I deliberately strike a similar note from story to story, hopefully with some variation, like a fugue.  In other cases, it just happens.  There is bound to be some story-to-story similarity in an author's body of work. My goal is originality of recipe, not ingredients. Beyond that, it's simply hard for me to respond to your excellent, text-oriented question, since I don't read my own books.