A MAGIC INTERVIEW: Kathy McCullough

Welcome to Part II: An interview with Kathy McCullough, author of WHO NEEDS MAGIC?

1) This is your latest book. It came out July 9th. The book signing at Barnes and Noble was great; I enjoyed hearing you read out loud from this lively and humorous novel. How is the book being received? Have you been attending many book signings? What is a typical book signing like?

The book’s gotten some nice reviews from the major reviewers and bloggers. I did a couple of signings in Boston, Nantucket and Philadelphia in August to promote the book. They went well, but that was due largely to knowing people in those areas, who recruited their friends and friends’ kids to come out. The exception was Nantucket, where the bookstore had me sit out front at a table, so I got a lot of “walk by” traffic – and sold a lot of books.

2) In what other ways do you promote your book?

I do school visits, from 6^th grade up through high school, as well as library visits.

3) Is your publisher helpful? Are they open to suggestions? What do you do on your own and what aspects do they help you with?

The publisher submits the book to reviewers and can help set up signings at Barnes & Noble branches. Unless you are a best-selling author, it’s difficult at a big publisher like Random House to do much more than this.

6) The end of WHO NEEDS MAGIC? was a surprise for me, but I don't want to give it away. Could elaborate on  your method of working? Do you outline?

Because I went to graduate school for screenwriting, outlining is essential to me. However, I know from experience that the final product veers from the original outline considerably. An outline helps to get me started and helps me begin to focus on the main themes and characters, however.

7) How many drafts do you typically do of a book?

So many I lose count. I am a big reviser. I know when my stack of drafts and partial drafts and notes exceeds my height, that I’m almost there (and I’m six feet tall!) .

8) Do you have the ending in place when you start?

Yes, as part of the outline. But, as I said, it can change.

7) How much does a book change for you from beginning to end?

A lot! (See answers above!)

8) Let's talk about Delany: her mission is to become a f.g. (the abbreviation in the book for fairy godmother.) She wants to help people. Can you speak about this as a theme? Do you feel teens should help each other more? Or is this just something people naturally want to do?

I think we’re all born with the impulse to help others, but life experiences and circumstances can make this more difficult. However, I see lots of evidence in my day to day life of teens being very helpful and empatheic. I think that’s why they root for Delaney to come around and want to help others.

9) What was the hardest part of writing WHO NEEDS MAGIC?

Having a deadline, which I didn’t for the first book.

10) How long did it take?

It took about a year, but off and on, since I was traveling and promoting the first book at the same time.

4) Is this really the last in the Delany Collins series? If so why?

I hope it’s not the last. But the publisher does not have plans currently to publish another.

11) Did you study writing? If so, where?

I studied creative writing at Cornell University, under poet Peter Fortunato. Then I attended Columbia University for graduate school, and studied screenwriting. I also took a children’s writing class with author Karen D’Arc.

12) Why did you decide to write a novel for teens?

My sensibility seems to lie there. I like the purity of emotion and morality in stories for kids and teens.

5) What is your next book?

I’ve only started the next one and am not far enough into it to share it yet!

6) You have also written screenplays. How does writing a screenplay compare to writing a novel?

Screenplays are easier in that they are shorter and follow a specific structure. However, the tight structure also makes it harder, because you can’t veer off on tangents, and you have a page limit, which you don’t in a novel.

Thank you so much, Kathy, and all the best!
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