One of the most memorable summers I spent happened in 1947, when my parents loaded me, (age 9) my twin sister and older brother (by two years) on a road trip that went from New York City to Los Angeles and back—in my father’s Buick—the only kind of car he would drive. Consider: A two
When I looked at the category under which my newest book, School of the Dead, was listed, it was “Horror.” I admit; I was taken aback. True, I have written many different kinds of books, and that includes ghost stories, books like Something Upstairs, Seer of Shadows, The Book Without Words. They are all tales
Toby from Roseburg, OR, writes: “I guess you feel good when one of your books gets a good review. How does it feel when (if) you get a bad review? I do know writers who say they never read any reviews. I am not one of those people. It is always a pleasing experience when
Is there a difference between reading and working on what you are writing on a computer screen or on paper? Clearly, this is an individual choice, but speaking purely for myself, I think there is a big difference. But I am not sure why. For more than twenty years I have composed my books on a
When the novel Something Upstairs was published, it was set in the Providence, Rhode Island house (built 1835) I was living in. I had moved there from Los Angeles, from a most modern city to a very old one. Indeed, it felt as if I was going back in time. That sense of going back in
It may come as a shock to those of you who have expressed admiration for my books and writing (thank you!) when I confess that I do not believe I am a good writer. Immersed as I currently am in putting together a first draft of a new book, I am often disheartened by how
I was in New York City last week, and as I always do, I rode the Subway.That’s something I have enjoyed doing since I was a boy growing up. (My graphic novel, City of Light City of Dark, has a lot about subways.) This time as I looked over the passengers, sitting and standing, I
“Have you ever written a book with someone else?” asks Toby from Columbus Ohio. The answer is yes. I did so with writer Rachel Vail, with whom I wrote, Never Mind. It came about this way. My twin sister (Emily Leider (www.emilyleider.com )) is also a writer, a poet, and an author of a number of biographies.
Avi: The “Poppy” Series from Mackin Educational Resources on Vimeo. Thanks to MackinVia for this excerpt from a longer interview I did with them. You can view more of Mackin’s videos here.
A question I am often asked is, “Do you know the endings of your books when you begin?” There is not a simple answer to this question. Now and again I do know with some clarity what I expect the ending of a book will be. That, however, is rare. More often than not, I have