Q&A with Anna Murray 1. Is Sarah YOU? Sarah is like me in a lot of ways. I moved from New York to Michigan, and BOY, was that a shock! I also have a Dalmatian named Ellie and a Thoroughbred horse named Sutton. I'm also a wisecracker like Sarah. But as a kid, I was much more shy than Sarah is. She's pretty brave! 2. How long did it take you to write Sarah's Page? Once I started to write, it took me 4 months. But GETTING STARTED was the hard part. I actually wrote a whole other novel before Sarah's Page. I wasn't happy with it, so I revised it. And I wasn't happy with THAT. So I just spend a lot of time thinking. I guess between the writing and the thinking, it took about 2 years before I could get started on Sarah's Page. 3. Is Sarah based on anyone you know --- I mean other that you? I used to be a teacher. I taught high school English. There were soooo many great young women I met while I was teaching. I made Sarah part me, and part all the great girls I knew when I was teaching. 4. Who is your favorite author? Wow. That's a hard one because I love to read so much. I am ALWAYS reading some book-- since I was in 3rd grade. But I guess I would have to say Jane Austen is my favorite author. I love the way she deals with people's lives and feelings. And she has a GREAT sense of humor. 5. When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? Nobody in my family is really a "reader." But when I was in 3rd grade, my teacher tried to get me to read a book. I was really skeptical. It just looked so hard to read a WHOLE book. But I went ahead and tried. The book she recommended was called "All of a Kind Family." It was about a poor Jewish Family in New York. I LOVED it!!! From then on I was a true reader. I enjoyed reading so much, I hoped some day I could do that --- create a whole world for someone else to enjoy. 6. Is there going to be another Sarah's Page? YES! I just finished writing it. It's a LOT of fun. I won't give it away, but Sarah goes to school. The theme of the next book is "friendship." 7. Is the Ellie in the book based on your dalmatian Ellie? Yes! And she is every BIT as bad as the Ellie in the book. She steals socks and underwear. If she doesn't get fed on time, she kicks her food bowl until you notice her. And if you still don't notice her, she tips over her water bowl. I want to put a picture up on the website of Ellie, but she's afraid of cameras and runs away when you get a camera out. 8. Is the horse in your book based on your horse? Sort of. I never was dragged the way Traverse drags Sarah. But I did buy a Thoroughbred horse from the race track and rehabilitated him. Now he's older and has arthritis. But he still remembers that I am the one who saved him. 9. What do you like to do for fun? Mostly ride horses. In addition to Sutton, who is retired, I have a little Quarter Horse named Hershey. I'm also a big shopper :) 10. What would you say to someone who wants to be a writer? READ READ READ! But make sure you read things you LIKE. There's nothing worse than thinking you SHOULD like a type of book. A lot of times I read things because I thought it was good for me, or someone "smart" was reading a particular book. What I found out is that you should read things that speak to YOU. Then, some day when you are ready to write, you should write what YOU would like to read. © Copyright 2002, Kidsreads.com - All Rights Reserved Share Sarah's Page with a friend by clicking here.