After reviewing Courtney’s book, we couldn’t wait to talk to her! We learned a lot and hope that you will too!
BTB: What inspired you to write the Sincerely books?
Courtney: The idea came to me when I was at dinner with my dear friend Allyson. We were talking about New York versus California, and these two girls popped into my head, sixth grade pen pals who corresponded across 3000 miles. In the beginning, I knew more about Sophie: that she lived in Manhattan, shared a room with her younger sister, and her parents were going through a divorce. She was a lot like me. Allyson is sportier and more outgoing, and she lives in California, so she was the original inspiration for Katie.
BTB: What do you want your audience to learn or get from your books?
Courtney:I don’t ever set out with a lesson for my readers. My goal is to write well enough so that the story is realistic, and readers can identify with my characters and empathize with their situations. And I hope, when they finish the books, they feel like the time they spent reading was worthwhile.
BTB:How long have you been writing?
Courtney: I’ve been writing since I was a little girl – I remember when I was about six and my sister was three, we used to staple pages together, curl up on opposite ends of the couch, and write “books.”
BTB:What are some of the things you’ve learned as a writer?
Courtney: In no particular order, I’ve learned that even the things you love to do are hard; that tricks that work for other people won’t necessarily work for me, and vice versa; that I have to make myself write everyday, and just keep going even when it seems like I’m the worst writer in the world; that it’s scary but necessary to share the bad stuff with my friends, my agent, my editor, because they can help me fix it; that revision is the very best part; and that even though I spend most of my days alone in my apartment, being a writer has brought some of the greatest people into my life.
BTB: Are any of the things that Kate and Sophie experience things that you experienced when you were younger?
Courtney: Like Katie, I was born in the San Francisco Bay Area, my favorite aunt was my Aunt Jean, and I organized a fundraiser in my school – though mine was to benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. My family situation was much more like Sophie’s. Also I was (and am) on the short side, I went to a private all-girls school on the Upper East Side, and I really did get trapped in an apartment building stairwell on Halloween, along with my real-life friend Katie.
*Interview Questions by Meagan Anderson and Etinosa Agbonlahor
Tags: author, book, califronia, Courtney Sheimnel, interview, New York, Sincerely Kate, Sincerely Sophie, upper east side, writer
July 19th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Great interview!