For these trivia questions from last week, we have two very different authors who worked hard at their writing while holding down jobs.
42. Our first author was a school teacher, when she and her co-author started writing books together. Her first book idea came from a day when she was having a hard time keeping the attention of her students. She imagined they might take notice if she sprouted horns and fangs. This wild idea lead to a series of popular books. At first she and her co-author wrote their books in the school cafeteria during lunch time. Amazing!
Marcia Thornton Jones‘ bad day resulted in the book Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots with co-author Debbie Dadey. From there she has gone to write the popular Bailey School Kid series as well as many other best-selling books.
A trailer for her book Ratfink:
Thank you to Leah for bringing the Bailey School Kid series to my attention.
Check out more books by Marcia Thornton Jones:
43. Our second author began writing secretly when he was a teenager, so his brothers wouldn’t find out. He wrote at least eight novels while working as a carpenter before one was accepted for publication. At first he specialized in mystery novels for adults, but then on an editor’s suggestion, he tried young adult. His first book was such a success that was made into a movie, and many more novels have followed. He has co-written books with his wife, as well.
Rodman Philbrick‘s first book for young adults was Freak the Mighty, which was made into the movie The Mighty.
He is married to Lynn Harnett, who is also an author. Together they wrote the haunted house trilogy called The House On Cherry Street.