I grew up mostly an only child. My dad remarried when I was a teenager. And then I had two stepbrothers. And then my dad had a second child. So I have a brother from the time I was 15. But I really grew up feeling like an only child.
'Middle school' is used as shorthand for a time when things change. It's a time a lot of kids feel like they don't even have one good friend.
Anyone who's familiar with my writing schedule knows that there is always plenty of time between books for me!
I'm always thinking about identity. And the middle-school years are a time of exploring questions about who you are and who you want to be. For the first time, you see the world in a broader sense.
Sometimes you never feel meaner than the moment you stop being mean.
I am hoping to work with writers publishing books for first time, since I of course remember what that experience is like. It's all a bit of a mystery for new authors who don't know what to expect.
Every published writer suffers through that first draft because most of the time, that's a disappointment.