S.E.’s Comments (group member since May 17, 2013)

S.E.’s comments from the Ask S.E. Hinton - Monday, June 17th! group.

Thanks everyone for your excellent questions! If
I missed anyone, sorry! Several of you have the same
questions, so you might want to read through the posts.
Remember: Keep On Reading!
And Stay Gold!
S.E. Hinton

The_ugly_spirit wrote: "Hi. I have a question about the character's racial and ethnic backgrounds in The Outsiders. I used to teach the book at an all-Native tribal school, and a lot of my students were sure that the grea..."

So many different people identify with The Outsiders,
all over the world with many different nationalities,
so your experience does not surprise me. Johnny
Native American, why not? I love the different ways
kids can read my books.

Ann wrote: "As many others stated - the Outsiders is one of my favorite books of all time. After reading that I read all of your books. I was very surprised by your recent book Hawks Harbor. Even though it was..."

I don't plan to write a sequel to Hawkes Harbor,
but I am writing another that is very different.
Scary & funny.

Callie wrote: "

First of all, you don't even know how thrilled I am that you will be answering questions on here! My eighth grade teacher had your book, "The Outsiders" as our fir..."

It took about a year from signing the contract to the
book coming out. It wasn't a huge seller in the beginning, it's reputation grew by word of mouth,

Melissa wrote: "Hello S.E. Hinton! My name is Mel and The Outsiders is my absolute favorite book, but I love all your other works, too! I actually was just reading some fanfiction of the Outsiders when my sister e..."

For me, The Outsiders was over when it was over.
If it is not in the book it's not cannon.

Sukhi wrote: "How long does it take you to write an average book?

P.S. I read The Outsiders in 6th grade and it has been by far one of my favorite school books. Thank you for putting such wonderful material out..."

It depends on the book how long it takes. Tex took me
3 years, Rumble Fish 9 months. I don't think there is
such a thing as an "average" book.

Jason wrote: "First of all, thank you so much for writing The Outsiders. It has inspired and influenced many of my students and many of them cite it as their favorite book of all time. You should be honored to h..."

My publishers worried about it. And now I am glad I
did it that way.

Susan wrote: "I first read The Outsiders when I was 14, and it is still my favorite book at 44. I have probably read it 100 times over the years. I have read all of your other work also . . . multiple times, and..."

I was pretty horrified by the original cut of The Outsiders, as we had shot the whole book. I like
the Complete Novel dvd, especially the extras. The
boys commenting on the movie is hysterical.

Brooke wrote: "Hi Ms. Hinton!
Firstly, I'd like to say that when I was 12 my dad gave me his copy of Rumble Fish and as soon as I read it, it felt like something came into my life that was missing. It was the re..."

The only question I can answer is "Did you like Tom
Waits?" Yes, very much!!

Angela wrote: "I just received this invite and I'm nearly in tears! S.E. Hinton and The Outsiders is the reason I started writing! She is the inspiration behind my love of books!!! I loved it so much I never ret..."

No, some of the events were based on real-life happenings, but the characters are fictional.

Vikki wrote: "I loved seeing your guest role on supernatural. It's great seeing such a successful fan be on the show. Have they ever asked you to write an episode?"
No, but they have wonderful writers all ready.
I really like being "just good friends"

Ax wrote: "Hi! I regularly use your book 'The Outsiders' in my classes and it never fails to make a really big impression on students from very diverse backgrounds.
To what do you attribute this book's endur..."

Stay Gold has gone viral, as they say.

Aaron wrote: "Was your wise child comment a Salinger reference? Or was that just coincidence?"

Just a coincidence. My grandmother called me that

Amanda wrote: "ms. hinton my name is Amanda and i wanted to know is there going to be a 2nd rumblefish?"

No

Maddie wrote: "I know this is kinda unrelated, but I was wondering what kind of music you like? Even though I'm only 15 I like 80s classic rock, and Elvis. Not a big fan of rap and that type of stuff."

Sorry to say, I am not musical at all. When I have the
choice, my house & my car are silent.

Joshua wrote: "Have you read any of these of these books?
Divergent
Hunger games series
Twilight series
Fifty shades of grey
The fault in our stars?
A game of thrones series
If you watch tv, what is some of your ..."

Joshua wrote: "Have you read any of these of these books?
Divergent
Hunger games series
Twilight series
Fifty shades of grey
The fault in our stars?
A game of thrones series
If you watch tv, what is some of your ..."

Joshua wrote: "Have you read any of these of these books?
Divergent
Hunger games series
Twilight series
Fifty shades of grey
The fault in our stars?
A game of thrones series
If you watch tv, what is some of your ..."

Only thing on that list I've read is first 3 books
of Game of Thrones. I watch Supernatural, Elementary,
Psych, Justified, True Blood--I just don't watch "reality" or crime procedurals.

Kira wrote: "i must firstly say a simple "thank you" for the wonderful books you've written for us to take in and enjoy… i loved the puppy sister too!
when my best friend and i were ten years old, we discovere..."

Honestly, once I finish a book it is over for me &
I would rather think about new characters instead of
mulling over old ones. My characters take a lot of concentration, the old ones move out to make room in my head.

Juli wrote: "S.E. wrote: "Juli wrote: "Dear Ms. Hinton,
I love assigning your book in my 8th grade Lit. class because it is the one book that unites all of us, readers and non-readers alike. It doesn't matter..."

There's not going to be a remake so I don't waste any
time thinking about it.

Katie wrote: "Is it true you were failing your English literature class at the same time as you were writing The Outsiders? Did your teachers support you in your writing?"

I did flunk Creative Writing my junior year, the year
I was writing The Outsiders. But I had some really
great English teachers through the years.

A. wrote: "I've read "The Outsiders" as a high school requirement, university requirement, and for personal enjoyment. My question is: how hard was it for you to learn how to write a novel/novella while you w..."

It wasn't really hard in high school. I'd been writing
for many years, and it was more fun than school work
or "hanging out" For me, anyway