Jane Yolen
I have four new books out this fall and each one started in a different way. "National Geographic Animal Stories" began when a NG editor (hi, Jennifer!)
wrote and asked my agent if I would like to write the book. I was so over-committed at the time, I replied I would do it if I could write it with m children who are all published authors. And so the adventure started.
"Centaur Rising" came about when I met with editor Christy Ottaviano, and showed her an old short story of mine, "Centaur Field," first published fifteen or so years ago in a Bruce Coville anthology called "Half Human."
I wanted to expand it into a novel.
"A Plague of Unicorns" was also a short story ("An Infestation of Unicorns") I'd wanted to expand but never had, till I was introduced at the Texas Library Assn's big conference to a friend's editor. She worked for Zondervan, a Christian publisher and was a big fan of my books. Now I am not Christian and not religious,but I minored in religion at college and am fascinated by religious history and ritual. A number of my books, though, are spiritual, so we talked. I told her about the unicorn story and she asked to see it, and bought it on the spot.
And "The Last Changeling," which I wrote with my son Adam, is the second book of a trilogy that was already under contract.
So you see, four books, four different stories behind them.
wrote and asked my agent if I would like to write the book. I was so over-committed at the time, I replied I would do it if I could write it with m children who are all published authors. And so the adventure started.
"Centaur Rising" came about when I met with editor Christy Ottaviano, and showed her an old short story of mine, "Centaur Field," first published fifteen or so years ago in a Bruce Coville anthology called "Half Human."
I wanted to expand it into a novel.
"A Plague of Unicorns" was also a short story ("An Infestation of Unicorns") I'd wanted to expand but never had, till I was introduced at the Texas Library Assn's big conference to a friend's editor. She worked for Zondervan, a Christian publisher and was a big fan of my books. Now I am not Christian and not religious,but I minored in religion at college and am fascinated by religious history and ritual. A number of my books, though, are spiritual, so we talked. I told her about the unicorn story and she asked to see it, and bought it on the spot.
And "The Last Changeling," which I wrote with my son Adam, is the second book of a trilogy that was already under contract.
So you see, four books, four different stories behind them.
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