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Goodreads asked Wendelin Van Draanen:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Wendelin Van Draanen I didn't notice the seed for The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones being planted. I just visited my mom every day at the care facility where she spent the last two years of her life. I didn't see the story there--it was just something that was private and painful. Over those years I got to know the other residents as well as the caregivers. It wasn't until after my mom passed that I realized how much I'd witnessed, how much I'd learned. And then Lincoln's voice started up. That's what my characters do--one day they'll just start talking. Lincoln was who he was from that first voicing - funny, sweet, smart...and alone. A boy who uses writing as therapy, as escape. A boy who sees one world and wishes for another. A boy who needs to break free of his secrets.
Wendelin Van Draanen
2,172 followers

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