Ask Rainbow your question here!

[Rainbow, Author of Landline]

Aditi wrote: "Hi, Rainbow!
I absolutely love your work.

Would you ever write a book incorporating characters from both Fangirl and Eleanor & Park?"

Thank you! That's a good question.

I actually have a book idea that takes place in Omaha and would have appearances from all my main characters. I'm not sure that I'll ever write it -- I have a few other ideas I'd like to get to first. But I came up with the idea after I realized that the main characters of Attachments, Eleanor & Park and Landline are all about the same age and all have a connection to Omaha.

Two of my previous characters make a cameo in Landline, but it's sort of sneaky. They're not named.

[Rainbow, Author of Landline]

Kayla wrote: "Would/have you ever consider writing historical fiction or fiction set at an earlier date, possibly early 1900s? If so how do you think it would change your writing?"

Hmmm ... I don't think so. I don't enjoy that sort of research. And I don't usually read historical fiction. (I do sometimes, but I don't seek it out.)

Now that I've said that, I'll probably come up with a Jazz Age idea.

[Gaby]

When you were younger did you want to be a writer?

[Rainbow, Author of Landline]

Diana wrote: "My question is: will you have a say as to who is cast as Eleanor and Park for the movie?.."

I will probably know what's going on as the movie progresses -- and I'll get a chance to say what I think -- but the studio, producer and director will make all the big decisions about it.

[Rikke]

Hi there!
When I read Eleanor & Park, the details about both the characters roots really interested me. Especially the fact that Eleanor and her mother are danish. I am from Denmark myself.
Do you have any roots in Denmark, or why did you choose that country, and the other countries for both maincharacters?

I love your writing by the way, and your books are some of my favourites! Lots of love.

[Simone]

Another question i just thought of while reading drarry on the Train :p i read that you Wrote drarry fanfiction, is it still available to read?

[Rikke]

Hi Rainbow

I reckon that Eleanor & Park was written from some of your own teenage experiences. Not the love story itself(?), but some of the other things, like the bus drive, the school, the music, and all brands.
Did you have a walk down memory lane, when you wrote that book, and how much research did you have to do?

[Laura]

Hello Rainbow,

I don't want to lie and say I've read all the previous questions so sorry if I ask something it has already been asked.

Firstly I would like to say I have loved all your books,I just finished landline less than an hour ago and it was also pretty great, you never disappoint me so I would like to thank you for your awesome, likeable characters and writing style.
Secondly, how are you doing? I hope you are having a great time.

My first question is, what inspired you to write about a 'magic phone'? Or is there a big life changing event that gave you the idea for landline?

Second question, in Fangirl, was there any moment where you had any regret about the ending? Like with Cath and the fanfic? (This is my sister question, she really wanted Cath to ignore Levi and finish writing).
Also what is your opinion of fangirls in general? Personally I could relate a lot to the fangirl lifestyle you wrote and I've read about how some readers see the attitude as you wrote it as a negative view towards fangirls but in my opinion you did a great job describing some of our thoughts.

I read somewhere, probably twitter or tumblr, that you have the whole Eleanor and Park sequel in your head, do you think in a future you would sit and write it? I'm fine with the ending, but at the same I'm dying for more.

I'm sure I have a lot more questions, but I know you have a lot more to answer, hopefully you will read these ones. Anyway, once I again, I love your book and I'll be waiting for more of your stories.

Thank you!

Laura

[Chi]

Hi Rainbow, I am fan of your works as I can relate to your characters. Thank you so much for everything

My question is : Do you see your work ( esp Eleanor and park, fangirl or attachments) become movies?

[Rikke]

Hello Rainbow!
I'm a great fan of your book and your writing. I especially love Fangirl. It is so realistic and the characters are so vivid.
How did you come up with the idea to write Fangirl? And how did you do your research for that book (the college, the fangirling, the fanfic-writing)?

[Rainbow, Author of Landline]

Charli wrote: "Hello! I absolutely adored Fangirl - I can't stop thinking about Cath and Levi!! I also really enjoyed Eleanor and Park, you create such wonderful vivid characters.
Did you have to do much research about Fanfiction when writing Fangirl? Or did you already know a lot about it?"

Thank you!

I did some research -- I read about a few very popular fic writers, and I spent a lot of time on people's LiveJournal blogs. But mostly I was just reading lots of fanfiction because I enjoy reading fanfiction.

[Jenny]

Hi Rainbow! I'm a huge huge fan of yours..and Fangirl is one of the novels closest to my heart ever.

So my questions are: Who among your characters do you identify with yourself the most? Have you also fangirled much about a recently released novel? If so, what's the title? I'd love to know. :)

Last question! Any possibility that you might visit us soon in the Philippines!

Thanks so much! Lots of love from your Filipino fans.

-Jenny

[Rainbow, Author of Landline]

Sandy wrote: "I love that you have an extreme curly girl as a character, being one myself. Do you have any personal curly hair stories, positive or negative?"

I've always had long, thick hair -- and I didn't realize how curly it was until I tried to have feathered bangs in fifth grade. It was a nightmare. I didn't really know how to take care of curly hair until my late 20s. (It was a revelation when I stopped brushing it.) The weird thing is I *wanted* curly hair. I thought my hair was just bushy and tangly. As soon as I stopped brushing and switched shampoos and let my sister give me layers -- it got really nice.

[Rainbow, Author of Landline]

Meghan wrote: "How did you put together Fangirl? Did you write it in sequence? Or did you write the Simon snow stories separate and then added them in?"

I mostly wrote them separately. I can't remember whether I wrote them in the middle or at the end ... I know that I wrote most of them over a few days. Then I went back after one of my last drafts and tweaked and replaced them. I wanted each excerpt to tie in some way to the chapter it started. I remember printing all the Simon Snow bits out and laying them on the floor, with a description of each chapter, so I could see how they progressed, and whether they had a good internal rhythm.

The book is written so that it will still make perfect sense even if you skip the epigraphs. (As a reader, I often skip epigraphs.) But the story deepens if you read them.

The exception to this is the moon rabbit story; I wrote that one while writing the main narrative, I think.

[Rainbow, Author of Landline]

Autumn wrote: "How has your newspaper experience affected your fiction writing, besides that setting?

Working as a columnist and reporter for so long -- more than a decade -- really taught me to write on deadline. It also taught me to let go. That at some point, you stop worrying over your writing, and you hand it over to someone else.

Also, I think it made me less precious about editing. I still get frustrated sometimes and I don't always make every change my editor suggests. But I'm used to working with editors, and I'm grateful for thoughtful feedback.

Finally, I think that I learned a lot about people as a journalist, and I especially learned to listen when they talk. I'm naturally drawn to dialogue, and reporting sharpened my ear.

[Nicole]

Rainbow wrote: "Vauny wrote: "Hi Rainbow,

I wanted to know if you have any plans to write a sequel to fangirl?"

I don't think I'll ever write a sequel to Fangirl, but if you're curious about the characters, you ..."

OH. MY. GOD. How did I not make that connection that [spoiler retracted by myself lol] are in Landline?! As if I needed more reasons to be obsessed with these books! And by these, I mean all four of them. <3

[Rainbow, Author of Landline]

Emily wrote: "I hope no one has asked this question so far but:

If you could go back and tell yourself just one thing before you got signed to a publishing deal what would that one thing be?

Thanks!
Emily"

I'm not sure. In general, I don't think I'd give myself advice in the past. Because I usually like where I end up.

I might tell myself not to lose hope. Publishing is extremely unpredictable. Nobody really knows what will or won't sell. They're all just guessing.

As an inexperienced author, you feel so intimidated, and sometimes so hopeless. My books were rejected a lot. They weren't easily categorized. It took me a long time to find an agent.

So maybe I'd tell myself not to lose hope, and to follow my instincts.

On the other hand, I felt pretty hopeless about my career when I was writing Fangirl, and that's my favorite of my books.

Here's some advice that my agent gave me, whenever I was feeling hopeless or confused or anything, really: Write your next book.

That advice got me through the swamp between Attachments and Eleanor & Park, and it's the reason I had so many books ready to be published in the last 18 months.

[Nicole]

Hi Rainbow. Love your work (E&P made it onto my top 5 book list the second I finished it), and you seem awesome as well! I have two questions re: Attachments.

1.) What all did Lincoln study in college? The novel brings up how much time he spent in school, some characters going so far as to suggest he's got an unhealthy obsession with school. Clearly he knows more than a tech security job would necessitate, so I'm wondering where else he'd fit.

2.) What drew you to the epistolary novel format for this one? I'm definitely a sucker for it because it can be a lot more interesting/revealing than just regular first-person or third-person narrative. Were you reading anything in particular that put it your mind or was it just a natural decision for you?

[Rainbow, Author of Landline]

Niamh wrote: "Was it difficult to write in a male narrative? Like Lincoln in Attachments or Park in Eleanor and Park?."

Well, it was definitely intimidating, especially the first time. I just reminded myself that there's no such thing as a universal male voice. I didn't have to make Lincoln sound like every man; he's one unique person.

Also, men aren't unicorns or koala bears. I know a lot of them. I have brothers and friends, a husband, coworkers. And all these guys talk to me about what they think and feel.

I also thought about all the great female characters I've read who were written by men.

The book I'm writing now has five first-person narrators, and the two dominant voices are men.

[[deleted user]]

Hi Rainbow. Thanks so much for taking time out of your vacation to answer our questions. How is the Eleanor & Park screenplay coming along? Where is the film in process? Also: loved Landline.

[Rainbow, Author of Landline]

One more thought about writing male perspective as a woman: In our culture, the DOMINANT voice is a male voice. In the news, on television, in movies, for sure. As a woman, you swim in that perspective every day.

[Rainbow, Author of Landline]

Bethany wrote: "I'm a little obsessed with names, and your characters have fantastic ones. I love that they convey so much about who they are without being, say, Remus Lupin (though Cather is headed in that direction). What can you tell us about the process and reasonings for naming the characters in Landline?"

Aw, I love the name Remus Lupin.

For last names, I usually choose a Nebraska theme. Attachments and Landline have Nebraska towns, and Eleanor & Park has Nebraska counties. Fangirl has buildings on the University of Nebraska campus.

For first names, I think about where the characters live and when they were born. You can find really specific name statistics on the U.S. Social Security database.

I spend a lot of time on the main characters' names. I think about who their parents are and what they might have been thinking when they named them.

Park, for example, was given his mother's family name, but his younger brother has a popular American name.

Levi's family is very conservative and religious. He has an Old Testament name, which is common in Nebraska.

[Amanda]

Hi Rainbow,

Your books really inspire me to work on my own writing because you're hilarious and thoughtful all at the same time (and you write KILLER kissing scenes). I wasn't totally sure it was possible to have all of that rolled into one book before I started reading your work. So, what advice would you give to a late-20-something looking to hone her fiction skills with the goal of one day writing a novel?

Thank you for your time!
Amanda

[Tammie]

hi Rainbow I wanted to ask you if there was going to be another book out from you soon?

[rianna]

Hi Rainbow! Iv'e Read Fangirl and plan to read all of your other books very soon.

Q:On your blog, you say that your writing a comic, when is it coming out and what is it about?

Thanks,
Rianna

[Anna]

Fangirl has to be one of my favorite books, and I love that it's from the point of view of a college student. I'm very excited to read Eleanor & Park and Landline.

My

[Anna]

Oops, I'm sorry for double posting. I hit enter too early. But my question would be: what inspired you to write Fangirl? And are you more like Cath or Wren? Thank you so much!

P.S. I have a total crush on Levi, but I love him and Cath. :)

[Delaney]

What do you think your favorite thing about writing is?

[Jaclyn]

Dear Miss,

I would like to say that I love love LOVED Eleanor & Park, and was wondering if you would be doing a sequel..? ALSO, any advice for writers?

[Rainbow, Author of Landline]

Valerie wrote: "When are you coming to Manila, Philippines? I'll wait for you! <3"

I'd love to come to the Philippines :)

My friends Gayle Forman and Jenny Han both visited there, and said their events were amazing.

[Arleen]

I've read Fangirl and Eleanor & Park and I loved both! You are amazing!

I would like to know how do you organize your thoughts and time? I get caught up on so many things: 9-5 job, my own criticism, reading, etc. that I never seem to be able to juggle it all and actually write.

Much love all the way from Panama :)

[Brooke]

When you came up with the storyline for Eleanor & Park, what made you decide on having Eleanor's home life be how it was? For example having a step dad that treated her as he did compared to Park and his happy family? Or why her family was so poor?

[Ellie]

Hello, Rainbow Rowell!
Fangirl is one of my all time favourite books and I love it so much! In Fangirl, Cath struggles to write about anything outside of Simon Snow, why do you think that Wren found it easier to move on from the fandom?

Thanks and much love!

[A.N.]

This isn't really a question, but it still should be said: I love to read, but I am a very picky reader. If a book doesn't hold my interest within the first few chapters, I tend to put it away for a long time or forever. But I read all four of your books in a span of 3 weeks. They were engaging, well-written, I found myself caring very much about each of the characters and their individual stories. When I finished Fangirl, I moved straight to E&P that same day, then Attachments, then Landline. You have fast become one of my favourite authors, and of the few people whom I would buy a book from solely because your name was on it. Thank you for sharing your talent for storytelling with the world, and I look forward to your future works!

[Rainbow, Author of Landline]

Amy wrote: "I was wondering if you wrote fan fiction in the past and what was it? Also, do you follow any current fan fiction? "

I wrote fanfiction as a teenager -- Stars Wars, X-Men, pop bands -- but it was before the Internet, and I never really shared it.

I've written some Harry Potter fanfiction, but I never posted it online.

I do read quite a bit of fanfiction -- mostly Harry Potter and Sherlock.

Thank you for your question!

[Rainbow, Author of Landline]

Sarah wrote: "Rainbow! Where was all the "meowing" from? :)"

My youngest son has been meowing since he could talk. (He used to meow in his sleep, even -- he's obsessed with cats.) I decided to give that trait to Georgie's daughter Noomi in Landline.

[Yoce]

What happened with Eleanor and Park? Did they end up together or no?

[Sarah]

I just finished LANDLINE and particularly loved the Seth/Georgie friendship and how you explored that in the novel. Do you think their friendship remains as strong after the conclusion of the events at the end of the book or do they pull back from one another a bit?

[Katherine]

Hi Rainbow! Thank you so much for your pretty, pretty words!

When you're starting a new story how do your characters tend to come to you? Inspired by others, bits and pieces? Curious because your characters are always so uniquely themselves.

[Rainbow, Author of Landline]

Anshita wrote: "As a writer, how many hours of the day do you dedicate to writing? Do you have a certain time period when you write like in the morning or at night?"

When I'm working on a book, I really immerse myself. I try to write for four to six hours a day, for at least four to six days in a row.

To focus like that, I end up letting other things slip. (Email, especially.)

I write mostly after 4 p.m. I have a hard time focusing in the morning. Actually, that's not it ... I can focus on practical things in the morning, but I have a hard time losing myself in a story. I do my best writing in the evening or late at night.

[Simone]

Hiiii i've Been thinking of an Addition to my last fanfiction related question: are there any fanfictions you can recommend?

By the Way: any Chance there'll be an Event in Germany (munich) sometime?? :)

[Rainbow, Author of Landline]

Grace Miel wrote: "Was Angelo's a direct Sherlock reference?"

In Landline? Yes :)

[Vickie]

Rainbow,

Do you/would you attend Comic-Con or Dragon*Con?

Thanks!! =)

[Rachel]

Hi Rainbow! I love all your books- they're awesome!
I was wondering what you do in your writing process- do you sit and map out characters first and completely create them then or do you just sit down and write and develop them as you go? (Or a bit of both?) :)
Thanks!

[Rainbow, Author of Landline]

Carissa wrote: "Hi Rainbow!

What can you tell us about your collaboration with Faith Erin Hicks? You are one of my favorite authors and she's my favorite graphic artist so needless to say I'm super excited!!!

T..."

Thank you! I'm excited, too. Faith is amazing -- she just won an Eisner Award!

Faith and I met with our First Second editor, Calista Brill, at The Toronto Comic Arts Festival in May. We talked through my graphic novel idea and our individual work styles. We're both working on other projects this summer, but the plan is for me to write the book this fall and winter, then we'll work together on the book next year. I think it's set to come out in 2016.

[Abigail]

Hi Rainbow! What's the first book you can remember that changed the way you thought about the world and/or yourself? And how did it change you?

[Connie]

Rainbow ! Is there a second part to Eleanor and park? You got my aunt and I hooked on to it !

[Kaitlan]

Rainbow, are you working on anything new right now? Love your books!!!

[Aainaa]

Hi Rainbow! Which, among all your character couples, did you enjoy writing the most?

[Rita]

Hi from Germany!
I love all your books, but especially Eleanor and Park. I think I never read a book that felt so beautiful and perfect to me.

I only wondered why you named him "Park". As someone who spent a year in Korea I only know Park as a surname. I liked the name, it was only weird for me and I told myself maybe the father liked the name so much that he named him Park. Did you just like the sound of it? :)

Anyway, I hope you'll write a lot more wonderful books, they always make me happy.