A June 2008 interview with Moira Donahue, author of Penny and the Punctuation Bee

I started writing when I was a kid. When I was in junior high, I wrote a story about a ballet dancer that I sent to Scholastic. Of course, it was rejected, but with a very nice letter. In college, I stopped writing for fun. I went to law school, became a lawyer and wrote things like memoranda and legislation. But I missed writing stories, so I started again as an adult.

Are you working on anything now?

I am working on a middle grade novel that involves a lot of theater. And, from time to time, I chip away at picture book biography of someone I've admired my entire life (also in the theater!).

What person or person(s) has/have helped you the most in your career?

I really rely on my two writing groups. I'm not usually a "group" person, but they keep me writing, keep me encouraged and make my writing better with their honesty!

What was your big break?

When the wonderful people at Albert Whitman & Co. decided to take a chance on a quirky book with animate punctuation marks, ALFIE THE APOSTROPHE! And they did it again with PENNY AND THE PUNCTUATION BEE, which came out this month!

How much of your writing is based on your own experience as a child or teenager?

I think our childhood influences us subconsciously in what we choose to write about and the characters we invent for any given situation. In writing my two picture books, I was also influenced by my appreciation for grammar and punctuation, which grew significantly when I was a young lawyer and was asked to research a question about a missing quotation mark in a very old banking law. Without the quotation mark, it looked like the law, which people thought had been around for almost 100 years, didn't exist. The case ultimately had to be decided by the Supreme Court.

What are you reading right now?

Oddly, while I read children's literature, I also read a lot of suspense/mystery/thriller adult stuff. And I really like it gruesome. I don't know what that says about me. And although I've tried, I can't seem to write a mystery for kids! What was your favorite book as a child?

As a child, and even as an adult, I love all the ANGELINA BALLERINA books by Holabird, FREDERICK by Lionni and MISS FLORA McFLIMSEY'S CHRISTMAS EVE by Mariana, which my sister finally returned to me after all these years! I also loved Beatrix Potter.

What is the one book no writer should be without?

Stephen King's ON WRITING. It is so inspirational!

What are some of your hobbies?

I love dogs, old movies, opera and the stage! I guess that's why I've written two published plays for children. But perhaps my biggest love is dancing. I started taking dancing lessons even before I went to kindergarten. These days, I enjoy tap dancing If your book, ALFIE THE APOSTROPHE, was turned into a movie, who would you like to play the main characters?

Well, not because he would have any special talent for the part, but because I think he's gorgeous and I'd love to meet him – Jerry Butler!

What is your favorite word?

I have so many! But I especially like words that are fun to say aloud, like "chrysanthemum," "dazzle," and "hippopotamus."

What's the one question that no one ever asks you and you wish they would? (With answer, please!)

"Why do you write?" The answer, for me, is to legitimize my lunacy. If I didn't call my self a writer and people ever found out about the fantasy worlds in my mind, they would probably put consider me totally crazy!