Susan Patron is a former children’s librarian who has written several books for children and young people. Her novel The Higher Power of Lucky won the Newbery Award in 2007. It’s a worthy story that speaks to the deep longing of children for acceptance and stability in an uncertain world. The second book in the Lucky trilogy, Lucky Breaks will be available March 10 from Simon and Schuster. Want to meet the author? You can view a schedule of her book tour here, at the publisher’s web site.

I was thrilled when Ms. Patron enjoyed my review of the first book in the trilogy and sent me a reviewer’s copy of the second book, and even more thrilled when she agreed to participate in the following interview.

Monica Friedman: Death and abandonment are powerful themes in Lucky Breaks. How does your experience inform Lucky’s? What do you want young readers to take away from Lucky’s experience?

Susan Patron: It took me a long time to find the heart of Lucky's story; I couldn't figure out what was driving the book. My mother's death in 2003 sideswiped me; it knocked me over, but at the same time it made me understand the feelings that give life to Lucky. I hope young readers will come away from the book with a feeling of hope, a sense that we human beings can redeem ourselves, an understanding that love is the answer.

MF: In the novel, Brigitte often talks about becoming more American, often centering on food. Is her desire enough to make her more American? What do you think being American really entails?

SP: Sometimes I tease my French-born husband by telling him he's not really American unless he picks up his chili-cheeseburger in his hands, instead of using a knife and fork. As for Brigitte, in the story she explains that when she lived in France she didn't believe anything was possible; she thought this a naïve way that Americans viewed the world. After she came to America and adopted Lucky and established her own business, she came to believe that anything is, in fact, possible. I guess this is a quintessential quality of being American. (It came up more than once during President Obama’s campaign, and when he won the election, the whole world learned that anything is possible...in America!)

MF: How should we communicate to children our belief in freedom of speech as an American right? How should we express to young people the great power and responsibility inherent in writing?

SP: As a children's novelist I have, as my highest priority, a respect for my readers' intelligence and sensibilities. This means I try to write what I see as the truth, never talking down to them or underestimating them.

MF: It seems like you originally titled Lucky Breaks as Lincoln’s Knot. How important is the title of a book? Did you always intend Lucky’s story as a trilogy?

SP: When I began writing Lucky Breaks, I thought of it as a companion book to The Higher Power of Lucky. About three-quarters of the way through, I realized there would be a third book. At that point, it made sense for the word Lucky to be in all three titles, so Lincoln’s Knot became Lucky Breaks. I think titles are right up there with first lines.

MF: Is it true that there will be a film version of the first Lucky book? How do you feel in general about film versions of popular books? How do you perceive their effects on young readers?

SP: The first Lucky book has been optioned, which is a long, long way from actually becoming a film. I think we need to see books and films as very separate media; one should not be expected to duplicate the other, but rather to enhance it. In the best cases, the film leads kids to the book and vice versa.

MF: What effect has winning the Newbery had on your experience as a writer?

SP: It has made me more humble, more scared, more determined, more self-critical, and deeply, deeply grateful.

MF: As a librarian and an author for young people what are your feelings on gross-out books for kids (e.g. the works of Dav Pilkey or Andy Griffiths)? Do they have any merit other than encouraging reluctant readers?

SP: As a former librarian, I like to consider each book on its own merit. Here's a great quote from THE ADVENTURES OF SUPER DIAPER BABY by Dav Pilkey: (pg. 76)

“You know, since nobody reads these pages, we figured they'd be a good place to insert subliminimal messages: Think for yourself. Question Authority. Read banned books! Kids have the same constitutional rights as grown-ups!!! Don't forget to boycott standardized testing!!!”

[I love the invented word, “subliminimal,” in that passage!]

MF: How much of your inspiration comes from real life? Do you know any of the colorful people who live in Hard Pan? Is there a real Found Object Wind Chime Museum?

SP: Hard Pan and its inhabitants are pure fiction, and so is the Found Object Wind Chime Museum. That said, my husband and I do spend a good deal of time in Lucky's area of the world, the high desert of the Eastern Sierras.

MF: Do you have plans to write any adult novels? If so, can you give us some teasers?

SP: Not at the current time; maybe later.

MF: Do you have a method to your writing? Any particular timing, environment, or rituals that help or are necessary?

SP: First draft is always written in #2 pencil on lined notebook paper. Second draft: more of same. Third draft transposes this total mess into a Word document, editing as I go along. Fourth draft is working from a printout with a new pencil. And so on, with lots of reading aloud (to myself) until I feel it's ready to be seen by my editor. I have a lot of dictionaries, a beloved, battered thesaurus, and books on English usage within arm’s reach of where I write. The presence of these books gives me great comfort.

MF: What inspires you as an artist? How do you feed your muse?

SP: Reading does it. I love listening to audio books. And at a certain stage in writing a book, almost anything can feed into the story because I've become hyper-aware of everyday detail. So walking the dog, unloading the dishwasher, having a conversation with an acquaintance—these can make a totally unlikely connection back to my characters and to their world inside the book.