Name: Mary G. Thompson

Novel: Amy Chelsea Stacie Dee

Available: October 11, 2016

Who’s your favorite author, living or dead?

Diana Wynne Jones. She never backed away from being creative and orginal.

What’s your favorite thing about your book?

Amy is a survivor. She takes care of others, but she never for a second gives up on herself. A big part of Amy’s story is how she learns to accept that surviving is not just okay, it’s optimal. We, women and girls, are allowed to survive.

If you could spend one year on a deserted island with one character from literature, who would you choose?

Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones.

Where do you write?

I almost always write at home. I’m not one of those people who can work in public places. I like my iMac and my coffee and snacks. And of course, my plush pig.

Who is your favorite hero or heroine of history?

Ruther Bader Ginsburg. She’s done more for women’s rights and American jurisprudence than anyone else. There’s no one in history I admire more.

Do you tweet? What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever tweeted?

I tweet @marygthompson. As for something funny, I searched back two years on my twitter feed and found a tweet about a bowl of spoons in my work cafeteria that was marked “forks.” Follow me on twitter for more hilarity.

What is your favorite season?

Fall. I am a vampire and hate sun with a passion. I love good old Oregon drizzle.

If you could teleport anywhere in the known universe right now, where would you go?

I guess I have to stay on Earth because otherwise I would instantly die. With that limitation, I would love to visit Australia.

Do you have any writing rituals?

Coffee and chocolate.

What is your idea of earthly happiness?

Wow, that’s a deep question, Penguin Teen. I’m most happy when I feel energetic and I’m working on something I like working on. I guess I’m in the right profession, because I’m happiest when I’m writing.

What is the best concert you’ve ever been to?

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Boston, circa 1997.

What are you currently working on?

I just finished a draft of a new contemporary novel with some sci-fi elements. I’m excited about it because it combines my speculative interests with a real life, emotional story.

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