Hello, Anna.  I am 100% Greek!  All four of my grandparents emigrated from Greece.  My father’s side came from the area surrounding Sparta (Longastra and Gourani), and my mother’s side came from the island of Nysiros.  I still do have family in Greece, mostly in the Athens area, and in Rhodes and Nysiros.

Hi, Sarah!  I think you are in a great position, being only fourteen and yet having actually completed a novel of that length!  Without reading it or knowing anything about your work, it’s hard for me to recommend a path for you.  The traditional path is for a writer to contact agents and try to interest them in the work — and then the agent can pitch the book to a publishing house.  If you get a contract, you will have an editorial staff to help you shape the book, and a marketing and publicity staff to help spread the word and sell it.  You can also self-publish as an EBook and/or a hard copy, but you basically have to act as a publisher yourself.  I wouldn’t worry so much about rejection, though.  All authors experience rejection, even ones with tons of experience and published books.  It’s just part of the territory.  And don’t forget, even if you face rejection with one project, well, it’s just one book.  You have plenty of stories inside you, so you just write another one!  Often a writer’s first attempt isn’t published, but maybe the second or third is — and after that, a publisher will suddenly be interested in that first project after all.  I probably don’t need to tell you that it’s rare for an author to be published by a major publishing house at such a young age.  (It’s rare even for an OLD age!)  It does happen — Christopher Paolini and Gordon Korman jump to mind — but in most cases, it’s best to use this time to grow and improve as a writer.  You will only get better and better as you get older and continue your education.  That’s not to say your book is or isn’t publishable.  It may be absolutely brilliant.  So please take this as a general guideline, and please take along my best wishes on your writing journey.  I hope to see your name in print someday!

Hi, Reneilda!  Judy likes to be contacted through Facebook messages, so that’s what I would recommend.  And yes, I did receive the mail just before I left, and thank you so much!

Hello, Emma!  Thanks for your kind words.  I’m glad you liked THE DEAD OF NIGHT.  I had such a great time at West High, and I loved visiting Iowa City.  As for being a writer, you are lucky to be starting so young. You have lots of time, to read, read, read. That’s the best way to become a writer. Read as much as you can. Read what you love. Try to figure out what your favorite authors do to make their books so vivid. What kind of words do they use? What words do they leave out? Every good story has a question that is not answered until the end. What is the question in your story? Try writing a story from beginning to end. It’s a great feeling to finish a story. You may want to show some of your stories to your teacher, or you may want to keep some stories to yourself. The important thing is to keep enjoying it and keep doing it. There are no shortcuts to being a writer. You need to keep doing it, and you will get better and better.  Good luck!

Hello, Logan!  I had an awesome time visiting Millcreek.  Thanks to you and all the other kids and teachers for making me feel so welcome.  The books do not cost any extra with the signed name.  You will have to check with your teacher for the price.  Hope you enjoy the book!

Hello, Karla. I don’t think any of the Cahills have forgiven Isabel, even though she has somehow managed to fool some very important people into thinking she has been rehabilitated.

Hello, Nicolas. Your best bet is to click on the "help" button at the top right corner of any of the Message Board pages.

Hi, Elizabeth!  I’m partial to dark chocolate, and your mom is right — white chocolate contains no chocolate.  It’s basically, well, sugared fat.  As for The Sword Thief, Dan was wise-cracking in that scene.  He was addressing Ian and Amy as “Mr. and Mrs. Kabra” — being a snarky little brother.  It was a quick aside, not really meant to be reacted to.  Even if Amy had reacted, all she really could have done was poke him, give him a slap, etc.  But (a) they were in the middle of something urgent, and (b) Dan didn’t even give them a chance to react.  He barrelled right on, saying “But it isn’t a fake.  Not at all.”  Hope that clears it up!

Hello, Dhana!  It is available, at this link.

Hi, Maddie!  Nope, I haven’t read it, but my son did, and he loved it!  And I’m okay with either greeting, maybe a slight preference for Mr. Lerangis.