Debbie Dadey, Children's Author - Debbie Talks to Kids

Sunday March 8, 2009

sun      Wow, the weather was so nice here that my husband took me for a long motorcyle ride yesterday. I felt like I was flying! I also took my three dogs for a long walk. They sniffed and peed on everything they could!
     Sunny greetings to Druscilla, Marlee, Sanya, Megan, Danielle, Jamie, Nupur, and Jlanee. Kamal, I'm so glad you liked Snow Monsters Do Drink Hot Chocolate. Molly, I'm sure you understand why I can't give you my daughter's email online. It is not a safe thing to do. After all, there are a lot of crazy people out there in Internet land! This Side of Magic logo
     Dhwani and Kaviik, my new series is called Keyholders. It comes out in May. Here's the logo for the first book. Haley, my very first book was Vampires Don't Wear Polka Dots. I was 27 when I wrote it with Marcia Jones.
     Monika and Rachel, I can't wait to hear your podcast about me. How fun! Reyna, Michaela, and Gabriella, I have lots of favorite books. Slime Wars, Ghouls Don't Scoop Ice Cream, Whistler's Hollow, Skeletons Don't Play Tubas, Swamp Monster in Third Grade, and The Worst Name in Third Grade are all favorites, along with many more! Some people have told me that Ghosts Don't Eat Potato Chips was the scariest one. You'll have to let me know what you think. The neat thing about writing is that anything can happen in a story. Akansha, I'm so glad you liked Angels Don't Know Karate and the Ghostville series. Aashika, the skydiving book is with a publisher now. I hope it will get published. It is called Almost Normal. Arjun, the book Becky and I wrote together is with a different publisher. I hope it gets published too! (Nicole, the movie I wrote is with a Hollywood agent right now, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It's called Princess Grace.) I'm not a teacher now, unless you count the times I visit schools to talk about reading and writing.
     Nikki, kids can get books and stories published. There is a book called Children's Writer's and Illustrators Market Guide. Ask for it at your local library or bookstore. In the back of it, there are places where kids can get stories published. Good luck!  Nikki, Martina, and Ahan might also like to check out my writing page for more writing advice.   Ashwin, I do like writing because you can make anything happen in a story. Megan, I get ideas from everywhere-even the newspaper. It takes different amounts of time to write a story, from two hours to eight years! Eight years is how long it took me to write Cherokee Sister.
     Hi, I will probably not write a sequel to Cherokee Sister. That book meant a lot to me (since I am part Cherokee) and I'm not sure I could write another, although many kids have asked. Emily, I think a princess book would be great fun to write. Jackie, I've written about 147 books. Sometimes it's hard and sometimes it easy. James, what a cool idea about Mrs. Jeepers' first name! Vivian the Great, I do like basketball. After all, I grew up in Kentucky and basketball is tops there. I even played on a team in Middle School. Good luck to you as you try out. Maybe Leprechauns Don't Play Basketball will inspire you.
     Ashlynn, you sound like a fabulous reader. I'm glad you liked Mrs. Jeepers on Vampire Island. Mary, I think it's fun being an author most of the time. Sometimes I do get discouraged when I write a story that my editor doesn't like, but every job has good things and bad things I guess. Thank you all so much for writing. I hope you have a blessed and happy week, Debbie

Saturday February 28, 2009

Look out New Jersey! I'm coming to visit you next week. Hope we'll have a good time. Callie, my first book came out in 1990. It was Vampires Don't Wear Polka Dots. It had a different cover when it first came out though. Which one do you like better, the newest one on the left, or the first one?
Sharlon, I'm fine. How are you?
Questavia, it would be nice to meet you too. Danielle and Evelia, you can send your letters to me in care of Scholastic 557 Broadway NY, NY 10012. Kane, thanks for your funny idea!
Whitney, I've written a few horse books: Ghosts Don't Ride Wild Horses and Unicorns Unicorns Don't Give Sleigh Rides Don't Give Sleigh Rides (which also has a new cover). Vivian The Great, I was born in 1959, so this year I will have a special birthday. I do love writing. Alexis, I hope you'll check out my tips on writing in the Swamp Club writing page. Writing is not like other forms of fame, most Debbie Dadey winning the CAL award of the time you can be just a regular person, so don't let that worry you. Dayra, good luck on your own writing. Evan, thanks for writing to me. I have won a few awards, but the best awards are letters like yours. Thanks and happy March, Debbie

Sunday February 22, 2009

     Yuck! I had the flu last week. How gross is that? I even had the flu shot so it's totally not fair. I was glad that I recovered in time to go to visit Selinsgrove Intermediate School. What a great place. Hi to all the awesome kids there. Maybe I should write a book about having the flu, of course I did write one about having the chicken pox, which my daughter suggested.
     Hi to Dawson, I'm glad you liked Leprechauns Don't Play Basketball. Maggie, I'm like zillions of years old-this year I'll be half a century! Zachary, I've never written about a war other than Cherokee Sister when Indians were forcibly removed from their homes by American soldiers, even though the Supreme Court said it was illegal to do so. Of course, Whistlers Hollow was written about the time right after World War I. Camryn, I think that is the book you were thinking of. Your library has it and it is available on my website with your parent's permission, of course. (Sorry, I don't know any vampires-at least that I know of!)
      Breeawana, I did autograph some bookmarks at Selingsgrove if you go there. Otherwise, you can write me at Scholastic 557 Broadway NY, NY 10012. Vivian, the great you can write your longer letter to me at that address too. Isaiah, Lilly, Zuhaira, and Samie congratulations on writing your own stories! You might like to check out the tips and podcasts on my writing page. Kimburley, I do have other books Debbie Dadey on scooter than the ones I mentioned at your school. Nikki, I hope you check with your librarian about other books. You both can see them on my book page.
     Hannah, Hailey, Kyle, and Brooke thanks so much for your great (and funny) ideas. Hannah, I hope I never stop writing. Megan, thanks for your kind note and please say hi to your sister. A big hello to Samantha and Gabby! Medaya, I hope I can visit your school too. I remember Frank because that's my brother's name too. Brittaney, blue is my favorite color. Alera, I'm glad you liked Sea Monsters Don't Ride Motorcycles. Do you know I have a little scooter?
     Grace, the Pirate Queen, I totally loved your story about your ancestor. How cool is that? I think a great kid's book could come from it. I can't wait to read more! Veronica and Sydney, thanks for writing. Your school rocks! Patrick, you read faster than I drive. I didn't get home until later. Gingerbread Men Don't Fly Airplanes was great fun. I like how you started right in the middle of the action of the plane taking off. Chapter 3 made me very hungry. I wanted to eat cookies! Thanks to you, Arthur, and Lauren for sharing the story with me.
     Meadow, my first book came out in 1990. It was Vampires Don't Wear Polka Dots. I know most libraries have some of my books, if not I hope you ask the librarian to order some! Madison, I'm excited about the Keyholders too. In fact, I plan to have a new section of my website soon just for the new series.
     Christiana and Nick, hi! Savannah, it is a dream come true to be a writer. But believe it or not when I was in fifth grade I wanted to be president!
     Thanks to Miss Keller's class for writing. I hope to write lots more books because it's so much fun. I do love adventures. Compared to where I grew up, I do live in a mansion. Martians Don't Take Temperatures is the closest book I've come to writing about planets. I was 27 years old when I started writing. I have enjoyed writing all my books, but writing with my son and daughter was very cool. I hope the story I wrote with my daughter gets published! So does she!  Angel, the cupid's name is Mrs. Rosenbloom in Cupid Doesn't Flip Hamburgers.   Thanks to you all for writing. Stay cool and Happy Fat Tuesday! g2g, Debbie

Monday February 16, 2009

     Did you get President's Day off from school? I watched a show about the presidents. Did you know that George Washington was the only US president who did not live in the White House, even though he helped design it?
     Courtney, there is no exact publication date of Leprechauns Don't Play Basketball, just the year and month. Skylar, I'm not sure what you wanted, but feel free to ask me a question here. Denisse, I'm glad you liked Happy Haunting. I became an author by writing stories and luckily getting them published. I just kept trying. Claire, I'm so glad you liked Cupid Doesn't Flip Hamburgers. My favorite part is the anti-love potion.
     Dienije, Marcia and I write together using the hot potato method.  One of us will start and then we toss the story back and forth until we finish it. Brandon and Ethan, the newest Bailey School Kids book is Dragons Don't Throw Snowballs.
     Vivian the Great, tell me what kind of books do you like to read-funny, scary, fantasy, mystery, or what? Bran, hi to you. Catherine, I usually have lots of ideas of what I want to write about. It's finding time to do it all that's hard for me. Liam, did you know there are more Swamp Monster in Third Grade books? There are actually four all together.    ttys, Debbie

Sunday February 8, 2009

Happy Saint Valentine's Day (coming soon on Saturday), so if you haven't made your mom, dad, or someone a special card it's still not too late! I must like Valentine's Day because I've written several books about it, like Cupid Doesn't Flip Hamburgers (love the anti-love potion) and Cupid Does Eat Chocolate Covered Snails (what's not to love about chocolate covered snails?).
Ashley, I'm glad you love my books. Thanks so much for writing. A big howdy to Lexi and Hanna, stay cool and hope you get some chocolate for Valentine's Day. Jamie, it will be great to see you and your sister in April. You must be an amazing reader. I think Harry (in Snow Monsters do Drink Hot Chocolate) could do his cool tricks because he practiced a lot. Vivian the Great, I'm not sure if the world is ready for a biography of me, but I did have great fun writing The Slime Wars with Nathan. He's a totally cool son. Did I tell you my daughter, Becky, and I finished the book we wrote together? It was rejected, so we rewrote it. I think it turned out totally fabulous so I hope we sell it. It has several different titles, but one is Invisible. Lily, Mrs. Jeepers house is haunted don't you think? Liza played the saxophone in Skeletons don't Play Tubas. Jason, I'm glad you enjoyed Bogeymen Don't Play Football. Did you see me watching the game? I'm sitting in one of the crowd scenes with Marcia.
About the goals that I set for myself at the beginning of January, I'm actually doing very well. I've accomplished about half and I'm moving on the others. I'm really into the time travel/historical fiction book that I'm writing now. My character is shy and lost in another time. I hope you have the most amazing week possible, Debbie

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