Ashlee With Two E's

Every once in a while, I get e-mail from readers I've never met... yesterday I got a message from a girl named Ashlee (she spells it with two e's). Ashlee lives in St. Louis, Missouri, and she wrote to me about my book Scarred. She's reading it for a school project and I told her to get back to me if she had any questions about the book. So, today, Ashlee wrote again, asking how I choosethe subjects I tackle in my books. In my e-mail reply, I told Ashlee I write about things I feel strongly about. Scarred, for instance, is about self-mutilation, and in my work as a teacher, I've met several students who cut themselves. Though, as I explained to Ashlee, I have never cut myself, I feel like I can understand the impulse that causes young people to self-injure. Something which I didn't think of telling Ashlee, but that occurs to me now, is that I don't always choose my stories, MY STORIES CHOOSE ME. An idea comes tapping on my shoulder, and in some cases, the idea just won't go away... those are the ones that turn into books. Okay then, off I go... time to read a little before bed. I just got a copy of The Lit Report by Sarah Harvey, who happens to be one of my editors at Orca (she edited What World Is Left), and so I'm looking forward to reading her book!