creepiest on the street (inside and out). But no vampires ... I'll explain that below.
~ My favorite ice cream is Cinnamon and I especially love it with pecan praline
sprinkled in.
~ I plagiarized (stole someone's writing) from a teen magazine when I was in 9th
grade. My teacher could see through me like plastic wrap and I got in BIG trouble. I
never cheated on anything EVER again!
~ There are three other writers/illustrators named Susan Mitchell. One Susan writes
poetry, another Susan illustrates children's books, and still another Susan writes just
about everything.
~ I was terrified of vampires as a kid (they still creep me out, even if they aren't real).
~ My favorite color is blue.
~ My birthday is on April Fool's Day - April 1st. No joke!
~ Oh yeah, I already mentioned the monkeys ... but that's a weird one.
~ I didn't realize I was a writer when I was young. It was something I liked to do, but it
never dawned on me that writing was something that I could do for a living. I used to
write stories and poems (really terrible ones) all the time. I even loved writing term
papers. Until 2003, I never gave it another thought.
What happened in 2003?
~ I got angry about an incident of discrimination and wrote to the editor of my town's
paper. Then I remembered and realized the power of my words. My parents had
tried to get me to be a writer for years and told me they would do anything I needed
to get started.
How did you get started with children's books?
~ Children are the coolest people in the world! I love them and would rather be
around them than most adults. I have two girls and am a teacher, so I knew it was
what I wanted to do.
What advice do you have for writers?
~ Getting published is brutally hard. Put on some skin-thickening lotion and get after
it. The number one thing I would advise is to join SCBWI. Being a member of this
writing organization makes all the difference in the world. Also, join a critique group.
Being around other writers is the best classroom for any aspiring author. And don't
TALK about writing ... actually WRITE something, re-write it about a hundred times
then when it is ready ... actually SUBMIT it to the right publisher.
What is next for you?
~ That's a great question! Stay tuned.
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