Exclusive Interview with Chris Grabenstein, author of The Lemoncello Series!

katkresse321
Jan 30
4 min read

Chris Grabenstein:

Hi, Kat! Thanks for reaching out! Great work on your blog! I'm happy to answer your questions. And, if you need any pics or additional info, please check out my website. Thanks for reading and sharing my work!

Where is your favorite place to write?

I have an office in my apartment in NYC, it's where I do the majority of my writing. I have a specific routine, too. I get up, walk to the gym (about a mile away), daydream, jot down any ideas that pop into my head, work out a little, walk home from the gym, eat something, clean up, and go to my writing room. I will write 2,000 new words every day and start the day by gently editing the 2,000 I wrote the day before. Sometimes, the writing gets interrupted by a Skype call with a school. Then it's back to the keyboard. Something light for lunch. Back to work. And then, after Microsoft Word tells me I've reached 2,000 words, it's nap time! After nap time, it's take a walk for espresso time. And in that walk, yep – I'm already thinking about the next day's words.

How old were you when you first started writing stories?

In 5th and 6th grade, I was bad at sports but found that I could “be cool” and make my friends laugh at comic books I wrote and drew and at talent show skits I scripted. In 7th grade, my English teacher wrote in the margins of one of my papers that I would make my living as a writer someday. And in 8th grade, I wrote a “What I Want To Be When I Grow Up” essay about becoming a writer or a comedian. So basically, I’m living my 8th grade dream!

What was your first book?

My first book ever was a mystery for adults that was published in 2005. I actually stumbled into my first book for younger readers through serendipity. An editor was reading a 110,000 word Stephen King-ish ghost story I had written for adults and told me it would make a good book for middle grades readers IF…I cut out all the adult language and themes and removed about 60,000 words from the manuscript. So I did. That book was THE CROSSROADS and it went on to win an Agatha and Anthony Award for best mystery for kids. While writing that book, I discovered my inner 12-year-old and realized that was the audience I was meant to write for.

What is your favorite genre to write?

I like to write mysteries that are also funny. My favorite books to read are page-turners with a puzzle that needs to be solved so those are my favorite books to write. Mysteries. Ghost stories. Thrillers. Puzzle mysteries. I try to construct my tales like a roller coaster ride: You screaming with terror one minute, laughing the next, screaming again, laughing, scream, laugh.

What is your favorite genre to read?

I used to love reading mysteries but now that I have written so many it's a little like a magician who goes to see someone else's magic act. You know how things are done, the tricks of the trade. They're not as much fun for me anymore. I think my favorite books to read are fast-paced page turners that turn on the movie projector in my brain -- no matter the genre. I think, starting out, you should read in the genre you want to write. Then you'll know what a good book in that style reads like and you can hold your own work up to that standard.

What has been your favorite book to write so far?

So many! I, of course, love ESCAPE FROM MR. LEMONCELLO’S LIBRARY and all the books in that series. I also love WELCOME TO WONDERLAND, and THE ISLAND OF DR. LIBRIS is another favourite. All about a boy with a big imagination bringing fictional characters to life on a mysterious island. Of the books I have coauthored with James Patterson, my favorites are I FUNNY and WORD OF MOUSE. SHINE!, which was co-authored with my wife, J.J., will always have a special place in my heart.