By Margaret Lea Wendelin Van Draanen, author of over 30 books across all age groups, will be the speaker at the Houston chapter meeting, August 4, 2025. Her 2001 novel FLIPPED was made into the 2010 movie FLIPPED , directed by Rob Reiner. Her presentation for our chapter is going to be “Keeping Hope in the Mail” and will focus on personal strength, commitment to craft, and strategies for not giving up. Below is my interview with Wendelin. 1) Your website says it took ten years for you to get published. How did you find an agent? Have you stayed with your original agent? It did take ten years! But I recommend writers work smarter than I did. I didn’t join SCBWI until after I had my first book deal. I definitely did everything the hard way! Trying to help others who are presently struggling is the main reason I wrote Hope in the Mail —my non-fiction book for writers in pursuit of their publishing dreams—and why my husband Mark a...
By Margaret Lea Kelly Bennett credits an elementary school teacher for praising her writing and sticking it on the board. This gave her confidence to write more. And surprisingly, it was Kelly’s unhappy first marriage that also spurred her writing. In 1985, while trying to make this marriage work, she decided to do something solely for herself. She wanted to take a volleyball class at the university near her, but they didn’t offer that. So instead, she took a class on writing and marketing children’s stories. There she fell in love with writing for children. She also met another woman, Ronnie Davidson, who became a writing partner for twenty years. They published their first book together in 1987 and five more over the years. Kelly has now published around 25 books, both by herself and with others. She credits writing friends for keeping her accountable. For example, she and one friend would set a...