How do you get your ideas?

Here are my two favorite quotes on that subject:

“From a little ideas shop in Bognor Regis.” Neil Gaiman.

“(Writers) never ask one another where we get our ideas. We know we don’t know.” Stephen King.

Here’s my jokey answer: When my brain is fried and I’m incapable of a single original thought, I tap my pen three times and poof, who should appear but Idea Girl! my own personal superhero (sans cape) wielding a mean steno pad and freshly sharpened #2 pencil.

Okay, the truth is I don’t know where ideas come from. My best guess is that they come from some cosmic blending of all the experiences I’ve had, the books I’ve read, the people I’ve met, the music I’ve listened to, the sunrises I’ve watched, the meals I’ve shared, the journeys I’ve taken. Like my brain is some super sophisticated blender that mashes things together without obliterating them.

How long does it take you to write a book?

It seems to take me about two years to write a book. But it varies a lot. It only took me three months to write Mrs. Spitzer’s Garden, though it took five years for it to become a book.

Where were you born and where did you grow up?

I was born in Evanston, Illinois. I went to elementary school in Winnetka, Illinois, and high school in the city of Chicago.

How do you pronounce your last name?

Pattou rhymes with tattoo. It’s French. My ancestors were French Huguenots who lived mostly in Belgium.

What are your hobbies?

Walking (preferably around a lake but cities are good, too), reading (can’t go to sleep at night without a book), going to Broadway musicals, listening to music, and making collage art.

When did you first decide to be a writer?

I got the first glimmer when I was ten and fell in love with the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis.

Why haven’t you written volume three of the Songs of Eirren? Are you ever going to?

The third volume was supposed to center on the character of Talisen, the carefree bard. I compiled a lot of notes, but never could get going on it. I’ve since wondered if it was because Talisen was just a little too carefree and, in fact, I wanted him to stay that way. But someday I do think his story, and the rest of Collun and Brie’s, will need to be told.

What is North Child? Is it a sequel to East?

North Child is the same book as East. When they released the book in Great Britain, Usborne, my British publisher, decided that a different title would suit it better there.

What were your favorite books growing up?

Babar books, Oz books, C.S. Lewis’ Narnia books, Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh, Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson, and finally, an egregious series about a large noisy impossibly happy family called The Happy Hollisters. They solved crimes. I still own all 33 of them.

Where and when do you write?

I write best in the morning, but I think about whatever story I’m writing throughout the day, especially on walks and while going to sleep at night. And I’ve always preferred writing in public places, like libraries and coffee shops. I don’t always go to the same place either, but go through phases. Most of East was written in the café of a nearby Barnes and Noble. Hero’s Song at the West Campus library of Duke University. During the writing of the book I’m working on now, Fainting Goats, I have been to a bunch of different places. I started keeping a list and have topped off at about 20. My favorite is the café of the Wexner Center Art Museum in Columbus.

Do you have any advice for people who want to be writers?

My best advice is to read, read, read. And while you read, pay attention. How does the author keep you wanting to know what happens next and how does he or she create characters that you care about and can’t wait to see what will happen to them. Also, write as much as you can. Keep a journal, write stories, poems, plays, blogs, whatever.