Frequently Asked Questions

Which ideas tend to come first—the characters that populate your books, or the storylines that drive them?

This is our fifth collaboration, and it’s different every time. The first was a picture book called The Dog Who Lost His Bob, and it started with that title. The first young adult novel, Crooked, started with a girl named Clara who wanted to do odd jobs for money. Zipped was inspired by a story we heard of a person discovering a husband’s infidelity through errant emails. I think if there is a general rule, the storyline comes first, but the characters are what make the story interesting and real for us

How do you write together?
When will your next book be published, and what's it about?
Do you divide up the characters by gender, with Tom writing the boys and Laura writing the girls?
Will there be a sequel to Crooked?
Where do you write?
Which ideas tend to come first—the characters that populate your books, or the storylines that drive them?
Do you see characters’ faces as you write?
Is the paper from Ms. Hekkity’s shop (in The Decoding of Lana Morris) truly magical, or are the events following the drawings merely coincidences?
How often do you revise?
What kinds of books did you read as a teenager, and what do you read now?

How do you write together?

When will your next book be published, and what's it about?

Do you divide up the characters by gender, with Tom writing the boys and Laura writing the girls?

Will there be a sequel to Crooked?

Where do you write?

Which ideas tend to come first—the characters that populate your books, or the storylines that drive them?

Do you see characters’ faces as you write?

Is the paper from Ms. Hekkity’s shop (in The Decoding of Lana Morris) truly magical, or are the events following the drawings merely coincidences?

How often do you revise?

What kinds of books did you read as a teenager, and what do you read now?