I get a lot of requests for help with book reports, so many that I’m not able to answer the questions on an individual basis. But I’ve tried to collect up a lot of the most popular questions and answer them here. And I will continue to expand this F.A.Q. to take in EVEN MORE questions!

About Me

Where were you born? In a snowstorm, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Why Philadelphia? My mom was there. I tended to go where she went back in those days.

What’s your birthday? The 16th of February

So, you’re an Aquarius? That’s right.

Where do you live? New York City

What do your parents do? Are they writers? My mother is a nurse. My father is a retired engineer. They are most assuredly not writers.

Do you have any siblings? Sadly, no.

Where did you go to school? For high school, I attended a private, Catholic prep school for girls. For undergrad, I went to the University of Delaware, and (briefly) the University of Bristol in the UK. For graduate school, I went to Columbia University.

What did you major in at school? Writing (classical rhetoric, technical writing, and nonfiction) and theatrical dramaturgy

What’s dramaturgy? A dramaturg (someone who practices dramaturgy) is kind of a playwright-director-researcher-editor. Dramaturgs help put together seasons of plays, select and develop new, adapt books and stories for stage, choose translations, do research on historical plays . . . basically, anything that has to be done to a script . . . a dramaturg can be brought in to help do it. Mostly what I did was break up fights between directors and playwrights, put out small fires, and find missing actors and musicians.

Why do you go to England so much? I am BFFs with the Queen, and am currently being considered to play the next Doctor on Doctor Who. Please don’t tell anyone. These are both secrets.

Team Zombie or Team Unicorn? Do you even need to ask? Team Zombie, of course!

Do you know that you have the same name as a character from Rent? Yes.

Are you her? No.

Seriously. Are you? No.

Were you named for her? No! I was here first!

Did you know there is a song called “The Tango Maureen”? Yes.

Is it about you? No.

Would you like me to sing it to you? Yes.

The Books in General

How long does it take you to write a book? Nine months to a year, generally. Sometimes much longer. But there’s one book I’ve been working on for about seven years. It’s not done.

Where do you get your ideas? From the brain monkeys.

What languages, besides English, are you published in? At the moment: French, German, Italian, Swedish, Polish, Catalan, Croatian, Romanian, Dutch, and Turkish.

Are they going to make movies out of any of your books? It’s always possible! From what I have seen, it’s kind of a long and complicated process. And it begins when the movie studio gets in touch with the writer, not the other way around. Someone has to come to you and say, “Hello! We are movie people with lots of cameras and big sacks of money to make films! We need to talk to you!” I have been approached a few times . . . I hear rumblings. If it happens, TRUST ME, I will let everybody know.

Why are there so many headless (or eyeless) girls on the covers of your books? I don’t really have a lot (if anything) to do with the covers of my books. In fact, the first time I ever played a role was for the Suite Scarlett cover—I consulted on the choice of model and the location of the photo shoot. Otherwise, I usually see them when they are near completion. Covers don’t make a huge difference to me, honestly. My job is to write the book. The cover is the shiny thing designed by the art department to catch your eye in the store.

That being said . . . I know what you’re saying about the headless (or eyeless) girls. I get a LOT of comments about them. I know that the idea is . . . the face is obscured so that you can make your own ideas about what the character looks like. What some people are seeing are girls with fabulous abs and no heads. And I get that. I’m really kind of with you on that, actually . . . but at the same time, I appreciate all the work that goes into the cover design. My best suggestion is to take over the dust jacket or put some other cover of your own design on the book if you don’t like it. In fact, some people send me their versions of the covers. I love them!

Are you writing a sequel to: The Key to the Golden Firebird, The Bermudez Triangle, 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Devilish, or Girl At Sea? Right now, there are no sequels planned for those five books. That doesn’t mean to say that it would never happen . . . but it’s unlikely. See the next question for the reason why.

Will there be a sequel to Suite Scarlett? YES. Suite Scarlett is the first of a series!

The Key to the Golden Firebird

Is this book based on your personal experience? No, not really. It takes place where I grew up, though.

How do you write about siblings when you don’t have any? I have a lot of close friends. And a lot of my close friends have siblings and tell me what it’s like. And I just watch people. And I just make it up.

Are you a big baseball fan? I don’t follow any sports at all, so I needed a lot of help with the baseball sections. The only thing I had to go on was my limited experience playing softball when I was ten or eleven. I watched games with baseball-loving friends and went to Camden Yards.

Do you really like cars? Ha ha! Again, no. Few people know less about cars than I do. That scene where Pete explains “the second battery” to May? Something a lot like that happened to me.

The Bermudez Triangle

Did any of this happen to you? Well, I did work in a theme restaurant that was a lot like P.J. Moritmer’s. And I used to play piano very badly. And, like Nina, I really like Swifters.

Is it true this book has been banned? It was removed from one school library in Bartlesville, Oklahoma and put on a special shelf, and requires parental permission to take out. It has not, to my knowledge, been challenged anywhere else. YOU can get it anywhere you buy books! (Bartlesville residents: you’ll find several copies in the Bartlesville public library!)

Why was it challenged? I guess because it has a positive portrayal of two girls dating.

Someone complained because of THAT? That’s ridiculous! I know. Hey, some people try to ban Harry Potter. Banners . . . they love to ban. It makes them feel important.

Do you have an inner raccoon? Does it like shiny things? Yes. Yes.

13 Little Blue Envelopes

Did you go to all the places in the book? No. At the time I wrote it, I’d been to about half of them. I bought a massive map of Europe, one that took up a large section of my living room floor. I used that to track Ginny’s journey, covering it in post-its with train times and distances. The rest was all research. Librarians are our friends!

Did the book change a lot as you wrote it? Massively. You wouldn’t recognize it from the first draft. There was a baby . . . there was a pub . . . I almost sent Ginny to Lapland . . . things like that.

Is it true you wrote the book in a Scottish castle? I started it in one, yes. I won a writing fellowship, and spent a month living in this castle in the winter.

Is Keith real? There is no one real Keith Dobson . . . however, he's sort of a portrait of several friends of mine. I could introduce you to about three people, and you could think that any one of them was the "real Keith."

The name and the kilt came from a real Keith, who is really an actor, who is a Scottish friend of a friend. I met him while he was visiting here in New York. He went all around the city in his kilt (he had rented it for a wedding). He was quite a hit. His name is properly pronounced “Keef.” When I was writing the book, I stuck him in there.

So, the answer is no . . . but it's also sort of a yes. Does that make any sense?

Is Harrods real? Extremely.

Do you have proof? Would you accept ten massive cans of ox tongue in jelly as proof?

Or. how about this video?

Is Mari Adams real? Mari Adams is loosely based on a real artist named Vali Myers.

What’s with the 13th envelope? (spoilers) There’s a few things to remember. One, trips never work out exactly like you think they will. Especially a trip planned by Aunt Peg.

Ginny had reached the point where she could make her own way. Losing the 13th envelope allowed her to do that. She had to take charge. There’s always a point in life where someone has to stop giving us directions and let us figure things out for ourselves.

And it worked! She got back to London, back to the paintings, and to Richard. She found the key, found Cecil . . . The Ginny at the end of the book is a very different Ginny from the one who started it.

At this point, people usually say, “Yeah, that’s nice Maureen. But what did it SAY? You can tell me.”

While I do know what the 13th envelope contained, it’s going to remain my secret.

What happens to Keith and Ginny! I HAVE TO KNOW!  (spoilers) Again, don’t kill me . . . I do know the answer to this question. The answer is: something. The exact nature of the something I cannot say, just in case there is a sequel at some point. There is no current plan for the sequel, but I did map one out, and I have all the secret information locked away in the mj offices. I can only tell you that their story is not over. More happens.

Devilish

Is St. Teresa’s based on your own school? A bit. We didn’t, to my knowledge, have a demon organization operating quietly in the shadows—but we did have polyester uniforms, a complicated demerit system, and some pretty scary statues.

Why did you go to a Catholic girls’ school if you weren’t Catholic? It sounded fun at the time.

Are you like Jane at all? I sound a lot like Jane, but I’m not nearly as smart as she is.

Was Devilish based on any books or stories? It’s my take on the classic Faust story—and a bit on The Devil and Daniel Webster.

Girl at Sea

Where did Girl At Sea come from? A powerful childhood obsession with Pompeii and the Titanic. I totally nerded out on these two subjects.

Why doesn’t Clio have a tattoo on the U.S. cover? I have no idea.

Are you a SCUBA diver? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA . . . no.

Is it true that you took SCUBA lessons for the book? Um, yes. One. I was not fantastic at it.

Is it true that you went to Sorrento, Capri, and Pompeii for research to write the book? Yes. I go through all kinds of hardships for you.

What does Sorrento look like? It looks like this—which is the exact path Clio and her father use to get back up into town:

Is it true that you bought extremely cheap sunglasses while you were there? Yes.

And ate a lot of gelato? Yes.

Suite Scarlett

When is Suite Scarlett coming out? Suite Scarlett will out on May 1st, but you may see it in some bookstores before then!

What’s it about? Read all about it here, and read the first chapter here!

I heard there’s a big contest for Suite Scarlett! When will we get details on that? What’s the prize? On or around May 1st! Scholastic is running this contest, so I can’t tell you what the prize is yet . . . but it is big, and it is awesome.

And this is the first of a series? Yes! I’m writing the second book RIGHT NOW.

I heard something about Hamlet being performed on unicycles. What’s that about? You have to read the book to find out . . . but you’ve heard right.

Blog Related Questions

Who is Daphne Unfeasible? Daphne (a.k.a. Kate) is my agent. She also happens to be a friend of mine from college, former roommate, fellow traveller, and a (usually) willing partner in my various schemes. She blogs about publishing and the agenting process here.

Who is Free Monkey? Free Monkey was one of a batch of thousands of small stuffed monkeys distributed in boxes of PG Tips tea in England in early 2006, all with the label “Free Monkey.” Through sheer luck, I happened to purchase his box at a Guildford area Tescos while I had the flu. I was amazed when I opened the box and this small monkey immediately began addressing me.

Unlike all the other PG Tips monkeys, most of which just sit around and stare . . . Free Monkey possesses a brilliant mind. He is fluent in five languages, and can read a further four. He is deeply analytical, and acts as my advisor on all matters. Free Monkey went on tour around the United States and to several international locations for the release of Girl At Sea.

Free Monkey has two cousins called the Wee Free Monkeys. They are not nearly as bright as Free Monkey. One of the Wee Free Monkeys now lives with Lili Wilkinson in Australia.

On Publishing

I am an aspiring writer! What advice can you give me? Read everything you can. Write all the time. Keep writing and writing and writing . . . and don’t worry about publishing right away. Writing is a bit like playing an instrument or dancing or acting . . . you have to practice and learn for a long time before you go up in front of people.

How do you get over writer’s block? I just keep sitting down in front of the computer again. I don’t want to keep using analogies, but for me, it’s kind of like a physical activity—when you first start doing it, sometimes you get aches and pains and its hard to work for a long time—but then you build up, and you learn to deal with the aches and the pains and the slow days. You just work through them. I guess I recommend a regular schedule. Just keep going.

I have written a book! Can I send it to your agent? My agent, Daphne Unfeasible of Unfeasible Enterprises (a.k.a. Kate Schafer of kt literary) has a very thorough website. You can read her submission policy here!

I have written a book! Will you read it and tell me what you think? I wish I could. Honestly. The problem is, if I did this whenever I got a request, I would never have time to do anything else, including eat. And I get hungry.

Touring

Where do you go on your book tours? I don’t tour very often, but when I do . . . I go where they tell me, like all authors. We are lemmings.

Can you come to my town? That would be awesome! Of COURSE I want to come to your town! But someone has to send me. Which means that someone at a bookstore or library has to make the request to my publisher, and my publisher has to figure it all out and schedule it. I can’t go everywhere I’m asked, sadly. But I can go to SOME of the places. Bookstores should send requests here, and everyone else should send requests here.

Contact Info

How can I contact you? You can send me an e-mail at maureen@maureenjohnsonbooks.com.

Do you have an assistant who reads your e-mail? At the mj office, it’s all about personal service. I read every single e-mail I get. Sometimes I get a lot of e-mail, or I get really, really busy, and I can’t reply. I always try—and sometimes I end up replying months later. Please don’t think that I didn’t read your note, or didn’t like it, or don’t care . . . because I do!

I would like to send you a letter! What’s your mailing address? The BEST way to reach me is e-mail, but I know that sometimes people have school projects that require writing a letter (or just like writing letters). So feel free to send one! Please just know that I am really, really bad at replying to snail mail. I have to find paper, a stamp, leave my desk . . .

The address is:
Maureen Johnson (author)
c/o Scholastic
557 Broadway
New York, NY 10012

And in the meantime, I will try to convince your teachers that e-mail works just as well.

I have a media inquiry. How can I reach you? Please send an e-mail to my publicist, Sheila Marie Everett, at Scholastic.

I have a question about the rights to your work/some other important piece of business I need to discuss with you. How can I reach you? Please send an e-mail to my agent, Kate Schafer.

I am a student, and I want you to come to my school. What do I do? Talk to one of your teachers, librarians, or school administrators, and ask them to come to this page and see the next question.

I am a teacher/librarian/school administrator, and I would like to talk to you about a school visit. What do I do? School visit? I was just talking about those. Drop a line to Stephanie Nooney, who handles author visits at Scholastic. She can explain the procedure for the shipping and delivery of me.