{"id":168748,"date":"2022-07-26T13:01:15","date_gmt":"2022-07-26T03:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/?p=168748"},"modified":"2022-07-26T13:01:16","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T03:01:16","slug":"ten-terrifying-questions-with-terri-libenson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/2022\/07\/26\/ten-terrifying-questions-with-terri-libenson\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten Terrifying Questions with Terri Libenson!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Terri Libenson<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n


Terri Libenson is a New York Times bestselling children\u2019s book author and award-winning cartoonist of the syndicated daily comic strip, The Pajama Diaries, which ran from 2006-2020. Prior to that, she was an award-winning humorous card writer for American Greetings.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To celebrate the release of her children’s book, Remarkably Ruby<\/a><\/strong>, Terri takes on our Ten Terrifying Questions! Read on …<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

1. To begin with why don\u2019t you tell us a little bit about yourself \u2013 where were you born? Raised? Schooled?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I was born and raised in Kingston, Pennsylvania. I went to college
at Washington University in St. Louis, where I majored in illustration. More and more, I kept doing my illustration assignments as comics, so I pretty much knew where I was headed.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At twelve: a famous artist
At eighteen: a famous artist
At thirty: a cartoonist
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for why I wanted to be a famous artist, see question #3. As for being a cartoonist, I\u2019ve always loved comics and have created my own cartoons since I was a kid. I love the combination of drawing, writing, and humor. My dream came true (the first time) in my thirties, when I became a syndicated newspaper cartoonist. I did that for 14 years before I retired my comic strip, The Pajama Diaries<\/em>, and became a full-time author (my second dream job) of the Emmie & Friends series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you don\u2019t have now?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I believed that the key to happiness was to become super-successful and impress everyone. How wrong I was! The key to happiness is a book, a couch, and a cuddly dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. What are three works of art \u2013 this could be a book, painting, piece of music, film, etc \u2013 that influenced your development as a writer?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Charles Schultz\u2019s Peanuts comic strip<\/li>
  2. The work of cartoonist Lynda Barry<\/li>
  3. The BONE series by Jeff Smith<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    5. Considering the many artistic forms out there, what appeals to you about writing a children\u2019s book?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019m such a kid at heart \u2013 I still feel stuck at twelve. So, a seventh-
    grader\u2019s voice comes pretty naturally to me. I just love creating characters, stories, and situations that really resonate with kids. The best feeling is when a young reader tells me that they feel connected to one of my characters or that my books have helped them navigate tough situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Remarkably Ruby by Terri Libenson<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    6. Please tell us about your latest book!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    REMARKABLY RUBY<\/em> is about a pair of ex-pals, Ruby and Mia.
    Ruby is socially awkward (never says the right thing) but expresses
    herself well through writing, including poetry. Mia, a high-strung go-getter, is running for class president. The girls are seemingly opposite in nature but have a long history together. The story revolves around their ex relationship and how one of them has moved on while the other hasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Tell
    Check out our Podcast and YouTube channel now!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I hope for readers to realize that friendships (or any relationship)
    can be complicated, and that most people are more than what they
    seem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    8. Who do you most admire in the writing world and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I am an admirer of so many authors, it\u2019s hard to pinpoint any. I\u2019m
    always in awe, though, of graphic novelists who can weave intricate
    stories with beautiful artwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To try and challenge myself with new projects. That may happen
    after the series is over, but hopefully I\u2019ll get a chance to work on
    some new things in between.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    10. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Try to write for yourself and not for anyone else. That will keep the
    process fun and authentic. Also, read a lot! It helps you discover
    different writing styles and the kinds of stories you love. And lastly,
    if you get stuck, step away from your work for a while (hours or
    days, if you can). You\u2019ll look at your writing with fresh eyes, and it
    will help you see what works and what doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


    Also, take breaks in general. Those cuddly pets help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Thank you for playing!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2014Remarkably Ruby<\/em><\/strong><\/em> <\/a>by Terri Libenson (HarperCollins Publishers) is out now!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Get to know the author of Remarkably Ruby.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":168749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[15037,1249,7159,15039,5184,15038],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Libenson-ap1-c.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168748"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168748"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":168757,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168748\/revisions\/168757"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}