Ask Eric

Eric enjoys answering questions from his readers. Submit a question and it might even be posted here on his website!

Vaso from Doylestown asks: What is your best-selling book?

Eric answers: I’d have to look over the sales figures to give you an accurate answer. I believe Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins and Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock have done the best. They’ve both sold over 100,000 copies in twenty years. The Book of Greek Myths is also doing well. It’s now in its seventh printing.

Tom from Doylestown asks: Have you ever gotten noticed when you were out shopping?

Eric answers: Maybe once or twice in thirty years. It isn’t as if I were Justin Bieber.

Samuela from Doylestown asks: What did you like best about your story Jack and the Giant Barbecue?

Eric answers: What I like best about Jack and the Giant Barbecue is that it was such fun to write. I was laughing the whole time I was working on it. That giant really is awful!

I also enjoyed working with John Manders, the illustrator. The author and artist usually never even exchange emails. John and I were able to swap ideas back and forth. It made for a much better book. I hope I’ll have the chance to work with John again.

Raeley from Salem asks: How many books have you written?

Eric answers: I never really counted. A few years ago a librarian friend in Alabama did a count and told me it was over one hundred. I can believe that. Librarians are extremely thorough. However, what matters isn’t how many books you write. It’s how good your books are. One of my heroes is the author Harper Lee, who wrote To Kill A Mockingbird. It’s the only book she’s ever written. Write one book like that and you don’t need to write anything else.

Elif  from Turkey asks: In the story Matajuro’s Training in your book Sword of the Samurai, what is the theme and what is the type of this story?

Eric answers: There’s no one answer to the question. Here’s how I see it. The theme of the story is education. The best teacher in the world can do nothing unless the student has the desire to learn and is willing to work hard to do so. What type of story is it? Again, you have several choices. I’d say the best is nonfiction/biography because all the stories in the book are about real people; the great samurai warriors of Japan’s Middle Ages.

Nathaniel from LaCrosse asks: I love the way you retell the Anansi stories. I have read 4 Anansi stories and I am wondering if there are any more stories. We made Anansis out of paper and we are hanging them from the ceiling. I think the Anansi stories are funny and awesome. How did you find out about these African stories?

Eric answers: I’ve known Anansi stories since I was your age. A wonderful storyteller named Spencer Shaw used to come to our neighborhood library to tell stories. He told tales from Africa and the Caribbean. I loved the stories about Anansi. He did all the things I never had the nerve to do and he never felt sorry. He was deliciously wicked. Many years later I lived on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The islands were full of stories and music. I got to hear lots of Anansi stories told in West Indian dialect. Two years ago I visited Mali in West Africa. I met Madame Omou, an African griot. A griot must study for years to learn how to share the stories properly. They’re sung, not spoken. Mme. Omou sang the beginning of an Anansi story for me in Bambera, one of the many native languages of Mali. She liked my versions. That was a HUGE compliment.

Will there be more stories? I don’t think so. Janet Stevens and I have both gotten busy with other projects. I still haven’t figured how to get Anansi down from the moon. Do you have any ideas?

Alia from Egypt asks: Do you love being an author? What is your favorite book?

Eric answers: How exciting! I never got an email from Egypt before! It’s a country I’ve always wanted to visit. To answer your question, I love being an author because I’m never bored. I’m experiencing the story with the characters. Every day bring something new and interesting.

As for my favorite book, that’s hard to say. Usually my favorite is the one I’m working on now. At the moment that’s a book that will be coming out in the fall called Omar’s Snake. It’s about a boy who wants a pet snake. I have a pet snake, too. One of my favorite books is about a character from your part of the world: Joha Makes A Wish. I know that in Egypt Joha is called Goha. There are lots of funny and wise stories about him. I’ll bet you know a few. If you can think of a good one, send it to me.

Annie from ??? asks: “Why do you like reading and writing? Who inspired you to become who you are today?”

Eric answers: I’ve always loved reading and writing. I imagine it’s because I’m enchanted with words and stories. Books opened up the whole world to me. If you can read, you can learn anything, go anywhere. As for writing, I loved reading stories so much that I thought a good career would be writing my own. Time proved me right. As for who inspired me, all I can say is I had great parents and great teachers who made me want to excel. They deserve the credit.

Allison from Seattle asks: “Do you brainstorm for most of your ideas?”

Eric answers: Brainstorming is one technique I use, but it’s not the only one. I get a lot of good ideas from other books. Dreams often give me ideas for stories or show me how to solve problems that develop in stories that I’m writing. I also belong to a critique group of several other writers. We meet every two weeks and share what we’re working on. We frequently get ideas and solutions from each other. There are lots of techniques for getting ideas. They all work and you should try them all for your own writing.

Nicole from San Francisco asks: “How do you write a chapter book?”

Eric answers: You do it the same way you write a picture book. First you start with a story. You need a character with a problem. How is the problem solved? Are there helpers along the way? Are there opponents who get in the way?

Once you have your story outlined—or at least once you know where you’re going—then you begin writing. It’s a matter of time and patience. Once your story is done, you go back, re-read, and revise.

Do you have a question you’d like to ask Eric? Send it in.