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MEET JUDY SIERRA (NOW LIVES IN OREGAN)
by Bonnie O'Brian

What did you most like to do when you were a child?

Judy Sierra

When I was in elementary school, my favorite thing to do was to play outdoors with my friends. My second favorite thing was writing poems and stories, and also plays to act out with my friends--I made the costumes, too.

What books influenced you most when you were growing up?

 I read every book I could find. I liked fantasies like the Oz books, and true books (especially biographies), historical fiction, and of course I loved poetry.

What was your first job when you graduated from college?

My first job was working for a community service organization in San Francisco. It was called the San Francisco Switchboard, and people could call us for help and advice 24 hours a day. We helped them find jobs, food, shelter and medical care.

What kinds of things inspire you to write?

I want to create completely new fantasy worlds, so I’m most inspired by the words “what if?” For example, what if the person who swallowed the fly wasn’t an old lady—or even a person—but a monster who thought flies were delicious? That became the story of THELONIUS MONSTER’S SKY-HIGH FLY PIE.

Which of your books did you most enjoy writing?

I like writing in rhyme. I especially enjoyed writing THELONIUS MONSTER’S SKY-HIGH FLY PIE because I could use so many long, funny words like “galumphing” and “eleventeen.”

Do you work on more than one book at a time?

I have to, because some book ideas just don’t work out. I need to always have a project that’s going well, a project that inspires me to get to work every morning.

What are you working on now?

 I’m just finishing a manuscript in rhyme for a sequel to WILD ABOUT BOOKS. In it, the animals in the zoo are putting on a big musical show. It will be illustrated by the wonderful and talented Marc Brown.