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Back to Featured Interviews >> MEET SUZANNE PHILLIPS
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| Suzanne Phillips |
The book that influenced me the most was TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. The author who influenced me the most was Hemingway.
Did you write stories when you were growing up?
I started to write poems and song lyrics around age 11—like many young girls—but it wasn’t until I was 17 that I knew I would be a writer. I’d been writing short stories for about a year by then and I began to realize that I had a voice and that in the written form, it seemed clearer, stronger, even transformational.
What audience did you have in mind for your career as a writer - adult or children?
The narrator of my first successful short story was a seven-year-old girl, so I guess I’ve always known I was writing for children/young adults, though I’ve dabbled with more mature main characters.
When you went to college, were you already pursuing a writing career?
My first two years in college I studied nursing. I was desperate for a job where I could support myself, where I didn’t have to worry about the electricity being cut off and if there would be dinner that night. By the end of my second year, though, I knew my heart wasn’t in it. I switched to an English major with an emphasis in creative writing. I since earned a MFA in Fiction Writing and a specialist credential in teaching.
What was your first job when you graduated from college?
I am a school teacher, teaching reading and writing skills to students with learning disabilities in grades 6, 7 and 8.
Do you do other types of writing - for example, educational, nonfiction, magazine work or poetry?
I write poetry in addition to fiction. I believe it makes me a better novelist, makes me more disciplined, makes me weigh every word, releasing them only when I believe each one is as essential as air.
Do you write every day and do you have set hours that you work?
During the summer I write 5 days a week for 5 ½ hours each session. During the school year, I write 3 to 4 evenings a week for 3 hours—writing only after my children are sleeping.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on a teen mystery. I expect to have it finished in January or February. My agent will take a look at it first and it’s likely to go through another revision before submission begins.
What do you most want the students to get out of your school visits?
I want to inspire the students I talk to. I want them to believe they can overcome any obstacle. I want them to have compassion for themselves and for each other.