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How do you pronounce your last name?

When the cashiers at the grocery store drone, "Thank you, Mrs. Resau. Did I pronounce that right?" I always say yes, even though each cashier pronounces it differently. Really, it's fine with me however you pronounce it. All my relatives pronounce it REE-saw as in SEE-saw. Or, as in you're doing carpentry and you sawed something once but you did a bad job, so you need to re-saw it. According to family lore, a great-great-grandfather said we used to have an "e" and an "x" in our last name, which would make it the French word réseaux (ray-ZO) which literally means "networks", but which I translate as "labyrinths". Much more poetic.

What is your writing process like?

I write best in the mornings, when everything feels fresh, when I'm still lingering in the world of dreams. I fix myself a cup of green tea with milk and lots of honey, sit down at my computer, and gradually slip from my grogginess into another place. For first drafts, I try to let everything gush onto the page, uncensored. Then I go back and trim extra things, add details, develop characters, improve the dialogue, and smooth out the language. Then my writing group and my mom read it and give me feedback. (My mom is always the toughest!) Then I do another draft. Then my mom and my writing group read it again. Then I do another draft. . . and, well, you get the idea!

Where do you get your ideas?

I see my fiction as a kind of mosaic - bits of life and myths and dreams pieced together to create something unique that hopefully tells an engaging story and speaks to some deeper truths. When I run across a person who fascinates me, I write about her and speculate on how she'd feel in certain situations together with other people who fascinate me. Eventually each character takes on a life and identity all her own, which is often quite different from the person who inspired her... but a core spark remains.

What were your favorite books as a kid?

The books I loved had a mystical flavor and made me feel that there was much, much more to existence than meets the eye. I walked to the library often and checked out armfuls of books - I was a greedy and voracious reader. I remember once telling the beautiful librarian, Ms. Levi, who had shiny hair down to her waist, that I was worried I'd read all the good books out there. She laughed and found me an armful of new good ones. My favorite authors I read as a child (in the 1980s) were Natalie Babbit (Tuck Everlasting), Madeleine L'Engle (A Wrinkle in Time), Lois Duncan (Locked in Time), Mary Stewart (The Merlin Trilogy), Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Zilpha Keatley Snyder (all her books are a wonderful blur), Cynthia Voigt (Dicey's Song), William Sleator (House of Stairs), Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins), C.S. Lewis (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe)... I could go on and on!

What are your favorite books as an adult?

I tend to gravitate toward books about other cultures and books infused with a sense of other realities - Amy Tan (Joy Luck Club), Louise Erdrich (Tales of Burning Love), Paul Auster (Moon Palace), Haruki Murakami (Wind-up Bird Chronicle), Barbara Kingsolver (The Poisonwood Bible), Isabel Allende (The House of Spirits), to name just a few. As far as books for teens and kids, it's hard to keep up with all the fabulous new books coming out. I enjoy reading all the usual suspects - the Newbery winners rarely disappoint.

When did you start writing?

In elementary school, I wrote a series of stories about 'Bottlebugs' - creatures that lived in our world (in bottles) and encountered a 'mean old witch' who put a spell on them. My friends and I developed a song and dance routine representing the Bottlebug creation myth. I also wrote fantastical choose-your-own-adventure stories that branched into a number of possible pathways and endings. In middle and high school I occasionally wrote in journals and relished the creative writing opportunities my teachers offered. College is when I started writing seriously, for hours every day, journaling and writing short stories and trying my hand at a novel about dragons (which fizzled.) Traveling and living in Europe and Latin America in my twenties gave me an endless supply of material to write about.

Which teacher influenced you the most?

In France, during my junior year abroad, I took a course entitled something like "Fantastical Nineteenth Century French Literature." The class took place in "La cave" - the cave-like basement of a seventeenth century convent - and the teacher was a sprightly French man with a neat, triangular white beard. He bounced around the room excitedly, parlay-ing about Maupassant, and gave us interesting writing exercises based on the stories we read. For one assignment, we had to come up with an alternative ending (yes, in French) for one of the stories. I let my imagination have fun, and scribbled page after page. His comment scrawled on my paper was, "Laura! Tu devrais être écrivaine!" You should be a writer! That little man's words come to my head when I'm doubting myself. It amazes me that four words can have such a big effect on someone's life. Remember that!

How long does it take you to write a book?

It's hard to say exactly, because I'm usually working at several books simultaneously, with each book at a different stage (from brain-storming the idea to copy-editing the final revision). My earlier books took longer to write, in part because I was learning a lot about writing as I went. Also, while I wrote those books, I was working at other jobs (teaching, translating, getting my Masters degree, etc.), which meant I had very limited time to write every day. And since neither of those books was under contract as I wrote them, I switched back and a lot between those books and other writing projects. Sooo... after that long-winded build-up, I'll estimate that What the Moon Saw took about five or six years, Red Glass took about four years, and The Indigo Notebook took about two years (but I was mostly working under deadline for that one.)

Why did you decide to become a writer?

For me, the only thing better than getting lost in reading a great story is getting lost in writing a great story. I've loved reading and writing stories since I was a little kid. I 've also always loved learning about different cultures and languages, and exploring new places, which is why I decided to get my Bachelors and Masters degrees in cultural anthropology. I guess I didn't really think it was possible to actually make a living as an author-it seemed way too fun and easy to get paid for something I wanted to spend most of my time doing anyway.

Living in Oaxaca, Mexico for two years inspired me to focus on completing my first book. I eventually realized that I felt much more passionate about crafting my book (which would eventually become What the Moon Saw) than I did about reading and writing anthropogical journal articles. So, I decided not to go on to my Ph.D., and instead, tried to find part-time jobs that would give me enough time to focus on my creative writing. Amazingly, it worked! Now I am a full-time writer (well, except for my ESL evening class which I adore and don't want to give up). I'm very grateful I get paid for doing what makes my soul fly. (Sounds cheesy, but it's the cheesy truth.)

What's the hardest thing about being a writer?

For me, it's always been dealing with the many insecurities that come with being a writer. At first the insecurities took the form of: Will I ever get a book published? Am I wasting my time? Now the insecurities have morphed into: What if I can never write another good book? What if no one likes my next book? etcetera... Basically, I've learned that I need to ignore those doubts as much as possible and just focus on writing-not to please anyone-but simply because writing puts me in a blissful state when I just let it happen.

What do you like best about being a writer?

I love when I'm writing and I get completely absorbed in the alternate world I've created. It's an amazing feeling.

What advice do you have for people who want to be writers?

Read a lot of good books. Write a lot. Write because you love it-not to please anyone. Don't expect perfection. Know that it will take many drafts before your written story comes close to matching the wonderful vision in your head. If you feel stuck or frustrated, imagine that the story exists out there already somewhere-and all you have to do is write, write, write, and revise, revise, revise, and eventually, that story will appear, intact and dazzling. Trust that a deeper part of yourself knows what the story is, and give the story a chance to come to the conscious part of your self. Find an insightful and upbeat group of writers to form a writing group.

What are you working on now?

I'm having fun writing a new young adult novel that has more fantastical elements than any of my other books so far. That's all I'll say for now!

Where do you write?

If it's not freezing cold, I write in my silver trailer (a sweet lil fifties rig in my driveway). If it's freezing cold (or if I feel like being around other people) I write at cozy Cafe Ardour in Old Town Fort Collins.

What was your path to publication?

I sent What the Moon Saw in to about twelve different editors and agents (very, very, very randomly, which I don't recommend...) I got rejections over the period of a few years. In the mean time, I kept revising the manuscript and making it better (well, after I cried and felt crappy over each rejection).

Then one day a kind and wise editor at Cricket Books gave me insightful, specific revision suggestions for the manuscript. I made the changes, which hugely improved the manuscript, but she ended up not taking it because of changes in her company. I noticed in my SCBWI bulletin that a new editor at Delacorte was interested in acquiring manuscripts, and at that time was willing to suspend the publishing company's policy of no unagented manuscripts. In the bulletin's blurb, she gave a description of what kinds of books she wanted. It sounded to me like What the Moon Saw would be a good fit. She offered me a contract- and that was one of the happiest days of my life! I've worked with Stephanie on all my books so far, which has been a joy.

Were you ever too embarrassed to show your writing to other people?

Yes. At one point in my life, I kept my writing in a locked wooden box (yep, kinda like Angel's) and wore the key around my neck. That's how paranoid I was that someone might read my stuff. It took me many years to become confident enough to share my writing with others. In my mid-twenties, I started sharing my short stories and essays with my mom, various writing groups, a creative writing class, writing conference attendees, etc. With every piece of positive feedback, I gained more and more confidence.

Can you share your thoughts on writing?

Many years ago, one evening at dusk, I was alone in the woods and it started to snow. I tilted my head back and chose a distant snowflake and followed its path down onto my tongue.

That's how I like to think about writing. There are zillions of snowflakes, zillions of stories to tell, each of them falling right at you. All you have to do is pick one and concentrate as it comes to you. Just stand there patiently, ready to receive. There are so many stories out there, that it's kind of overwhelming to pick one and tell it. For me, writing has always been a matter of having the confidence to follow through on a particular story, convincing my doubting self that it's a worthwhile way to spend my time when there are so many mundane tasks to do.

A few years ago, I co-founded a local writer's group which has been incredibly supportive and confidence-boosting for me. When I'm doubting myself, and even the wise old-lady part of me isn't piping up with encouragement, sometimes I need fellow writers to gush enthusiasm for my work. And of course, I do the same for them, and when they have successes I feel (almost) as happy for them as I would for myself. I think it's important to surround yourself with people who believe that anything is possible if you truly want it and make a focused effort.
I have a kind of blessing-curse - if I go a few days without writing, I get very grumpy and head-achey. When I don't write, life feels bland. Writing is a sort of preventative medicine for me; it helps me create meaning out of my world. I've never had writers' block exactly, but sometimes I feel I have nothing fresh to say, or if I do, that it's not coming out in a beautiful way, that the words feel clunky and heavy.

What I do then is take a walk to get my blood flowing. (I enjoy alleys since they often have forgotten treasures). Sometimes I find a stream to sit by, alone, and listen to the messages it murmurs. Or I read some poetry to remind myself how good it feels to express experiences with beautiful language. (Pablo Neruda is my favorite). Sometimes I look at prints of paintings I like and write stream of consciousness about them. Sometimes I play loud cumbia or salsa or merengue music and dance for a while. Sometimes I take a book, any book, and close my eyes and put my finger on ten random words and then, very fast, without thinking too much, write a poem using all of the words. Sometimes I impulsively plan a trip somewhere, which always reminds me that the world is a wide, deep, rich place just bubbling over with stories. One way or another, I figure out a way to tap into the river of creativity that is always flowing inside us.

What advice do you have for young writers?

• Read a lot of good books and think about what the author did that made the book so good. Try doing something similar in your own writing.
• Don't expect your first draft to be perfect. Just let your ideas flow onto the page, and later go back and decide what to keep and what to change or cut.
• Keep a journal and write about anything you want-- observations, stories, feelings, dreams-- so that you get comfortable transforming your thoughts into words on paper.
• Have fun and have confidence! Turn off any critical voices in your head and remind yourself that the act of creating is valuable and thrilling.
• Share your writing with other writers when you feel ready. Read each other's work and give each other feedback and support. Make sure to focus on the positive things!
• Make writing a priority. Set aside time every day or a few times a week to write. Don't let yourself make excuses. Just write!

What exactly do you do in your writing group?

We (Old Town Writing Group) meet for two or three hours every two weeks. We talk and laugh and eat and drink and update each other on what's been happening lately in our writing lives. We celebrate each other's successes and commiserate with each other over rejections. We tell each other about conferences, workshops, readings, contests, and other things we might be interested in. For the second half of the meeting, we critique two members' pieces-usually between five and thirty pages per person. (We read it in advance-the members up for critique submit their pieces a week before the meeting via email.) Each member critiques the piece, going around in a circle, starting with the person on the submitter's right. We always focus on the positive stuff first- specific things we loved about the piece-and then move into specific things that weren't working for us. The overall atmosphere is fun, productive, creative, warm, and uplifting.

Can you give me advice on teaching ESL in another country?

I highly recommend it! Teaching abroad was a fabulous, life-changing experience for me. Check out Dave's ESL Cafe - it's been around for a long time, and is a great resource. Beyond that, I don't have much advice, since I got my TEFL certificate nearly fourteen years ago, and I'm sure the world of international ESL teaching has changed a lot since then.

Didn't find an answer to your question here?

Try reading some interviews and articles. If it's a question about a specific book, go to the book's page and read about my inspiration for it. If it's a question about me, try the About Laura section. If you can't find the answer anywhere on the website, contact me.