I was probably the only author in the world, except those living in central Tibet, who didn’t have a website. Until now. There were a couple of reasons for it. I didn’t understand how to make a website. I didn’t know how to blog or to get onto other people’s blogs. I didn’t know what a chat room was, except that people got into mischief there. Let’s face it, I was firmly grounded in the 19th century.
The other reason was that I am an intensely private person. I have spent my whole life fading into the wall paper. Protective coloring has saved me from many dangerous situations, and believe me I have been in them. Nor do I like to talk about personal problems. This seems to be popular now and is supposed to make you likable to other people with personal problems.
One of the stupidest statements I ever heard as a child was this:
I was unhappy because I had no shoes until I met a man with no feet.
All this meant to me was that there were two unhappy people out there, one with no shoes and another with no feet. I have a very literal mind.
I can’t think of a worse activity than a bunch of unhappy people getting together to share misery. I do suffer from depression. It runs in my family. Through the years I have learned to recognize when I’m spiraling down and to stop the depression in its tracks. I exercise, force myself to visit people (cheerful ones, that is), and to do things for others.
When I was younger I used to break a depression by doing something dangerous. You’d be surprised how a genuine physical danger sweeps away all the cobwebs. When London was being bombed during the Second World War, the number of suicides went straight down. It went up after the danger was past. I learned this interesting fact when I was about fifteen. I’m not going to tell you what I did because I don’t want anyone copying me, but I got rid of quite a few depressions.
There. I’ve told you one personal problem. You’ll have to be satisfied with that.
But just because I don’t reveal feelings doesn’t mean I don’t have them. I have a crystal-clear memory of my emotions as a child and a teenager, which is why I can write the books I do. Young people feel things more strongly than adults. Their fears are more intense. They have vivid nightmares. They get into wild fits of joy. They fall in love.
An adult reader once criticized The House of the Scorpion because he didn’t believe that Matt and Maria could fall in love at age fourteen. I don’t even know where to begin with that idea. Dante (an Italian poet who wrote The Divine Comedy) fell in love with Beatrice when he was only nine. And he stayed in love with her for the rest of his life. Juliet was only thirteen when she met Romeo. I know several people who fell in love deeply at a very early age. It happens.
I’m not talking about sex here, but love. If it were up to me I’d keep a lot of people away from sex until they’re at least thirty-five. It’s much more important to learn how to love and many people never figure it out.
I want to thank all of you who have left a message on the website. I am truly touched that you found it and took the trouble to write. I have been terrible about answering letters and hope that I can make up for it here. Most of the time I am so swamped with work I don’t have time for anything else. Until two days ago I was writing the third Troll book, The Land of the Silver Apples. This meant working every day without holidays or weekends for nine months and now I am so exhausted I can hardly see.
But I know I’ve been shirking my duty to you. I will answer questions on this website and also provide more information about my books for those who are writing school papers. I will label the topics and later figure out a better way to organize them. Look for them on Q & A.
P.S. I wouldn’t have a website at all if my husband Harold hadn’t worked out how to do it. He’s as thoroughly stuck in the 19th century as I am, but he’s smarter.
70 Comments
KC
10/30/2008 01:18:00 am
Ms. Farmer,
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12/10/2008 10:29:40 am
Dear Ms. Farmer,
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12/26/2008 07:24:09 am
I am very happy that you have written a blog/website. It's not necessary to share all you personal life on web pages, though some do. Have you checked you Vitamin D levels? I wonder if low levels relate to S.A.D. But anyway, I really enjoy your writing and have just started the Sea of Trolls. I enjoyed Scorpion and thought the ending was too fast, and glad you are working on a sequel. Hang tough with movie rights. The movie must be a visual of your creation. Find the directors you feel best with and contact them directly. Life is different these days. I enjoyed The Girl Named Disaster and how you revealed the spiritual presence of relations and community ties. Now for the question: Do you mind a quick look over at our web page? We published Sunrise Fire which is a book about firefighting and forestry conservation. We produced it in house with a production team and printed it via Lightning Source. It would be really cool if you could read Sunrise Fire. We are working to get it to more libraries and are using it as a book fundraiser. Thanks for posting a web page! - Mindy
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Taylor Hicklen
1/20/2009 01:21:53 am
Dear Mrs. Farmer,
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1/31/2009 12:43:01 am
Dear Nancy,
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2/3/2009 04:17:32 pm
I have just completed my graduation and want to be a professional writer. Writing for one's own satisfaction or professional writing are two different things in the writing arena. So what we should kept in our mind so that i will posses that kind of attitude. After all every writing comes from the heart. I believed so far.
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Dan
3/21/2009 11:05:01 am
Dear Nancy,
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5/5/2009 06:55:21 am
Hey there, mrs. Farmer,
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Weston Kearsey and Tyler Benson
6/5/2009 03:07:19 am
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Stephanie Chao
6/5/2009 03:13:06 am
Dear Ms. Farmer,
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Gigi Downey
6/5/2009 03:15:02 am
Dear Ms.Farmer
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Kayla.S
6/5/2009 03:18:52 am
Dear Ms.Farmer,
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suado madey
6/5/2009 03:18:57 am
Dear Ms.Farmer,
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Tony and Trevor
6/5/2009 03:22:57 am
Dear Ms. Farmer,
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Kayla P.
6/5/2009 03:25:54 am
Dear Ms. Farmer,
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Maria Fernanda Diaz-Bonilla
6/5/2009 03:26:13 am
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vyda
6/5/2009 03:26:31 am
Dear Ms. Farmer,
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Sammy Uttke
6/5/2009 03:27:52 am
Dear Ms.Farmer,
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Sunset Shalom
6/5/2009 03:33:18 am
Dear Nancy Farmer,
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alan
6/5/2009 03:35:19 am
2303 S.E. 23rd
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J.Knight poop
6/5/2009 03:45:16 am
Hosford Middle School
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sophie and vivan
6/5/2009 04:39:45 am
Dear Ms. Farmer,
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Eve And Koty
6/5/2009 04:45:06 am
Dear Ms. Farmer,
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Nathan T
6/5/2009 04:45:40 am
Dear Ms.Farmer
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Sierra and Jasmine
6/5/2009 04:45:43 am
Hosford Middle School
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Walker and Harry
6/5/2009 04:47:19 am
Dear Ms. Farmer,
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Alexander Chaparro
6/5/2009 04:47:24 am
Dear Ms. Farmer
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Nathan T
6/5/2009 04:47:28 am
Dear Ms.Farmer
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Danny and Nicolas
6/5/2009 04:48:54 am
Dear Ms.Farmer
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madino hassan
6/5/2009 04:49:03 am
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Mario
6/5/2009 04:52:24 am
Dear Ms. Farmer,
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Joclynn .E
6/5/2009 04:54:46 am
Dear Ms. Farmer
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Mdino Hssan
6/5/2009 04:58:48 am
Dear Mr. Farmer
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Madison H.
6/5/2009 04:59:34 am
Dear Ms. Farmer,
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Kelly Lieb
6/5/2009 05:04:13 am
Dear Ms. Farmer,
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ruth doti
6/5/2009 05:06:13 am
Dear Nancy Farmer,
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Eddy C.
6/5/2009 05:07:45 am
Dear MS. Farmer,
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madino hassan
6/5/2009 05:08:55 am
Dear Mr. Farmer
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Hannah
6/5/2009 05:09:41 am
Dear Ms.Farmer,
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Jayr
6/5/2009 05:24:37 am
I am 7 grade student at Hosferd Middle Scool in Portland, Oregon. This spring our class to read The House of the Scorpion.I am writing you because I enjoy The House of the Scorpion.My favorite book is The House of the Scorpion because I don't read alot of books.This book was not boring at all it was exciting and confusing book.Your friend Jayr.
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Unity
6/5/2009 07:00:36 am
My name is Unity angel, and I am writing to you about your book The House Of The Scorpion. I just wanted to know if you're writing a seqel, because I love to read and write a lot. I loved the first so I would enjoy reading the next. You're book also gave my ideas for my own stories. If you are writing a seqel just let me know. Thank you for reading my letter.
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Rachael W.
6/5/2009 07:03:32 am
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Kien, Devin
6/5/2009 07:04:32 am
Dear Ms. Farmer,
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Victor Ponce
6/5/2009 07:05:34 am
I am a 7th grade student at Hosford Middle School in Portland Oregon. This spring we read The House of the Scorpion. I am writing to you about why Tam Lin had to die. Could you have thought of another way to end the book? Anyway, it was a great book and had a very touching ending. I would give this book two thumbs up and the most awesome book award there is. Thank you for raeding my letter.
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Helen
6/5/2009 07:11:34 am
Dear Ms. Farmer,
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Claire
6/5/2009 07:13:16 am
Dear Ms.Farmer,
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Raymond and Matthew
6/5/2009 07:13:35 am
We are students from Hosford Middle School, in Portlan,OR. This spring our class read one of your books, The House of the Scorpion. We are writing to you because the book was very interesting and hooked us into the story. When we were reading your book we didn't understand the concept of the story until the fifth chapter. The reason why we didn't understand the concept was how Matt got into Celia's apartment. We think that the book was great and very exciting. We can't wait to read the sequel.
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royston
6/5/2009 07:13:47 am
Dear Ms.Farmer,
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6/5/2009 07:14:26 am
Dear Ms. Farmer,
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Paul Mann
6/5/2009 07:20:36 am
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Ryan W.
6/5/2009 07:21:46 am
Dear Mis Farmer,
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Lucy Bautista
6/5/2009 07:22:28 am
Dear ms. Farmer,
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Scott Taylor
6/5/2009 07:23:06 am
Dear Ms. Farmer,
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Kate
6/5/2009 07:23:40 am
Dear Ms.farmer
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Zoe J.
6/5/2009 07:24:59 am
Dear Ms. Farmer
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Josh and Cristiano
6/5/2009 07:25:06 am
Dear, Nancy Farmer,
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6/5/2009 07:30:18 am
Dear Ms. Farmer,
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Rikkie Hampton
6/5/2009 07:31:03 am
Dear Ms.Farmer,
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Sophie
6/5/2009 07:31:46 am
I am Sophie Thorsen from Portland, Oregon. While i was reading The House of the Scorpion with my class. i was wondering how Matt's musical talent tied into your story. Why was it important.I absolutly love your writing. i enjoyed this book so much it makes me want to rush over to the library and check out one of your other books. I hope you can get back to me. Thank you.
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6/5/2009 07:32:13 am
Dear Ms. farmer,
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Oswaldo and Mario
6/5/2009 07:32:48 am
Dear Ms.farmer,
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Rose Moore
6/5/2009 07:32:59 am
Dear Ms.Farmer,
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Helmut
6/5/2009 07:33:15 am
Dear Ms Farmer,
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Joness C
6/5/2009 07:38:08 am
Dear Ms.Farmer
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Janice Ingersoll
6/5/2009 08:45:04 am
I am a Language Arts teacher at Hosford Middle School in Portland, Oregon. As you can see my students have thoroughly enjoyed listening to me read The House of the Scorpion. Since so many of their comments/questions are similar, I am sure they wouldn't mind a response to the entire group under my name. They wrote individually or in pairs practicing friendly letters, and of course each wanted to type theirs in to you.
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sammy uttke
6/26/2009 11:26:44 am
Hi, I wrote to you and I accidentally said that this is the only book I have ever read. What i meant to say was that this is the only book I have ever read that I ever wanted to read a sequel to. I have read many books in my life and I don't want you to think I'm stupid! Thank You!
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xoxo Holly :]
12/5/2009 04:51:32 am
Hii~
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sarina
7/10/2010 03:08:33 pm
Dear Nancy,
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