Here's an interview with Brandon Mull, author of the Fablehaven series:

Can you tell us about some of your favorite author visits?

Hawaii was fun. There were some schools on Kauai that rarely got author visits, and they were appreciative. I got lots of leis! Having cute kids slip leis over your head is a fabulous experience. And the scenery was breathtaking. I like visiting schools all over the country. You get to peek into different communities. I've always been passionate about reading and creating, and I sincerely enjoy sharing that enthusiasm with others.

What is your favorite fairy tale creature? And, if you could be any fairy tale creature, which would you be?

I've always been fascinated by dragons. If I had to pick a creature to become, I'd be a dragon. They're smart and powerful. I have enjoyed trying to get into the minds of dragons as I populate the dragon preserve in Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary (the fourth Fablehaven book).

What's currently in your "to-read" stack?

Goose Girl, Neverwhere, Happenstance Found

If you had a dinner party and could invite 3 famous (or infamous) people from any time period, who would you invite?

In my current mood, I would invite J.R.R. Tolkein, C. S. Lewis, and J. K.
Rowling. They all speak my language, they would all be hard to meet otherwise, and we share enough in common to have a fun conversation. The hope would be to totally geek out talking about fantasy worlds and writing.
Plus, all of their names are abbreviated. It would save lots of time. J


What's your second favorite movie?

The Lord of the Rings. I didn't think turning those books into a movie would work. I was happy to be wrong. I love grand escapist awesomeness.

Are you working on anything now?

I'm editing Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary, due out March 24. I'm working on a picture book to be released in the summer (with Brandon Dorman, my talented Fablehaven illustrator). I'm finalizing plans for the fifth and final Fablehaven, and working on the first book in a trilogy that will follow the Fablehaven series.

What is your writing process like?

I'm a massive daydreamer. Almost to the point where it makes me dysfunctional. I get bored with reality and invent stories in my mind to entertain myself. I have done this ever since I can remember.

As I daydream about different stories, I sometimes find one that becomes a playground in my mind, a scenario I return to again and again until it really comes to life for me. I tweak it and experiment with ways to make it more interesting. If it develops into a story I absolutely love, I try to figure out if I can write it.

Once I have a story that truly excites me, I try to break it down into scenes. I write my books in order, chapter by chapter. Each time I feel a chapter is done, I have my wife read it, we talk about it, and I move on.

Then I do a big polishing edit and hand it in to my publisher, and we start a new round of feedback and revision. I think I'm getting better at the process, and am excited for my future Fablehaven books and an array of other books which are currently in the planning stages.


Do you have any advice for young writers?

Become a good observer of your own daily life. A good writer must accumulate details. Read a lot. Write a lot. Get feedback from people you trust. The more you do those things, the better you will get. Basically, those are the same things you would do while pursuing a creative writing degree.

What's the best piece of advice you ever had on writing and who was it from?

Orson Scott Card explained in an article how it helped him to think of a novel like a movie. He talked about breaking the story down into scenes.
Breaking my novels down into scenes helps make big projects feel much more attackable. A big part of the trick is figuring out where to start each scene, what to portray, what to include as back story, where to stop the scene, and where to jump to next.