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Rachna Gilmore’s interview really struck a chord with me. Like her I was an avid reader and fell in love with the character of Jo in Little Women, and read it repeatedly. I too had a desire to write, but knew that it would be frowned upon as being impractical. My father was an engineer, and because I too had an aptitude for math and science was steered to study engineering. I did so, until my senior year, when I changed my major. Also like Ms. Gilmore, I’ve been reluctant to write for all the reasons she listed,”fear of failure, inertia and procrastination.” Moreover, I like the approach she has to her work. She says that people generally associate tedium with the words writing and work, and frivolty with play. Therefore, she calls what she does a mixture of the two called “plark.” She says that this word better conveys both the pleasure, and the very real amount of effort needed to get it written, edited and published. The similarities did not end there. For years I’ve been criticized for reading children’s books and watching children’s programs. I really enjoy it, and thought I was the only one. It was one of the reasons I went into education. I felt that education was one place that my avid interest in children would fit. I also thought it would be a great place to do quasi-research. How better to learn about young people than to work with them all day every day? Gilmore was able to do this through using her two daughters as a sounding board for her ideas. The final thing that I found most interesting was the fact that she has written a very broad spectrum of books, from early readers to adult novels. I too, I must admit, was of a mindset that writing children’s books must be easier than writing adult books. I have to say that hearing her say that it is simply different and that good writing is good writing was mind blowing. I am no longer operating under the false assumption that because books are written for younger audiences that they are therefore easier to write. I’d liken it to what I thought before commencing teaching. I’d thought that teaching elementary school was easier than teaching high school. Well, I am a high school math teacher, and it is anything but easy. And, high school is supposed to be comprised of the most mature children! I can only imagine the wherewithal it must take to teach younger students. Yes, Ms. Gilmore’s interview certainly opened my eyes to a great many things. It was both interesting and enjoyable.