Jane Yolen
As a child
I am the daughter of writers, and both my brother and I have followed in their wake. My father was a journalist, and my mother wrote short stories and created (and sold) crossword puzzles. We were also a family of readers.
As an adult
Now I am a grandmother of six, and the author of over 250 books. Both facts surprise me. I live part of the time in the US, in a rambling nineteenth century farmhouse in western Massachusetts, next to my daughter and her daughters, and part of the time in half of an elegant 1902 stone mansion in Scotland (the other half is owned by a British family).
As an artist
I love to write. Nothing makes me happier than to watch a book resolve itself. I like to say stories leak out of my fingertips on to the keyboard. What I most like writing varies from day to day, even hour to hour. Sometimes I like writing and editing poetry books. Sometimes I want to be doing a picture book, like Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? Other times it’s novels that call to me. I just plain love to write.
Things you didn't know about Jane Yolen
- I love cats, but have none now because I travel so much.
- My favourite colour is wine.
- My favourite drink is water or seltzer water.
- Twins run in our family. My father had twin sisters, and one of my sons has twins.
- We are a family of birdwatchers.
- I love gardens but – alas – have a brown thumb.
- I wanted to be a ballerina, but had flat feet and a love for chocolate!
- At one point I wanted to own a horse ranch, but hated mucking out stalls.
- I lost my fencing foil on a date in Grand Central Station in New York.
- When you email me, that’s really me, not a computer.