Emily Costello is a Writer

Ryan's Book Report

Ryan, a fourth grader at John Sinnott Elementary School in California, is doing a book report on Abandoned Puppy, the first book in my ANIMAL EMERGENCY series. He sent along the following questions:

1. Where were you born? I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

2. What is your current hometown? I live in Winchester, Massachusetts. It's a beautiful small town about eight miles north of Boston.

3. Who are the important people in your life? My family, of course! I'm married to an architect named Eric Nelson and we have two kids -- a son who is in second grade and a daughter who just started kindergarten this fall.

4. What are your hobbies? I love to get outside to hike and camp. I practice yoga and I'm an orange belt in karate. And, of course, I love to read.

Thanks for your questions, Ryan. Good luck with your report!

Abbie's Book Report

A reader named Abbie is doing a book report on Blue Ribbon Christmas and emailed me the following questions:

1. How old are you? I was born in 1966. It doesn't feel all that long ago to me -- but when I was born the Beatles were still recording, man had not yet walked on the moon, and in China, the cultural revolution was just beginning.

2. How long have you been writing and how many books have you written? I began writing professionally in 1988. I'm not quite sure how many books I've written. It's likely to be more than 50.

3. What is your favorite book that you wrote? Writers are not supposed to answer this question. I'm supposed to say, "my next book" or "I love them equally, because they are like my children." While it's true that books are like children (because they are both wonderful and madding), I will admit to loving my Animal Emergency books the best -- especially Lost Kitten.

Good luck with your report, Abbie. Thanks for writing.

Jessica's Book Report

A reader named Jessica is doing a book report on Hit and Run Retriever, and emailed me a couple of questions. Here are the answers:

1. How did you grow up? I grew up in Cincinnati, OH in a lively household with three older brothers and an older sister. I always liked to read. During the summer, I would walk up to the local library and borrow the maximum number of books allowed out of the library (8). I remember reading Mom, the Wolfman and Me by Norma Klein, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle and all of Judy Blume's books. Sometimes my friends and I rode bikes and read at the same time. This was NOT a bright idea.

2. How did you begin writing? My first job after college was editing books for kids. Writing grew naturally out of that. I love writing because it is so hard it never gets boring.

Thanks for writing, Jessica. Good luck with your report!