I’ve been a professional adviser for the last 16 years but it isn’t very often that I’m asked to give advice to my 15-year-old self.
But that’s exactly what my friend, the amazing author Sandra Evans, asked me to do this month.
I met Sandy through our mutual friend Tamiko Nimura, a terrific writer and connector. When Tamiko introduced us over email, I immediately bought a copy of Sandy’s debut middle-grade novel, This Is Not a Werewolf Story. After reading this beautiful, magical, yet also realistic story, I knew I had to meet her.
I’m always a little unsure when I meet a fellow writer–will they be as cool as their writing? Or shy? Or morose? Or not like their writing at all? Lucky for me, Sandy was just as fun, whimsical, and fascinating as her novel, and we had a great time talking about writing, the writing life, and everything else under the sun.
So, when Sandy decided to start a series of interviews with authors and creatives on her blog and asked me to be the first interview, I agreed.
It was both hard and easy to think back and remember my younger self and what she thought about certain things. And though some of the memories made me sad, some also made me smile, and in the end, taking this walk down memory lane was very gratifying.
Hope you enjoy it. If you do, please post your comments below. Thank you.
Peg Cheng is the author of The Contenders, a middle-grade novel centered on the question, can enemies become friends? She is currently writing another novel that is a re-imagining of the Snow White fairy tale set in 1980s Seattle. Peg is also a writing coach giving help, encouragement, and feedback to writers from all walks of life.
Photo of Sandra Evans & Peg Cheng by Marcus Donner.