Featured Interview With Olivia Gold
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I live in hot and sticky Florida with my husband, three kids, two dogs, two sheep, two cats, twenty chickens, and a miniature zebu. When I’m not writing or dodging animal doo-doo, I’m teaching almost a hundred rambunctious seventh graders. Occasionally, I read my writing to them so they can give me advice. They never let me down with their feedback!
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve been stapling together pieces of paper and calling them “books” for as long as I can remember. When I was seven years old, I sent my first manuscript to a publisher. It wasn’t accepted, of course, but they sent me the cutest rejection letter imaginable, and I kept writing books in notebooks, on scraps of paper, and eventually on the family computer.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I am a die-hard Gordon Korman fan. My students love his books too; we really can’t get enough of them. Still, my biggest inspiration has to be my students. I crunched the numbers, and I’ve taught about a thousand kids!
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Hidden was such a fun book for me to write. I didn’t want the length of the book to discourage readers, so I kept it around 170 pages long, and it only took five months to write. Xander witness what MIGHT be a crime and is thrown into witness protection in the strangest Utah town imaginable. He has to figure out how to fit in when all of the kids are obsessed with school spirit and all things Utah. My favorite part of the writing process was reading the chapters to my students as I wrote them. It was so fun to hear them laugh or gasp aloud as I read, and as I mentioned, they gave me amazing advice. It’s a memory I will definitely cherish.