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Author Revealed

Ellen Hopkins
Sonya Sones

Ellen Hopkins

Ellen Hopkins is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Crank, Burned, Impulse, Glass, Identical, Tricks, Fallout, and Perfect, as well as the adult novels Triangles and Collateral. She lives with her family in Carson City, Nevada, where she has... Read full bio

Author Revealed:
Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
A. Time voyage--false starts, choppy seas, safe harbors.
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Ellen Hopkins Revealed
About Ellen Hopkins
  • Previous occupations:
    I owned my own business--a video store.
  • Favorite job:
    Never really had jobs, but I did teach as an artist in residence. Loved doing that.
  • High school and/or college:
    Santa Ynez Valley Union High School; UCSB (both in California)
  • Name of your favorite composer or music artist?:
    My favorite composer is Mozart.
  • Favorite movie:
    My favorite current movie is Iron Man. Favorite all-time movie is The Sting.
  • Favorite television show:
    Boston Legal
Revealing Questions
Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
A. Time voyage--false starts, choppy seas, safe harbors.
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. Shortcuts only cheat those taking them.
Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
A. Sitting in front of the fireplace with someone you love, sipping a hot drink, eating popcorn, watching it snow.
Q. What’s your greatest fear?
A. Not having enough time left to tell all the stories I want to tell.
Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A. Other than right here at home, Australia/New Zealand.
Q. With whom in history do you most identify?
A. Amelia Earhart--a woman who chose to stand out from the rest and do what she loved.
Q. Which living person do you most admire?
A. Hillary Clinton
Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
A. Hey. Nice. Awesome.
Q. What do you regret most?
A. Not pursuing my love of dance/theater.
Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A. The ability to play music completely by ear.
Q. What is your greatest achievement?
A. Making a hugely positive impact with my books.
Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
A. I tend to be a bit impulsive.
Q. What’s your best quality?
A. Loyalty to family and friends.
Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A. An eagle, as long as I lived where people didn't want to shoot them down.
Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
A. I'm outgoing and fun.
Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A. Jack Sparrow.
Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A. Cruella Deville
Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A. Lancelot. I'd say, "What's up with that Guinevere person, anyway? Let me show you a real good time!!"
Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
A. Rude drivers.
Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A. Teaching.
Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
A. Jet pilot.
Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A. Honesty, kindness, curiosity.
Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A. If I didn't care about living a long time, chocolate. If I did, peanut butter and jam sandwiches.
Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?
A. Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen), Come Together (Beatles), Lights (Journey), Renegade (Styx), Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd)
On Books and Writing
Q. What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A. Of Mice and Men, The Dark Tower, Sometimes a Great Notion, Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Rings
Q. Is there a book you love to reread?
A. Traveling Mercies
Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?
A. Create compelling characters and let plot flow from there.
Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?
A. That my books don't feel like fiction, and that my characters feel like friends.
Q. How did you come to write Identical?
A. Over the years, several friends have shared stories of childhood sexual abuse. None felt able to write them, so I wanted to give them, and other young men and women with similar stories, a voice. Statistically, one in five women and one in seven men suffer some form of sexual abuse. We, as a society, need to find ways to lessen those statistics.