Ann M. Martin

An Interview With Ann and Her Friend Paula Danziger!

April 2000

Hi, readers! For those of you who met Tara*Starr and Elizabeth in P.S. Longer Letter Later, you may be happy to know that they are together again in a new book called Snail Mail No More. The sequel, which I wrote with my good friend and fellow author, Paula Danziger, still features Tara*Starr and Elizabeth as devoted long-distance correspondents, except now they have computers and e-mail. No more stamps! No more long waits for answers to important questions! No more dry spells without any news! In both books, we chronicle Tara*Starr's and Elizabeth's life as they are faced with the challenges of living far away from each other, making new friends, and having families in crisis.

Paula and I have done many interviews together, and we've always had a great time talking about Tara*Starr and Elizabeth. In a previous Ann Online, I shared the story of how we created our characters and collaborated as authors. This time, we thought it might be fun to have Paula visit with my readers on Ann Online as we interview each other. We tried to think of questions that we had never been asked before. Here goes...

Dear Paula,
Have you checked your horoscope today? Do you believe in them?
Love, Ann

Dear Ann,
How can I believe in horoscopes? One horoscope can't work for two people, because we're both Leos, and we could not be more different!

Now my question: did you ever have a strange or wacky fear of something when you were a kid?
Love, Paula

Dear Paula, You may find this hard to believe, but for a long time (I think when I was about 8 years old), I thought that there were two foxes living under my bed! I made myself carefully leap on and off of the bed so my feet would not get too close to where I thought the foxes were. Thank goodness I grew out of that!

Do you ever have a recurring dream? Sometimes I dream that I'm back in high school, but I'm the same age I am now, and I have to take all the classes and graduate again!
Love, Ann

Dear Ann,
It's funny that you ask, because I've been having this one dream for quite a while. In it, I'm happily relaxing at my country house. I guess my subconscious has forgotten that I sold the house over a year ago!

Here's a question for you: what's your favorite section of the newspaper? (Mine is Arts and Leisure.)
Love, Paula

Dear Paula,
Without a doubt, The New York Times Sunday Book Review is the first place I go to. I like to know what new books are being published, and which ones I want to be sure to read.

I'm thinking about getting a haircut. How have you been wearing your hair lately?
Love, Ann

Dear Ann,
I've always liked to do different things with my hair. When I was younger, I used to pretend to be different people and then try to look like them. You should have seen my Tinkerbell hairdo! Right now, I'm into different hair colors, especially reds and oranges. (Never a dull moment!)

My sense of style has always been a little flamboyant. I love to adorn myself with lots of jewelry and accessories and to wear long, flow-y clothes! I usually have a scarf in my hair, too. Pretty different from the way you dress, right?!

Dear Paula,
I'll say! I like to dress for comfort — jeans, sneakers, and t-shirts. (This sounds a lot like Kristy from the BSC, doesn't it?) As for my hair, I like any hairstyle that lets me just wake up, wash it, comb it out, and not need to use a hair dryer!

By the way, what's the best present you ever got?
Love, Ann

Dear Ann,
I just received a magic card from my nephew that he made especially for me. I'll treasure it because it's funny, it's loving, and simply because he made it.
Love, Paula

Dear Paula,
I guess our last question should be one that we actually do get asked a lot: will there be a sequel to Snail Mail No More?
Love, Ann

Dear Ann,
I think that we're very happy with where we've taken Tara*Starr and Elizabeth, and we truly believe that their story has been told. Even more importantly, I learned what can be accomplished when two writers (who are also very good friends) team up together on a project close to their hearts. I know for a fact that I am a better writer for having worked with you!
Love, Paula

Dear Paula,
I couldn't agree more. There's a lot of us in Tara*Starr and Elizabeth. Our friendship — having a history together — knowing the best and worst in each other (although I must say that the best is great and the worst is not bad at all!) and remaining friends throughout — all of this came together when we wrote the story of two very different people who remain good and supportive friends. It was a joy to work with you, and I can't wait until we can do it again.

Happy reading!

Love, Ann