Student-Author Interview 8: Rebecca Behrens

Last spring, I was browsing online for some new classroom library books to purchase, and some of my sixth grade students were helping. I had recently happened upon this interview about the story behind the final cover design of Rebecca Behrens’s debut middle grade novel, When Audrey Met Alice, and I thought the book looked like a lot of fun. I showed the kids the interview, and then we checked out the description of the book.

When Audrey Met Alice features two first daughters—a fictional, contemporary first daughter named Audrey, who feels lonely and constrained in her White House life, and a real-life, historical first daughter, Alice Roosevelt. Audrey finds Alice’s hidden diary and finds both solace and inspiration in Alice’s lively, often humorous adventures.

“That book sounds amazing! You have to buy that!” my students said after we read the description. So I did. The book lived up to their enthusiastic expectations, and other students were eager to read it, too. As I began planning interviews for this year, I figured these students, who are now seventh graders, would be just as excited to interview Rebecca as they’d been to read her book. And I was thrilled that Rebecca wanted to answer questions from student interviewers Sophia, Alex, Nyeema, Poli, Sydney, and Olivia!

First, here’s what the girls liked best about the book, with some commentary from Rebecca:

Sydney: I liked the journal entries from Alice because they were funny. I liked how Audrey felt emotional and cried when she finished reading the diary. The book inspired me to start writing a similar story of my own!

That’s awesome! I love it when a book inspires writing. It was so much fun to write Alice because she was such a witty person.

Alex: I liked how the book is set in the White House. My favorite part was when Audrey got caught on the roof with…something she wasn’t supposed to have.

The roof scene is one of my favorites, too—and probably the one I enjoyed writing the most. Poor Audrey!

Poli: I think the storylines for both Audrey and Alice were really good. I liked when Alice brought the snake to the dinner.

Thanks! The snake, Emily Spinach, might be my favorite character.

Sophia: I liked how Audrey and Alice have a lot of different connections even though they live in different times.

Thank you! Some of the connections surprised me while writing—the things in Alice’s life that seemed very modern, and the ways in which she had more freedom than a first daughter today does.

Olivia: I like how the journal entries show how life as a first daughter was different for Alice than it is for Audrey.

I think about those differences a lot, whenever first daughters are in the news. It seems crazy how Alice got to go shopping on her own and could ride her bicycle around Washington while she was a first daughter—compared to the 24/7 security that a first daughter has today.

Nyeema: I like how you made the book current, like with references to gay marriage and the LGBT movement. I also thought it was funny when Audrey had to hide someone underneath her bed…

Thank you! I wanted to make sure that Audrey could share her voice on an issue that matters to people today. And I thought that scene in Audrey’s room was funny, too—it was another one that I loved to write.

And now some questions about WHEN AUDREY MET ALICE and writing in general:

Poli: What inspired you to write this book?

I was in middle and high school during the Clinton presidency. The idea of a girl my age living in the White House fascinated me. I always wondered what Chelsea Clinton’s life was like, living in such a historic and important place. Sure, she got to go to State Dinners . . . but did she still get to have sleepovers? Was a Secret Service agent sitting in a desk in her classroom at school? Did she still have to change Socks the (first) cat’s litter box? Writing When Audrey Met Alice let me answer some of those questions by imagining what life as a first daughter feels like.

Olivia: Why did you decide to write about a past first daughter in addition to a present-day one?

I knew I wanted to write a book about a girl living in the White House today, but I also wanted to write about Alice Roosevelt. She was a truly fascinating person, and I thought she would be a perfect protagonist. I couldn’t decide which story to write—until I had the idea to combine them by having a present-day daughter find Alice’s diary. (That was partly wish fulfillment—I’ve always wanted to find a hidden diary!)

Sophia: How long did it take you to write this book?

A long time! After a couple of months of research, I started writing a first draft of Alice’s diary. When I was done with that, I wrote Audrey’s story. Those drafts took about six months to write. After I had a complete (but very rough) draft of each girl’s story, I worked on combining them. And I revised the book about eight times before the final, published version. I think I wrote the first words in May 2010, and the book sold to my publisher, Sourcebooks, in September 2012. It made its way to bookstores in February 2014, close to four years after I started writing it. Publishing requires a lot of patience!

Olivia: What is your writing process like? Do you have a writing group?

I like to write first drafts “with the door closed”—an idea that comes from one of Stephen King’s books on writing. That means that when I’m working on a rough draft, I try not to show my writing to other people. Writing that exploratory draft without sharing it helps me feel okay with taking chances and trying new things that might not end up working. I take a little time off after finishing a first draft, and then I revise once by myself.

After that, I am happy to get opinions and insight from critique partners, my literary agent, and eventually my editor. My mom is usually the first person who gets to read a new book—and she is a helpful reader because she used to be an English teacher.

I meet up with a group of writers on Wednesday nights. Sometimes we read one another’s work, but mostly we get together to support and encourage each other—and share cookies. They are good writing fuel.

Nyeema: Was it complicated to write Alice’s point of view?

It was complicated! I wanted Alice’s story to be as close to the truth—the historical details—as possible. I also wanted her voice and opinions to be authentic. But at the same time, I was creating a fictional character. I had to balance when to stick with the facts and when to let myself imagine her feelings. I also wanted to make the language she used be true to her time period, but still enjoyable for a reader today. I spent a lot of time looking up words in the dictionary to make sure I wasn’t having her use slang that hadn’t been invented yet.

Alex and Poli: How much White House research did you have to do? Are all of the facts about the White House, like the chocolate shop, true? Did you get to take a behind-the-scenes tour?

I did a lot of research! There are many wonderful books, programs, and websites about White House history. Reading and watching them helped me imagine the White House. There really is a chocolate shop (here’s a video of the Executive Pastry Chef decorating treats in it: http://whitehouse.c-span.org/Video/ByRoom/Chocolate-Shop.aspx)—and a cookie tray. At the same time, Audrey’s White House world is fictional. One example is that golf carts aren’t used on the grounds for transportation. I added that detail because I really wanted to give her a chance to go driving, but I knew it would be implausible for Audrey to get into a car as a thirteen-year-old at the White House.

I took a private group tour of the grounds of the White House while I was revising the book. It was a wonderful experience, and being able to walk around the gardens and through the building helped me develop the setting. One of the things that surprised me when I was there was how quiet and calm it felt. I expected the grounds to be bustling and noisy, especially on a day with a big tour. But it felt very serene.

Sydney: We go to a Friends school and noticed that Audrey goes to a Friends school called Friends Academy. What do you know about Friends schools? How did you decide to set your book at a Friends school?

The idea for Friends School first came from the school that the Obama girls currently attend, and Chelsea Clinton attended: Sidwell Friends in the Washington, DC area. I didn’t know much about Friends schools before writing, but I had the opportunity to research them while working on the book and I enjoyed learning more about this type of school. I really admire the emphasis on community, spirituality, and social responsibility at Friends schools.

Poli and Sydney: Will there be a sequel? We think it would be cool to have a book with another new first daughter reading Audrey’s journal! If there won’t be a sequel, can you tell us anything about your next book?

I don’t have a sequel planned, although if I ever have the opportunity I’d love to write another book about Audrey or Alice. Alice had a lot of travel adventures that I didn’t cover in the first book . . . But I do have another book coming out, Summer of Lost and Found, which will publish in early 2016. Like When Audrey Met Alice, it blends contemporary and historical fiction. This story is about a girl who travels to Roanoke Island in North Carolina and starts to unravel the mystery of what happened to the Lost Colonists in 1587.

And finally, some questions about when Rebecca was in middle school:

Olivia: Were you bullied at all, the way Audrey is teased at school?

I was very shy throughout school, and rather sensitive. I wasn’t teased much, but I do remember how hard it was to navigate cliques, and sometimes I felt excluded by friends. Those experiences helped me write Audrey—I could empathize with the loneliness she felt in the book.

Poli: When you were in middle school, did you want to grow up to be a writer?

I wanted to be a lot of things when I was in middle school, and while I loved reading (it has always been my favorite thing!) I didn’t think I could be a writer. I enjoyed telling stories and creating characters but writers seemed like superheroes to me, and I was an ordinary book-loving girl. What really changed my mind was getting to meet one of my favorite writers (Sharon Creech) at a book event. She talked about her process for writing, and it suddenly occurred to me that it wasn’t magic or a superhuman storytelling ability that let her create such great books—it was hard work! After that, I started to believe that someday I could write a book, too.

Nyeema: Did you fantasize about living in the White House?

I definitely did! I could imagine the fancy dinners, having friends over to play in the bowling alley, and getting to do the White House Easter Egg Roll. But I also vividly remember watching the episodes of Saturday Night Live in which they poked fun at Chelsea Clinton, and feeling terrible for her. As much as I was a little jealous of all the cool things she got to do as a First Daughter, I thought it would be hard to live there, too, with all that attention on you.

Sophia and Alex: Was English your favorite subject? Was it your best subject?

English has always been my favorite subject, and probably my best. I was pretty good at math and science, too—I started college as a biology student and was sure that I would go to medical school. But eventually I realized that I really wanted to make books for a living, as an editor and an author. One of the coolest things about writing is that I can still study a lot of different subjects, to write about them.

Thanks, Rebecca, for answering our questions! We can’t wait for your next book!

Author photo from rebeccabehrens.com.