Ask the Author: Erin Jade Lange
Answered Questions (15)
Erin Jade Lange
Thank you for your kind words about Butter! Please accept my apologies for my very late reply to this question. I did not see it until now.
I do not plan a sequel to Butter, because I really want the reader to own the next chapter. The close of my part of the story is that there are options - any/many options. It's up to readers what happens next. :)
I do not plan a sequel to Butter, because I really want the reader to own the next chapter. The close of my part of the story is that there are options - any/many options. It's up to readers what happens next. :)
Erin Jade Lange
Inspiration is everywhere, but I'd say my work as a journalist specifically informed Butter's story. So many of the big issues we cover in the news (teen suicide, internet bullying, etc...) find their way into my books, but Butter more than any other.
Erin Jade Lange
I get that question a lot, and maybe I should have addressed it in more detail in the story. I think when someone gets that big, it's not just one thing that caused it but a perfect storm. In Butter's case, it's partly genetics, partly mistakes by his parents, partly psychological, partly personal responsibility, partly complicit adults (including his doctor, in my opinion)... so A LOT of things.
Erin Jade Lange
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Erin Jade Lange
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Erin Jade Lange
Hi! I am, indeed. It's been a little slow-going as I just gave birth to twins! :)
But I am back in the writer's cave now and looking forward to sharing something new soon.
But I am back in the writer's cave now and looking forward to sharing something new soon.
Erin Jade Lange
Hi Michael, Thanks for the question! I started by writing the character's struggles the way I imagined them to be... I hate to interrupt the flow of writing with research unless absolutely necessary. After the first draft, I had to research a lot of medical facts about obesity, diabetes, etc... which certainly required me to make some changes during revisions. It meant a little more work on the back end, but I think it's worth it to get the story out first. It was important to me that readers could replace "too fat" with "too thin" or "too poor" or "too different" or too ANYTHING that can make a person a target and see that, at least emotionally, Butter's story is universal.
Erin Jade Lange
Hi Lilli,
I'm so sorry I did not see this question until now! I realize it's 4 months too late to be of any help, but I hope you did well on your report.
I'm so sorry I did not see this question until now! I realize it's 4 months too late to be of any help, but I hope you did well on your report.
Erin Jade Lange
I think that is open to interpretation. It's a handy food in every restaurant kitchen, and a single stick won't be missed.
But more important, it's probably one of the few UNhealthy things they had on hand at a restaurant serving mostly salads, and since Butter has been trying to lose weight, it's extra humiliating and insulting to force him to eat something so fattening. Forcing him to eat lettuce just wouldn't have quite the same impact.
Thanks for the great question!
But more important, it's probably one of the few UNhealthy things they had on hand at a restaurant serving mostly salads, and since Butter has been trying to lose weight, it's extra humiliating and insulting to force him to eat something so fattening. Forcing him to eat lettuce just wouldn't have quite the same impact.
Thanks for the great question!
Erin Jade Lange
I like to say it just popped into my head one day, but I know that "light bulb" moment came from more than a decade of Journalism. Working in TV news, I am constantly covering topics like internet bullying and teen suicide, and I think we can only hold in those sad stories for so long until they come spilling out in some way. For me, they tend to come out in my fiction, where I can give an edge of hope to otherwise unhappy issues.
Thanks for the question! :)
Thanks for the question! :)
Erin Jade Lange
I don't personally know anyone who would do this (thank goodness!), but working as a journalist, I've covered many stories about young people who would, and in fact DID, do something similar.
So many stories in the news today about teen suicide also involve some element of the internet - whether it's a young man taking his own life on a live video feed or a girl posting a suicide note on youtube (both true stories). In every case, it seems the internet gave the teen a way to reach out - to call for help - but at the same time, the internet creates a distance between people that makes us less willing to help, as if the person on the other end of the connection is a fictional character we're watching on a screen instead of a real person in pain.
I hope if I ever suspected anyone in my life was capable of doing what Butter does that I would recognize the signs and be able to help.
Thanks for the great question!
So many stories in the news today about teen suicide also involve some element of the internet - whether it's a young man taking his own life on a live video feed or a girl posting a suicide note on youtube (both true stories). In every case, it seems the internet gave the teen a way to reach out - to call for help - but at the same time, the internet creates a distance between people that makes us less willing to help, as if the person on the other end of the connection is a fictional character we're watching on a screen instead of a real person in pain.
I hope if I ever suspected anyone in my life was capable of doing what Butter does that I would recognize the signs and be able to help.
Thanks for the great question!
Erin Jade Lange
The first name Dane just kind of came to me. I've always liked names that are a little bit different, and his popped into my head along with his voice. As for his last name, I came up with it while writing the scene in which he reveals it. Everything in that scene is designed to keep Billy D. talking (and driving Dane crazy!) so I decided to give Dane a last name Billy D. would recognize and get excited about.
Thanks for the Q! :)
Thanks for the Q! :)
Erin Jade Lange
Getting to visit schools and interact with teens - and readers of all ages really. Writing can be a lonely business, so there is no greater reward than meeting readers who remind you that once the book is out in the world, you're not alone in this at all.
Erin Jade Lange
Write for the joy of it, not to be published. There is a business side of publishing, which is not as much fun as writing. I say write because you have more fun doing that than anything else. If publishing happens, amazing! But never lose the joy.
Erin Jade Lange
I am in the editing phase of my third book, tentatively titled Rebel Bully Geek Pariah, due out in very early 2016.
It's kind of Breakfast Club on wheels, with a side of thriller. ;)
It's kind of Breakfast Club on wheels, with a side of thriller. ;)
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