Q&A with Debra Green

  

 

 

Debra Green is the author, with April Patten, of the new middle grade novel Rules for Liars. Her many other books include Violet and the Pie of Life. She lives in Southern California.

 

Q: What inspired you and April Patten to write Rules for Liars, and how did you create your characters Nikki and Rebecca?

 

A: April and I were good friends. We’d each published many novels on our own, and thought it would be fun to write a book together. And it was!

 

I can’t speak for April, who wrote Nikki’s character, but I will say that I based much of Rebecca’s character on myself. Rebecca and I are both Jewish, with popular older siblings, whose parents had financial difficulties. Rebecca is a little neurotic, and so am I.

 

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between them?

 

A: Rules for Liars is a book about friendship, and this friendship definitely has its ups and downs. The girls have different backgrounds and interests.

 

Rebecca is a Jewish girl who loves animals and baking and doesn’t care about fashion or impressing people. Nikki is a Christian girl who is scared of animals, doesn’t know how to bake, loves fashion, and is concerned about her image. Despite these differences, they become close friends. 

 

Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: Honesty is a major theme of the book and is very important to me.

 

Also, I try to think up intriguing titles that aren’t too obvious unless you read the book. I also did this for my novel Violet and the Pie of Life.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?

 

A: I hope people will learn a little about Judaism and Christianity and see that people of different backgrounds can become close friends. But mostly April and I wanted to entertain our readers; so our novel has a lot of humor, as well as some romance and cookie recipes.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I just finished the final draft of a middle grade novel today. Hooray! I don’t know what my next project will be.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I’m glad that April Patten and I are still close friends. We had a great time writing this novel.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Debra Green.