Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

Jennifer Chambliss Bertman's new novel is Book Scavenger.

From her Q & A at Littlest Bookshelf:

LB Charming moments of friendship and adventure fill the pages of Book Scavenger. What do you feel is the most important scene in the story? Also, what was your favorite scene in the book to write?

JCB Thank you for saying there are charming moments of friendship and adventure! I love both of those aspects of Book Scavenger. As for the most important scene, I don’t think that is for me, the author, to determine. I think that’s up to the reader, and because every reader comes to a story from their own unique perspective there would probably be a variety of answers to that question.

But favorite scene . . . Two immediately come to mind. I love when Emily and James first meet–the whole thing from her going past him multiple times and he keeps changing how he looks, to the puzzle in a bucket, to their actual first conversation. That scene evolved over the many drafts of this book–James sitting on the stairs can be traced all the way back to the very first draft, but then the bucket puzzle element came in around draft five, I believe. So that scene wasn’t written in one sit down stretch–it changed and developed and grew as I began to understand Emily and James and their budding friendship better. So I love that scene both because it establishes the beginning of a great friendship, but also because from my vantage point I can remember the evolution of this book when I read those paragraphs.

The other scene that immediately comes to mind as a favorite is when Emily and her brother go book hunting together toward the end of the story. In contrast to the one I just mentioned, Emily and Matthew going bookhunting was a brand-new scene that I wrote for the last major revision I did for this book (which I believe would be Draft #8). That scene really solidified the heart of the brother/sister storyline for me. It came easily, as if it had been sitting dormant in my brain for years, and it was actually fun to write, which is not usually the case for me. It came so easily, in fact, that I was sure something must be wrong with it. I returned...[read on]

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--Marshal Zeringue