Leslie Connor

Leslie Connor's new novel for kids is The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle. From her Q&A with Deborah Kalb:

Q: How did you come up with the idea for your new book, and for your character, Mason Buttle?

A: Characters are always composites of people I have met, read about, or can imagine. That’s who Mason is. I spun all the deeply earnest, honest, underdog kids I have ever observed into his character. I knew him before I knew his story—if that makes any sense.

I always ask, what has made this character the way I am seeing him in my mind’s eye? What has happened? That’s what eventually brings the backstory to the surface. Then I can ask what happens next?

My plots are fed by nonfiction, including newspaper articles, but those are merely jumping off points for my imagination.

Q: Given the novel's title, the concept of truth comes up a lot in the book. Why did you decide to focus on that?

A: I was very interested in taking a good look at the way we...[read on]

--Marshal Zeringue