Gayle Rosengren

Gayle writes full-time in her home just outside of Madison, Wisconsin, where she lives with her husband, Don, and slightly neurotic rescue dog, Fiona. She is living her dream, she says, writing books she hopes will make the same difference in children's lives as her favorite books and authors made in hers.

Growing up in Chicago, Gayle loved to read and write. She's worked at local libraries and as a copy editor at American Girl. Her short stories have been published in Cricket, Ladybug, Jack and Jill and Children’s Digest

Gayle is the winner of the Midwest Book Award for her middle grade book, Mackenzie's Last Run. She also published What the Moon Said, Cold War on MapleWood Street, and Penelope's Lucky Lavendar Pants.

Which of the four books you've published is your favorite and why?

What the Moon Said is my favorite because it reflects the combined (and imagined) stories of my grandmother, my mother and myself--and the two of them were very significant influences in my childhood; my mother shared and encouraged a love of reading which led to my wanting to be a writer, and my grandmother modeled resilience and determination--two qualities every writer must have.

How did you come up with the idea for Mackenzie's Last Run?

I have always enjoyed reading a good survival novel so it really was just a matter of time until I wrote one myself. It just took me a while to figure out how to set it in a familiar environment. I am not an outdoorsy person by any stretch of the imagination and I needed the book to be realistic. The deserted lake house provided the right setting. Mac's cut added a suspense element that was seriously intensified with his later injury. The novel's theme of "How do we go on after a terrible loss?" is one that I felt compelled to write about after witnessing the grieving processes of my own children following the death of their father; and the mall shooting enabled me to make a statement about the need for gun control.

What genre do you enjoy writing the most?

I love writing contemperary realistic fiction for upper middle grade. Without the need for research and the factual constraints of the time period, I can focus entirely on the story I want to tell and the characters I'm telling it through. 

Do you have advice to new writers on how to get their first book published?

Given the increasingly crowded state of the current children's market, my best advice would be to look hard at yourself and see what makes you unique. It might be your heritage, or a particular life experience, or a niche knowledge or talent that you can bring out in your writing, so your story is one that only you could have written; one that will stand out from the others in editors' inboxes--and on bookstore shelves.

What part of writing/publishing do you like the most?

I love the writing process, from plotting to first draft, to revising and tweaking. And I LOVE holding my completed book in my hand!

Which part do you not enjoy?

I find promoting my books the least enjoyable part of the process because, like most writers, I'm not comfortable in the role of salesperson. I didn't even like selling Girl Scout cookies as a child and this is so Personal. Also, trying to decide which actions are most likely to yield the desired results and how much time, energy, and/or money to invest in them becomes very frustrating very quickly. I'd so much rather be writing!

Fun Facts

• I love to travel (but I do not love to unpack afterward!).
• I love dogs and horses.
• My favorite snack is popcorn.
• I write at my kitchen table despite having a lovely roll top desk in our den. I joke that it's closer to the coffeemaker, but really it's because I have written every one of my short stories and novels at that table. It's where the magic happens.