Rose DesRochers: At what age did you become interested in writing?

Daniel Hayes: It wasn't until college that I decided I wanted to be a writer (to the amusement, I suspect, of some of my professors). I remember rereading books like Huckleberry Finn and Great Expectations and being so amazed by them. I'd read these books when I was younger, but at the time I didn't realize how clever, how intelligent, and how funny writers like Mark Twain and Charles Dickens really were. I read plenty of books and studied writing styles so that I could become one of these people - a writer. It was years before I really developed my own voice, meaning my own style of putting ideas into words. After I finished my first book, The Trouble with Lemons, a story told by 13-year-old Tyler McAllister, friends would read it and say things like, 'That's really amazing! It sounds just like you.' Perhaps what's more amazing (other than the fact that I sound like a thirteen-year-old) is that it took so long for me to learn how to sound like myself.

What was your first big break as a writer? Tell us about your journey to become a published author.

My first break came when I was able to land an agent. I had written two books, and waiting to hear from publishers was taking forever. I decided I could speed things up by getting an agent and I didn’t realize just how difficult that could be. After about 15 agency rejections — most saying things like, 'After you become established as a writer, we’d be happy to represent you' -- I received a note from one saying he liked the sample I sent him and he’d be willing to read one of my books. I sent him my first, which luckily, he liked. After what seemed like a long six months, he had found me a publisher.

How many rejections did you get before you found a publisher?

I’d say around a dozen or more. After I landed an agent, the rejections started coming faster and faster because my manuscript wasn’t sitting around publishing houses in the huge pile of unsolicited manuscripts. This enabled me to find a publisher faster, but it was a little discouraging at the time as I’d open an envelope from my agent and it would contain three rejection letters. I remember one editor asking my agent about his wife and kids, and then launching into the blunt observation that my characters were amateurish and that he needed to tell me about psychological reality. Evidently her psychological reality was different from mine. I can live with that.

How many hours do you devote to writing and how long does it take you to write a book?

When I’m writing, I try to put in a few hours a day. Of course, I’m actually working more than that. When I’m driving my car or out walking around, I’m often daydreaming and coming up with ideas I’ll use the next day. When things are going well and I’m getting ideas, I can finish a draft of a book in a few months. When I’m not, it can take years.

What kind of obstacles or challenges have you experienced as a children's writer?

Getting published was the biggest challenge. Once published, I discovered just how many books were out there and competition to get into bookstores was intense as well. Finally, keeping books in print can be tricky. My first book, The Trouble with Lemons is going the strongest. It’s in its 20th domestic printing and has been translated into seven or eight languages. The rest of my books, although I think they are better written, have had to struggle a little harder to survive. Go figure.

Who are some writers that you admire?

Mark Twain, of course, was certainly an early influence. Huckleberry Finn really blew me away. I also grew to love Dickens and then many others. Right now, I admire Richard Russo. Even great writers often have trouble writing really sharp, crisp dialogue, and he’s the best at that. When his characters speak, they jump right off the page. Not only can you hear them and see them, but you also feel as if you know them.

Describe a typical work day.

I’m a meditator (I’ve been doing TM for over 28 years), so I start every day with a morning meditation. Then every other day I go out and jog — nothing fast or competitive — I just plod along and it clears my head and gets me ready to write. I’ll generally work for an hour or two on writing, sometimes longer if I’m really on a roll.

What motivates you?

Seeing other people’s great work really gets me going. When I see a great film or a great piece of writing, I want to do the same thing – not the same work, of course, but something that’s as inspiring. I have that Renaissance notion that art should inspire and uplift; it shouldn’t avoid the serious problems we all face, but it shouldn’t wallow in them either.

I suppose, too, I’m motivated by money and a desire for a certain amount of fame. Writer fame is good; people can admire your work and not even know when they’re standing next to you at the supermarket.

What advice can you offer the 'newbie' children's writer?

Read. I’m convinced that I learned to write by reading. When I was starting in as a writer, I was imitating those writers I admired. After a while, though, and after studying a lot of different authors, my own voice started to develop.

Do you write any other genre?

Daniel Hayes: I write what I want to and don’t worry too much about genre. Sometimes I’m not sure if I’ve written mystery or humor, and I guess it doesn’t matter. When The Trouble with Lemons was coming out, a reviewer for the New York Times who was doing an article on YA mysteries wanted us to send her a copy of it, and we never did. I was afraid that since it hadn’t been written as a mystery, she might slam it. Afterwards, we learned that most reviewers seemed to think it functioned fine as a mystery.

Tell us a little about your book the Eye of the Beholder?

Eye of the Beholder was based on a true story. When I finished The Trouble with Lemons, I was looking for an idea for a second book. One Sunday I was reading the magazine section of the newspaper and saw a story about these Italian college students who made a few phony Modigliani sculptures as a joke during a Modigliani centennial celebration, and these sculptures were pronounced by Modigilani scholars to be authentic beyond any shadow of a doubt. And they did this with such pomposity, saying things like, “Only an artist on the level of Modigliani could breathe a soul into a stone.”

The funny thing was, these students weren’t even trying to make anything good. They were just being goofy. It was a great story, so I did what any writer would do; I stole it. I think more and more we’re becoming a society that relies on experts to tell us what to think and even how to act. Can we really be sure that Dr. Phil knows more than those unfortunate Modigliani experts?

Do you do a lot of readings at schools?

I used to hate public speaking and swore I’d never do it. Now I love visiting schools and libraries and conventions and do so as much as I can.

Do you have other books (coming soon or in the works)?

I’m working on a couple right now. The one that seems most ready to come together is a mystery/adventure/humor story called My Kind of Crazy, which takes place in Lake Placid, New York. I’m having a great time with it.

How has the Internet helped you? What do you think of writing communities such as Todays-Woman.net?

I think websites like Today's Woman Writing Community are great. As huge corporations continue to gain an ever more insidious stranglehold on news and public discussion, I think the Internet may be what saves us. It also makes it so easy to look things up and find other people who share your interests. Keep up the good work.

What do you do when you’re not writing?

I love to travel, which is good since writing has given me many opportunities to do so. I like reading, I like movies, I like walking around looking at things. I find that as I get older and less stressed out, life just keeps getting more interesting. I even like it when I have a two hour layover at an airport and I can just hang out and read and write and just kind of watch lives as they flow past me.

If you could leave others with one bit of advice or words of wisdom, what would you have to share?

As people much smarter than I am have reminded us throughout the ages, the only life you have is what is taking place now. The past is gone and the future never quite arrives; it only becomes the present. Yet most of us are have our minds mired almost exclusively in the past or the future. Think about your happiest moments, and I bet they were times when you were totally immersed in the present – looking at a beautiful landscape or enjoying a movie or whatever. I’m beginning to think that’s what enlightenment is – just having the ability to exist fully in the moment. I’m working on that.

As we wrap up this interview, tell how we can learn more about your books, and future projects and how teachers and your fans can contact you.

Lately I’ve become more interested in landing film/TV rights for my books, and we’re getting some interesting nibbles in that regard. I think it would be fun to write (or at least help to write) screenplays based on my books. And, of course, I hope to write many more books, and I hope people continue to want to read them.

You can always reach me through my website. I love to hear from readers, so feel free. I do answer all my email. (Although to be completely truthful, I don’t answer the ones from the sons and daughters of the recently assassinated leaders of third-world countries who are trying to sneak money out of their countries and only need my bank account number so they can deposit their millions that we can then share.)