Gennifer Choldenko

Gennifer Choldenko

@choldenko.bsky.social

Co-author of the Dogtown series with Katherine Applegate. (Am I lucky or what?) Author of The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman.

1.5K followers382 following444 posts

I'm so excited to visit Florida for the FAME Conference! This year, THE TENTH MISTAKE OF HANK HOOPERMAN is nominated for the Sunshine State Young Readers Award, so I'm especially honored. Librarians, I can't wait to meet you! buff.ly/UDl9PeU #BookSky

Where is your favorite place to write? Honestly, my favorite place is the airport. Otherwise, I write in all different places. The most important part of a writing space? A "door" you can close. #BookSky

Happy International Dog Day! This is my very good dog, Shea. She is my favorite writing buddy (even when she kicks me off the couch), and the best company on scenic walks. I also want to shout out all the wonderful pets in shelters. Thank you to everyone who fosters, adopts, or volunteers. 🐾❤️

#OnThisDay in 1934, the federal penitentiary on Alcatraz opened. This day always makes me think about my characters the Flanagans—and their real-life counterparts. You can read some of my interviews with convicts who did time on the Rock, Alcatraz guards, & more here! buff.ly/LUfZreL

Happy #NationalBookLoversDay! Thank you to everyone who champions the life-changing power of stories, and helps kids become readers. Librarians, teachers, booksellers: You're my heroes.

Today is my Dad's birthday. He was a Disney Legend honored for his work running Disney Music. Most days, he read at least one book from start to finish. He died when I was 18, so he never knew that I would make my living as an author. I can't tell you how many times I've imagined telling him.

Today, my book about the deadly 1900 San Francisco plague, CHASING SECRETS, turns 11. When I wrote it, I never imagined Covid would hit and I’d see the world react in so many similar ways. People have asked me if I’m prescient. I’m not. I just love history. buff.ly/DSB8xoP

I spend a lot of time writing. The butt-in-chair method that the late great Jane Yolen talked about works for me. Here's the lucky part: I married a guy who has never in all the years we've been together had a problem with that. He understands that I need time to write because that's who I am.

I'm often asked what it takes to write a book. I think it's different for every writer. What works for me is... time. I feel my way along—like I’ve been dropped in a strange city in the dead of night—until I sense it taking shape. There is no wrong way to write a book. #BookSky

One question I often get during virtual school visits is what I would tell aspiring writers. I say: 1. Be kind to your muse. 2. Read everything you can. 3. Keep your journals, because when you're an adult you'll really want to see what you thought when you were eleven!

"'I'll be back tonight.' Boo cries but not as much as this morning. I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand and push open the front door. Mom left us and she didn't come back. Boo's afraid I'll leave her too." From my #mglit book, THE TENTH MISTAKE OF HANK HOOPERMAN. 💙

When I speak to kids about writing, I always say that a bad writing day is inevitably followed by a good one. But the good one could not have happened without the frustrating head-banging day that preceded it. I know it sounds ridiculously cheery. But boy is it true.