Featured Author: Deb Loughead

Bibliography at Orca

Struck: Claire's life is a mess. She's failing math, her depressed mother won't get off the couch, Eric, the boy of her dreams, is dating her nemesis Lucy. While Claire is wishing her life were better, lightning strikes. Soon afterward, everything changes. With Lucy in the hospital and out of the way, Claire attracts Eric's attention and gets the starring role in the school play. But good fortune has a cost: her newly energized mother reconciles with her deadbeat dad, the dream boy turns out to be a dud and Claire feels terrible guilt about gaining everything Lucy has lost. But how can Claire turn it around when lightning only strikes once?

Interview

Why do you write, and why children's/young adult books? I write, because I can’t possibly not write.  It has sustained and nurtured me throughout my life, and I can’t imagine myself ever doing anything else! 
I love to write for children and YA, because, truthfully, I think I’m actually a kid trapped in an adult body.

Do you put your family and friends in your books?? Yes, often, but shhhh.  Keep it a secret!  I borrow traits from different people to create my fictional characters.  I also sneak in incidents that happened in their lives, and put my own imaginative spin on them.

What is your favourite children's book? My favourite children’s picture book, dating back to my childhood when my mom bought it for 25 cents at the grocery store, is Margaret Wise Brown’s “Pussy Willow”.  The imagery and wordplay in that little book is so very enchanting. I still love reading it. 

What's the funniest or most interesting reader response you've ever had? One of the coolest responses I’ve had, was when I found out that a young lady who’d read one of my YA novels that features naturopathy and healing with herbs, became so fascinated with the idea that she decided to pursue naturopathic medicine as a career.

Biography

Deb Loughead is the author of 16 books for children and young adults. She completed an English degree at the University of Toronto before working as a copy editor. She turned to creative writing after deciding to stay home to raise her three sons. Deb’s books have been translated into Swedish, Norwegian, German and French. In addition to having extensive experience with educational writing, Deb has conducted workshops and held readings at schools, festivals and conferences across the country. She has written and directed children’s plays and taught creative writing classes for adults in Toronto. Her award-winning poetry and adult fiction have appeared in a variety of Canadian publications. Deb likes to spend her non-writing time reading, knitting or hanging around horses as a therapeutic riding volunteer. She lives with her family in Toronto, Ontario.