Kids Ask the Darndest Things--Over Skype

A pic of my screen as we said goodbye...

The students at Star Prep Academy in California asked so many great questions about my books on Cleopatra (both the biography and novel), I found myself occasionally taken aback. I mean, how do you respond to a young reader who asks what in MY life informed the way I wrote about Cleopatra Selene's relationship with her MOM?

Whoa. A future psychoanalyst in training.

Other great questions included why I chose to write about a character in history (Selene) that historians actually know so little about; why it was so important to show the power of Rome throughout the novel; and what I thought about the editing process.

I love talking to kids about history and writing and the fact that I was in Atlanta and the Star Prep students were in Culver City, California, made it all the cooler that we could have these conversations. A big thank you to teacher Hannah Ruth Wilde for setting the visit up. 

Skype has definitely changed the game. So teachers, if you want me to talk to your students but can't bring me out to your classroom, let's do it over Skype!