Quick Q and A's with Carolyn MacCullough

Carolyn MacCullough is the author of several books for Young Adults, one being Once A Witch which I recently reviewed here.
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1) Once A Witch is your latest teen book. So, can describe it one sentence?

Once a Witch is about a 17 year old girl, Tamsin Greene, who comes from a long line of witches, but she herself has no magical power...or does she?

2) What inspired you to put Tasmin’s story to paper?

Exercise! I took up running for all of two weeks one April and in an effort to distract myself from the agony of exercise, I would study all the really cool old brownstones as I ran through Brooklyn. There was one house with a little gargoyle statue and I always wondered what stories he could tell if he could talk. Then I thought about a character who possessed the magical ability to make him speak. And then I thought about a character who didn't possess any magical abilities whatsoever, but who happened to belong to a family who was very Talented. What would she be like? And that's how I started hearing Tamsin's voice.

3) In Once A Witch most of the characters have “Talents”, otherwise know as magical powers, which leaves me to wonder what talent you would want to have if you could choose one?

Too hard of a question! I would love to be invisible, to fly, and to read minds. But I would also love to be able to rewind time even for a day or even just a few minutes to get a chance to "do over" things.

4) Do you have a favorite scene or line from Witch?

When Gabriel asks Tamsin out right after they've returned from time traveling to the 1800's and she says:

“I don’t know. I mean, you just took me back, like, a hundred years. Dinner would probably be so . . . anticlimactic now.” There is a small silence and finally I dare to look up at him. One eyebrow jabs upward. “If you and I went out on a date, the last thing it would be is anticlimactic.”

5) Is there one thing that you hope readers of your books take from them?

That everyone has a talent, no matter who you are. And that you should find that talent and focus on it, follow it and see where it takes you.

6) Was there a specific moment in your life when you decided, “ I want to be an author”?

I always wanted to be an author. But then I always wanted to be a lot of things--a pilot, a vet, and a princess in a tower to name a few.

7) What other hobbies do you enjoy besides writing?

Horseback riding. Swimming. Taking long walks in the woods. (This makes me sound athletic and I'm really not!)

8) Is there one book out there that you just wish that you had written yourself?

Wow--I love that question. Yes, there are so many books that I wish I had written myself. But I'm going to aim high here and say The Road, by Cormac McCarthy.

9) Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Persistence and patience are what you need to become published. That's more than half the battle. That, and read. Read everything out there--it will make you a better writer in the long run.

10) Are you currently working on any new projects? Perhaps, a sequel to Once A Witch?

Yes, I am working on the sequel--titled Always a Witch--it contains more Talents, time travel, undercover spywork, and of course some romance!

11) Is there anything else you would like to add?

Come visit me at http://www.onceawitch.com/!

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So, what are you waiting for? Go check out Once A Witch. It truly is a fantastic book! :)