Lisa McMann

“Nearly every notable event in 'Wake' has a date or a time stamp.”

“I don't see a day when teenagers don't read. They are very enthusiastic. That is so inspiring to me.”

“...she's leaving now....Janis attacks the back door of the school gym and finds herself in a heavy cloud of smoke. She realizes she's found the Goths' hangout. Who knew?"Oof," someone says. She keeps walking, muttering, "sorry" to whomever it was she hit with the flying door.***Cabel: ... That was the Goth stage where I decided I'd never get the girl of my dreams because of my scars. Not to mention the hairstyle.(pause)But then she slammed a door handle into my gut. And, when a girl does that to a boy, it means she likes him.”

“Who hasn't had the 'I went to school/work in my underwear' dream?”

“It's just the end of some things.And the beginning of others.”

“I was a blueberry picker, bindery worker, bookstore clerk and later manager, and a Realtor.”

“I love Chris Crutcher, Sara Zarr, Lois Lowry, Elizabeth Scott, Madeleine L'Engle, Gordon Korman, Michelle Magorian, Heather Bouwman.”

“The thought of being with Shay Wilder makes me want to gouge my eyes out with a butter knife”

“I would like to be able to disappear whenever I do something dorky.”

“I've always found teenagers really interesting. I think they've got so much going on in their lives, so that lends itself really well to fiction because there's so much drama, so much activity, so much growth.”

“Because there's no way on earth she's going to make it through college unless she grows some serious ovaries and turns this train wreck around”

“I had one of those defining moments in the fourth grade when my teacher said the story I wrote was the best in the class, and therefore I would be going Young Authors Conference where I'd get to hang out with authors all day.”

“Get me outa here. F*ckin' creepy cheerleaders.”

“I went to Holland Christian High School in Holland, Michigan, and to Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.”

“I vividly remember sixth grade. It's the year when kids turn mean, and it's definitely no longer okay to cry in public. So we force our hot tears back, and they burn our throats all the way down.”

“One of my favorite ways to write paranormal, as in the 'Wake' trilogy, is to write very normal characters with just a hint of something other-worldly. Like somewhere, maybe, someone really can get sucked into other people's dreams.”

“I want to tell you a story, Alex." Alex nibbled on his bottom lip, waiting. Wondering now if Mr. Today really understood that Alex was turning him down."Simber." The old mage said.Alex automatically turned to the door, expecting to see the beast. Mr. Today shook his head. "No, he's not hear. Simber was my first creation. Before there was Artime, there was Simber.”

“Once you read something, you can't erase it from your brain.”

“Carrie doesn't seem to talk about anything with sharp edges. Maybe she's afraid they might poke her and then she'd burst.”

“Seriously, I dreamed that I was in my husband's dream, watching what he was dreaming about. Like, I was in his dream as an onlooker. It was so weird that I immediately wrote it down in the middle of the night. In the morning, it still sounded cool.”