😉 6) If you could live in one literary universe, what would it be and why?įunny you should ask. I have ideas for both, but with a full-time teaching career, working on a doctorate program, speaking at writing and educational conferences, and hosting a TV show, I haven’t really found the time. What I wish is that I could find the time to hammer out the sequels to both books.

5) Are you proud with the work you’ve done or do you wish you could’ve done more?

The riddles are all related to the artwork inside churches in Chicago, so figuring out how all those riddles were going to tie together took about a year of researching and visiting the churches that are featured. I can’t say more without giving it away! Seven Riddles turned out pretty much as I expected once I was finally able to fix the problems with the riddles that are involved. For example, when it came to name one of the key guardian angels in Angelhood, I looked up names that mean “guard,” and I found the name Warren, which became the perfect name for the guardian angel who becomes the mentor for my main character Nanette, a new angel who needs to “earn her wings.” 4) While writing, did the story go as planned or did it take a turn you didn’t expect? It’s a great resource when you want a name with a specific meaning. 3) How do you select the names of your characters? Within three days, I had the story plotted out and all the characters mapped out. I thought, “My writer career is over before it’s really begun!” And that’s when I got the idea for a story about a girl who thinks her acting career is over before it’s begun. I was so stuck on working out the riddle-solving in my middle grade mystery that I began to despair that I would never actually be a novelist. In fact, it came while trying to work on the plot for Seven Riddles.

I honestly can’t think of individual scenes that were hard or easy to write. When I closed that last page, I thought that if I could write a book that touched other people’s hearts the way that one touched mine, then I would have the coolest job in the world! 2) What was the hardest scene/post you ever had to write? What was the easiest? I made up stories when I was young, but the first time I really thought about becoming a writer was when I read Anne of Green Gables for a book report in sixth grade. I was one of those kids who actually enjoyed participating in the library’s summer reading program. Cattapan Author of Angelhood, Seven Riddles to Nowhere

7 Riddles to Nowhere by A.J. Cattapan