New Worlds: When did you start writing?

Dotti Enderle: When did I not write? I’ve been a writer most of my life, and have always loved it, but I took it more seriously in the 1990s, wanting to write for publication. I started as a professional storyteller in 1993, entertaining at libraries, schools, parties, scout meetings, etc. I even did an event at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. Many of the stories I told were of my own creation. Around 1995, I decided to try my hand at magazine publishing and went from there.
NW: What made you want to write specifically for children?

DE: When my daughters were small, we subscribed to a myriad of children’s magazines. I so enjoyed reading the stories in them. Children’s writing has come a long way since I was a kid — much more fun, yet still sophisticated. Today’s children’s writers don’t insult kids with unintelligent blather. Since 1995, I’ve had stories, poems and articles published in an assortment of children’s magazines like Turtle, Lollipops, Ladybug and Nature Friend. The writing became a part of who I am.
NW: Is writing for young kids more difficult than writing for an adult audience?

DE: Absolutely! Children aren’t as patient when it comes to good books. An adult will stay with a book for several chapters before deciding if it’s worth it to keep reading. With kids you have to start the action on page one, and preferably in the first paragraph. If nothing is happening on that first page, they won’t bother turning to page two.

Writing for kids can be tricky. Most adults think a children’s book should have a moral at the end or teach a lesson of some sort. Kids can spot those tricksters a mile away. They don’t like preaching. Just like adults, kids mostly read for pleasure. They want a good story, characters they can identify with and a satisfying ending.

NW: What is your writing process?

DE: Pure chaos! I write when I can, which means fighting for computer time, trying to stay awake and not getting distracted. With my Fortune Tellers Club series, I write two chapters a week. As much as I love Juniper, Anne and Gena, I’m afraid that if I continually write just about them I might burn out. So two chapters a week is a nice balance for me. Then I spend the rest of the time working on other novels. I also like writing historical fiction set in Texas. The characters in those manuscripts tend to speak like my parents, who both grew up on cotton farms in the early 1900s.

NW: Do you ever get writer’s block and how do you deal with it?

DE: If you mean not knowing what to write — never. Ideas scratch on my windows at night, trying to get in. I always have at least three book ideas in my head competing for a first-place writing spot. But there is another form of writer’s block that I think almost all writers have to deal with: self-discipline. There’s always at least a gazillion other things to do before settling down to write. Laundry, errands, email … especially email! We all love to write, but can always come up with an excuse not to.

NW: What was your inspiration for the FTC series?

DE: Me. When I was about thirteen, my best friends, Pamela and Debbie, and I would play with the Ouija Board, or any other form of divination we could get our hands on. Back then we were never told that the Ouija was a channeling tool. We just used it to ask questions. You know, those really important ones like “Who will I marry?” or “Will I be rich when I grow up?” No demons came through to possess us, but then I don’t think the Ouija ever answered our questions correctly, either. Anyway, when my oldest daughter pulled out the Ouija board at her sleepover a few years ago, it brought back those early memories, and that’s when the idea struck.

NW: Tell us a little bit about the members of the FTC.

DE: There’s Juniper Lynch, the founding member of the Fortune Tellers Club, which began meeting while the girls were still in elementary school. She’s an honor student, attends dance class and collects different forms of divination tools. Juniper is the truly psychic member of the club. She was born with a special “gift” for seeing the future, and experiences a tingle when working with psychic tools.

Anne Donovan loves fortune telling, but mostly to find out which boy likes her. She’s a member of the Avery Middle School Cheer Squad and is always looking for a way to help at school and in the community. She tends to attract the mysterious, even though she never intentionally searches for it. She’s not the ditzy blond, either. She can work her way through a conflict without whining or twirling her hair.

Gena Richmond loves to joke and have fun, mostly drawing a moan from the other girls. She’s always good for a laugh, even in the most serious situations. Gena lives in an apartment with her Dad, but spends all her spare time with Juniper and Anne, searching for psychic answers to their constant mysteries, even though she’s the real fraidy-cat of the bunch.

NW: Do you have a favorite member of the FTC? Who and why?

DE: This is difficult to say since all three girls represent some aspect of me. But I had originally planned to center the whole series on Juniper, making every book from her point of view. Her journeys are more like my own, and she is the founder of FTC. I tend to be more open and emotional when writing a book from her point of view. She’s smart, but not particularly popular. She’s fun, sensitive and level-headed.

NW: How will the characters change throughout the course of the series?

DE: With each book they learn more and more about divination, life, change and their own place in the world. I like to think they’re just typical kids who happen to fall into bizarre situations. But each time, they learn a little something about themselves and life around them. When confronted with situations beyond their control, like a car accident or Dad’s new girlfriend, they challenge fate, questioning each problem in a philosophic way, yet never beyond the realms of childhood. And the three girls are always there for each other, facing the problems as a group. Friendship is important to girls this age, and my characters are no different.
With each book I write, I learn more about each of the characters, so it’s inevitable that they in turn will learn more about themselves.

NW: The books deal with different forms of divination. How do you decide which form to write about?

DE: This is actually the fun part. Although the girls do use an Ouija board or tarot cards at times, they also make up a lot of the fortune telling methods they use. Gena made a “Mystic Genie” from a cube-shaped eraser. Juniper and Anne used a couple of rocks and images scrawled in the dirt to ask about a mysterious fog. And then there are some fortune telling cards and such in the books that are store bought, yet are of my own creation. I’ve often wondered if I shouldn’t package the ideas for some of these “store bought” creations and pitch them to the divination editor at Llewellyn! But deciding or creating the divination is definitely the most enjoyable part of the Fortune Tellers Club for me.

NW: Have you faced any objection to your books because of the association between children and divination? How do you respond to this?

DE: I have not because of the association between children and divination. If someone objects to divination, and many do, they don’t bother stretching it that far. I live in the Bible Belt, and over the last couple of years, I’ve had to learn how to tailor my description of the books. It’s really just semantics. When I told people my books were about three girls who used divination to solve mysteries, some would drop the book they were holding like it contained small pox. The no-no words were “Ouija board,” “tarot cards” and “fortune telling.” I don’t even say the name of my series anymore. When someone shows an interest, I say, “This is my series about three girls who use their psychic abilities to solve mysteries.” For some reason the word “psychic” doesn’t push the wrong mental buttons. I’ve also changed my booksigning table. No more crystal balls or astrological tablecloths. My table is kid-friendly with bobble head dolls resembling the FTC characters.

NW: What is the greatest challenge for you as an author? The greatest joy?

DE: Having time to write everything I want. I have so many novels in me and not nearly enough time to sit and write. There is so much more to being an author than just producing words. Once a book is in print, then the author spends another six months or more on promotion. I love promotion and publicity, but writing is my first love, and I really wish I had more time for it.

My great joy is in the finished product. There is nothing like the feeling of writing a novel, and knowing you’ve done your best. I’m not speaking of just the first draft either. There is so much you have to pour into a book over and over. I love it when my editor says, “Great!” and I know it’s ready for print.

NW: What kind of advice would you give to someone who wants to write a children’s series?

DE: Read lots and lots of children’s series, then read some more. Read them in all genres. Take note of the characterization. How does the series flow? Are the characters consistent, or do they change with each volume? Keep in mind that many of the mass market series are ghostwritten by a variety of different authors, so the characters may appear wooden or a bit off-beat in each book. Read these only to understand the art of ghostwriting, not character development. Rarely in a children’s series do the characters get older as they do in Harry Potter, but they do experience a certain maturity as the writer produces more books. Series writing takes dedication, a love of the characters and plenty of patience. Yet it’s been the single most rewarding experience of my writing career.

NW: What is your best or most favorite response/feedback that you have received from a young reader?

DE: A young reader in France loves my books and e-mails me about them. The best part came after she read The Lost Girl. Her mother e-mailed to say that although her daughter does speak English, her comfort level in reading is French. The Lost Girl is the first English language book that she’d read from start to finish without putting down. There are no words to describe the pride I felt in that. I recently got an e-mail from the French girl, saying she’s starting her own Fortune Tellers Club with her two best friends. That is so cool!