WOVEN was inspired by a dream. Michael dreamed he was crushed by a tree and became a ghost. He could fly around and pass though objects. Nobody could see or hear him. Being a ghost was such a fascinating experience, he wanted to write a story where our readers could experience the same thing. It was after he met David that this dream soon became a reality.

What did this book teach you about writing or about yourself?

We could write a book about all the things we learned from writing WOVEN. One thing we both learned about writing is that each character must not speak, move or act without having a clear motivation for doing so. If their motivation is unclear, then they cease to be real people.

What do you hope readers will take away from WOVEN?

It’s clear by the end of that book what we hope our readers will take away from WOVEN, how important it is that love and being yourself is key to becoming whole and “woven.” If our readers walk away from WOVEN with a higher sense of self-worth and purpose, then our job is done.

How long or hard was your road to publication?

Our road to publication was unusual to say the least. After the rights for WOVEN were returned to us, the controversy with our previous publisher ignited a media frenzy that landed us offers of representation with six major literary agencies. All of the Big Five publishing houses requested and read the manuscript. After carefully weighing our options, we selected Meredith Bernstein to represent WOVEN in an action with major publishers. Scholastic made the best offer and they have been an absolute pleasure to work with.

What’s your collaborative writing ritual like?

The “Lead Writing” approach has worked exceptionally well for us. That’s when one writer handles the initial draft while the other focusing on editing and adding elements. We always plan our chapters ahead of time. This has helped us streamline the presentation into one that is unique. You could say this would be a very different book if it was written by either of us on our own.

What are you working on now?

We intended WOVEN to be a great book by itself with the potential for more. We are now working on our own projects, another collaborative project, and drafting a companion novel for WOVEN with a different main character. It’s clear by the end of WOVEN who the character is.