I grew up in an old house in Connecticut that had a sledding hill on one side, a river behind the house, and woods behind that. I was smack-dab in the middle of four brothers and sisters. When we didn’t hate one another, we loved one another. When we weren’t fighting, we were playing. My sisters and I loved to put on plays. With my brothers, we played a scary night time tag game called “Monster.” One minute we were best friends and the next we were best enemies. But when push came to shove, if anyone from the outside world tried to bully or bother one of us, we were all there for one another. Most families are like that.

Many people in my family have been writers. My mother, Constance C. Greene, was a children’s book author before me. My great-grandmother, great uncle, and grandmother were all poets. I grew up surrounded by books and understood that if you wanted to be a writer, the only way to do that was to sit down and write. I clearly remember my mother shoving aside all of the mess on our round dining room table so she could plunk her typewriter in that small space, and write.

• What kind of student were you?

It depended on the subject. If I liked it, I worked hard. If I didn’t like it, I didn’t work nearly as hard. But my parents were strict, so I had to do well.

• What were your favorite things to do when you were young?

Swim, ice skate, ride bikes, climb trees, build forts, read, ski, go to my friends’ houses, watch TV on weekends.

• What were you afraid of?

I was afraid of the dark for a long time. I didn’t like scary movies or roller coasters or small spaces or heights. I still don’t like any of those things but I’m no longer afraid of the dark.

• Did you have any bad habits as a child?

I bit my finger nails. I probably interrupted people, too, and I’m sure I did other things that other people thought were bad habits.

• Did you ever do something brave when you were young? 

Yes, when I was about 10, I saved the boy next door when he fell through the ice while we were playing ice hockey. I lay down on my stomach and extended my hockey stick and pulled him out. I didn’t feel brave – I felt relieved that I knew what to do when it happened.

• If you weren’t a writer, what would you like to be?

An editor. Their insight makes books as good as they can be. And the process of figuring out what’s working and what’s not working in a manuscript is fascinating to me. It’s called revision.

• Do you remember liking to read and write when you were in elementary school?

Yes, I loved to read. We didn’t have computers or cell phones or video games, and we were only allowed to watch TV on the weekends. Unless I was outside, I was reading a book.

Quick Picks:

P & J or Mac and Cheese? Mac and Cheese, definitely.

Favorite or least favorite vegetable? I love avocados. I don’t love yellow squash.

Favorite or most hated subject? Math was a favorite.

Download a copy of  “What’s Your Story, Stephanie Greene?” to share with students HERE.

Read “A Peek at Stephanie Greene’s Office” HERE.

Learn more about Stephanie on her website HERE.