[Eves]

 

• Dear Mr. Korman,

   

  Holy smokes sir, I’m not one to reread books. At all. Except yours, over and over and over again. Your books didn’t just entertain me or give me hope (though both are true) – they made me want to write. Which is a dangerous kind of power to give a kid. You changed my life; your books live rent-free in my DNA.

   

  My personal favourites since I was a kid – I Want to Go Home! (top favorite of all time), the McDonald Hall series… and so on. My folks grew up reading your masterpieces – then I got hooked – at this point my future kids will be quoting Bruno and Rudy before they can walk.

   

  So here I am: proud Canadian, a high school kid who somehow got dumped in a Classical Academy charter school. Despite bombing Latin, you and your books have kept me sane… and alive. (No pressure or anything.) My mother told me you visited her class (in grade 6) in 1991 at Satoo Elementary in Edmonton, Alberta. (I was only slightly jealous.)

   

  I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve read I Want to Go Home! It gets funnier every time. The book looks like it’s been through a war… practically disintegrated. But it’s one of the only things I would call my life support. No questions asked.

   

  Thank you for simply existing. For being my hero. For not giving up. You’re incredible; you don’t know the half of what you and your books mean to me. So yeah… thanks for ruining every other author for me. You win. Best author. Ever. Try to stay humble.

   

  Hopelessly your number #1 fan for eternity,

  Eva

   

 

[Gordon Korman]

Hi, Eva,

Well, that's a testimonial if I've ever received one! Thank you. I'm glad my work -- especially WHO IS BUGS POTTER? -- has meant so much to you over the years. Mind you, I was 15 when I wrote that one, and I'm (ahem) considerably older now. When SNOOP recently hit the shelves, it was Book #106 on my list. That's now long I've been at this!

I hope you'll continue to be a fan, but never forget Bugs and the fact that happiness is a set of drumsticks.

                                                                                       Kindest regards,

                                                                                                        -----Gordon Korman-----

[Eva]

What gave you the inspiration to write I want to go home?

[Eves]

What have you the inspiration to create fantastic masterpiece like - I Want To Go Home? Man oh man that book was hilarious.

[Gordon Korman]

Hi, Eva & Eves,

Are you the same person?

I'm glad I WANT TO GO HOME made such a big hit with you that you can call it a "masterpiece!" I was 15 when I wrote it. It came from the heart of someone who went to camp and passionately wanted to go home! I wasn't like Rudy, though. I put up with it, suffered through, and actually had a pretty good time -- not good enough to ever think of going the next year, though. Rudy was the guy I wished I'd had the nerve to be.

Most of my stuff doesn't require what you call "inspiration," though. It takes a lot of thinking and plotting, and just plain hard work. No big mystique about writing. It's work.

                            Thanks for your interest.                                             -----Gordon Korman-----

[Eva]

And here I was thinking “masterpiece” came from divine inspiration, not hard work, plotting, and the occasional camp trauma. Guess that means there’s still hope for the rest of us.

 

 

Seriously though, thanks for the reply—it means a lot. - You made my year.