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Hi, Elizabeth,

Without the full question, I wouldn’t be able to tell you very much. Is it about one particular author?

In general, an author’s strength is the ability to reach his audience on an emotional level, to be able to make the reader see and feel what the author sees and feels. Another strength is the ability to make the reader laugh. Or even cry. Or root for the hero of the story, and actually feel him/herself urging a fictional character on to some success or other.

As for hidden talents, I think they are very similar to the strengths I have just described. Perhaps a hidden talent — one the author himself may not realize he/she has — is an ability to exchange places with the reader, to actually be the reader, and know what he/she feels. I think that’s rare, but I’m reasonably sure it exists. There are times I often feel traces of it myself!

If there’s anything else, or perhaps a clearer question, you know where to reach me — right here!

                                                                                                               —–Gordon Korman—–