It Rained on the Desert Today
Author Interview with Deborah Buchanan:
Have you written other books?
Deborah and Ken have written two other books. They are Lizards
on the Wall and This House is Made of Mud. Lizards on the Wall
is a continuation of the book This House is Made of Mud. This
House is Made of Mud was the Arizona State Library Association's
"Children's Book of the Year" in 1991. It is also a "Reading
Rainbow" book. This House is Made of Mud describes life
in the desert and was written by Ken in an effort to show his love
for his children.
What is the best thing about being an author?
The aspect they enjoy most is being able to visit schools and reading
their stories to the children. Deborah has traveled to over one hundred
schools throughout the United States and to Germany to visit American
military base schools. Ken has only been on half of these trips because
he is currently working. Their talks include a number of topics from
writing and rewriting the story, where their ideas for stories come
from, how and why they both became writers, and what it takes to become
a successful author. Ken and Debby also tell the students how they
had always dreamed of becoming writers and how they made their dreams
come true.
How many children do you have and do you have
any pets?
Deborah and Ken have two children, both boys. They also have one
dog and one cat.
Do you live in Arizona?
Deborah and Ken both grew up in Tucson, Arizona, but they are currently
living in Northwestern Oregon.
Others facts about this book:
It Rained on the Desert Today received the "Southwest
Book Award" from the Border-Regional Library Association of the
Pecos-Texas/New Mexico area. It is also a "Reading Rainbow"
book, and was republished in Your Big Backyard in their Earth
Day issue in April, 1997 .
This interview took place on November 9, 1999. If you would like
to visit their web site the address is:
http://www.aone.com/~rossanan. If you would like to contact Deborah
and Ken Buchanan, you can reach them online at: rossanan@aone.com.
(If you are a student e-mailing the Buchanans, please give them your
grade level and the city and state where you live.)