Rainbow Rowell is one of my favorite authors, and indisputably one of the best young adult novelists out there. So have two bits of deliciousness today.

First, Buzzfeed did a great interview of her, from Ashley Ford who goes by smashfizzle on Tumblr –

“The first time Rowell wrote about the struggles of her childhood was in her column for the Omaha World Herald. Her voice lowers a bit, serious but without shame. “I was living in rural areas often without power or a phone or a car. Our water came from a well and a pump. My dad was not around and when he was around, he was not good. There was a lot of alcohol abuse and drug abuse. I feel like I need to say that I’m probably sane and alive because I had a really great mom. Eventually, when we moved to the city and we were on welfare, it was a step up. Being poor in the city was easier than being poor in the country.”

Despite their living conditions, Rowell remembers a home where her father read her The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Books were her safe haven. “My mother was very strict, there was very little on television that we were allowed to watch, there were very few movies that we were allowed to watch. But she’d let me read anything.”

And a favorite Youtube book reviewer Polesandbananas covered Landline with her usual pizzazz –

Tagged: author interviews, books, Buzzfeed, Landline review Rainbow Rowell, polesandbananas, poverty, Rainbow Rowell, Rainbow Rowell Landline, the writing life, writing, YA, YA fiction, young adult books, young adult fiction