The science fair incident was inspired by an experience of my own when I was in high school. By then I had been selling stories & articles to magazines for several years & was eagerly looking forward to being made editor-in-chief of the school paper. Instead, our journalism teacher placed someone else in that…

Thank you for that observation. It just what I was trying to do.

Oh, I'm glad you have that one! A GIFT OF MAGIC was my first venture into writing about the paranormal. It was rejected seven times before one courageous publisher decided to take a chance on it. Ironically, today, over 40 years later, it's still in print and selling well.

It was fun. Writing from multiple viewpoints was always fun for me, because it gave me a chance to role play in my own head.

The publishing industry is constantly changing. Right now the emphasis is on dystopian novels. But that's a fad that soon will be replaced by something else. Yes, DAUGHTERS OF EVE as regarded as a 'rabble-rouser" and was banned in many school districts. Because I attempted to show both sides of a controversial issue,…

I wrote DAUGHTERS OF EVE at exactly the point in the late '70s when the feminist movement started. I saw my own teenage daughters and their friends struggling to define their adult roles in a changing society. Career women? Housewives? Could they do both at once? If so, how? It was an era of anxiety for young women…

In this revised version I made all the changes the publisher suggested. As you can imagine, it was a very hard book to revise.

Idea theft is allowed. Especially when it involves cats.

Imagination comes from the right brain hemisphere. I think I must have been born lopsided with the right side stronger than normal. As far as finding the right publishers, that was pure luck. And perseverance.

Too many to name. I read voraciously. I do think Ira Levin and William Goldman are two of the top writers of horror/suspense if that's the genre you're thinking about.

LOCKED IN TIME would be on the list. But probably STRANGER WITH MY FACE would be at the top of the list.

When I create characters I try to get into their heads and "become" them, and therefore force myself to think and feel the way they do. But in real life I'm not at all similar to Irene Stark.

Yes, I'm the real thing—still alive and kicking after all these years. I loved the film KILLING MR. GRIFFIN—hated the film I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. But that's currently being remade, so maybe I'll change my mind when I see what they do with it now.

Thanks for introducing your kids to my work. You'll be pleased to know that DOWN A DARK HALL is currently under production to be a Big Screen movie. And the producer is none other than Stephanie Myer, author of the TWILIGHT series!

I'm Lois Duncan, Brittan's grandmother and the author of this book. Thanks so much for posting this fascinating discussion! I'll be happy to respond to any questions that anyone has for me.

In the new edition, I was asked to update the story by changing old-fashioned names that today's readers would relate to. So we've now got a Kristy and the dear slut Bambi is "Madison." But they did retain their personalities.

You have good taste. My own personal favorite of my books is STRANGER WITH MY FACE.

I'm Lois Duncan, the author of DAUGHTERS OF EVE, which, to my amazement, appears to be just as controversial today as it was when I wrote it back in the late '70s. I thoroughly enjoyed this discussion (thank you Jia and Kelly) and would be happy to respond to any questions that anyone might have. (As long as you…