Rae Carson

Lord of the Rings' was a childhood favorite, though the adult Rae wishes the women in those books had more significance and agency.

When you write about faith, people will be upset with you no matter what. I've heard from readers who were disgusted with the depiction of monotheistic religion. I've also heard from readers who were upset because my portrayal of faith did not adhere to their specific doctrines. Fortunately, I have high risk tolerance.

I'd love to see more middle and high school teachers who are not teaching English develop classroom libraries. Our message to kids should be that reading is for everyone.

I worked at a job where 90 percent of my coworkers were Spanish-speaking, and some of them were only Spanish-speaking. My rule was if someone came into the office needing something - I worked in HR at the time - they had to bring a Spanish word to teach me. That was the deal.

I saw 'Star Wars' for the first time when I was four years old. Sure, I thought Princess Leia was awesome. But the character I identified with most was Luke Skywalker. I left the theater certain the Force was strong with me, that I could train to be a Jedi and wield a lightsaber just like Luke.

I decided a long time ago to be unfiltered and wholly myself in these areas of social media. I've been very happy with the results of this decision. I feel that I get lots of interaction and loyal support. So I'm grateful for my Twitter and Facebook followers every day.

I was a Social Science major in college, with an emphasis in secondary education. I took as many courses on the American colonial era and westward expansion as I could. This turned out to be wonderful preparation for writing fantasy novels.

The message was always, 'It's good to be pretty, but don't look like you're trying to be pretty!' Inherent in that is a lot of misogyny, I think, because the implication is, 'You must work hard to achieve a feminine ideal for which society has nothing but contempt.'

I have tremendous respect for teens who navigate the quagmire that is modern religion. If there is any message in my books, I want it to be that it's okay to ask questions, and it's okay to come up with a belief system all your own. Teens who change their worldviews in the face of tremendous social pressure are heroes to me.

My most profound growth as a writer came when I joined an online critique group. What a harrowing, terrifying, wonderful experience that was.

Some of the most common pitfalls I see occur when authors don't check their privilege. Billions are living in a personal apocalypse right this second, so a little research and empathy can go a long way toward developing a convincing world.