Featured Author: Diane Tullson
 
Bibliography at Orca
Lockdown: When Josh, who has been bullied mercilessly, brings a gun to school, the building is locked down and Adam is forced to risk everything to save himself and to find his girlfriend Zoe before Josh does. Calling on reserves he didn’t know he had, Adam could end up a hero—or a victim.
Red Sea: When modern-day pirates attack their sailboat, Libby's stepfather is killed and her mother is seriously injured. Libby must face some hard truths if she is to survive and reach land.
The Darwin Expedition:
When Tej and Liam have a accident, their snowboarding adventure becomes more about survival than fresh powder. Tracked by a hungry bear, while trying to outrun the weather without any food, they struggle to survive.
Interview
Why do you write, and why young adult books? I'm not sure I write for young adults so much as I tell a young adult's story. I enjoy creating characters who are young adults because their stories are filled with 'first times'—nothing is off-limits. YA plotlines are fresh and edgy and even the darkest story can be funny.
What kind of research do you do before you write? I research what I have to and create everything else. The Darwin Expediton was originally set on Vancouver Island until I learned that grizzly bears don't live on Vancouver Island. Researching bears was a blast. Check out The Grizzly Man, an amazing story about a man who for years lived among grizzly bears so close he could often touch them. He got eaten.
What is your favourite children's book? My favorite
children's book as a child was an illustrated story about a sprite
named Poppy; as an older reader I loved My Side
of the Mountain.
As an adult I love many children's books. One of my favorites is
Hesse's Music of the Dolphins because of the ending, and how two
people will read that ending different ways.
What are you working on now? Lockdown, another Soundings, about a shooter in a school.
What are the best and worst things about writing books? The best thing about writing books is talking about writing books to students and educators. The worst thing about writing books is reading a bad review.
What's the funniest or most interesting reader response you've ever had? A reader once asked me about my book, The Giver, which made me feel pretty good since the book has sold about a zillion copies and won as many awards. Too bad I didn't write it.
Biography
Diane Tullson has written seven novels for young adult readers, including Saving Jasey and Blue Highway. Her recent book, Red Sea (Orca), a contemporary, true-to-life adventure of piracy in the Red Sea, has been named an American Library Association Best Book and a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, and been nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award and the ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers. In Red Sea, Diane Tullson draws from her own experiences sailing in Europe for eighteen months with her husband and two young sons. Resource Links says: "This is a book that needs to be in every library for readers grade seven and up."
Diane Tullson was born in Calgary and has a BA in English Literature from the University of Calgary, and has studied journalism and editing. Before becoming an author, Diane Tullson worked in newspaper, radio, and the travel industry. Tullson began writing non-fiction essays for Canadian Living and Westworld Magazine. Her young adult books have been short-listed for White Pine, Red Maple, and Stellar Awards.
Diane Tullson is a member of The Canadian Children's Book Centre, Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable, Children's Writers and Illustrators of British Columbia, and The Writers Union of Canada. She speaks to schools across Canada and has presented at the University of Alberta symposium, "Rethinking Literacy Education: Preparing New Teachers." Diane Tullson lives with her family in Delta, BC.
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