Sarah Mlynowski with her friend and fellow author Emily Jenkins. Which one is the real rabbit and which is the fake one? ☺

Emily: Hi, Sarah.

Sarah: Hi, Emily. Thank you for asking me questions for the back of my book. You’re the best.

Emily: Of course. Here we go. You’ve written eleven books for the Whatever After series so far. Have you always loved fractured fairy tales?

Sarah: Yup. Even as a kid, I loved to twist the original tales. I wrote “Snow White and the Seven Kittens.” “Little Blue Riding Hood.” “The Princess and the M&M.” Because aren’t M&Ms so much yummier than peas? Also, all of my stories always ended with the line, “The moral of this story is to never eat crackers in bed.” I have no idea why.

Emily: What’s your favorite fairy tale and why?

Sarah: My favorite fairy tale is Cinderella. I have always wanted to go to a ball. Also the writer in me loves a ticking clock. It’s midnight or bust!

Emily: Lewis Carroll, who wrote Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, was playing around with famous nursery rhymes, like “The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts …” Did you grow up with nursery rhymes? Tell us one that you like!

Sarah: I used to love “Humpty Dumpty.” I would sit up on the tippy-top of the living room couch, call out the Humpty Dumpty rhyme, and tumble onto the cushions at the “had a great fall” part. My parents were not huge fans of the game … especially when I taught it to my little sister.

Emily: Who’s your favorite Wonderland character and why? Mine is the Cheshire Cat.

Sarah: The Mad Hatter. As a kid, I expected him to be uber angry and always yelling at people. I was thrilled to discover that mad could also mean bonkers. Also, I really liked hats. Sunhats. Baseball hats. Shoe boxes I decorated and wore on my head.

Emily: The Queen of Hearts and her court are a pack of cards. What’s your favorite card game and why?

Sarah: Rummy 500. I just taught my eight-year-old daughter how to play. I like a game that you can clean up and then start again a few days later, and it takes us a good week to reach 500. The only problem is when we lose the score sheet. Luckily, my daughter always remembers the score. At least when she’s winning.

Emily: Will Jonah ever get into Jack in the Beanstalk?

Sarah: Absolutely. Promise! Eventually. Of course, the story will be very, VERY different from what Jonah expects. But before Abby and Jonah meet Jack, they’re going to meet a certain princess who’s having trouble sleeping … look for Whatever After #11: Two Peas in a Pod coming next!

Emily: Will the moral of the story be to never eat crackers in bed?

Sarah: No, the moral of the story will be to always check under the mattress for peas. But just for you, I’ll throw in something about crackers, too.

Thank you, Emily!

Emily Jenkins is the author of Brave Red, Smart Frog, a book of fairy tales, as well as the Upside-Down Magic series with Sarah Mlynowski and Lauren Myracle.