I was looking to relocate to Virginia and I had always enjoyed collaborating with my mom back when I was working on my comic strips. I was happy to assist because the timing was perfect. Today, my middle-school challenges serve as an inspiration for my work on Dork Diaries.Įrin: My mom asked me if I wanted to help with writing Dork Diaries on the fourth book in the series. As an illustrator, I can vividly retell my own stories of being bullied and teased through my artwork. As more books were published and my mom’s writing demands increased, I put my teaching career on hold and took over the illustration duties for Dork Diaries on a full-time basis. I knew it would be fun and I loved drawing so much that I did it in my spare time as a hobby. So she asked if I was interested in helping her with illustrations, and I quickly jumped at the opportunity. Nikki: Due to the popularity of the series, my mom went from a schedule of one book a year to two books a year which was very grueling. With careers in different fields and locations, how did your working relationship begin? And how do you decide who does what? So, in spite of our careers, the three of us were lucky enough to be able to finally pursue our first love, creative writing and illustrating. She eventually ended up in the mortgage banking industry. Then, after college, she briefly pursued her dream of launching a nationally syndicated comic strip, but newspaper subscriptions were declining so it was a more difficult goal to achieve than ever. However, she earned a degree in elementary education and became a third-grade teacher.Įrin, my older daughter, majored in English and received a national award for a comic strip series she wrote and illustrated for her school newspaper at the University of Michigan. Nikki’s hobby was drawing and she’d spend hours with her sketchbook. ![]() My daughters, Erin and Nikki, both loved drawing so much that they attended art camp at Kendall College of Art and Design during the summers for 10 years during their childhood. But, when my daughters went off to college and I had extra time on my hands, I joined an online writers group and started working on a children’s manuscript just as an enjoyable hobby. ![]() I later opened a private practice specializing in consumer bankruptcy law. At that point, I changed my career aspirations, and decided to go to law school. In college, I took a writing course with a professor who had published a successful children’s book, but he strongly advised me to select a different career since he felt I didn’t have the necessary skills to become an author. When I was in elementary school, I dreamt of being an author and would write and illustrate picture books using construction paper and markers as gifts for family and friends. Rachel: We all pursued different careers that ultimately led us back to writing and illustrating. Then, a few weeks later, the new books would be delivered by the school office staff in two small boxes-one box for me and one box for the rest of the class! I loved books!ĭid you always plan to be an author? Did you or your daughters ever have or pursue other career aspirations? I would often order a dozen or more paperbacks and, surprisingly, my parents never complained about paying for my large order. I still have fond memories of being in elementary school and excitedly spending an hour just reading over the book order forms that came attached to our Weekly Readers newspapers and deciding which books I wanted most. When I was a child, my parents supported my literacy journey by reading to me, encouraging me to read, and by providing lots of books at home. ![]() Rachel: I have always loved both reading and writing. Rachel, do you remember your first reading and writing experiences? Were you an avid book lover from the beginning? What did your parents and educators do to encourage you in your literacy journey? Here the three of them candidly share their experiences, views, and plans with Mackin readers. In fact, she is a former attorney turned children’s author but that has not stopped her from sharing tales from her own middle-school years as well as those of her daughters, Erin and Nikki. Surprisingly, the primary author, Rachel Renée Russell, was not a well-known author prior to Dork Diaries. Now, with the 10th book due to hit shelves this month, Dork Diaries is a world-wide phenomenon with 20 million books in print in 34 languages. The series began in 2009 with the publishing of Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So-Fabulous Life (Aladdin) and quickly skyrocketed to the top of the New York Times bestseller list. Mention Dork Diaries to nearly any middle-school girl and you are likely to get an enthusiastic “Squee!” This wildly popular, award-winning series is composed of personal diary entries chronicling the life of 14-year-old Nikki Maxwell-the good, the bad, and the dorky.
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