Gretchen: Having written The Wilder Life, you must be approached constantly by people who are also ardent Laura Ingalls Wilder fans. Do you feel an instant connection to them, or is it a bit hard to relate to everyone's strong emotions about her work?
Wendy: I feel more connected to other fans much more than I ever did when I was younger. As a kid, my relationship to Laura and the books was so solitary I didn t really know anyone else who loved the books. So when I started to meet and talk to others about the book, it took a little getting used to at first, because everyone s fandom is different (some people really love the TV show, others consider it sacrilege); but I ve since found that one of the best things about writing this book is being able to take part in this shared passion.
Gretchen: How in the world do you come up with those hilarious Twitter comments as @HalfPintIngalls? Brilliant. My favorite so far: "Hey Almanzo, if you liked it then you should ve built a shanty on it."
Wendy: It takes longer than you d think! I try to take advantage of the seasons and think, what would Laura be tweeting about this time of year? (Thanks to The Long Winter, it s never too early or late in the year to complain about twisting hay!) I also go through the Little House books in search of inspiration. It helps that HalfPintIngalls doesn t tweet too much...after all, she has to walk two miles into town to send her posts from the Twittergraph office!