character questions

We just finished reading Shiloh, my 4th graders loved the book! After reading the back story of how Clover inspired you to write Shiloh, they came up with some questions.
How did you create the other characters like Judd, Becky, and Dara Lynn?
Which is your favorite book in the Shiloh series?
How long did it take you to write the Shiloh Series?
How did it feel to win the Newberry Medal?

To create characters, I just have to “become” them for awhile.  First I have to get them into a scene in the book, and then imagine how they would walk, talk, think, laugh, look, react….  I guess the first Shiloh book is my favorite–it set the stage for all the others.  I was so upset over the little dog I found in West Virginia that when I started writing the first draft of the first book, I put everything else aside and wrote fast.  I think I did the first draft in six weeks.  Then, of course, I went over it again and again–changing and adding–making every word count.  Later, after the book was published,  I got the phone call from the Newbery Committee around 8:45 in the morning while I was eating my shredded wheat; I was absolutely shocked.  Afterwards I wondered if I had just imagined it all. Then the phone started ringing again–my editor, my agent, the newspaper, and as the morning went on, flowers began arriving, telegrams, champagne and my husband and I had to hurry and pack to go to New York so I could make a two-minute appearance on the Today Show, which is what they did then.  I wish every writer could experience the Newbery Award once in their life.