address witheld
Omaha, NE 6812

February 9, 2012
Dear Allison,

Thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful letter of December 1, 2011. I am sorry that it took a very long time for the letter to get to me and by now you may have forgotten you even wrote it! I am going to do my best to answer each of your questions which I have copied and numbered as you did in your letter, from one to five.

1. Did your mom and dad inspire you to write children and adult books?

Yes, my father used to read fairy tales from a book that was read to him as a child. I think it was called Tales from Afield. I can’t remember any of the stories, but I remember the feeling it gave me to listen and know that however bad things got they would work out all right in the story. My mother believed there were mysterious and special things inside me even when my schoolwork wasn’t particularly good and maybe I wasn’t all that well-behaved either. Also my mother was a very good listener (although she can talk well as well) and children and writers need listeners.

2. When did you start writing books?

I didn’t start until I was 50 years old! Or maybe 49 I can’t quite remember. I bet that will surprise you, it surprised me a lot.

3. What was your favorite book you wrote?

The one I am writing now is my favorite. So far I have written three and that was always true, I hope it always will be. Even as I write that it doesn’t seem possible, but that’s kind of how it felt when I was about to have my second child, I thought, Oh no, help! I’m not going to love this next one as much, which is going to be a disaster. And then I did and that seemed like a miracle—and a big relief.

4. Have you ever written a story about your children?

Everything in my books is kind of like a sandwich between something I completely know and something I have completely made up. My kids are always coming in to my head in different ways yes and lots of things they do and say or I feel about them are in my books (and probably everythin else I do.) For example Cinderella signs her name Pumpkin when she writes to her (dead) mother and Pumpkin is one of my nicknames for my daughter Georgia. I couldn’t have written either of my books if I didn’t know how a mother feels about her girl which is a big part of the two books that have been published. In the book I am writing now there is a silly Hindu god named Brahma who is a bit like me, because he loves a human being named Siddhartha, a hero, who is a bit like my son, Dexter, who is my hero. I worked really hard to help Dexter to learn and grow and be ready to go out into the world, just like Brahma did with Siddhartha. But now that he is ready and all grown up I get scared, just like Brahma did. Brahma has to cover his eyes he is so scared and sometimes that’s what I want to do when my son is driving—even though he is actually a better driver than I am.

5. Do you have any hobbies you do when you’re not writing books?

Yes, I like to go for walks and go to museums with my friends. I like walking and swimming and visiting places that are really different from the place where I live which is New York City. I like to draw and paint and read books and go to movies and plays and all the time I’m listening and looking to see if something could be made into a book or be a detail in a book. Then of course I like answering letters from people such as Allison name witheld.
It was fun to get a real letter and see your beautiful handwriting, but maybe next time you could see if you could figure out a way to write me an email at Barbara@barbaraensor.com and maybe I could respond more quickly. Please put the name of one of my books in the subject line (so I don’t think it is an ad for something like most of the emails I get and never open it up). Please tell me what your favorite color is, if you have a favorite pattern, a favorite movie, anything else that seems important and what the name of the last book you read was.
You also asked for my

autograph

which is below. Now since I have done everything you asked I will remain,

Yours Sincerely,

Barbara Ensor

PS I like the name of your school, Joan of Arc, maybe because my mother’s name is Joan!