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The baby at the end of the book (sorry, spoiler!) is based on the kid in this picture, the son of Ellen's daughter, who Ellen is now raising.

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Crank is written like poetry, even visually!

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This is a picture of the sunset from Ellen Hopkins' long-time residence in Nevada (part of the setting in Crank)

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This is a picture of the sunset from Ellen Hopkins' long-time residence in Nevada (part of the setting in Crank)

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Hopkins recently moved to Missouri after living in the Sierras for a lot of her adult life. The main character in the book Crank, Kristina, lives with her mother in Northern Nevada and visit her dad in Albuquerque, where Ellen's real daughter's father moved at one time.

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This is Ellen Hopkins Fan Page on Facebook. She also has a personal account she often uses.

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This interview also touches on the controversy that surrounds Crank, and it has been a book challenged since its conception! Hopkins is one of the most banned authors today.

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Ellen Hopkins is the best-selling author of the enormously popular "Crank" trilogy of young adult (YA) books. Although she was an established poet, journalist, and freelance writer before the success of "Crank," Hopkins is now an award-winning YA author with five bestselling novels in verse for teens. Her novels in verse attract many teen readers because of their realistic topics, authentic teen voice, and the appealing poetic format that is easy to read. Ms. Hopkins, a highly sought after speaker and writing mentor, took time out of her busy schedule to grant me an email interview. Read on to learn more about this talented writer, including information about the writers and poets who influenced her, the inspiration behind her "Crank" trilogy, and her stand on censorship.

Writing the 'Crank' Trilogy

Q. What types of books did you like to read as a teen?

A. There was a total dearth of YA literature when I was a teen. I gravitated toward horror - Stephen King, Dean Koontz. But I also loved popular fiction - Mario Puzo, Ken Kesey, James Dickey, John Irving. For sure if I found an author I liked, I read everything by that author I could find.

Q. You write poetry and prose. Which poets/poems have influenced your writing.

A. Billy Collins. Sharon Olds. Langston Hughes. T.S. Eliot.

Q. Most of your books are written in free verse. Why do you choose to write in this style?

A. My books are completely character-driven, and verse as a storytelling format feels like a character's thoughts. It puts readers right on the page, inside my characters' heads. That makes my stories "real," and as a contemporary storyteller, that's my goal. Plus, I truly love the challenge of making every word count. I have, in fact, become an impatient reader. Too much extraneous language makes me want to close a book.

Q. Besides your books in verse, what other books have you written?

A. I started writing as a freelance journalist, and some of the stories I wrote sparked my interest in nonfiction books for children. I published 20 before I moved into fiction. My first adult novel, "Triangles," publishes October 2011, but that is also in verse.

Q. How would you describe yourself as a writer?

A. Dedicated, focused, and passionate about my writing. I am blessed to have a creative career that is relatively lucrative, too. I worked really hard to get here, and will never forget those days, trying to decide where I belonged as a writer and scraping by until I figured it out. Quite simply, I love what I do.

Q. Why do you like writing for teens?

A. I very much respect this generation and hope my books speak to the place inside them that makes them want to be the best they can be. Teens are our future. I want to help them create a brilliant one.

Q. Many teens read your books. How do you find your "teen voice" and why do you think you are able to connect with them?

A. I have a 14-year-old son at home, so I'm around teens through him and his friends. But I also spend a lot of time talking with them at events, signings, online, etc. In fact, I hear "teen" every day. And I remember being a teen. What it was like to still be a kid, with my inner adult screaming for freedom. Those were challenging years, and that hasn't changed for today's teens.

Q. You've written about some serious topics in regards to teens. If you were to give teens any advice about life, what would it be? What would you say to their parents?

A. To teens: life will present you with choices. Think carefully before you make them. Most mistakes can be forgiven, but some choices have outcomes that can't be taken back. To parents: Don't underestimate your teens. They are wiser and more sophisticated than you know, even though their emotions are still developing. They see/hear/experience things you may not want them to. Talk to them. Arm them with knowledge and help them make the best choices they can.

Truth Behind the Fiction

Q. The book "Crank" is a fictionalized story based on your own daughter's experience with drugs. How did she influence you to write "Crank?"

A. This was my perfect A-plus kid. No problems at all right up until the time she met the wrong guy, who turned her on to drugs. First, I needed to write the book to gain some understanding. It was a personal need that made me start the book. Through the writing process, I gained much insight and it became clear this was a story many people shared. I wanted readers to understand that addiction happens in "good" homes, too. If it could happen to my daughter, it could happen to anyone's daughter. Or son or mother or brother or whatever.

Q. "Glass and Fallout" continue the story you started in "Crank." What influenced you to continue writing Kristina's story?

A. I never planned sequels. But "Crank" resonated with so many, especially because I made it clear it was inspired by my family's story. They wanted to know what happened to Kristina. What most hoped for was that she quit and became the perfect young mom, but that wasn't what happened. I really wanted readers to understand the power of crystal meth, and hopefully influence them to stay far, far away from it.

Q. When did you find out "Crank" was being challenged?

A. Which time? It's been challenged many times and was, in fact, the fourth most challenged book in 2010.

Q. What was the reason given for the challenge?

A. Reasons include: drugs, language, sexual content.

Q. Were you surprised at the challenges? How did you feel about them?

A. Actually, I find them ridiculous. Drugs? Uh, yeah. It's about how drugs take you down. Language? Really? The f-word is in there exactly twice, for specific reasons. Teens cuss. They do. They also have sex, especially when they're using drugs. "Crank" is a cautionary tale, and the truth is the book changes lives for the better all the time.

Q. How did you respond?

A. When I hear about a challenge, it's usually from a librarian who is fighting it. I send a file of reader letters thanking me for: 1. Letting them see the destructive path they were on, and encouraging them to change it. 2. Giving them insight into a loved one's addiction. 3. Making them want to help troubled kids, etc.

Q. In the nonfiction essay collection called "Flirtin' with the Monster," you stated in your introduction that you wanted to write "Crank" from Kristina's point of view. How difficult of a task was this and what do you feel you learned from it?

A. The story was close behind us when I started "Crank." It had been a six-year nightmare, fighting for her and with her. She was inside my head already, so writing from her POV [point of view] wasn't difficult. What I learned, and needed to learn, was that once the addiction kicked into high gear, it was the drug we were dealing with, not my daughter. The "monster" analogy is accurate. We were dealing with a monster in my daughter's skin.

Q. How do you determine which topics to write about in your books?

A. I receive literally hundreds of messages a day from readers, and many are telling me personal stories. If a topic comes up many times, it means to me it's worth exploration. I want to write where my readers live. I know, because I hear it from my readers.

Q. Why do you think it's important to read about the topics you cover in your books?

A. These things - addiction, abuse, thoughts of suicide - touch lives every day, including young lives. Understanding the "why" of them can help change the horrific statistics that some people refuse to believe. Hiding your eyes won't make them go away. Helping people make better choices will. And it's hugely important to gain empathy for those whose lives are touched by them. It's hugely important to give them a voice. To let them know they are not alone.

Q. How has your life changed since publishing "Crank?"

A. A lot. First of all, I discovered where I belong as a writer. I've found a widening audience that loves what I do and through that, I've gained some small amount of "fame and fortune." I never expected that, and it didn't happen overnight. It's a lot of hard work, both on the writing end and on the promotion end. I travel. Meet lots of great people. And while I love that, I've come to appreciate home even more.

Q. What are your plans for future writing projects?

A. I've recently moved onto the adult side of publishing, so I'm currently writing two novels a year - one young adult and one adult, also in verse. So I plan to be very, very busy.

Ellen Hopkins' novel in verse for teens, "Perfect," was released September 13, 2011.

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Interview With Ellen Hopkins, Author of the Crank Trilogy for Teens

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Ellen Hopkins is the best-selling author of the enormously popular "Crank" trilogy of young adult (YA) books. Although she was an established poet, journalist, and freelance writer before the success of "Crank," Hopkins is now an award-winning YA author with five bestselling novels in verse for teens.

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Here is some back story on the author!

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BORN: March 26, 1955 in Long Beach, CA. I was adopted at birth by an older couple. Albert C. Wagner was 72 at the time; Valeria was 42. To put that into perspective, he was born in 1883 and she was born in 1912.

GREW UP: in Palm Springs, CA, in a neighborhood with movie stars and entertainment icons, including Elvis Presley, Bob Hope, Kirk Douglas and Arnold Palmer. We were, however, the "poor rich." My father made his money in the steel industry in WWII. I remember the day he had actually earned his million. As a poor immigrant child who was most definitely a self-made man with a 6th grade education, he couldn't have been prouder.

LEARNED: from my father the value of hard work and honesty. From my mother, I learned a love of language and reading. She inhaled literature and read to me every day from the time I was a baby until I finally told her to quit already. She also had me reading chapter books before kindergarten.

FOUND:my birth mother, Toni Chandler, in the year 2000. One interesting side note is that she has written poetry her entire life. I have a half-sister, Fran, who I connected with a few years ago. She lives with my mom in Michigan, and we stay in regular touch. I did try to contact my birth father when my son, Jason, was born. He refused to acknowledge me or even that he'd had a relationship with Toni. However, they were roller skating pairs champs in high school together. (If you're wondering, I'm a klutz on skates.)

MOVED: to the Santa Ynez Valley, near Santa Barbara, my 8th grade summer. The high school is relatively small and my parents thought it would be a more wholesome atmosphere. The valley is a "horsey" place and I did, in fact, own horses until I moved to the Tahoe area in 1985. I showed, jumped, rode gymkhana and barrel raced.

IN SCHOOL: I was a straight A student almost all the way through school. With an excellent private school background through 8th grade, it was fairly easy to maintain those grades all the way through high school, despite a certain renegade attitude (70s rebel and all that!). I was the type who could read a chapter in a book and pass a test, even without the classroom discussion necessary for some.

STARTED WRITING: From the time I knew how to put words on paper. I've always been writing something (especially poetry) ever since, although I didn't start writing for money until around 1992.

PUBLISHED: my first poem, a brilliant haiku (I'm pretty sure there were trees and springtime in it), when I was nine. I was always encouraged by my English teachers to write, and won pretty much every creative writing contest I ever entered all the way through high school.

GRADUATED: Santa Ynez Valley Union High School in 1973. Went on to study journalism in college (Crafton Hills College and UCSB), but dropped out to get married and start a family.

CHILDREN: Had my first child, Jason, when I was just 21. He was born in 1976. Cristal followed two years later.

DIVORCED: When Cristal was still a baby in diapers. My ex moved to Albuquerque. I'm not going to disclose names. He should be allowed a sense of privacy.

REBOUND RELATIONSHIP: Met my daughter, Kelly's, father on the rebound. He was very much a not-nice man. The relationship was physically abusive and lasted far longer than it should have. When I finally found the courage to make a break, he kidnapped Kelly against court orders and hid her for almost three years. Finally, his own grandmother helped us get her back. That's a long story, too long to tell here. You can find a fictionalized version in The You I've Never Known.

OWNED MY OWN BUSINESS: During this time, I was the owner of Valley Video, a video store before video got big. Sold out in 1984.

"FOREVER LOVE": found me during this time. I met John Hopkins, and we moved to the Tahoe area in 1985. Wanting to be sure it would all work out, I insisted we wait to get married until October 19, 1991. We've survived good, bad, amazing, and horrible and come out stronger. He is still, and always, my best friend.

FOR THE LAST TIME: We moved to northern Nevada, in a rural valley between Reno and Carson City, in 1990. We thought the move might be temporary, but we simply love it here. If you look in my photo albums online, you'll find examples of why. It's a different kind of beauty than the green of Washington, but the palette here-gold and auburn and sage and the deep blue of the Sierra-is unmatched.

DURING THIS TIME: decided to try and write for a living. I started freelancing newspaper and magazine articles. Moved from there into children's nonfiction, publishing twenty titles before I sold my first novel. I was always trying different things-picture books, early chapter books, etc., and I wrote an entire adult novel which didn't sell then. [I've resurrected it; we'll see what happens with it in the future.] I also taught creative part time as an artist-in-residence; owned my own little publishing company, which did a newspaper for children; and was an instructor for the Institute of Children's Literature. And I did all those things simultaneously, searching for where I belonged as a writer.

THE REAL STORY: behind Crank took place between the years 1995 and 1971. "Hunter," aka Orion, was born in 1996. We took guardianship of him when he was just a baby and adopted him when he was not quite four years old. He is the light of our lives (as well as the biggest pain!) and a true gift. He knows the whole story, of course, but considers us his parents, and we consider him our son.

WE LIVED: in the same modest home until last year. Rather than move (we love our 1.25 acres on a hill overlooking Washoe Lake to the Sierra), we added on, and remodeled the old part of the house. Everything they say about remodeling/additions is true. The process had dust and some small delays. But it was sooooooooo worth it.

FAMILY REVISION: In 2013 we took guardianship of three grandchildren, who were at that time three, four and nine years old. They remain in our care full time.

RANDOM FACTOIDS:

My parents were Republicans (he was a businessman, after all). But I knew from the time I did mock elections in 7th grade that I was a born Dem. Bobby Kennedy was my hero. His death, coupled with MLK's death and the conflict in Viet Nam, forged my politics.

And on that subject, I'm an active member of the Democratic party and served as a Nevada caucus chair in 2008. What an amazing experience! I am also an outspoken progressive activist and feminist.

I am a certified Lutheran and when I'm home, do go to church regularly, and even sing [a mediocre alto] in the choir. However, over the years, my beliefs have morphed into some combination of Christian beliefs and spirituality. I do believe the energy that makes us "us" never dies and is more than just random electrical impulses in a hunk of gray matter.

One of the things I love most about being home is gardening. I do veggies, and have created a sweet little high desert oasis here, with ponds and waterfalls and gorgeous perennial beds.

I love to cook and often bake homemade bread, cinnamon rolls, etc. I also know how to can fruit and vegetables. Don't often have time to do that anymore, though.

Speaking of time, I'm traveling around 100 days a year, doing school and library visits, book signings and festivals, writers conferences, and other events. Please check out my events page to see if I might be somewhere near you.

CONTACT

P.O. Box 2205 * Carson City NV 89702
[email protected]

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BORN: March 26, 1955 in Long Beach, CA. I was adopted at birth by an older couple. Albert C. Wagner was 72 at the time; Valeria was 42. To put that into perspective, he was born in 1883 and she was born in 1912.

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Here is an interview on msn where Ellen Hopkins delves into banning books and some more insight into her book Crank as compared to her own experiences.

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There is not an ounce of judgment in Ellen Hopkins' "Crank" - this week's #VelshiBannedBookClub feature. Written in verse and following a teenager's struggle with sudden meth addiction, the work grapples with themes most teenagers and their family will face - including innocence, identity, deceit, and the power of choices. Loosely based on Hopkins' own experience watching her daughter's harrowing journey, it holds a sense of honesty that resonates with its readers. Some parents, school-board members, and lawmakers would like to believe removing books like "Crank" from the hands of students and children will remedy the dire drug crisis in this country. We know at the #VelshiBannedBookClub that the opposite is true. Reading books like "Crank" is a safe way -- sometimes the only safe way -- to explore. "This is how we change"

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There is not an ounce of judgment in Ellen Hopkins' "Crank" - this week's #VelshiBannedBookClub feature. Written in verse and following a teenager's struggle with sudden meth addiction, the work grapples with themes most teenagers and their family will face - including innocence, identity, deceit, and the power of choices.

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Reno News and Review wrote an article when Crank was published, where the inspiration behind the book is revealed to be the author's daughter, who struggled with meth use from a young age.

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RN&R • Arts&Culture • Arts & Culture • The face of Crank • Sep 16, 2004

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Ellen Hopkins writes about meth addiction from her daughter’s point of view.

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This HBO documentary I found through the delta library database came out in 2003, around the time Ellen Hopkins wrote the novel Crank.