Bradbury: The story sort of bubbled out of a lot of experiences. My husband and his best friend cycled cross-country from West Virginia to Spokane when they were seventeen. After we married, we took a bike trip across the southern U.S. When I was teaching, and realized my students loved hearing anecdotes from that trip, I began to wonder if I couldn't figure out a way to write a novel for that ninth grade boy slouching in the front row when I talked about characterization in Of Mice and Men but lit up when I shared the story of getting chased by a coyote while biking up to the Grand Canyon. But I thought about it for a couple of years before doing anything about it. Finally, while I was in India on a teaching exchange, I sat down and plotted it out. From there it unfurled quickly.

ETC: Are there any stories you included from your own bike touring experience in Shift?

Bradbury: Tons! Lots of little stories or anecdotes found their way into Chris and Win's adventures. And I even borrowed a few more from the trip my husband took with his best friend when they graduated high school. But lots of things got changed. One of the few stories that ended up being its own chapter was the scene where the boys end up "camping" in a small town jail cell. My husband and I had an experience very similar to that one when biking through Louisiana. We pulled into town and asked a cop where we might be allowed to camp, and ended up in a cell (voluntarily) next door to a couple of guys. It is one of those stories that people love to hear about (that in reality is a lot more fun in the retelling than it was in actuality). The fact that it worked its way into the story during the second round of revision with my editor was kind of a surprise. But it was pretty neat how it fit in so seamlessly with the narrative and the themes.

ETC: Several reviewers have commented on the great male characterization and relationships. What experiences helped you write about guys authentically?
READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW