Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
Joyce Maynard uses the very specific verb "keen" to describe the sound that Wendy makes after her mother dies. And she admits that it's because she likes the word… well, and because she used to live in a town called Keene. (Source)
According to Maynard, she wrote The Usual Rules when all of her children were grown and she was alone in the house for the first time. She especially wanted a little boy around, and out of that desire came the character of Louie. (Source)
Even though Joyce Maynard likes writing novels for all ages, she does have a knack for writing thirteen-year-old characters (like Wendy) because she claims to have a "secret inner adolescent boy." (Source)