tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76344919869525824702024-02-06T23:08:05.729-05:00Lupine SeedsLinda Crotta Brennan, Children's AuthorLinda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.comBlogger142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-23595046066329456872016-08-09T08:49:00.000-04:002016-08-09T08:49:16.760-04:00Adam Shaughnessy's Unbelievable Fib Series<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir3BtofNe87wumFWW8ZeV2vfWHzE_BSBYTbGTP0l74U1x36NzwFa_6pRBPONYfi4QyqtSd8TN-dAkTTu37I678BeCd4t-97jSKnItunFfMjiSy-iSuMDoqM42Opq4ahB7qpelYZl2UACiQ/s1600/shaughnessy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir3BtofNe87wumFWW8ZeV2vfWHzE_BSBYTbGTP0l74U1x36NzwFa_6pRBPONYfi4QyqtSd8TN-dAkTTu37I678BeCd4t-97jSKnItunFfMjiSy-iSuMDoqM42Opq4ahB7qpelYZl2UACiQ/s1600/shaughnessy.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://www.adamshaughnessy.com/">Adam Shaughnessy</a>, author of <i>The Entirely True Story of the Unbelievable
Fib, </i>is my guest today. According to his author bio, Adam likes to tell
people that he is a superhero, a space explorer, and a pirate. None of those
things are true, but he likes to say them anyway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Adam really has been an
elementary school teacher and a director of after-school programs. He owns and
operates Red Dragon Adventures, which provides innovative enrichment programs
for schools. <i>The Entirely True Story of
the Unbelievable Fib: The Trickster’s Tale </i>is Adam’s first novel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">In this middle grade fantasy,
the main character, Prudence Potts, receives a cryptic message. It leads her
and her schoolmate ABE to another world beneath their quiet town, a world
peopled with Viking gods, annoying squirrels, and an ever-expanding hen house.
According to <i>Publishers Weekly</i>, <span style="background: white; color: #333333;">“Debut author Shaughnessy skillfully
weaves Norse myth, the story of Baba Yaga, and Pru’s pain over her father’s
death into an action-packed story full of heart . . . It’s a moving exploration
of the ways people can close themselves off to magic in the world, as well as
face grief scarier than any frost giant.” </span><span style="color: #333333;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Welcome, Adam!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">Thanks, Linda! And thanks so much for inviting me
to visit!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">I read that this story was an
outgrowth of story-generating activities you’ve done with students. Tell us
more!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">That’s an excellent question to start with. Yes! My
book did begin as an enrichment activity I shared with kids. Before I ever
thought of becoming an author, I was (and am!) an educator. I spent twenty
years as a classroom teacher, camp director, and district coordinator for
out-of-school time programs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">Over the course of those twenty years I developed a
kind of children’s programming called Adventure Play. Basically, I describe it
as the child of Adventure Programming, which is an educational model that supports
teambuilding through physical challenges. Adventure Play takes that concept and
scales it down to the elementary grades. It places cooperative games and
puzzles into the context of sophisticated and interactive stories, called Adventures.
I love it because the programming engages kids with books and stories and also
encourages them to play and have fun together. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">One of my earliest Adventures was called the Eye of
Odin. It was based on Norse mythology and had a group of kids travelling the
three worlds of the Norse mythical cosmos to gather pieces of a shattered rune
stone that, when reassembled, would direct them to a lost treasure. I loved the
story, and the kids seemed to enjoy it, too! Years later, when I decided to try
my hand at writing a children’s novel, I returned to the Eye of Odin. The story
changed a lot (about fifteen years had passed!) but the key elements are all
still there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">I test drove the first two
chapters<i> </i>with an audience of
overtired and hungry four to nine year olds. (Okay, they were my
grandchildren.) <i>The Entirely True Story</i>
was a marvelous cure for the crankies. A cryptic message, a feisty heroine, a
mysterious man who no one else could see…my grandkids were riveted. How did you
manage to build such a suspenseful opening for your story? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">I’m so glad your grandchildren enjoyed the
beginning! That’s great to hear! I think that any success I had in writing an
exciting beginning also probably stems from story’s genesis as an enrichment
program. When you’re engaging directly with a group of kids there’s an
immediacy to the relationship that you don’t always have as an author. When you
have twenty or so kids in front of you, you learn pretty fast if an idea works
or doesn’t. You see what the group likes and what they don’t—what grabs their
attention. I think that experience informed my writing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">ABE is the perfect foil for
Pru. She is a rule-breaker who often acts impetuously. ABE is methodical, he’s
literal and honest. Both tend to be loners. How did you come up with these
characters? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVMgLiFvYEWU31nZKwoBucvOIM6UFFUsXwiqUKNExn2ePz1Q7yeM0GFCxB092i71YOYAAq_2VaU-ywNQsE_9AHbtzX5rbL79Ywx9ARduYkv4833K_Zs4JxtwYj9wc_eHSR-8My3RgGrwRA/s1600/fib+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">I started with Pru, really. I knew from the start
that I wanted the hero to be a girl, and I knew that I wanted her to be clever
and assertive. It’s interesting you mention that ABE is the perfect foil for
Pru, because that’s how he started. He’s also clever, but less assertive and
less confident (in many ways). That was my starting place for the characters in
draft one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">From there, Pru and ABE developed over the course
of writing many (many!) drafts. At one point, thinking about the two friends during
the drafting process, I remember jotting down a note to myself, “ABE sees the
truth of things—he sees things how they are. Pru sees how things could be.”
Once I had that notion, the two characters really came to life. In fact, I
liked the note so much Mister Fox essentially says the same thing to Pru near
the end of the book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">If a reader were to go back through the book, she
or he would see that I stuck pretty closely to the spirit of that note. ABE <i>does</i> see the truth of things. Though
it’s not always immediately apparent, all of ABE’s observations turn out to be
accurate. But it’s Pru who makes things happen in the book. She makes the
connections and drives the story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Pru is dealing with her
father’s death by not thinking or talking about it. Was it a struggle to weave
the theme of Pru’s grief into a story that was often humorous? How did you
balance the lights and the darks in your tale? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">With difficulty! I think it was especially hard to
find that balance as a first-time writer. I think there’s the temptation when
you’re starting—even if you’re aware of the danger and specifically trying to
avoid it—to be a little emotion heavy. You want to basically wave your book at
people and say, “Look! It’s an adventure, yeah, but there’s <i>feelings, </i>too. Look at all the feelings!
This is <i>depth</i>, people!” The problem,
of course, can be that you can try so hard for depth that you really end up
with melodrama. Or is that just me?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">I tried to be aware of that potential pitfall. I
hope I was successful. It certainly helped to have readers provide feedback.
They were able to see things I couldn’t. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fzxcsh_u14664ywN32SJganEPZV32pcXOM7n_H1ptaZ42XYay7NFmvz0kZPla9uKElr1zFXx8HKEOE8ZbBFjOzmrr7QOao9TDQhOoeddlWamf3pEDtYQmdNVnWGiWsq0I_cLKXX1Ai3t/s1600/fib+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fzxcsh_u14664ywN32SJganEPZV32pcXOM7n_H1ptaZ42XYay7NFmvz0kZPla9uKElr1zFXx8HKEOE8ZbBFjOzmrr7QOao9TDQhOoeddlWamf3pEDtYQmdNVnWGiWsq0I_cLKXX1Ai3t/s320/fib+1.png" width="212" /></a><span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">Another thing that might have helped me balance the
emotion around Pru’s father’s death is the fact that I was writing from
experience, to a large degree. I lost my mother to cancer in 2003. Even though
I was an adult when she passed, the loss of a parent, or any loved one, is
terrible at any age. All the book’s themes that relate to Pru’s
grief—especially coming to terms with uncertainty, which is really the major
theme of the story—were personal to me. In some ways, I think that made them
easier to write. I knew the feelings that informed those themes. I wasn’t
trying to imagine them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Mr. Fox is always startling,
always turning things on their head. And he spouts such wonderful lines, like
“answers aren’t just valuable, sometimes they’re expensive,” “questions are
like invitations, you never know where one will lead you,” and “only people who
are unsure of what they believe are able to experience magic.” What went into the creation of Mr. Fox? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">Mister Fox is the one character from the original
Adventure that made it into the book. So, in many ways, he’s been with me the
longest. He’s changed a lot in fifteen years (haven’t we all?). In my original
enrichment program, he was a bit bumbling and buffoonish—not at all the
enigmatic and waggish figure he is in the book. There, he took on new life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">I mentioned earlier that the major theme of the
story is coming to terms with uncertainty. Mister Fox is the embodiment of that
theme. He is the personification of uncertainty. You’re not always sure what he
knows or what he’s thinking. Pru isn’t always sure she can trust him. And his
go-to phrases, “Don’t be so sure,” and “The truth is out there—don’t believe it,”
exemplify his personality but also his role in the story. He’s there to raise
questions and to cast doubt on certainty.<br />
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There’s one thing about uncertainty, though, that doesn’t change even when you
learn to embrace it. Uncertainty is scary. That was the biggest challenge
writing Mister Fox. I wanted him to be likable. But I <i>needed</i> him to be a little scary, too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">The fantasy side of your
story is set in the world of Viking myth, with borrowed bits of legends from
other cultures. What drew you to these myths? Did you do a lot of research
during your writing process? How did you adapt the original myths to your
story? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">I loved myths as a kid. That’s what initially drew
me to the worlds of mythology. When I became an adult and an educator, I wanted
to share that love and those stories with young people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">Many of my early Adventures were based on myths.
Twenty years ago, though, things were a little different. Back then, kids were
generally exposed to just Greek and Roman myths. I knew from my own experience
that those stories, though wonderful, were just the tip of the ice burg. So I
was very conscious of basing my Adventures on different myths from around the
world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">Norse mythology has long been one of my favorites.
That said, I did do a lot of research in writing the book. I read and reread
the Norse cycle of myths, and I explored the scholarship around the stories. I
tried to keep my portrayals of the canonical characters and events as true to
the source material as I could. And on those occasions when I changed the story
or a character’s role, I tried very hard to keep my inventions true to the
spirit of the myths themselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">Oddly, one of the biggest challenges in that
respect was Ratatosk. Ratatosk only gets a quick mention in the myths. He’s
described as a squirrel who carries insults back and forth between a dragon and
an eagle. As soon as I read that, I knew Ratatosk had to be in my book. He’s a
talking insult squirrel! How great is that? I basically had to create
Ratatosk’s personality from scratch, though. And one of the real challenges was
writing his insults. Actual Viking insults can be a little…lets say, “earthy.”
So I tried to write his dialogue in a way that suggested Norse origins but that
was also appropriate for a middle grade novel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">I also feel compelled to mention that I take one of
the major Norse gods in a different direction in the book’s sequel, <i>Over the Underworld</i>. I’m actually really
excited about what happens with him. It grows very organically from how the
character is presented in the myths, but is also a new take that I think people
haven’t seen before. That’s all I can say!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">You invite your readers to
become FIBBERS, members of the Fantasy Investigation Bureau. In fact, on your
website, Mr. Fox has left a message for FIBBERS asking them to help him unravel
the mystery of why there is no mention of the Shadowmage in the ancient scrolls
of Egypt. How have kids responded to that? What has your feedback been from
young readers? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">You have an excellent eye! Though, to avoid any
confusion on the part of your readers who might visit my website, I should
point out that I redesigned my site recently and removed the images that
referenced Shadowmage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">Your larger point is dead-on accurate, though. One
of my biggest hopes for my books is that they become playgrounds for my
readers’ imaginations. I want them to think that these adventures <i>could</i> happen to them—even if only in
their play. That thinking is really built in to the very design of the book and
the presentation of the story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">Pru and ABE do, indeed, become members of the
Fantasy Investigation Bureau. As Fibbers, they help investigate a mystery that
involves magic and Norse mythology. But—and this is a point that I make in my
author visits—The Unbelievable FIB investigates other mysteries, too. There’s
always a need for more Fibbers. And one never knows where Mister Fox and the
Henhouse might land next. It might be your town…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">As for Shadowmage, he is a character from another
story called <i>Shadowmage and the Obsidian
Obelisk. </i>This is, indeed, another case for The Fantasy Investigation
Bureau. This time, Mister Fox is investigating a mystery that involves Egyptian
mythology. <i>Shadowmage and the Obsidian
Obelisk </i>isn’t a book, though. It’s an Adventure Play program. This is a
program that kids could sign up for and in which they would become Fibbers and
actively work together to solve the mystery by solving codes, playing games,
and assembling clues. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">I removed all reference to Shadowmage in my website
redesign because I’m currently preparing my Adventure Play work to take the
next step in its evolution. I hope to have more news about that later in 2016
or in early 2017. Until then (at least for now) I’m taking a break from my
Adventure Play activities while I work on things behind the scenes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Will readers meet the
Shadowmage in Book Two, <i>Over the
Underworld?</i> Can you tell us a little about this </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgen9oQCNegbFKglr7cHFH3HGFFO-fUF05AsTXgqQE6U1rHn1x7H2dBvyOqYMlwoYPKzFMAX6mVtP8rQ1Tg-tPFMaSsM85IiJMiTWpQNO6nU4CA9ls_wH4S5BQPzuGL6Z538pt4TWsYjvl9/s1600/fib+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgen9oQCNegbFKglr7cHFH3HGFFO-fUF05AsTXgqQE6U1rHn1x7H2dBvyOqYMlwoYPKzFMAX6mVtP8rQ1Tg-tPFMaSsM85IiJMiTWpQNO6nU4CA9ls_wH4S5BQPzuGL6Z538pt4TWsYjvl9/s320/fib+2.png" width="211" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">sequel? When will it be
coming out? Can you share the new cover art? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sadly, Shadowmage will not make an appearance in <i>Over the Underworld. </i>The good news,
though, is that Pru and ABE will make their return!</span><span style="color: #022349; font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">Over the Underworld </span></i><span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">picks up about a year after the
first book ends. The Norse gods return to Middleton, but they do so for an
unhappy reason. Loki's misdeeds have grown from mischief to murder. He has
killed Baldur, favorite of the gods. By doing so, he has set in motion events
that will lead to Ragnarok, a war between the gods and giants that will destroy
their world and ours. Now Odin wants ABE and Pru to help find Loki and imprison
him before the giants can rally to his side. But the gods aren't the only ones
back in town. Mister Fox has also returned and he's brought new questions about
Baldur's death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">To answer those questions, ABE and Pru will travel
to Niflheim, the Norse underworld. There, they’ll confront the Queen of the Dead herself.
Unfortunately, they quickly find that getting into the world of the dead is
easy. It’s getting out again—alive—that proves difficult. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">One of the fun things about <i>Over the Underworld </i>is that it’s told from ABE’s point of view. Pru
is still very much central to the story and the action. This time, though, we
see events unfold through ABE’s eyes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">I hadn’t planned this approach. The point of view
in the first draft alternated between the two friends. But as I worked on the
book, I quickly realized that this was, in many ways, ABE’s story. Book 1
really dealt with Pru coming to terms with uncertainty about the world. Book 2,
I discovered, is largely about ABE coming to terms with uncertainty about
himself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">Well, that <i>and</i>
stopping the end of the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Is there anything else you’d like
to tell our readers?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">I should mention that with the release of <i>Over the Underworld</i>, we’re trying to set
The Unbelievable FIB books up as a series. To that end, <i>The Entirely True Story of the Unbelievable FIB</i> is getting a new
title and new cover (by amazing illustrator Matt Rockefeller) with its
paperback release.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">On August 16<sup>th</sup>, <i>The Entirely True Story of the Unbelievable FIB </i>will be released in
paperback as <i>The Unbelievable FIB 1: The
Trickster’s Tale</i>. On September 6<sup>th</sup>, <i>The Unbelievable FIB 2: Over the Underworld </i>will be released! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Thank you so much for
dropping in, Adam! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 11.0pt;">Thank you, Linda. I loved your questions and thanks
so much for inviting me to stop by!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">You can find out more about
Adam and his books on his <a href="http://www.adamshaughnessy.com/">website</a> and follow him on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Adam-ShaughnessyAuthor-186466224733947/">facebook</a> and twitter @ adamshaughnessy</span><br />
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Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-26356661122309530822016-02-05T11:20:00.000-05:002016-02-06T08:52:13.877-05:00Author/Illustrator Barbara Johansen Newman talks about Glamorous Glasses<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJV_DH1blh8vinVgolWQguuXdMEuf_7APRt6kATxaumnqIseiia-5eHz22AsQQx0IqLQeS6F3P3je3nEdiwQhiGLVEuGxtPaT-lk79kZSR3KCVyhHCooCSJOgngqCYtjJO6MjOR5kk7x1/s1600/BarbJNewman2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJV_DH1blh8vinVgolWQguuXdMEuf_7APRt6kATxaumnqIseiia-5eHz22AsQQx0IqLQeS6F3P3je3nEdiwQhiGLVEuGxtPaT-lk79kZSR3KCVyhHCooCSJOgngqCYtjJO6MjOR5kk7x1/s320/BarbJNewman2.jpg" width="220" /></a><a href="http://www.johansennewman.com/"><b>Barbara Johansen Newman</b> </a>has been an artist in all her life.
As a child, she crayoned pictures on her walls. After college, she created
puppets for her and her husband’s puppet troupe Moonberry Puppets. Eventually
she was drawn to illustration, creating textile designs and art for the picture
books of other authors. But she yearned to write, too, and her dream came true
with <i><a href="http://texandsugar.com/">Tex and Sugar, A Big City KittyDitty</a>, </i>the first book she wrote and illustrated. She’s gone on to create a
series of books about the best cousins, Bobbie and Joanie, including <i>Glamorous Garbage, </i>the book she’s here
to talk about today. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In <i><a href="http://www.glamorousgarbage.com/">Glamorous Garbage</a>, </i>Bobbie’s
room is so full of stuff, she and her cousin Joanie have no room to play. So
Bobbie’s mom issues an ultimatum. Bobbie has two weeks to clear out the
clutter. How can she part with any of her beloved things? Bobbie has a vision
for turning her space into a big-kid’s room and begins by gathering even more
stuff. Even her cousin Joanie doesn’t see how this will help... <o:p></o:p></div>
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Welcome, Barbara! I know you grew up in a close extended
family. Did you have a “best cousin” like Joanie? How did you come up with your
characters?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Thanks for having me, Linda. I
credit you with my first real foray into children’s literature when I attended
a retreat on Cape Cod years ago that you organized. You and everyone there made
me believe I might be able to do this and I am eternally grateful for that experience.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Getting back to your question, I had
lots and lots of family growing up, but I actually had no first cousins, since
both of my parents were only children, and I had no siblings, either. It was an
often-lonely childhood at times for lack of peers. But I did have an older
second cousin named Joanie and I adored being around her. I went with her when
she got her first pair of glasses in 1961. That very day gave birth to the
story of Glamorous Glasses and it was also the beginning of my life-long
obsession with eyewear. I was called Bobbie back then and in the character of
Joanie I “imagined” the cousin/best friend/sibling that I always longed for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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In <i>Glamorous Garbage, </i>you
tackle a touchy topic. Most kids have battled with their parents about cleaning
their rooms. Yet your book is lighthearted and fun, not preachy at all. How did
you manage this? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5vFDtVL0NqUzbvfPZln5wa4COI6BekJJsjV7M0OX_1hFVco2aElu2kuv1GEzGixvtvxeqXVQN8XksLydGw5fJvdnNz1tEmVGpw7DKkELptlg3c5Lgy3n1NzddFGRSyeXVxk8tqOETHsZV/s1600/GlamGarbage-cover+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5vFDtVL0NqUzbvfPZln5wa4COI6BekJJsjV7M0OX_1hFVco2aElu2kuv1GEzGixvtvxeqXVQN8XksLydGw5fJvdnNz1tEmVGpw7DKkELptlg3c5Lgy3n1NzddFGRSyeXVxk8tqOETHsZV/s320/GlamGarbage-cover+.jpg" width="265" /></a><span style="color: blue;">I let art imitate life, and I
indulged my own fantasy. Here is a true confession: I actually <i>did</i> battle with my own parents about my
messy room—even as a teenager. So much so, in fact, that one of the greatest
pleasures I had was going off to college and keeping my room however I wished.
And I wished to keep it really, really messy. How’s <i>that</i> for carrying rebellion into young adulthood and beyond? (Note
to parents: do yourself and your kids a favor-- don’t obsess over their messy
rooms.) I gave Bobbie more freedom to live in a great deal of chaos--much more
than I could have ever dreamed of when growing up. Left to my own devices as a
kid, my room would have resembled Bobbie’s. Of course in order to have a story,
I had to have Bobbie’s mom reach her breaking point. I also thought it would be
nice to contrast Bobbie and Joanie. I knew Joanie’s room would always be neat
and clean and that she would be frustrated by the way Bobbie kept hers. That added
to the drama, because having a peer complain, as opposed to a parent, resonates
more with a kid. By the way, it just occurred to me now that in a future Bobbie
and Joanie story, I’ll have to show the home workspace of Bobbie’s dad. It will
be a wreck. She needs to come by her messiness naturally…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Wow, our interview sparked an idea for a new story…how
awesome is that! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Back to the questions…In the spirit of “Reduce, Reuse,
Redecorate,” Bobbie collects used items and turns them into something exciting
and new. Do you have any tips on how to revitalize found objects? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">One key to repurposing is to look
at the shape of something, and imagine a new use for it. How else could this
object be useful? For example, Bobbie looks at a discarded colander and it
reminds her of a lampshade. The fruit crate becomes a nightstand. Everything
she uses in her new room gets a new color. Taking what would otherwise be a
piece of junk and adding a coat of fresh paint can result in a wonderful
transformation. Paint is the least expensive and the easiest way to “upcycle”
one thing into another</span>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Great advice! You wrote and illustrated <i>Glamorous Garbage. </i>Do you consider yourself more of an artist or an
author? Did the words or the pictures come first? Could you tell us a little
about your process? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Probably artist. I am very visually
oriented, so I think in pictures and have a vivid memory about the way things
look. But I always attach stories to the pictures in my mind, even if I don’t
write them down or try to turn them into books, so the visual is never without
some sort of narrative. I even did this when I was a soft sculpture artist back
in the 70s. It wasn’t enough to make the dolls; I sold them with little written
vignettes because each doll had a story to tell, even if brief. I would say
that I am both artist and author to some extent because I can’t seem to do one without
the other, but making art is much easier for me. Taking stories from my head
and turning them into written stories that work in a picture book format is
more of a challenge. Plotting is my biggest nemesis. I can create interesting
characters and I can write clever dialogue, but the twists and turns of a
captivating story take a lot of work for me to develop. I usually begin with a
character that I know very well and a situation that I want to put them into.
Then I have to work at crafting the story. The illustrations are the easiest
part because I just work from the movies I see in my head. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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How has your artwork evolved from making puppets and
creating textile designs to painting illustrations? What connects all your art?
What makes your style so distinctive? Are you experimenting with anything new? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">There are two common factors in all
of my artwork for the past 45 years. One is that I am drawn to characters of
all kinds and those attributes that make each unique. The other factor is that
I only work from my head. That way, I
know that I am really creating my impression of a person and not a replication
of one. I also love details. For me the most satisfying way to convey character
is through the details: clothing, hair, gesture, or voice, or all of the above.
That is what drew me to puppetry, then dolls, and then illustration. I guess
everything for me has some sort of narrative. Even my fabric designs are
narrative. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Lately I am working on a series of
portraits in collaboration with another artist who builds me assemblage frames
to paint within. Even these portraits hint at stories and layers of narrative.
I guess I could never be a landscape painter, although lately I am fascinated
with trees and am planning a series of paintings of individual tress. I drive
all around and am often distracted by the bones of a tree. Each tree is so
unique and the branches are like gestures to me. It will be the first
non-figurative work I have done once I get going. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpsy90XdPAm2RT34B-lM6lL-6nOz9q-JC-9AjVfGCxeLV8CV2CDJYVRMGsMU4b0PZzPSfUo0djZz85rNGpYJoTbDkxr-eq6juGl0Pzo4g-Rj8QLoTYzHrWDlyARJht196wReDKGSowitsi/s1600/GG-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpsy90XdPAm2RT34B-lM6lL-6nOz9q-JC-9AjVfGCxeLV8CV2CDJYVRMGsMU4b0PZzPSfUo0djZz85rNGpYJoTbDkxr-eq6juGl0Pzo4g-Rj8QLoTYzHrWDlyARJht196wReDKGSowitsi/s320/GG-cover.jpg" width="256" /></a>This is the second book starring Bobbie and Joanie. The first
was <i><a href="http://www.glamorousglasses.com/">Glamorous Glasses.</a> </i>Did you <o:p></o:p></div>
always
plan on writing more than one book about these cousins? Was writing the second
book different than writing the first? Do you have more Glamorous books planned
for the future? <br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Once you know characters (and I
know these kids very well), the stories write themselves and have to be told. I
have three more Bobbie and Joanie stories completely written and the art is
fully formed in my head. The most challenging of the five stories I have so far
was Glamorous Garbage; Glamorous Glasses and the others just flowed. It is
uncertain as to when those might be published, but I can tell you that Bobbie
and Joanie, and the rest of the family are chomping at the bit to have more
adventures. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Can you tell us about your book’s journey from creation to
publication? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Glamorous Glasses grew out of the
true story about going with my cousin Joanie when she got her first pair of
glasses. I always loved drawing glasses on people and I knew I wanted to write
a story about a little girl obsessed with glasses just like I was and have been
for many years. I just needed to figure
out a way to tell the story in a picture book. That took much effort since I am
not a natural plotter. It went through several rewrites but it struck a chord
with my editor when she first saw it in a submission, and once she and I began
to work together, everything crystalized.
For Garbage, I had the premise for Bobbie as a messy kid and wanting to
redecorate and organize her room, but I needed to build the story. Of course,
Glam Garbage is also semi-autobiographical: I spend LOT of time at garage
sales, antique shops, junk stores, and thrift shops, in addition to being not
the neatest person. Once that story was mostly complete, it sold.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Is there anything else you’d like to share with readers?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">I think that what you write or draw
should accurately reflect what is unique to who you are as a creator. I know
that “write (or draw) what you know” is the mantra. But it is more than that. I
think you have to write what you<i> are</i>.
Easy to say, I know, because sometimes when we create from within, the product
we create is not the flavor of the day because publishing trends come and go <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">I have to ignore that fact. I can’t
work any other way than the way I work. In the end, what I produce is true to
who I am. We need to be true to what makes us tick. If you write quiet stories,
write quiet stories. If you like detailed art, make detailed art. When you
remain true to instinct, what you create is always genuine. There’s a lot to be
said for that honesty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Well said, Barbara! Are you willing to reveal what you’re
working on now? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">I’m working on a couple of
characters right now and each has a developing story line. One is a
six-year-old little girl in New York City—the anti-Eloise, to be more exact.
The other is a boy of the same age who is out of tune with every member of his
family and he has to figure out a way to resolve that conflict. I’ve also got a
new dummy for a Christmas tale to shop around, and another manuscript that
needs a dummy that I want to do in a new mixed media style. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">The main thing I am working on is
trying to carve out more time to work. Life has a way of setting up obstacles.
It has made me realize how much I need to have uninterrupted studio/writing
time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Thank you, Barbara, for being my guest today. You can find
out more about Barbara and <i>Glamorous
Garbage </i>at <a href="http://www.glamorousgarbage.com/">http://www.glamorousgarbage.com/</a>
and <a href="http://www.johansennewman.com/">http://www.johansennewman.com/</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-60331570128441844912015-09-15T09:08:00.000-04:002015-09-15T09:14:13.936-04:00Mitali Perkins, author of Tiger Boy <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkQzfqstdWF0YgI89JUNSl420UY6FdG-nwR1ijdv3zRLzSUNXFSgTtiHF5GZtXFac7NaPVgBEsQdDcM7QMvHj4-efMXL8lvTtI-1coEGck1BKFTccS3n4nS7seTrpz8fNXY6YVib37KbO/s1600/Mitali_Perkins_2009_Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkQzfqstdWF0YgI89JUNSl420UY6FdG-nwR1ijdv3zRLzSUNXFSgTtiHF5GZtXFac7NaPVgBEsQdDcM7QMvHj4-efMXL8lvTtI-1coEGck1BKFTccS3n4nS7seTrpz8fNXY6YVib37KbO/s320/Mitali_Perkins_2009_Photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mitali
Perkins is the author of nine books for young people, many set in far flung
lands or featuring characters who straddle two cultures. Her titles have won great
acclaim and earned starred reviews in Publisher’s Weekly, School Library
Journal, and Kirkus. She blogs at <a href="http://www.mitaliblog.com/">Mitali’s Fire Escape</a>, safe place
to think, chat, and read about life between cultures. She is also a lecturer at
Saint Mary’s College of California. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mitali
was born in Kolkata (Calcutta), India and she lived in <span style="background: white;">Ghana, Cameroon, London, New York, and Mexico before settling in small
town California when she was in middle school. She married a minister and
continued to travel widely, only recently returning to the San Francisco Bay
Area.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mitali is here today to talk about her illustrated novel for
intermediate readers<i>, <a href="http://www.tigerboy.org/">Tiger Boy</a></i>. When
a tiger cub escapes from a reserve in
West Bengal's Sundarban Islands, Neel is determined to find it before the greedy Gupta can kill the cub and sell its
body parts on the black market. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Welcome, Mitali! Tiger Boy
combines mystery, suspense, and a marvelous cast of characters. What sparked
the idea for Tiger Boy? Did it begin with Neel, the main character? With the
issue of protecting Bengali Tigers? With the setting in the Sundarbans? Or
something else? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Place
came first. I was fascinated with the Sundarbans, a unique ecosystem where
animals have adapted to drink saltwater, roots poke upwards through the mud in
their search for oxygen, and tigers attack and eat people on a regular basis –
all only a few hours’ drive from Kolkata, the massive city that is my
birthplace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Setting
is such an important element in many of your novels, such as <i>Bamboo People</i>, which is set in Burma. You do such a beautiful job
of vividly evoking a sense of place. In <i>Tiger
Boy</i>, for example, you describe the hiss Neel’s father’s boat as it slips
through the deltas, the golpata branches swaying in the monsoon rains, and the
evening smell of jasmine flowers. How do research your settings? Do you usually
write about places you have been? Did you visit the Sundarbans when you were
writing <i>Tiger Boy</i>? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I typically write about places I have experienced in
person with all five of my senses. That’s probably why I don’t write fantasy or
science fiction. I remember seeing photographs and videos of sights like the
Taj Mahal and the Grand Canyon, but media can’t convey the smell of jasmine
flowers, sounds that carry across the vastness of space, the taste of spicy
peanuts bought from a vendor, or the feel of a cool breeze against your
skin. I like to receive a place through
sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell, and try to empower my readers’
imaginations to do the same as they read my fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
found a photograph of you petting a Bengali tiger. Where were you? What was it
like to be so close to such a powerful animal?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I was in Chiang Mai, Thailand visiting a tiger
preserve. Unfortunately (for the tigers), the beautiful creatures were sedated
heavily. We’ve heard that a tourist was recently mauled and the practice of
skin-on-skin visits with the tigers is now banned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tiger
Boy</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
explores the intricate dance between the needs of struggling people and the
needs of wildlife. You handled this so sensitively. How did you manage to
capture the interplay of cross-purposes in a small Sundarban village so well?
Have you met a boy like Neel? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thank you. I hope I did. I read and researched
widely and studied this subject in my graduate work at UC Berkeley. As for
Neel, my father was a small brown boy trudging through a Bengali village to
school. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What
about your varied cast of secondary characters, Neel’s father, his friend Ajay,
the headmaster…and so many more? Where did they come from? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My imagination! It is incredibly fun to create
characters – you know what I mean. They leap into your mind and live there
while you are writing. You come to love them and know them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It
amazed me that Neel cared so much about the tigers, even though they could be
very dangerous. I wondered if Americans would be as protective in Neel’s
situation. Do you see a difference between how first world and third world
countries approach conservation? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That is a big question that deserves at least a
Master’s thesis to answer. May I just say yes? And no? Generally the villagers
in the Sunderbans understand how valuable the tigers are to their economy and
ecosystem. Unfortunately, these impoverished communities are on the way to
becoming “climate refugees” because of how fast the islands are shrinking,
mostly thanks to deforestation and erosion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You
have lived so many places, straddled so many cultures. What have you learned
about adapting to new places? How are people the same? How are they different?
What advice can you give to young people struggling to bridge cultures? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I wrote an essay about this to answer such questions.
It’s called “A Note to Young Immigrants,” and I invite your blog visitors to head
to <a href="http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-28-fall-2005/feature/note-young-immigrants"><i>Teaching Tolerance</i> </a>to read it.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Are
you working on something new? Could you tell us a little about it? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yes! And no! This has been an exciting year in my
career. I am about to make a couple of big announcements but I can’t say
anything about them yet. Let’s just say I’m VERY encouraged after years of
slogging away in this vocation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Is
there anything else you’d like to share with us? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A cup of Darjeeling tea, scones, and clotted cream?
Thanks so much for hosting me, Linda.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thank
you so much for being my guest today, Mitali! <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If
you’d like learn more about Mitali Perkins or her books, you can visit <a href="http://www.mitaliblog.com/">Mitali’s Fire Escape </a>blog. You can also follow her on <a href="https://twitter.com/mitaliperkins">twitter</a> or</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/AuthorMitaliPerkins">facebook</a> .</span></b></div>
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Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-18391361893323972992015-06-24T14:31:00.000-04:002015-06-24T16:36:03.427-04:00Interview with Picture Book Author Sandra Horning and Book Give-away!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6gJY6iJ0DyODuoC15CemclgTzrejGAgZNC1HloJXSH08ccwdaOQAe0BtZcEgbV31swOyMTbcquvFjH2mLVwEs6xZ8H_sFiaHcmjhJo5gKLfZBtsjsykf6X4mN8eJKyX8vUR-5Nyxs_lh/s1600/Pumpkin+Sandy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6gJY6iJ0DyODuoC15CemclgTzrejGAgZNC1HloJXSH08ccwdaOQAe0BtZcEgbV31swOyMTbcquvFjH2mLVwEs6xZ8H_sFiaHcmjhJo5gKLfZBtsjsykf6X4mN8eJKyX8vUR-5Nyxs_lh/s320/Pumpkin+Sandy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.sandrahorning.com/">Sandra Horning</a> the award-winning author of books for young children including <i>The Giant Hug</i> and <i>Chicks</i>. She also works as a
copyeditor. Today she’s here to talk about her latest title, <i>The Biggest Pumpkin</i>. </div>
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<b>Sandra generously
donated a signed copy of her book, <i>The
Biggest Pumpkin,</i> which will go to some lucky visitor. To be entered to win,
please leave a comment at the end of this blog post. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Welcome, Sandra!<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><i>Thanks, Linda! It's a pleasure to speak with you!<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i>The Giant Hug</i>
features a pig who sends his grandmother a hug through the mail. <i>Chicks</i> is about raising chickens, and <i>The Biggest Pumpkin</i> is about growing a
giant pumpkin for the town fair. There seems to be an agricultural thread
running through all your books. Did you grow up on a farm or in a rural area?
Do you raise animals or grow vegetables now? <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><b>I didn't grow up on a farm, but I lived near a farming
region, and my grandfather lived in the country. In fact, I grew up in a
rowhome in a suburb of Reading, Pa. Even
though we had a very tiny yard, my parents always kept a small vegetable
garden. Back then the suburb still had a lot of undeveloped space around it.
Across the street there was an open field with a stream and small wooded area
bordering it. A block behind my house there was a mountain. I spent many of my
early years playing in those spaces, which have since been developed. There is
definitely an agricultural thread running through my published work, although I
should say that I do write stories without that theme, but they tend not to be
the ones that publishers accept. I'm sure it's not a coincidence, and the
agricultural themes/hooks are what helped my books find a home. <o:p></o:p></b></i></div>
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<i><b>I live in the woods of CT now. We have so much shade that
I really can't grow vegetables. Despite the shade, I usually plant a few
anyway. This year I have some lettuce and a handful of tiny green cherry
tomatoes. The plants I put in were a decent size to start. That helps a great
deal. I had a pumpkin plant last year, but the pumpkin never got bigger than a
fist. My family joins a local CSA to get fresh vegetables each week. I love
visiting the farm for pick-up. I have better luck with raising animals. I raise
chickens and ducks for eggs. Right now I have 6 chickens and 3 ducks. They are
pets, too, and all have names. </b></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioXi8ZRfLMaNRa6Qbdq-0IPQ3BGWmVMyVM0_CdZFh9Te5-8RnxsZIrL2iZmIv8z4pikbRtzRm3BEDtOy_n0cgUspp0SjqNs-j45lccbose_G7KJ8hULW4iVtXkoXMZPGnqGieQj0DkmKky/s1600/Biggest+Pumpkin+small.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioXi8ZRfLMaNRa6Qbdq-0IPQ3BGWmVMyVM0_CdZFh9Te5-8RnxsZIrL2iZmIv8z4pikbRtzRm3BEDtOy_n0cgUspp0SjqNs-j45lccbose_G7KJ8hULW4iVtXkoXMZPGnqGieQj0DkmKky/s320/Biggest+Pumpkin+small.JPG" width="237" /></a></div>
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What sparked the idea for <i>The Biggest Pumpkin</i>? <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><b>The initial idea came to me during a school visit for my
first picture book. The school had a greenhouse and it sparked the idea of
writing a garden story. I picked a pumpkin plant because when my 2 boys were
younger, we regularly drove by a nearby garden with a pumpkin plant in it. By
the end of summer and into fall, the pumpkin was easily visible from the road.
I'd slow the car down and we would see how big the pumpkin was that day. The
rest of the inspiration for the story came from all the agricultural fairs in
our region. My family and I have always loved seeing the largest vegetables at
the local fairs. </b></i></div>
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Writing a picture book seems deceptively simple, yet I know
what a struggle it can be. What was your biggest challenge in writing <i>The Biggest Pumpkin? </i> Do you have any advice for someone interested
in writing a picture book? <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><b>The biggest challenge was writing an entertaining story
that follows the actual growth of a pumpkin without it being too didactic. It's
hard to keep the text succinct, yet still get in the factual information. In
real life, growing a prize-winning pumpkin would have a few more steps. For
example, once the pumpkin gets very large, it needs to be kept off the ground
so that the bottom doesn't rot. I didn't include that part because I had to
take the growth process and pare it back to the most basic steps. I did my best
to follow the real growth process while keeping it easy to understand for young
readers. It took many revisions to get just right! My advice is to keep
revising. Picture books seems quite simple, but the best ones have been through
many, many revisions!</b></i></div>
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How do you approach your research for a book like <i>The Biggest Pumpkin? </i> Did you have any interesting experiences
during your writing or research for this book? <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><b>I usually start with research at the library or on the
internet. There are quite a few websites devoted to growing big pumpkins. I've also attended many harvest festivals
since I've lived in CT, and many of them have a pumpkin contest. Growers are
always happy to discuss the process.
Last year, farmers at the BIG E (the biggest agricultural fair in New
England) were selling seeds from the previous year's winner. I bought a packet
and my parents (who now have a very big garden in a new house) planted the
seeds in their garden this spring. We'll see how big their pumpkin gets! While
I was writing the story, writers in my critique group frequently cut out
newspaper photos and articles about prize-winning pumpkins. One of my friends
even took a photo of a huge pumpkin being transported on the highway. </b></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO4Cw5-RFVzmOyO5a3xsgzgsi_WtRSvaAleiHUpgnjm2E3TbW_wA-Nwx8TptzHn_3pHWgjSaud_ORuDQZtWIHW0CS_E-edUcIFBTgghRpfaejW4SeTHFVDqvFA4vmoRrh8vZw1SSv1LfLi/s1600/gianthugcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO4Cw5-RFVzmOyO5a3xsgzgsi_WtRSvaAleiHUpgnjm2E3TbW_wA-Nwx8TptzHn_3pHWgjSaud_ORuDQZtWIHW0CS_E-edUcIFBTgghRpfaejW4SeTHFVDqvFA4vmoRrh8vZw1SSv1LfLi/s320/gianthugcover.jpg" width="260" /></a>You’ve written both picture books and easy readers. Do you
approach these projects in a similar way? What do you see as their differences?
<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><b>Yes, I approach them in a similar way in that when I have
an idea, I usually start writing first. Since I choose topics I already have an
interest in, I'll write the first draft with the knowledge I have. Then I stop
and do research, and correct and add details in my revisions. Sometimes I write
a picture book and realize it might work better as an early reader or vice
versa. The main difference between picture books and early readers is that
there is much less freedom of word choice with an easy reader. A certain number
of words in the text need to repeat. For level one readers, contractions can't
be used and most of the words should be one syllable. In addition, concepts
need to be simple enough that a young reader can easily follow the story. The
text of beginning readers needs to closely match the art in order for children
to see the visual cues to the words they are learning to read. Picture books
can sometimes skip words and let the art tell some of the story. The author and
illustrator both have more room to play in a picture book. </b></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF_KkfMcUeES17YA5XD47AZgLfY_QWNvMgEg-oSsIQleBF99aTBLgAYwZmdNApTwhvD7ZI-jBjnvBikpJCHcQeGhhM9Zk76z7JhXMXslgqRmcVWMLnqbeq75JxCEuqXgYXj4H9tlXCOeNu/s1600/chicks_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF_KkfMcUeES17YA5XD47AZgLfY_QWNvMgEg-oSsIQleBF99aTBLgAYwZmdNApTwhvD7ZI-jBjnvBikpJCHcQeGhhM9Zk76z7JhXMXslgqRmcVWMLnqbeq75JxCEuqXgYXj4H9tlXCOeNu/s320/chicks_cover.jpg" width="320" /></a><o:p> </o:p></div>
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What have you learned from editing other people’s work that
is useful in your own writing?<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><b>Most of the work I
edit is for academic statistical journals. Academic writing is quite different
than writing for children, but it is similar in that it is written for a
particular audience. Remembering your audience, whether it is beginning readers
or academics, is the key to keeping your reader engaged!</b></i></div>
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You recently won a James Marshall Fellowship.
Congratulations! Can you tell us about why you applied and how you plan to use
your research? <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><b>I was awarded the Marshall Fellowship for 2014 and did
most of my research in the spring of that year. As I had recently been working
on beginning readers, I applied in order to study James Marshall's beginning
readers, particularly his Fox stories, but I ended up looking at everything he
wrote. James Marshall was an incredibly talented man. Studying his work helped
me to review my own creative process, especially when revising. Marshall was a
perfectionist and had many drafts of his stories. I learned a lot from
following his process, and seeing how his initial ideas developed into the
wonderful characters of Fox and his friends, George and Martha, the Stupids,
and more. I've since worked on several
different early readers and often ask myself, “What would James Marshall think?
Is this the best it can be?” The fellowship required me to blog about my
research. If you are interested, the posts are available <a href="http://bit.ly/1Jjotcs">here</a>.
</b></i></div>
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Are you working on any other new projects?<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><b>I'm working on two early readers and a picture book right
now. One of the early readers is a nonfiction project about bizarre birds and
the other is a fiction project with a girl detective. The detective bit has
been thoroughly enjoyable! </b></i></div>
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Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><b>I've written a contemporary middle grade novel. Your questions
made me realize that even though it is a departure from my picture books and
early readers, it still has a nature theme running through it. I guess nature
finds its way into most of my work.
Answering interview questions always helps me to learn something about
myself! Thank you! </b></i></div>
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Thank you so much for being my guest today! You can find out
more about Sandra Horning and her books at her <a href="http://www.sandrahorning.com/">website</a> </div>
Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-18722547260731490902015-06-11T10:13:00.000-04:002015-06-11T10:20:55.415-04:00M.P. Barker talks about MENDING HORSES<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWKD0ean_8R33AwtgmbV-EQswHqnHRGZEm4C6_gmvwHvTQldEBfPX_LpxykoM-GcjAC3rdjHHxzkU7nbTxK1Kmdm0sLiSe2Jrn1bk4Lhs0C9aLTkTeJsSRCuiOKEGlqRnyHLTOPzE4zhF/s1600/Michele-Barker_26-small-for-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWKD0ean_8R33AwtgmbV-EQswHqnHRGZEm4C6_gmvwHvTQldEBfPX_LpxykoM-GcjAC3rdjHHxzkU7nbTxK1Kmdm0sLiSe2Jrn1bk4Lhs0C9aLTkTeJsSRCuiOKEGlqRnyHLTOPzE4zhF/s320/Michele-Barker_26-small-for-web.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.mpbarker.net/">Michele Barker</a> had one of my dream jobs, working as a costumed
interpreter at <a href="http://www.osv.org/">Old Sturbridge Village</a>. There she found her inspiration for her
historical novels while mucking out stalls and milking <span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">cows. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">Her first novel, <i>A Difficult Boy, </i>was set in nineteenth century New England and won awards
from PEN New England and the International Reading Association. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">Today she’s here to talk about her second book, <i>Mending Horses, </i>which <i>Kirkus</i> praises for its nuanced characters, fluid writing, and true sense of history<i>. Mending Horses</i> was a 2014 Kirkus Prize
nominee and was listed by <i>Booklist </i>as
one of the 10 Best Historical Novels for Youth for 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">Thank you so much for being my guest today,
Michele! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">Thanks,
Linda! I’m delighted to be here!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRMgjlLO2t6fQ3COBcOPh_xM-Kuj-PK3sMZiCL3LlytkWIEAOJ3Hy_X8UrQuptqlhkDodJcK0aqrkRUem1jfH47H5Dsk0aPcrPb7cZEFnn1ZEia94rGHIxDDu8lbPQmB_0Lsx5DMLZ7FNA/s1600/difficult+boy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRMgjlLO2t6fQ3COBcOPh_xM-Kuj-PK3sMZiCL3LlytkWIEAOJ3Hy_X8UrQuptqlhkDodJcK0aqrkRUem1jfH47H5Dsk0aPcrPb7cZEFnn1ZEia94rGHIxDDu8lbPQmB_0Lsx5DMLZ7FNA/s200/difficult+boy.jpg" width="141" /></a><i>Mending Horses</i> is
the second book in a series, though each title could easily stand alone. The first book, <i><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">A Difficult Boy,</span></i> starred Ethan, a young apprentice who is roughly used by his master. <i>Mending Horses</i> focuses
on Daniel, Ethan’s fellow apprentice and an Irish immigrant. Michele, what made
you want to explore Daniel’s story? <br />
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<b>At the end of <i>A Difficult Boy, </i>Daniel is out on his
own for the first time in his life, after having spent half a dozen years as an
indentured servant. He’s always been told what to do and has never had a chance
to make his own decisions. So I felt he’d be at kind of a loss about where to
go with his life and would have a lot of learning and growing up to do. I was
curious about how he’d manage in the world, so I decided to follow him and see
what would happen. Besides, I really missed Daniel after I finished <i>A Difficult Boy!</i> <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Your first book maintained a single point of view, but <i>Mending Horses</i> takes multiple viewpoints,
opening with a look at Daniel through the eyes of one of the book’s villains.
Why did you choose to tell your story this way?</div>
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<b>Part of the reason
for the multiple voices was necessity. The book has three plot lines that
eventually intersect—or, rather, collide. To deal with the separate plot lines,
I needed to use different points of view. <i>Mending
Horses</i> is also a more complicated story, with multiple relationships that
needed to be developed, so it felt natural to look at those relationships from
a variety of viewpoints. It was fun to experiment with different voices and try
to make each one distinctive and recognizable.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Daniel is only one of your book’s main characters. The other
is Billy, another Irish immigrant who is running from an abusive father. Why
did you bring Billy into Daniel’s story (or is it Daniel into Billy’s story?)
What is the dynamic between the two characters? </div>
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<b>Billy is a natural
troublemaker, so introducing this character seemed like a good way to add some
conflict and tension to the story. I also thought Billy would be a good foil to
make Daniel take a look at his own shortcomings and biases. In dealing with
Billy, I wanted Daniel to confront his own prejudices and question his strongly
held beliefs about people’s roles in society. By overcoming his differences
with Billy, Daniel learns a lot about himself and makes some major changes in
his outlook on the world.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Your description of Daniel’s wild dance with his horse Ivy
was breath-taking. Have you ever seen someone interact with a horse this way?
What is Ivy’s role in Daniel’s story? </div>
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<b>Thank you! I based
Daniel’s manner of playing with Ivy on a girl I’d observed at a riding stable
where I took lessons many years ago. She had a very special relationship with
one of the horses, and she would take him out in the paddock and “dance” with
him (not quite as wildly as Daniel and Ivy, though). Their joy and playfulness
was delightful to watch. As I was researching the book, I also watched a lot of
online videos of horse trainers, including Klaus Hempfling (http://www.hempfling.com/),
who works with difficult horses and has an incredible ability to bond with
them. He, too, “dances” with the horses he trains. His videos were another
source of inspiration for the scenes with Daniel and Ivy.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>When Daniel was an
indentured servant, most of the humans in the household either mistreated or ignored
him. For many years Ivy, the horse he was assigned to take care of, was the
only creature who seemed to care about him, and the only creature he loved. Ivy
was also the only creature with whom he could be playful. When he managed to
sneak away to play with her or ride her, he could briefly escape the drudgery
and abuse of his daily life. She was the one bright spot in a dark and dismal
life. For Daniel, she represents freedom, love, and friendship. She’s also his
teacher. The things he learns about equine behavior from watching and working
with Ivy help him become a horse whisperer.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Daniel and Billy come under the protection of the peddler,
Mr. Stocking, and the three of them join a circus. Circuses are so fascinating!
Was this element always a part of the story as you envisioned it? How is Daniel
and Billy’s circus different from a modern circus? </div>
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<b>I knew Daniel would
get involved in some job involving horses because they are so important to him.
At first I thought he might join the military, but that didn’t seem right for
his personality. The more I thought about it, the more a circus seemed the
perfect fit; it would give him an opportunity to work with horses and also to
develop his own talents. And a circus gave me lots of opportunities for unusual
characters and humor. Besides, the research was so much fun!<o:p></o:p></b><br />
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<b>In the 1830s, the
modern circus was just starting to evolve, so circuses included a lot of things
we don’t normally associate with them today, like opera singers and theatrical
performances. At first, American circuses were primarily focused on equestrian
acts. In the 1820s, they began to include acrobats, menageries, and other
performers that we now associate with circuses, but they were still a long way
from the circus we know today. They were often considered disreputable forms of
entertainment, and in New England were often outlawed or discouraged through
expensive licensing fees. But they managed to get around the laws and perform
anyway.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Many people romanticize the agrarian culture of the 1830’s,
but <i>Mending Horses</i> doesn’t paint a
pretty picture of this era. What are your thoughts on this period in history?
Why did you choose to write a story set in this time and place? </div>
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<b>Like any time period,
the 1830s had positive and negative elements. But people tend to forget the
negative—that there was a lot of bigotry, that women’s roles were confining and
stifling, that work was often physically hard and dangerous, and that for
some—particularly immigrants and African-Americans--living conditions could be
brutal. It was also a very exciting time—railroads were just beginning to
crisscross the country, Americans were exploring the West, New England was
becoming an industrial powerhouse. <o:p></o:p></b><br />
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<b>I chose the time
period and setting because of my background at Old Sturbridge Village, which
depicts New England in the 1830s, so it was a familiar locale and era for me. Choosing
a time period I already knew well definitely made the research easier!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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You obviously have an intimate understanding of the 1830’s.
Can you tell us about your background as a historian and how your research
process informs your story? </div>
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<b>I was a history and
English major in college and did a master’s degree in Historic Preservation.
Besides working at Old Sturbridge Village, I also worked as an archivist dealing
with a local history collection in Springfield, Mass. My background definitely
came in handy when doing the research for the story. Working at OSV, I learned
a lot about the physical environment of the time period and about people’s
daily lives, their attitudes and concerns. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>There’s a lot of
back-and-forth between the research process and the storytelling. Sometimes,
the story idea comes first, and I’m doing research to answer a specific
question, like what sorts of stunts performers might do in a 19<sup>th</sup>-century
circus. But sometimes it’ll go the other way, and I’ll stumble across something
in my research that will give me an idea for a scene or character. For example,
I learned that there was a huge celebration for the opening of the railroad in
Springfield, Mass., right in the middle of the time period I’d chosen for my
story. That event was too wonderful not to use! So I created a scene around
that event in which one of my characters decides to go to work on the railroad.
<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
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<b>If they’d like to
find out more about the stories, they can check out my <a href="http://www.mpbarker.net/">website</a>. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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What are you working on now? </div>
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<b>I’m working on a
story about a sea captain’s wife and daughter and how they survive after he’s
lost at sea. It’s set in Salem, Massachusetts during the 1840s and 1850s. The
research for this one is very challenging, involving 19<sup>th</sup>-century
horticulture, botanical illustration, seafaring, the China trade, and more. It
seems each story I write is more difficult than the previous one! You’d think
they would get easier as I go along, but the opposite is true.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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It sounds delicious! I can’t wait to read it. Thank you so much for joining us today. To
find out more about M.P. Barker, you can also follow her on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mpbarkerauthor">facebook</a> or on <a href="https://twitter.com/mpbarkerauthor">Twitter</a>.
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Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-60597681922571618222015-05-11T04:00:00.000-04:002015-05-11T09:11:00.831-04:00Suzy Becker talks about new series, KATE THE GREAT<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5PRu6piBJQApU3S-wrRi4SXyS70H-Q93QCiX2Y2XHjmrpfIpBPKTiOxR302Uybc9kcHGllTg_14xXSVsFd6s9pMXzl52ZhOY1y-J_av5bPpxy3L0MBO3Uw_sCebDcV80bgD8nRG4i_Djw/s1600/%C2%A9lizlinder_ccsbecker009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5PRu6piBJQApU3S-wrRi4SXyS70H-Q93QCiX2Y2XHjmrpfIpBPKTiOxR302Uybc9kcHGllTg_14xXSVsFd6s9pMXzl52ZhOY1y-J_av5bPpxy3L0MBO3Uw_sCebDcV80bgD8nRG4i_Djw/s320/%C2%A9lizlinder_ccsbecker009.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.suzybecker.com/">Suzy Becker</a> is one of those rare authors who writes for children and for adults. Her debut
adult title, <i>All I Need to Know I Learned
from My Cat</i> was an international best seller. She went on to publish many
other illustrated memoirs such as <i>One
Good Egg</i>, about her decision to become a mother, and <i>I Had Brain Surgery, What’s Your Excuse</i>.</div>
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She’s also an award-winning advertising copywriter and an
entrepreneur who established the greeting card company, <i>The Widget Factory</i>, and founded the
HIV/AIDS bike-a-thon, <i>Ride FAR</i>. </div>
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But today she’s here to talk about her work as a children’s
author, and the first book in her new Kate the Great series, <i>Kate the Great, Except When She’s Not. </i>Welcome
Suzy! </div>
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Often compared to the <i>Big
Nate</i> and <i>Diary of a Wimpy Kid</i>
series, your books are a happy combination of text and pictures, with much of
the humor embedded in the illustrations. What is your process? Do you write
first, and then add the illustrations, or vice-versa? </div>
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<b>It’s really a
cartoonist’s process, the combination of text and art you see on the page is
how I picture it in my head. The most efficient process—given the amount of
editing that goes on, is to make notes for sketches in the early
drafts—it saves me from doing a lot of drawings that end up on the cutting room
floor. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Kate Geller is a marvelous character, funny, a sharp
observer, yet someone whose basic impulse is to be kind. How did she introduce
herself to you? </div>
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<b>Thank you! I’ve been
writing and illustrating books for, er, 25 years now— ideas and characters
rarely strike me like lightning bolts. I sit down at my desk every morning and
invite them in, troll around my head for them, review notes about ideas and
snippets of dialog I’ve overheard. Kate was just another voice in my head—I
have a ten year old daughter with lots of ten year old friends, and truthfully,
a good part of me is still that age.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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I loved the BOB, the big old bowl of conversation starters,
on the Geller family kitchen table. How did you come up with that?</div>
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<b>A couple years ago,
Frank Bruni (the <i>New York Times</i>
columnist) wrote about a friend of his who’d withdrawn himself and his family
from the church and was concerned about his kids’ spiritual education. His
solution was this idea of a bowl of spiritual and philosophical questions. I
loved it. My daughter? Not so much. In Kate’s family, they’re equal parts
conversation starters and stoppers, 110% well-intentioned and a helpful
narrative device at least 50% of the time.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Nora, Kate’s nemesis, is anything but a typical antagonist.
Where did she come from? How does she play off Kate’s character? Will she be
appearing in future <i>Kate the Great</i>
books? </div>
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<b>How widely read is
your blog? Let’s just say Nora is a hybrid of a couple of puzzling characters
from my childhood. Kate is charged (by her mom) with befriending Nora because
Nora’s dad has to work overseas for several months. Nora is atypical, as you
suggest-- she doesn’t have any friends but (and?)<i> </i>she seems to like it that way—which is initially incomprehensible
to Kate. Nora’s eccentricities cause Kate to examine and sometimes expand her
worldview. On a plot level, it introduces relatable tween issues—triangulation,
standing up for your beliefs, your friends, etc. Nora’s definitely in the next
couple of books.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Kate often quotes Eleanor Roosevelt, “We must do the thing
we think we cannot,” sometimes angrily, sometimes with pride. Has this quote
been particularly important to you in your life? </div>
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<b>I feel like I first
read Eleanor Roosevelt on a neighbor’s whiskey glass when I was a kid: “No one
can make you feel inferior without your consent.” I liked the idea of it,
although I’m still not sure I agree. Then, I came upon, “Do one thing that
scares you every day,” in my early teens. And THAT scared me. (That’s when I
first started imagining Rooseveltzilla, tearing up the streets of New York in
her black Oxfords.) Kate’s quote is the one I try to live by. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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How is plotting a series different than plotting an
individual title? Have you envisioned a dramatic arc for the whole <i>Kate the Great</i> series? </div>
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<b>I should have,
shouldn’t I?! I just heard the creators of <i>The
Good Wife</i> on <i>Fresh Air</i> yesterday,
and they’ve known all along how the series will end.<i> KTG: Except When She’s Not </i>was my first novel—plotting <i>one</i> novel had a pretty sizable learning
curve. As for the series, I tend to think more in terms of character and
relationship (family, friendship) arcs, hoping that there will be a fourth,
fifth, and fifteenth book some day.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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You’ve had such a varied career. What led you to writing for
children? How is writing an illustrated memoir for adults the same/different
from writing a book for kids?</div>
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<b>I’ve wanted to write
and illustrate children’s picture books for as long as I can remember. When I
was eight, I wrote in my first journal, that “I want to write children’s books
and live on a farm.” The thing was, I never met any authors growing up, so by
the time I was in 8<sup>th</sup> grade, I figured it was something I would have
to do in my retirement. (Wish I’d kept up the retirement planning.) I ended up
studying international relations and economics, and then in my senior year of
college, a friend decided to publish a story I’d written and illustrated (for
fun) as the center spread of a literary magazine on campus. I got to see people
reading and laughing at my work—so I did a career-planning 180º. After a short
stint in advertising copy writing (my first real job), I had my own greeting
card company and a couple years into that, I published the cat book with
Workman, which paved the way for my other titles. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>I have ten books out,
in six genres, I think—excellent for happy, interesting life-building, not so
much for the brand-building. First, I’ll get an idea for a book, then the idea
usually dictates the audience. When I work on any book, I imagine I am writing
(and drawing) for one person. The creative process is the same, that person
(someone I don’t know well, but has a friendly face) changes—either the
middle-aged parent of a former student, or a ten year old friend of a friend of
my daughters, for example.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Would you care to tell us more about some of your other
titles? </div>
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<b>I’ll tell you about
one, then you should really go outside and play. The <i>KIDS MAKE IT BETTER</i> book is an anthology of kids’ solutions to
world problems, with room for its owner to write and draw in her own answers.
The book also includes profiles of kids under the age of ten who’ve made a
difference, a resource guide and an action plan, so you can do something real
about one or more of the problems. There are elementary schools who have
adopted it school-wide and I hear from kids on a regular basis who have been
inspired to do unpredictably wonderful things. One of my favorites was a junior
girl scout troop’s smoking cessation campaign—the girls each asked a smoker
they knew to show them how to light up. The results were powerful. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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I love the premise for <i>KIDS
MAKE IT BETTER. </i>I’ll definitely be checking that out.<b><i> </i> </b>What project/s are you working on
now? </div>
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<b>I’m finishing up the
final art for KATE THE GREAT: WINNER TAKES ALL, and starting KATE THE GREAT:
BREAK A LEG. I’m also starting to do some work on a follow up to my first
whiteboard animation <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_BskcXTqpM">HOW YOU<s>TH </s>LEARN</a> .<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Wow! That’s an impressive slate of projects. Thanks so much
for being my blog guest today! You can find out more about Suzy Becker on her
<a href="http://www.suzybecker.com/">website</a> and you can follow her on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/suzy.becker1">facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/thesuzybecker">twitter</a> https://twitter.com/thesuzybecker.
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Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-77466118180318477382015-03-30T04:30:00.000-04:002015-03-30T04:30:01.012-04:00Loree Griffin Burns, Author of Award-Winning Nonfiction<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="http://loreeburns.com/">Loree Griffin Burns</a> is the author of <i>Beetle Busters: A Rogue Insect and the People Who Track It </i>and four
other award-winning nonfiction books for children, including <i>Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the
Science of Ocean Movement </i>which won a coveted Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor.
Loree has a Ph.D. in biochemistry, and her books grow out of her passion for
science and nature. </div>
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<br />
In <i>Beetle Busters</i>,
Loree follows the Asian long horned beetle’s invasion of North America and she
introduces the scientists and dedicated volunteers who track down and eradicate
beetle infestations in an effort to save millions of acres of hardwood
forests. </div>
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<br />
Thanks to Loree for stopping by today to answer my
questions!</div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>It’s a pleasure to be here, Linda. Thanks for inviting me!<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<br />
Loree, you were trained as a scientist. What led you to
writing for children? Could you tell us a little about your career path? </div>
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<b><i>When my first children—a set of twin boys who are now 16—were born, I
knew that I wanted to take a short break from my career as an academic
researcher. I’d just earned a PhD in biochemistry and the next obvious step was
a post-doctoral research position. But for me, this type of work would be very
hard to do while also learning how to be a mother. My thinking at the time was
that I would stay home with my boys until they were old enough to go to school,
and then I’d go back to the lab. <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b><i>Like all the best laid plans, mine hit snags I’d never anticipated. First,
we added another child to our family, a daughter. And then, when all three kids
were very small, I stumbled across an article in my local newspaper that really
piqued my interest. It described an accident in the Pacific Ocean in which 39,000
plastic bathtub toys (yellow ducks, blue turtles, red beavers and green frogs)
were dumped into the sea. Eleven years later, scientists were predicting the
toys would begin washing ashore where I lived, in New England. How did the scientists know the duckies were
coming this particular summer? Was someone following them? Who was that person?
For heaven’s sake, HOW DID HE FOLLOW THEM?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b><i>I did a little poking around and learned that there was, indeed, a
grown man whose job was to track those toys around the world ocean. What’s
more, this guy, oceanographer Curt Ebbesmeyer, was using the information he
collected from the tub toys to learn about surface currents in the ocean. I was
in awe. I began researching his story and eventually decided to turn all my
research into a book for young readers. <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b>Tracking Trash:
Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion<i> was published in 2007. By then I’d begun to research another story
that intrigued me: the world’s honey bee populations seemed to be in trouble. I
convinced my publisher, Houghton Mifflin, to let me write about that story,
too. My career as a creator of children’s books was officially underway. And to
be honest, I was so intrigued by this work that when my kids were all in school
and there was, finally, time to consider going back to the lab bench, I didn’t.
Writing about science both engaged and fulfilled me … AND gave me the
flexibility I wanted for my family. I still think it’s the perfect work for me.
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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You’ve come up with some pretty unusual topics. What sparked
the idea for <i>Beetle Busters</i>? What
convinced you it was a book-worthy topic? Was it difficult to convince an
editor to buy into this project? </div>
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<b><i>In 2008, I attended a community meeting at my public library. I’d heard
that an invasive beetle had been found in our town and that in order to stop
its movement, officials were going to start cutting down trees. Lots of them. I
love trees, and the very thought of losing some of my favorites made me angry.
I went to the meeting to learn more. I learned so many incredible things: the
beetle was accidentally imported from China, it spends almost its entire life
inside hardwood trees, it is hard to get rid of. I learned, in fact, that in
order to save the hardwood forest of the eastern United States, my town and the
towns around me were going to have to start cutting down </i>our<i> hardwood forests. It was an impossible
dilemma. And I decided to write about it. <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b><i>My editor was a little concerned that the story would not interest kid
readers, and that it was too local. I was convinced that the book would grab
kids, though, and I knew that the battle with invasive beetles was relevant
everywhere. (Look up the emerald ash borer, for example. Or the gypsy moth
caterpillar. Or even the bark beetle, a native that is becoming an issue as
climate changes in the southwestern US.)<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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How do you approach the research for a topic like this? </div>
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<b><i>I approached my research in two phases: 1) background research and
reading and 2) experiential research. I started reading everything I could
about the Asian longhorned beetle: its natural history, its life cycle, its
invasions into North America. And I reached out to the scientists I’d met at
the community meetings, setting up interviews and following them into the field
to see how they tracked and studied the beetle. Over the course of the next two
years, I conducted 35 of these field interviews! <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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You had a lot of information to coordinate in writing <i>Beetle Busters</i>. How did you organize it?
Was there any information you were forced to leave out? </div>
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<b><i>I’m pretty low tech, actually. I take hand-written notes in the field
and I record interviews where I can. I type all these notes up daily. These
notes are organized by date, but also compiled into one huge document for easy
searching. I’m intimately familiar with this document by the time I am done
drafting my manuscript! <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<br />
You don’t back away from controversy in <i>Beetle Busters</i>, in fact, you say that you have some reservations
about razing woodlands to prevent the spread of the Asian long horned Beetle.
Can you tell us a little more about that?</div>
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<b><i>This was the hardest book I’ve written, and in hindsight, I know it’s
because this is a story I am intimately, inextricably involved in. The trees
that have to be cut down are on my town common, in my friend’s backyard, in MY
backyard. I’ve sat in the shade of these trees, my kids have climbed them, they
add to the beauty of the place I live. Even though I understand what is at
stake—namely, YOUR trees—it is hard not to be angry when the time comes to fell
these trees. At last count, Worcester County has cut more than 34 thousand
trees. We’ve replanted about a third of that. Our landscape, however, will not
look the way it did before ALB arrived for decades. I may not live to see it. This is a very hard thing to contemplate, especially
because there is no guarantee that the eradication program underway here will
work. Even if it does, there is no way to know how many other ALB infestations
are out there, or at what point we as a society will decide we can no longer
afford—financially—to conduct these eradication programs. What then? Will what
we have done here in Worcester be for naught? (Do you know the story of our
<a href="http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/mbcn/fea308.html">gypsy moth caterpillar </a>invasion? It is hard not to see it as a cautionary tale.)<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZK-abX_G77ddQ9AbM0xwwmDPT4wlcO1NiRo1NuakX9d67pKm0oihH1BDuZXnBlsd-jhpLyUnSVPLz_LOC-ReyKs6aE0NdcoJnJeil58eqpZfNyOBLCUkdE3KezzigxJYFiQ3Jq7UnYkCq/s1600/HwC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZK-abX_G77ddQ9AbM0xwwmDPT4wlcO1NiRo1NuakX9d67pKm0oihH1BDuZXnBlsd-jhpLyUnSVPLz_LOC-ReyKs6aE0NdcoJnJeil58eqpZfNyOBLCUkdE3KezzigxJYFiQ3Jq7UnYkCq/s1600/HwC.jpg" height="320" width="319" /></a>You just had another book come out<i>, Handle With Care: An Unusual Butterfly Journey</i>, about <br />
butterfly
farming. I once wrote an article about this topic, and it was fascinating to
learn how this conservation effort is helping butterflies, rain forests, and
people in third world countries. Tell use more! </div>
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<b><i>I’d love to read your article! This book grew out of a trip my kids and
I took to the Butterfly Garden at the Museum of Science in Boston. (I blogged
about the <a href="http://loreeburns.com/about-this-little-trip/">trip</a> .) </i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>The idea
that the butterflies landing on our heads in Boston, Massachusetts that day had
been caterpillars in Costa Rica two weeks before captured my imagination and
wouldn’t let go. I asked the curator of the garden, Lea Morgan, if she’d answer
some questions for me and by the time our interview was over, I was planning to
join Lea’s next trip to El Bosque Nuevo, one of her pupae suppliers in Costa
Rica. </i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Photographer <a href="http://www.ellenharasimowicz.com/">Ellen Harasimowicz </a>and I joined Lea at El Bosque Nuevo
twice, actually, and we’re both thrilled to have the book out in the world
mesmerizing kids. (You can read more about our <a href="http://loreeburns.com/tag/handle-with-care/">adventures in Costa Rica </a>.)<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i>Beetle Busters</i> is
part of Houghton’s wonderful <u>Scientists in the Field</u> series, as are two
of your other books, <i>The</i> <i>Hive Detectives</i> and <i>Tracking Trash</i>. What makes this series so special? </div>
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<b><i>I was a fan of the series long before I had the nerve to pitch a book
for it. As someone with a background in science, I appreciated the depth of
content: readers get a look inside the daily life of a working scientist,
including the ups (finally spotting that long-sought after tree kangaroo!) and downs (leeches!) of field research, as
well as the ups and downs of scientific discovery. Add to that incredible
photography and gorgeous design and you have a series that readers of all ages
simply respond to. There are more than forty titles in the series now, and I’m
immensely proud to have made three of them. Many of the SITF authors share additional
information on their books and research adventures on the <a href="http://www.wheresciencemeetsadventure.com/">series blog</a></i></b><b><i>. <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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Have you had the opportunity to go out in the field for your
research? What was your most exciting research trip? </div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Yes! This is one of my favorite parts of the work I do. In fact, I am
currently making plans for my next field trip: a week on the island of Surtsey
in Iceland. I will be joining a team of ten scientists on their annual visit to
this sixty-years-young volcanic island, collecting the details I’ll need for my
next Scientists in the Field book. <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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Would you like to tell us about any future projects in the
works? </div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>I’m also hard at work on a book for older readers that shares the story
of the discovery of the structure of DNA. It’s called </i>The DNA Affair: A
Story of Science and Skullduggery<i>, and
its due out in 2017. <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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Thank you so much for visiting Lupine Seeds, Loree!</div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>It was my pleasure, Linda. Thank you for having me!<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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If you’d like to find out more about Loree Griffin Burns and
her work, you can visit her <a href="http://loreeburns.com/">website</a> or her <a href="http://loreeburns.com/category/blog/">blog</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">Photo credits for Loree's portrait shot go to <a href="http://www.ellenharasimowicz.com/">Ellen Harasimowicz</a> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span>who was<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> also the photographer for </span><i style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">Beetle Busters</i><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> and </span><i style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">Handle with
Care</i><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">. </span></div>
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Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-20783704510501512802014-07-28T04:00:00.000-04:002014-07-29T13:54:49.441-04:00Jane Sutcliffe, Author of STONE GIANT: MICHELANGELO'S DAVID AND HOW HE CAME TO BE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Today I welcome Jane Sutcliffe to my blog to talk about her
book, <i>Stone Giant: Michelangelo’s David
and How He Came to Be</i>, which recently received a marvelous review in <i>Kirkus </i><a href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jane-sutcliffe/stone-giant/">https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jane-sutcliffe/stone-giant/</a>.
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<b>Jane Sutcliffe <a href="http://www.janesutcliffe.com/">www.janesutcliffe.com</a> is the acclaimed author
of over twenty nonfiction books for young people. She says her childhood was so
average that she read biographies to get a peek into the exotic and exciting
lives of others. Now she writes biographies and other nonfiction books for
children.</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i>Stone Giant</i> was inspired when Jane
visited Florence. She stared at Michelangelo’s <i>David </i>for a very long time, knowing that there was a story in that
face. This interview is the story behind the story that Jane discovered. </b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Could you tell us
about that trip to Italy and why you were so struck by Michelangelo’s statue of
David? </b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
I honestly went to
Italy just as a tourist, not looking for a book idea. Of course, I wanted to
see the <i>David</i>, since I’d heard about
it my whole life. We were lucky enough to have a very wise tour guide who let
us just drink in the magnificent view of the statue. Then she asked two
questions. “Do you like David?” she asked. Heads bobbed. “What do you like
about David?” she continued.</div>
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<br /></div>
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We all had
different reasons. Some liked the physical perfection of the statue, some the
artist’s skill, and so on. For me it was that face. In the expression on
David’s face, I could see the whole story of David and Goliath. I had never
seen anything so expressive. It gave me such a thrill to see that face on the
cover of <i>Stone Giant</i>.</div>
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<b>How did you
approach your research on Michelangelo’s creation of David? Were there any
memorable incidents along the way? </b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
I always start by
reading as much as I can about the subject. This is the pure joy part of
research. And sometimes you find a bonus along the way. In reading about
Michelangelo I also learned a great deal about his contemporaries, including
Leonardo da Vinci, who makes a brief appearance in <i>Stone Giant</i>. I was especially struck by a brief anecdote about
Leonardo described in a 16<sup>th</sup> century biography. That anecdote became
my picture book <i>Leonardo’s Monster</i>
(Pelican, 2010).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6o2GSwHM6CdWWUEdU2HMBmTPcTpbmW5fyrJt04mpGY-WvhWRuMILofDKSg8d97iBPf5JRewRJ0AebB5q54OuV7SJQD3t5URQ3-2ODaqfH9CGoi5LX_I7OstoWONhU7KCKBfs0jB6NjOpB/s1600/Leonardo+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6o2GSwHM6CdWWUEdU2HMBmTPcTpbmW5fyrJt04mpGY-WvhWRuMILofDKSg8d97iBPf5JRewRJ0AebB5q54OuV7SJQD3t5URQ3-2ODaqfH9CGoi5LX_I7OstoWONhU7KCKBfs0jB6NjOpB/s1600/Leonardo+cover.jpg" height="200" width="153" /></a><b></b></div>
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<b><b><br /></b></b></div>
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<b><b><br /></b></b></div>
<b>You begin the book
with the “giant,” a big, trouble-making, block of marble. How did you come up
with such an opening?</b><br />
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<br /></div>
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The marble block
really was called the “giant” at the time. So it seemed like a natural hook to compare
the stone to a big troublesome ogre. The opening sentence is repeated at the
end of the narrative with a different twist on “giant,” this time to refer to
the masterpiece. My editor actually suggested repeating the idea in the
Author’s note and ending with, “There is a giant in the city of Florence.” It
was dropped in the cross-read; apparently three times was too much.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b>You did such a
marvelous job of shaping your information into an engaging story. In your book,
you talk about how Michelangelo saw David in the stone, all he needed to do was
to carve away what was not David. How did you manage chip away at all the not-<i>Stone Giant</i> information to reveal your
David story? </b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Great question!
That is exactly how I see the job of any nonfiction writer. Once we’ve done our
research, we know our story is all there. All we have to do is reveal it. The
art is in knowing what to leave out—not too much, not too little. And never,
ever, to add anything that does not belong.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>This book is pitch
perfect for its young audience. Did you always envision this as a picture book?
At what point in the writing process do you consider your reader?</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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I knew because of
its tight focus and its visual appeal that it had to be a picture book. So I
had to reimagine all the information I had into something that would appeal to
young readers. Once I’ve done my research and my head is all full of
adult-speak, I usually step back and just start jotting down ideas, more to
regain my own voice than to start the writing process. I think of this step as
kind of cleansing the palate.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Can you tell us a
little about this book’s journey from idea to published book? </b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
Well, it went to a
number of publishers before it found enthusiastic support at Charlesbridge. Everyone
there has been completely on board with the idea of a fully illustrated <i>David</i> for young readers.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>John Shelley’s
illustrations are the ideal accompaniment for your text. What was it like
seeing them for the first time? </b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
John is the
perfect illustrator for a nonfiction book. His attention to detail and his
obvious enthusiasm for the project make the book shine. And his inclusion of
some of Michelangelo’s sketches gives the book an added dimension, and
something for adult readers to connect to. I think that’s immensely important
in a picture book, and often overlooked.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>What’s coming out
next? What are you working on now?</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVdlYHThDr5RXUj0JzQhyphenhyphencT2iNRoSdrEqCg-EWMdcICiJ74r31nxdPPEjdf8Sch-dMTqu3UZqzkQ6LvYIhTGd4m9f6M4qFY90r9alAfHQHDisKFpMZuRJRMd8cRXumgo9QuSsCrUlOrMLN/s1600/white+house+photo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVdlYHThDr5RXUj0JzQhyphenhyphencT2iNRoSdrEqCg-EWMdcICiJ74r31nxdPPEjdf8Sch-dMTqu3UZqzkQ6LvYIhTGd4m9f6M4qFY90r9alAfHQHDisKFpMZuRJRMd8cRXumgo9QuSsCrUlOrMLN/s1600/white+house+photo.png" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
My middle grade
nonfiction book about the burning of Washington during the War of 1812, <i>The White House is Burning: August 24, 1814</i>,
will be released next week from Charlesbridge. You can see the book trailer
here: <a href="http://youtu.be/mn4TR_QoTm0">http://youtu.be/mn4TR_QoTm0</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
I also have a
picture book about William Shakespeare and the Globe, <i>Will’s Words</i>: <i>How William
Shakespeare Changed the Way You Talk, </i>due out from Charlesbridge in 2016.
It will be illustrated by—ta-da—John Shelley! And I couldn’t be happier!</div>
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<b>Is there anything
else you’d like to share with our readers? </b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
Hmmm. Since you
asked, how about a plug, not for me, but for our local libraries. (Full
disclosure here: I’m on my town library’s board.) Every one of my books starts
with a trip to the library. Libraries are as important now as they ever have
been. Support your local library, with your time, your visits, and your votes.
(Leaving soapbox now.)</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>I couldn't agree
more. Libraries are the living, thinking, beating hearts of our communities!
Jane, thank you so much for being my guest today. Now I can't wait to read <i>The White House Is Burning. </i></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b>To find out more about Jane
and her work, drop by her website at <a href="http://www.janesutcliffe.com/">www.janesutcliffe.com</a>
or follow her on twitter at <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><a href="https://twitter.com/jane_sutcliffe">https://twitter.com/jane_sutcliffe</a>
</span></b></div>
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<b> </b><br />
<b>I just wanted to add that I'm a guest today on the printasia.com blog. I wrote about the passion of children's nonfiction here: </b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.printsasia.com/blog/2014/07/29/the-gulf-oil-spill-capturing-the-passion/">http://www.printsasia.com/blog/2014/07/29/the-gulf-oil-spill-capturing-the-passion/</a></span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></div>
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Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-11036416527299730832014-06-10T04:30:00.000-04:002014-06-10T08:14:55.792-04:00Author Lea Wait on UNCERTAIN GLORY<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>I’d
like to welcome <a href="http://www.leawait.com/">Lea Wait</a> my blog, today.</b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.leawait.com/LW2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.leawait.com/LW2.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></b></span></div>
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b> <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>She and I are raffling off a signed copy of her book, <i>Uncertain
Glory. </i>All you have to do to be entered in the drawing is leave a comment
on this blog post. Good luck! <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Lea<span style="background: white;"> Wait writes acclaimed historical novels
for children set in 19th century Maine. <em>Stopping to Home</em>,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Seaward Born</em>,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Wintering Well</em>, and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Finest Kind</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>are on recommended reading lists
throughout the country and have been named to student choice award lists in 13
states. Lea also writes the Shadows Antique Print Mystery series for adults, the most
recent of which is <em>Shadows on a Cape Cod Wedding</em>. </span><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="background: white;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Today,
she’s here to speak about her latest historical novel for young people, <i>Uncertain Glory. </i><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Thirteen
year old Joe Wood has always dreamed of being a newspaper man. When a distant
cousin dies and leaves him a printing press, Joe borrows money to start his own
newspaper. But now his loan is almost due, and he doesn’t have enough to pay it
back. Will special editions about the growing hostilities between the North and
South keep Joe’s newspaper afloat? What about Nell, the young spiritualist
who’s come to town advertising that she can communicate with the dead? Joe’s
friend and partner, Charlie, is looking for a way to debunk her. But Joe isn’t
so sure she’s a fake. And when his assistant, the young African American boy
Owen, goes missing, Joe turns to Nell for help. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.leawait.com/UncertainGloryWeb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.leawait.com/UncertainGloryWeb.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a></div>
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Joe
Wood, a thirteen year old boy who owns and runs his own newspaper, Charley, his flighty
friend, Owen, an African American boy who works for Joe, and Nell, a young spiritualist, are all thrown together at the start of the Civil War—how did
you come up with such a fascinating and
diverse cast of characters? </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> I like to mix real and fictional
characters in my historical novels. Joe Wood really did publish his town’s
newspaper during the mid-19<sup>th</sup> century. His mother ran a local dry
goods store. His friend Charlie, also a “real person,” helped him with the
paper, but was a bit flakier and unfettered … so I described him that way. (I
include historical notes explaining what Joe’s and Charlie’s future lives were
like.) Nell, a 12-year-old spiritualist, is based on a number of child
spiritualists of the period, including the Fox sisters. There were free black
families in Maine in 1861, and, although Owen is fictional, because of his
race, he’s able to give a different perspective on the beginning of the Civil
War.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>How
much of the real Joe Wood is in Joe the character? What did you invent about
him? Can you tell us a little about your process of turning an historical
figure into a book character?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Yes – Joe is real! I’ve read his
diaries and think I have some idea of what kind of a young man he was. I knew I
wanted to center a book on him and his newspaper … and originally set the book
in the winter of 1859, which was the year he began publishing. Charlie and Nell
were also in that first version. But I realized I needed more depth to their
story … so I changed history a bit and set UNCERTAIN GLORY in April of 1861,
during the first two weeks of the Civil War. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Joe
is torn between the demands of his newspaper and helping his mom with the family
store. His father hasn’t been much use since Joe’s brother died. How does this
theme of family responsibility and grief fit in with the rest of your novel?
Are any parts of the novel drawn from your personal life? </b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Joe’s mother really did run a dry goods
store. In the late 1850s – early 1860s she supported the family. Historically,
Joe’s father was a minister in a small church which closed, leaving him without
a profession. In UNCERTAIN GLORY I have him depressed and not contributing to
the family, but in the book I blame his depression on his feeling responsible
for the death of Joe’s (fictional) older
brother. I thought that would be easier for young readers to understand … and his
reaction to Nell also explains why many people were attracted to the messages she
brings. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Luckily, I haven’t had to cope with
the problems Joe and his family had. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>How
do find ideas for your historical novels for kids? Do you scour historical
records looking for interesting individuals? Or do you begin with an era or
theme? </b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> All my historicals for children (so
far) are set in 19<sup>th</sup> century Wiscasset. I wanted to take one town
</span><br />
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</div>
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">and show, through a series of stand-alone books, how the geography of a town
may stay the same, but the </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.leawait.com/winteringwell_t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.leawait.com/winteringwell_t.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">
way people live there changes over the years.
Usually I start with one idea and then build on it. STOPPING TO HOME? (1806 –
Wiscasset was the largest port east of Boston, and there was a smallpox
epidemic.) SEAWARD BORN (A devastating
hurricane in 1804 Charleston, SC, nearby plantations changing from rice
cultivation to cotton, and 20% of American mariners were African American). WINTERING
WELL (1819-1820. Maine becomes a state … and what role was there in the 19<sup>th</sup>
century for a disabled boy/man?) FINEST
KIND (the Wiscasset Jail burned, and 2
school boys got the jailer’s family and the prisoners out and saved them) Those were the beginnings …<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I do a lot of work in small town Maine archives! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>So
far, all your historical novels for kids are</b><span style="background: white;"><b> at least partially set in Wiscasset. How can you come up with so many stories from one
small town? Do you ever think you’ll run out of material? If you had to set a
novel somewhere else, where might it be? </b><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"> All
small towns are full of stories. I have one Wiscasset book that hasn’t sold
yet, and I could continue in Wiscasset for a while, but I’d also like to write
a book or three set in the 20<sup>th</sup> century … it all depends on my time
(never enough of that!) and, honestly, which books are selling. I wrote a book for young people set in
Edinburgh, Scotland in 1838 that I still think is one of my best … but it
hasn’t sold. So the market is important.
<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><b>I love the fact that you have recipes from your
books on your website. (I made Cassie's Anadama Bread for dinner last night.) You don’t have one up from <i>Uncertain Glory </i>yet. If you did, what might it be? </b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"> Good
question! Probably a stew … Joe’s mother seems to cook those quite often!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><b>Few writers are able to successfully write for
both children and adults, yet you also write adult mysteries. Which audience
did you write for first? What compelled you to jump to a new readership? How
does the process of writing for adults differ from writing for young people? </b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.leawait.com/shadows%20weding.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.leawait.com/shadows%20weding.JPG" height="320" width="207" /></a></div>
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"> I’ll
admit … I love writing for children best. But the first full manuscript I wrote
was a mystery for adults. It didn’t sell,
and I was happy to turn to writing books for children. Then the mystery DID
sell .. and I found myself having deadlines in two genres. Not a bad situation,
actually … it lets me write about different subjects, in different ways. My
books for children are my “serious writing:” I’m very fussy about accuracy and
pacing. Our children deserve the best. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><b>Can you tell us anything about your upcoming
projects?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"> Let’s
see! The 7<sup>th</sup> in my Shadows Antique Print mystery series (SHADOWS ON
A MAINE CHRISTMAS) will be published in early September. The first in a new
contemporary Maine series based on a business of custom needlepoint and
restoration (the Mainely Needlepoint) series will begin in January, 2015, with
TWISTED THREADS. Right now I’m writing the second in that series, THREADS Of
EVIDENCE. And for children? I’ve written another Wiscasset book, set in 1777,
and I’m working on a book set in New Jersey in 1970 with the background of the
Vietnam War and women’s liberation. </span><br />
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">For any teachers out there, Lea has a Teacher’s
Guide for <i>Uncertain Glory </i>available
on her website. For more information on Lea Wait and her books, see </span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="background: white;"><a href="http://www.leawait.com/">www.leawait.com</a></span><span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-24837633040195447912014-04-25T09:32:00.000-04:002014-04-25T09:32:00.220-04:00Environmental Hero: Diane Wilson<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMPS9Q-7wSRv1z_V50c0WiCgRJSPq2ZYKwN6E7oMNwZbzFpQDGPNya8zgLZ7J-Ae5grNh4uYVYOj_81sqk37AjfcoCb0LrymOtgY92fuaj9MqI5YRrwjWSuOmlityTQ1-XBWlmwQV0bVq/s1600/nobody+particular.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMPS9Q-7wSRv1z_V50c0WiCgRJSPq2ZYKwN6E7oMNwZbzFpQDGPNya8zgLZ7J-Ae5grNh4uYVYOj_81sqk37AjfcoCb0LrymOtgY92fuaj9MqI5YRrwjWSuOmlityTQ1-XBWlmwQV0bVq/s1600/nobody+particular.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>Diane Wilson was a Texas shrimper—a fourth generation Texas
shrimper. She had started working on her family’s boat at age eight. By the
time she was twenty-four, she was a captain. </div>
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Then she read a newspaper report saying that her county was
the most polluted in the United States. She confronted four chemical plants to
stop them from dumping toxins into the bay. </div>
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You can find out more about Diane Wilson <i>in Nobody Particular: One Woman’s Fight to Save
the Bays</i>, written and illustrated by Molly Bang. </div>
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You can also visit this <a href="http://www.pbs.org/now/science/wilsond.html">PBS website</a></div>
Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-40833574839354933172014-04-24T10:22:00.000-04:002014-04-24T10:22:00.452-04:00Earth Day's Legacy Earth Day made the environment a voting issue.<br />
<br />
Despite heavy lobbying by industry, months after the first Earth Day, a strong new version of the <b>Clean Air Act</b> passed the Senate unanimously and the House by a voice vote.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9KZF-lP79Lt9Dz_v6BRb8jpCrXpsd1rQNibJXAlmwACE9cxjQdiEnLnkaLNvidMzObjfVfP-LZxhcjvhnsDHdBV2SN2HDwVx4cfX5l95aaOPrjzdZae-TEOMuIEql6KWtCicVQBbo6jBG/s1600/heron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9KZF-lP79Lt9Dz_v6BRb8jpCrXpsd1rQNibJXAlmwACE9cxjQdiEnLnkaLNvidMzObjfVfP-LZxhcjvhnsDHdBV2SN2HDwVx4cfX5l95aaOPrjzdZae-TEOMuIEql6KWtCicVQBbo6jBG/s1600/heron.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a><br />
President Nixon created the<b> Environmental Protection Agency</b> by executive order.<br />
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Congress enacted the <b>Clean Water Act </b>and<b> Endangered Species Act.</b> More environmental legislation was passed in the decade that followed<br />
than at any other time in U.S. history.<br />
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Now Earth Day is celebrated around the world, reminding us that we need to care for the earth that sustains us. Our future depends upon it.<br />
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In the words of Gaylord Nelson, "Are we able to meet the challenge? Yes. Are we willing? that is the unanswered question."<br />
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Find out how you can do your part at the <a href="http://www.earthday.org/">Earth Day Network. </a><br />
<br />Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-27256150713008072892014-04-23T09:58:00.000-04:002014-04-23T09:58:04.387-04:00The First Earth DayThey filled Central Park and spilled into the streets of New York City. Old people and babies, blacks and <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6WTaRUIxbO_4DP1Rf_pjOIjcAJTwNuHFcXSIhL2G21eICO-GHVyLaR_vIEXy-P8ailZzHeL0QZYonq9-OKRuoosU2HU1m4vRxfyhyphenhyphenqt_FmsSB6Y7g3Hw-FDQazTJfTX2DsI4eMPqlc_k/s1600/first+earth+day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6WTaRUIxbO_4DP1Rf_pjOIjcAJTwNuHFcXSIhL2G21eICO-GHVyLaR_vIEXy-P8ailZzHeL0QZYonq9-OKRuoosU2HU1m4vRxfyhyphenhyphenqt_FmsSB6Y7g3Hw-FDQazTJfTX2DsI4eMPqlc_k/s1600/first+earth+day.jpg" height="142" width="200" /></a></div>
whites, people in suits and hippies. They raised banners, acted out skits, and swept the streets clean.<br />
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In Miami, Florida, they held a "Dead Orange Parade" where the winning float sported a statue of the Statue of Liberty wearing a gas mask.<br />
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In Omaha, Nebraska, they collected 156,000 cans and built a tin mountain.<br />
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In Albuquerque, New Mexico they played mariachi music and marched to protest the stench of a sewage treatment plant.<br />
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Over 20,000,000 people took part in the first Earth Day, on April 22, 1970, a tenth of the population of the United States. It was the largest demonstration in U.S. history.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Earth
Day 1970,” <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbwC281uzUs">CBS News with Walter Cronkite</a>,</span></div>
Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-73508577851284570512014-04-22T12:08:00.000-04:002014-04-22T12:08:36.217-04:00Earth Day's 44th Anniversary<div class="MsoNormal">
Denis Hayes was a college student when Senator Gaylord
Nelson invited him to organize the first Earth Day.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ahNU15ubD_VLinREtEURIQINrV2Q6RMm6KJADtjAYWbNUlF2ljHY8HKJ0xvXbutzQebBafc65Zj0ybfh-LYlSIgo2FwQali8u5J5gRDfcRcNmNDdQExe_oeKGOPx6-sdJJRJq_Mzbu9p/s1600/denishayes2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ahNU15ubD_VLinREtEURIQINrV2Q6RMm6KJADtjAYWbNUlF2ljHY8HKJ0xvXbutzQebBafc65Zj0ybfh-LYlSIgo2FwQali8u5J5gRDfcRcNmNDdQExe_oeKGOPx6-sdJJRJq_Mzbu9p/s1600/denishayes2.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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There was no email, twitter, or cell phones. So Hayes used newspaper
ads, mailings, and fliers. He reached out to professors and students, hunters and housewives, cub
scouts and kindergarteners. </div>
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He began with this ad in the New York Times:</div>
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<b><i>A disease has infected our country. It has brought smog to
Yosemite, dumped garbage in the Hudson, sprayed DDT in our food, and left our
cities in decay. Its carrier is man.</i></b><i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><i>Earth Day is a commitment to make life better,
not just bigger and faster; to provide real rather than rhetorical solutions.
It is a day to re-examine the ethic of individual progress at mankind’s
expense. It is a day to challenge the corporate and governmental leaders who
promise change, but who shortchange the necessary programs. It is a day for
looking beyond tomorrow. April 22 seeks a future worth living. April 22 seeks a
future.</i></b><i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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The result was the largest demonstration in U.S. history. Check out these images from <i><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/04/photogalleries/first-earth-day-1970-pictures/">National Geographic</a>.</i></div>
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Happy Earth Day!</div>
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Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-20950057170667287382014-04-21T10:37:00.000-04:002014-04-21T10:37:02.214-04:00Senator Gaylord Nelson and the First Earth Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBsy4yXn3WKsS3SqTVKN_GURQ2g35ZIE3LtgOi3TZH-6nQrutQlZU3RdAOkmY0iScWZvFvgvD1wFnh8pIi8aCCk4IQp5WYw8vPDMNPKQcoVvue89-fF166evxzi9r19XQNwyC0ueZxX6t6/s1600/6_nelson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBsy4yXn3WKsS3SqTVKN_GURQ2g35ZIE3LtgOi3TZH-6nQrutQlZU3RdAOkmY0iScWZvFvgvD1wFnh8pIi8aCCk4IQp5WYw8vPDMNPKQcoVvue89-fF166evxzi9r19XQNwyC0ueZxX6t6/s1600/6_nelson.jpg" height="320" width="261" /></a></div>
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The Vietnam War, desegregation, nuclear disarmament—there were
so many issues demanding attention in 1969. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin
was dismayed by the degradation of the environment, but how could he convince
his fellow legislators to act to save it?</div>
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After a major oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, he was
invited to speak at a conference in Berkley. While flying in, he read an
article about college teach-ins protesting the war in Vietnam. Nelson said, “It
popped into my head. That’s it! Why not have an environmental teach-in and get
everyone involved?” </div>
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That idea was the seed of the first Earth Day.</div>
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Here’s Senator Nelson speaking at a rally in Milwaukee on
the first Earth Day.</div>
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<a href="http://nelsonearthday.net/video/vha593_nelsonearthday.htm">http://nelsonearthday.net/video/vha593_nelsonearthday.htm</a></div>
Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-85260532079779780482014-04-19T11:21:00.000-04:002014-04-19T11:21:00.328-04:00Killer Smog<div class="MsoNormal">
In <i>When Rivers Burned:
The Earth Day Story, </i>I talk about the 1948 smog in Donora, PA, which killed
twenty people there.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzhOSDw1S0NDD2jWOBDjvmXq94hxAyCwA_X4ubAhaL6ZIFtjuU4DkTg7uoLOAhZ-WqCRVtRAD2c3oA3fQMpFs8zoaSQdWzjOplGVjVaS4YMeqGITdzJ8evx_g8xzCo0ujYMN9OulE4LlCK/s1600/donora2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzhOSDw1S0NDD2jWOBDjvmXq94hxAyCwA_X4ubAhaL6ZIFtjuU4DkTg7uoLOAhZ-WqCRVtRAD2c3oA3fQMpFs8zoaSQdWzjOplGVjVaS4YMeqGITdzJ8evx_g8xzCo0ujYMN9OulE4LlCK/s1600/donora2.jpg" height="245" width="320" /></a></div>
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But the United States wasn’t the only country with smog
problems. The deadliest smog in recorded history was a “killer fog” that struck
London in December 1952. </div>
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It was so thick that people couldn’t see their feet. Thousands
of people were hospitalized, lips blue, struggling for breath. At least 4,000
people died. The death toll could actually be many times higher. </div>
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This incident
led to Britain’s Clean Air Act. </div>
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Find out more at the History Channel website: </div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.history.com/news/the-killer-fog-that-blanketed-london-60-years-ago">http://www.history.com/news/the-killer-fog-that-blanketed-london-60-years-ago</a></span>Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-90385713623553486942014-04-18T16:35:00.000-04:002014-04-18T16:35:00.618-04:00Cuyahoga River or Dump? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghpST5EoOE7YdfKqibHptefm2Sg1Vee_HmVTq04DWtYx1LY8RWZZsJzDKHeDiNX4PYXvkoW5GjlENAWfUkPB6WoBAuAJNmLbh0wNlSJc3N4BHAJEYH7W1hUhnCEB9jo7ZRlLOG9LNN8Rei/s1600/EarthDay+with+awards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghpST5EoOE7YdfKqibHptefm2Sg1Vee_HmVTq04DWtYx1LY8RWZZsJzDKHeDiNX4PYXvkoW5GjlENAWfUkPB6WoBAuAJNmLbh0wNlSJc3N4BHAJEYH7W1hUhnCEB9jo7ZRlLOG9LNN8Rei/s1600/EarthDay+with+awards.jpg" height="167" width="200" /></a></div>
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Need to move oil from one tank to another? Just dig a trench
and let it flow downhill. So what if it soaks into the soil and washes into the
river.</div>
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Need to get rid of the waste from your paint or chemical
factory? Just dump it in the river!</div>
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Throw in guts from the slaughterhouse, garbage, and sewage
overflow. It’s all perfectly legal—or at least it was in 1969, before the first
Earth Day.</div>
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That noxious stew made great fuel for the fire on the
Cuyahoga River, a fire which would help spark an environmental movement. </div>
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<h1 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Check
out this video: </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlHiaZFvcXA">The Cuyahoga River Fire: "Don't Fall in the River"</a> put out by
the Center for Public History and Digital Humanities </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-11046863280020026672014-04-17T15:38:00.000-04:002014-04-17T15:38:23.168-04:00Earth Week Energy AuditIn honor of Earth Day, I'll be blogging about the environment for the coming week. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-dI9hhvUSNvbTYkIpPz9_iY2uJ3WgP65r1zeQDyOKC6QyJEEL9BnMIRLo3WvKr2wJtohu9WJ8BpGyAMc8SaBaVW7L_XJ-bVOn4RYLVJMNKkj2hntCC93x7RtCqRsIh8fEzINzzpWcka9a/s1600/EarthDay+with+awards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-dI9hhvUSNvbTYkIpPz9_iY2uJ3WgP65r1zeQDyOKC6QyJEEL9BnMIRLo3WvKr2wJtohu9WJ8BpGyAMc8SaBaVW7L_XJ-bVOn4RYLVJMNKkj2hntCC93x7RtCqRsIh8fEzINzzpWcka9a/s1600/EarthDay+with+awards.jpg" height="268" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div>
And in the spirit of taking personal action, today I had an energy audit done on my house. </div>
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<div>
This is a fantastic service, offered free from National Grid. <a href="http://www.nationalgridus.com/energywiseri%C2%A0">www.nationalgridus.com/energywiseri </a></div>
<div>
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<div>
For two and a half hours two men went through my house. They tested airflow with this impressive contraption. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpTXjW-gSPF8dH8M8xAlToAy0oAjnMEMKTHjJUzhAD7bf5ZXLMWVXh86An6MLXK5mQKmHBSoH6_FEX9_ktOZkSiAeY5qhWmN1gJwJZp6NUrhigx94iBde2dExWUa-faf56lXmlk_jmDLKY/s1600/energy+audit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpTXjW-gSPF8dH8M8xAlToAy0oAjnMEMKTHjJUzhAD7bf5ZXLMWVXh86An6MLXK5mQKmHBSoH6_FEX9_ktOZkSiAeY5qhWmN1gJwJZp6NUrhigx94iBde2dExWUa-faf56lXmlk_jmDLKY/s1600/energy+audit.jpg" height="320" width="233" /></a></div>
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<div>
They checked my insulation, pipes, and ducts.</div>
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They changed lightbulbs and tested the efficiency of my refrigerator.</div>
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<div>
When they were done, they drew up a Home Energy Action Plan, showing me how I could add insulation to prevent heat loss. </div>
<div>
National Grid even offers incentives to help with the installation costs. </div>
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<div>
Next winter I'll be warmer and use less energy. What could be better than that! </div>
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Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-24774007644575090692014-04-14T09:57:00.000-04:002014-04-14T15:56:30.832-04:00Gwenyth Swain Author of Hope and Tears and American Adventures: Voices for Freedom<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
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<b>Today I’d like to welcome Gwenyth Swain, author of <i>Hope and Tears: Ellis Island Voices</i>, </b></div>
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<b></b></div>
<b>(Calkins
Creek, 2012) and “Riding to Washington: the 1963 Freedom March,” part of the
anthology <i>American Adventures: Voices for
Freedom</i> (Sleeping Bear Press, 2013). Currently a freelance writer and a
library aide, Gwenyth formerly ran a middle school and was a senior editor at
Carolrhoda Books. Gwenyth loves great stories, both in fiction and nonfiction.</b><br />
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilv6VGjCXX6AyWl94zbH9q3UG18gg4hAdiqA0MUNamvukqpFQi8cW5SAFb1ViCNUqkEj0s2cF6yUp7ueN17SYJjIBMaxS6RFrg9kV9kV3cTr5YM47lb8qS2InRfuQfEQU92QEM47NtBhJd/s1600/gwenyth+swain.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilv6VGjCXX6AyWl94zbH9q3UG18gg4hAdiqA0MUNamvukqpFQi8cW5SAFb1ViCNUqkEj0s2cF6yUp7ueN17SYJjIBMaxS6RFrg9kV9kV3cTr5YM47lb8qS2InRfuQfEQU92QEM47NtBhJd/s1600/gwenyth+swain.png" /></a></b></div>
<b> <o:p></o:p></b><br />
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<br /></div>
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<b>What captured your imagination in the story of Ellis
Island? Did any of your ancestors enter the country there?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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None of my ancestors entered through Ellis Island. They came
too early, before the immigration station opened in 1892. But <a href="http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/magazine/bookscope/2013/hope-and-tears-ellis-island-voices/">my
grandmother told me once about visiting there</a>, more or less as a tourist,
in the early 1900s. She was a girl, and her do-gooding aunts were handing out <i>Bibles</i> to the new immigrants.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Your book has a unique format, a combination of narrative
history and l<span style="background: white;">etters, diary entries, poems,
monologues, and dialogues </span>about individuals, some real people, some
fictional, but representative of real group. In essence, this is combination of
nonfiction and historical fiction. How did you come up with this format?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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I really don’t like it when a nonfiction book has what are
clearly fictional (made-up) bits. I wanted to have a combination of fiction and
nonfiction but make it clear which was which. Also, I wanted to make sure that
all of the fictional elements—the poems, monologues, diary entries,
letters—were based solidly in fact.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>From the tale of a Lenni Lenape boy to the Irish
immigrant Annie Moore, and the workers who helped process the immigrants, the
personal entries in your book resonate with emotion. Do you have favorites
among these individuals? Who?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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One favorite is the story of Danny and Grandpa Salvatore. In
it, a grandfather reluctantly and with great fear tells his grandson the truth
about how he came to America. I based the story on a true story told to me by
Jeff Dosik, one of the Ellis Island librarians, about a man who had wanted so
desperately to become American that he swam from Ellis to Jersey City.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Did you travel to Ellis island? Could you describe
something of your research process?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve been to Ellis Island twice, once as a tourist and once
as a researcher. When researching, I made sure to visit the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/elis/historyculture/bob-hope-memorial-library.htm">Bob
Hope Memorial Library</a>. It’s full of great information and photographs. I
also spoke with people in the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/elis/historyculture/ellis-island-oral-history-project.htm">Oral
History department</a> and listened to interview with immigrants to Ellis
Island.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Did your writing process differ when dealing with the
historical narrative versus the individual entries? Which did you enjoy writing
most?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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It was important to make the chapter introductions—the
nonfiction bits—as clear as possible to give readers context for the fictional
pieces. I really loved writing the fictional monologues, dialogues, letters,
diary entries. In general, I started with a particular written source or a
historical photograph, which helped to ground the fiction in historical fact.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>How have your readers responded to the book? How does it
support the Common Core?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve had great responses presenting the book to kids,
particularly in middle schools. <i>Hope and
Tears</i> fits in nicely with the Common Core requirement for reading
informational texts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In terms of specific standards, look at RI 5.6: <i>Analyze
multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and
differences in the point of view they represent. </i>Students can read multiple
accounts of the immigrant experience, looking for similarities and differences
in the journeys and in what happens upon arrival at Ellis Island.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Your other work is a short story from a much later period
in history, the 1963 Freedom March. What drew you to this topic? You have a
family connection to the event, right?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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The story itself
comes from the <a href="http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/magazine/bookscope/2012/riding-to-washington/">real-life journey my father and grandfather
took</a> in August 1963, when
they boarded a bus in Indianapolis bound for the <a href="http://www.core-online.org/History/washington_march.htm">historic March on Washington</a>, where Dr. Martin Luther King delivered the
“I Have a Dream” speech. Along they way, the “mixed” crowd of blacks and whites
on the bus had trouble finding restaurants that would serve them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Why did you choose to focus on the trip to the Freedom
March rather than the march itself? </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I was intrigued by
the idea of focusing on the journey to the March, rather than on the event
itself. After all, anyone who went to the March on Washington was making
history, even before the speakers started talking from in front of the Lincoln
Memorial.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>What
were some of your challenges in writing this story?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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The challenge with
“Riding to Washington” was taking a real story and transforming it into
fiction. I knew right away that I wanted to make the story interesting to kids,
so even though none of the children in my family went to the March, I made sure
the main character in “Riding” was a child—a girl who’s a bit of a
trouble-maker at home.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>How
did this anthology come about? What was it like working on a collaborative
project like this?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781585363247"><i>Riding
to Washington</i></a> was first
published as a picture book with illustrations by David Geister. The publisher,
<a href="http://sleepingbearpress.com/">Sleeping Bear Press</a>,
is very savvy. They’ve seen that kids in grades 2-4 are avid readers of
history. So they re-formatted three historical picture books (one by me and two
by Gloria Whelan) and put them together as <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781585368860">American Adventures: Voices for Freedom</a>. All three stories touch on some aspect of black history.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>You’ve
written over two dozen other books on a wide range of historical topics. Could
you tell us about some of your other work?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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My other recent book
is a You Choose adventure. You know, the books where at the end of every few
pages, you have to decide what the character does. Mine is <a href="http://www.capstonepub.com/product/9781429660204"><i>World War I: An Interactive
Adventure</i>,</a> published by <a href="http://www.capstonepub.com/">Capstone</a>, which has many You Choose books. It was fun
to write, and I’ve even gotten fan mail from readers!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>What
are your plans for the future? What other topics have captured your interest?</b></div>
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On my <a href="http://story-slinger.blogspot.com/">story slinger</a> blog,
I’m doing a series of posts on a favorite topic: the history of one-room
schools in America. I’m calling the series <a href="http://story-slinger.blogspot.com/2014/02/one-room-nation-part-1.html">“One-Room Nation.”</a> It’s a chance to showcase my research and
photos of one-room schools, and I’ve gotten a great reaction so far.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Thank
you so much for being a guest on my blog! </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Thank
you, Linda. It’s a treat to be interviewed by you!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Readers
can find out more about Gwenyth Swain and her work at <a href="http://www.gwenythswain.com/">www.gwenythswain.com</a>. You can also visit her blog
at <a href="http://story-slinger.blogspot.com/">http://story-slinger.blogspot.com</a>/. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-78924264642223668292014-02-01T06:57:00.000-05:002014-01-31T09:33:55.024-05:00Kathryn Erskine talks about Seeing Red<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHclUCTwXZ7WySFK2t5A6L0IrnJaIkoO5gWYwEuVxQNbwsBaWdUWeVRxYXYG5QE8GocurC5fO1wokMBCtkCK4u8YTBk_g8hdFQWZv6nYHzJSRUSCYCIU_S78CRtzBBiAiwE1MJM9ywoGAs/s1600/Erskine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHclUCTwXZ7WySFK2t5A6L0IrnJaIkoO5gWYwEuVxQNbwsBaWdUWeVRxYXYG5QE8GocurC5fO1wokMBCtkCK4u8YTBk_g8hdFQWZv6nYHzJSRUSCYCIU_S78CRtzBBiAiwE1MJM9ywoGAs/s1600/Erskine.jpg" height="320" width="312" /></a></div>
<b>Kathryn Erskine is
the acclaimed author of numerous intermediate and teen novels. She won the
National Book Award for <i>Mockingbird,</i>
a book about a young girl with Asperger’s Syndrome who must help her father
deal with her brother’s death. Today, Kathryn’s here to talk about her latest
novel, <i>Seeing Red, </i>which is sure to
garner its own share of awards. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>The young main
character, Red Porter, grew up helping his dad fix cars for the family business
in small town Stony Gap, Virginia. Now his father has died, and his mom has
decided to move them back to her family in Ohio. Red is determined to stop her.
He wants to stay right in Stony Gap, where his father’s family has deep roots. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Red’s efforts to save
his family business go awry, driving a wedge between him and his longtime
friend, Thomas. Digging into the past to help an elderly friend reclaim lost
property, Red discovers the dark side of the Porter legacy. <i>Seeing Red</i> is a riveting story about
family, friendship, and race relations.</b><br />
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<b> <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Hi Kathryn, welcome
to Lupine Seeds! <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>You were born in the
Netherlands, lived in Israel, South Africa, Scotland, and Newfoundland, and
have now settled in Virginia. <i>Seeing Red</i>
is set in Virginia, but did your experiences in any of those other places
inform the book? How? <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Witnessing apartheid in South Africa as a young child set
the stage for this novel and my deep feelings about racism. That continued in Virginia and Alabama in the
late 1960’s and early 1970’s, when <i>Seeing
Red</i> is set. I explain it in detail
in the book’s Author’s Note but when you learn those harsh lessons as a child,
they’re hard to forget.</div>
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<b>You were a lawyer for
fifteen years before turning to writing. What drove you to make the change?
Have your experiences in the courtroom influenced your work? <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Being a lawyer has helped with research, which I’m very
serious about, and analysis. I’ve always
loved writing but didn’t think I could make a career of it so decided to wait
until I retired. When my mother died,
still in her sixties, I realized that you can’t wait to follow your passion --
you never know what’s going to happen. I
signed up for a local writing class and that was the beginning of this long,
sometimes hard and frustrating, but ultimately beautiful journey.</div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>To Kill a Mockingbird </i>is one of your favorite books. Do you see
parallels between it and <i>Seeing Red</i>?
Did you consciously draw on <i>To Kill a
Mockingbird</i> in writing <i>Seeing Red</i>?
<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Not consciously, but a story about racism and tolerance and
a child’s view of it came from my own past and great works like <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i>. I suppose <i>Seeing
Red</i> is a 1970’s version of a small southern town that has, like any town,
people who try to be their best like Atticus Finch and people who succumb to
fear like Bob Ewell, and ultimately how we as a society deal with racism. I love that <i>Seeing Red</i> has been compared to <i>To
Kill a Mockingbird</i> -- that is the greatest compliment.</div>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Could you tell us
something about your process? How did <i>Seeing
Red</i> evolve from idea to finished manuscript, to published book? <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Oh, my goodness, that is a very long story but the short
version is that it went through a couple of publishers and a couple of dozen
drafts before becoming a published novel.
It started as a voice in my head, like all my stories do, then more
characters appear, scenes develop, and eventually I have an idea of what the
story is about. It’s because of the
characters that I kept at this book.
They wouldn’t let me go. It was
almost as if it wasn’t my story -- it was theirs and they insisted I tell
it. The most important takeaway for any
writer, or anyone really, is to never give up.
I started writing this novel in 1999.
It finally published in 2013. </div>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>This story deals with
race relations, abusive parents, woman’s issues, guilt and redemption, and so
much more. Yet it never feels heavy handed or didactic. Red, who can tell the
model of a car just by the sound of its engine, is such a genuine character. He
carries the reader along. How did you put yourself inside the mind of this
twelve year boy? <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m a closet actor.
:o) Seriously, I have to become
my character and see the world through my character’s eyes. There are many ways of doing that. I do extensive research about the time and
the place and culture so I know how people behave in that particular
setting. I observe kids today, I
remember kids from my own childhood. For
<i>Seeing Red</i>, in particular, I walked
in the Virginia woods and observed the trees and rocks and creek, throwing
stones and stomping on acorns just like Red did. I sat in the type of desk classrooms had in
the early ‘70’s with the attached desk with pencil groove and the seat with a
place underneath for your books. I
listened to all the music on my playlist (which is on my website) and much
more, and watched movies of and about the era.
I went to historical societies and museums, including the Robert Russa
Moton museum in Farmville, Virginia, which shows the history of Massive
Resistance in Virginia as if you’re living it.
I visited Rosenwald schools. I
talked with people who lived through that era.
I ate the food Red ate. I watched
the TV shows he watched. I played
Rock’em Sock’em Robots. I did his
chores. I talked like Red, acted like
him, and thought like him. Basically, I <i>was</i> Red.</div>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Red Porter is a
sympathetic character who does some terrible things. How did you balance his
guilt with his drive to make things right? <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At his core, we know Red is a good person and wants to do
the right thing. We all make mistakes
and he feels great remorse for his. And
he tries to make up for what he does.
Those are all admirable qualities.
It’s not that hard to forgive someone who’s earnest and truly sorry and
tries to make things right. If he -- or
we -- can use guilt or any negative emotion to spur us into taking action for
justice, that’s a good thing.</div>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Secrets propel this
story forward. How did you devise this vehicle for your plot? How did you
manage to juggle the book’s complex plot strands?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Secrets are an element of the story because we all have
them. And it’s important to know that
things are not always as they seem. We
often make judgments based on insufficient evidence. We need to dig deeper, think critically. For example, Red is mistaken about Mr.
Reynolds based on assumptions and his own prejudices. We need to get past that. As far as juggling the issues, I use a
software tool to help me organize my story and plot. With that, I can try make sure the threads of
the story are woven in a way that makes sense.</div>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Have you gotten any
reactions from young readers about <i>Seeing
Red</i>? <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, I’m delighted to be receiving fan mail and reviews from
young readers. My favorite is from a
girl who said she would’ve given <i>Seeing
Red</i> a 5 out of 5 but had to give it a 4 because she was so mad when it
ended since she didn’t want the story to be over yet. I love that!</div>
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<b><br /></b>
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<b>You’ve written about
a boy with a math disability in <i>The
Absolute Value of Mike</i>, a girl with Aspergers’ Syndrome in <i>Mockingbird</i>, a foster child in <i>Quaking</i>, and apartheid in <i>Ibhubesi.</i> What drew you to these topics?
Do you see any common themes running through all your books?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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One of the fun things about being an author is the variety
-- you can write about anything! I enjoy
topics that might show young readers something they may know little about. Reading a novel is an entertaining way of
learning. I think a common theme in my
books is tolerance. Understanding and
appreciating people’s differences is important to me perhaps because of growing
up in a variety of cultures and always being the different one myself. And it’s vital for a functioning
society. Now that you mention it, the
main character in my next book has albinism!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4lya4ArqGOyDXwgZ83BSTPA58E3AlHskhsGdVc2IBo8lEkONeCQW0jzIbtORt4-Q0Zr8i8UcmTgK30mJCflFBIqYMRUHranSVy5eaHMn1uWEPkFn7NPd5qjgvuCvcKIXjpin_WYJHTkBT/s1600/Quaking.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4lya4ArqGOyDXwgZ83BSTPA58E3AlHskhsGdVc2IBo8lEkONeCQW0jzIbtORt4-Q0Zr8i8UcmTgK30mJCflFBIqYMRUHranSVy5eaHMn1uWEPkFn7NPd5qjgvuCvcKIXjpin_WYJHTkBT/s1600/Quaking.jpeg" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>What’s next? I read
some hints that the book you’re working on now will be set in Newfoundland. Can
you tell us more? <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ah, well, I did write a YA novel set in Newfoundland but it
needs work. More recently I’ve been
working on an adult novel set there.
What’s actually next is <i>The Badger
Knight</i>, a Middle Ages adventure novel that Scholastic is publishing this
fall. I love the Middle Ages because
it’s almost like fantasy with knights and longbows and superstitions but it
actually happened which makes it even more interesting to me. The main character, Adrian, has albinism and
dealing with a difference like that in the Middle Ages could be more than
uncomfortable; it could be dangerous.</div>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Is there anything
else you’d like to share with our readers?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m so grateful to my readers and hope to keep writing books
they enjoy. I have several projects
going right now -- some picture books, a novel in verse, a teen road trip
novel, and two others that are still in that amorphous phase where the
characters are talking to me but I’m not exactly sure where they’re going yet …
but I hope to find out soon!</div>
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Thank you so much for hosting me on Lupine Seeds, Linda!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Thanks so much for
being my guest! Readers can find out more about Kathryn Erskine and her books
at <a href="http://www.kathrynerskine.com/Kathryn_Erskine/Home.html">http://www.kathrynerskine.com/Kathryn_Erskine/Home.html</a><o:p></o:p></b><br />
<br />
<b>And thanks to all my readers for stopping by. I wanted to share my good new before I close. The Children's Book Council has named <i>When Rivers Burned: The Earth Day Story</i> as a 2014 Outstanding Science Trade Book and a 2014 Notable Social Studies Book. </b></div>
Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-87814658238877108012014-01-13T08:45:00.000-05:002014-01-15T15:40:31.427-05:00Alexis O'Neill on The Kite That Bridged Two Nations <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhOpmABmNZSJ2drjPJjiXjBnhzPGRYJZNANvRxTXbLE5xMp0Mm__9WjXQ1rNk2At1hy8aEGHqMGqC1_U8T4_XyiWSMKRqsLmjwXzBbWPsFMmjGSh1kujmkkb63oyC8Mv9P6VrTvYiJm9lA/s1600/Alexis&PurpleKite2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhOpmABmNZSJ2drjPJjiXjBnhzPGRYJZNANvRxTXbLE5xMp0Mm__9WjXQ1rNk2At1hy8aEGHqMGqC1_U8T4_XyiWSMKRqsLmjwXzBbWPsFMmjGSh1kujmkkb63oyC8Mv9P6VrTvYiJm9lA/s1600/Alexis&PurpleKite2.jpg" height="242" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 200%;"><b>Just out! A contest! Thanks to Alexis' generosity, anyone who leaves a comment on this blog before January 31 will be entered in a drawing for a signed copy of </b><i><b>The Kite That Bridged Two Nations.</b> </i><i> </i></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 200%;">Alexis O’Neill is an award-winning
author and an instructor for the UCLA extension Writers’ Program. Her work
includes the acclaimed picture books </span><i style="line-height: 200%;">The
Recess Queen</i><span style="line-height: 200%;"> and </span><i style="line-height: 200%;">Loud Emily</i><span style="line-height: 200%;">.
Today she’s here to talk about her recent historical fiction book, </span><i style="line-height: 200%;">The Kite That Bridged Two Nations.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
Homan Walsh loves flying his kite
along the great <st1:place w:st="on">Niagara River</st1:place>. Then men come
to town, planning to build a bridge across the river, uniting the <st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada</st1:country-region>. But how will they get the
first line across the wide and raging water? When they hold a contest to see
who can fly a kite to span the river, Homan rises to the challenge.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrElMa7HsgPlgsavKBLvPYnTI9kWl-19sBSLGSkJm9MciVBpftGFYH0hM85f6rT9h91NhY0-L6RplzF44Pmvq1BAtWl9qJ-ibsT3jPTjWS0fLIzjmKzB53he3Ehm_xjgH-UJkxuNdhS6x/s1600/CoverSm-KITEBook-FINAL_KH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrElMa7HsgPlgsavKBLvPYnTI9kWl-19sBSLGSkJm9MciVBpftGFYH0hM85f6rT9h91NhY0-L6RplzF44Pmvq1BAtWl9qJ-ibsT3jPTjWS0fLIzjmKzB53he3Ehm_xjgH-UJkxuNdhS6x/s1600/CoverSm-KITEBook-FINAL_KH.jpg" height="320" width="257" /></a></div>
Alexis had generously offered a signed copy of her book, <i>The Kite That Bridged Two Nations. </i><br />
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<b>Welcome to my blog, Alexis! </b><br />
<b style="line-height: 200%;">I read that you got the idea for <i>The Kite That Bridged Two Nations </i>from a
minor incident mentioned in David McCullough’s <i>The Great Bridge</i>. Could you tell us about that? What excited you
about this idea?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">The
19 th century time period, the location of <st1:place w:st="on">Western New
York</st1:place>, that a string could actually start a bridge, the boy’s
determination to succeed in spite of tremendous odds – all of this really got
my juices going!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Actually,
the idea for the story was suggested to me out of the blue by an editor I had
never met, from a publishing house I had never worked with. But it turned out
that we had both read <i>The Great Bridge</i>
by David McCullough about the building of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Brooklyn</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Bridge</st1:placetype></st1:place>
by engineer John Augustus Roebling. She was attracted to a short anecdote about
how a boy’s kite string began the first suspension bridge over the <st1:place w:st="on">Niagara River</st1:place> in 1848. That bridge was started by
Roebling’ leading competitor, Charles Ellet, Jr., but completed by Roebling
when Ellet quit the project in a money dispute. The editor asked if I’d be
willing to write a picture book about the kite contest. And I replied with the
four words a writer should say when someone asks this: “Why yes, of course!” (By the way, the original editor rejected my
story in the end, but the next editor I sent it to bought it!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>The book is based on a true incident. How much information were you
able to uncover about the real Homan? How did you use it to develop the
character of Homan? <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Other
than one interview published at the end of his life with an account of the
contest, little was written about Homan Walsh, so I had to go sideways to fill
in the blanks. I used census data to find out where he lived and with whom and
what kind of jobs he held. A passport application gave information on his
height and eye color. Graveyard headstones confirmed birth and death dates.
Reports in newspapers of the time attested to his perseverance in his extraordinary
kite-flying feat. And reports from a
bridge commissioner corroborated other accounts of Homan’s success and the
prize that he was awarded. Secondary sources filled in essential information
about the bridge engineer, the weather, terrain, and the times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>What were your challenges in finding a narrative thread for the book’s
dramatic arc? How did you solve them?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">The
true story has a natural, dramatic arc. But finding the narrative thread was a major
stumbling block for me. At first, I wrote the story as straight nonfiction.
That wasn’t satisfying. Next I played with various points of view, writing
poems in the voices of the kite, the ferry, the bridge, the falls and more. And
though this was fun to read aloud as Readers’ Theater, the work didn’t carry an
emotional punch. In fact, I got so stuck, I traveled back to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Niagara Falls</st1:place></st1:city> for inspiration. Finally, I
went away for a week with a writing friend where there was no access to the
Internet or other distractions. I read, took notes from my notes, thought, and
then wrote what became the first draft for the published book. The key element
missing in my other attempts was emotion. The only way I could get to the
emotion -- Homan’s the exhilaration of flying a kite, the power of the falls,
the thrill of overcoming obstacles -- was through historical fiction in Homan’s
point of view.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i>The Kite That Bridged Two Nations</i>
has such a vivid sense of place. I know you once lived in <st1:placename w:st="on">New
York</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype>, but you
live in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:state>
now. What did you do to immerse yourself in the book’s time and place? <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAUaO2xvc4shcr_rXxWi8GVdrbZpJJlypPr5YDldlHVCXR0SB0gLL3XaQh_H7tNHZBkzJAIiRarc7_xl76syylPStp6N2eugourkAXvhQn4iHeWB20uQN1IYaB-zJfCePyOGqm_ydPxb2I/s1600/p6+KITE+Book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAUaO2xvc4shcr_rXxWi8GVdrbZpJJlypPr5YDldlHVCXR0SB0gLL3XaQh_H7tNHZBkzJAIiRarc7_xl76syylPStp6N2eugourkAXvhQn4iHeWB20uQN1IYaB-zJfCePyOGqm_ydPxb2I/s1600/p6+KITE+Book.jpg" height="320" width="265" /></a><st1:placename w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">New York</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype>’s
history is ingrained in me after having lived in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Syracuse</st1:place></st1:city> for so many years. I used to work
with historical and art museums there, and conducted workshops for teachers on
local history. Even my first published books were about <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Syracuse</st1:place></st1:city>! I’ve done extensive research about
the <st1:place w:st="on">Erie Canal</st1:place>, traveled every mile of it, and
love that whole period of growth in the mid-19<sup>th</sup> century when there
was such an influx of immigrants and an explosion of innovation. I travel back to Central New York each year,
but I took an extra trip to visit <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Niagara
Falls</st1:place></st1:city> again to see it through a writer’s eyes. I
realized that the word “awesome” was invented to describe the falls!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 200%;">
<b>Your language is so lyrical. It creates such drama: <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 200%;">
<b><i>As inky night spilled on the sky,
the river, and the land,<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 200%;">
<b><i>The cold air claimed our hands,
our feet—<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 200%;">
<b><i>And contestants dropped away.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 200%;">
<b><i>I stomped to keep my body warm
and pulled my woolens tighter.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 200%;">
<b><i>Then through the dark, two
bonfires bloomed—<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 200%;">
<b><i>First one side, then the other. <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 200%;">
<b><i>The crowds were with me! They
urged me on…<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b>How did you use revision to develop your book’s voice? <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Revision
is a form of play for me. I play with voices, images, verbs, similes and
metaphors. I rearrange sentences and paragraphs for impact. When I finally decided
to tell the story in Homan’s voice, I went back to my earlier attempt, which
was told in poems – and robbed it. Since
poetry is the best way to express emotion, I lifted text from that version and
used many elements in my newest draft. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<b>How have young readers reacted to <i>The
Kite That Bridged Two Nations?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjux0uEuw3TWIWdNEBLx8A4E82x3XfZvwGi4kIhT5NW2UJMq1Eeo671pMDl3H0kgms79xukw2PZRDqXy5F2r99CSrOsrOQaDKmEPTtJTWuhGVIjlcTKzt7PkbZOANHuK8ao-nvcMxMUoXOU/s1600/Peter_Ames&Alexis_ONeill_Oakwood_Cemetery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjux0uEuw3TWIWdNEBLx8A4E82x3XfZvwGi4kIhT5NW2UJMq1Eeo671pMDl3H0kgms79xukw2PZRDqXy5F2r99CSrOsrOQaDKmEPTtJTWuhGVIjlcTKzt7PkbZOANHuK8ao-nvcMxMUoXOU/s1600/Peter_Ames&Alexis_ONeill_Oakwood_Cemetery.jpg" height="320" width="305" /></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Here’s
an example: When I do school assemblies,
I bring along a replica of <st1:place w:st="on">Union</st1:place> that a kite
expert made for me. One day, I walked onto a campus, kite in hand, heading
toward the multipurpose room. As I approached the door, I heard a young voice
shout out, “Look, look, Ms. Sanchez! She brought <st1:place w:st="on">UNION</st1:place>!”
When the characters become that real to readers, that’s when I know my story is
a success.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6jUTX28emMNyylB-Y9MTF8HHqRcJtr_YaVfHQv4eCdSQBUGzuKf_iTJ1OcLNMfGVoc2CNln4PmgYEqeMzMpFRJiqKGq_Z988yufMgk4tHQGg2pFp-j_0y3yaf3Y-a6c_DPAQ-3MQQm_t/s1600/Cover_Loud_Emily_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6jUTX28emMNyylB-Y9MTF8HHqRcJtr_YaVfHQv4eCdSQBUGzuKf_iTJ1OcLNMfGVoc2CNln4PmgYEqeMzMpFRJiqKGq_Z988yufMgk4tHQGg2pFp-j_0y3yaf3Y-a6c_DPAQ-3MQQm_t/s1600/Cover_Loud_Emily_sm.jpg" height="320" width="276" /></a><b>Each of your books is very different. <i>Loud Emily</i> is a tall tale set in a <st1:place w:st="on">New England</st1:place>
whaling town. <i>The Recess Queen</i> is
realistic fiction about bullying. <i>The
Kite that Bridged Two Nations </i>is historical fiction. What was it like
working on these different kinds of projects? Do you see any strands that unite
all your work?</b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4tJgr54pBhQaH9kjqf6LwY27PWXmd9ojQZ_uUnrYCCCIk0H1L6uV5Rg7D0tKw-gJhMXHsmtBISXD03mDdPPHTDARCWF6OW3brJ_egAKgV3Qoim38wVs9pTcDkVdWsSYV9q660RiUBhjx/s1600/Cover_Recess_Smallest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4tJgr54pBhQaH9kjqf6LwY27PWXmd9ojQZ_uUnrYCCCIk0H1L6uV5Rg7D0tKw-gJhMXHsmtBISXD03mDdPPHTDARCWF6OW3brJ_egAKgV3Qoim38wVs9pTcDkVdWsSYV9q660RiUBhjx/s1600/Cover_Recess_Smallest.jpg" height="320" width="258" /></a></b></div>
<b> <o:p></o:p></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Language.
I love playing with language. Sailors’ commands in <i>Loud Emily</i>. Made up words in <i>The
Recess Queen</i>. Vivid verbs in <i>The Kite
That Bridged Two Nations</i>. I love
playing with sounds and images, and to do that fully, I keep playing with
different kinds of projects.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<b>What can we expect from you in the future? What are you working on now?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">I’m
working on a picture book biography, a chapter book fantasy, a tween novel and
a nonfiction book set in – guess where? – <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">New York</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place>. Bets are on as to which I finish first!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"> Is there anything else you’d like to share
with our readers?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Yes!
I have three cats, am learning to play the ukulele, and dream of being locked
in a library overnight with a flashlight, cats and lots of chocolate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><b>Thank
you so much for being my guest, Alexis! Readers can find out more about Alexis O’Neill
and her work at <a href="http://www.alexisoneill.com/">http://www.alexisoneill.com/</a></b>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-26784620056684172032013-10-21T04:56:00.000-04:002013-10-21T04:56:00.560-04:00Karen Day, Author of No Cream Puffs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWv_kvJ-P26Yta7SwY2h9u9BRAWZXweIb_rm3EKLHS0_rw6RTPkWzo0f1jRJI3ABXrbo6uoBCwyGQDVj4lXlftS-p-ma5mkxyYYNwNbcXbYNwKDaCS3E-Lf1llfHWMZpSgFKlzfcdXs5dq/s1600/karen+day+headshot-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWv_kvJ-P26Yta7SwY2h9u9BRAWZXweIb_rm3EKLHS0_rw6RTPkWzo0f1jRJI3ABXrbo6uoBCwyGQDVj4lXlftS-p-ma5mkxyYYNwNbcXbYNwKDaCS3E-Lf1llfHWMZpSgFKlzfcdXs5dq/s320/karen+day+headshot-3.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Today I’d like to
welcome Karen Day, author of acclaimed fiction for middle grade readers. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Karen wanted to be a
writer since she was in fourth grade. She wrote her first (highly melodramatic)
novel when she was sixteen and took journalism in college. When she graduated,
she wrote for newspapers and magazines, doing the last interview with tennis
great, Arthur Ashe, before he died. </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>But she yearned to write fiction. Finally she
left journalism to write full time. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>We’re glad she did!
Her titles include the <i>A Million Miles
from Boston</i> and <i>Tall Tales. </i>Today
we’ll be talking about her sports novel for girls, <i>No
Cream Puffs.</i></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; line-height: 115%;">It’<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">s the story of 12-year-old Madison Mitchell, the first girl in Michigan
to play baseball on an all-boys' little league team. Madison must deal with all
the pressures of being a trailblazer. What will her friends think? Will the boy
she likes still be interested if she strikes him out? How will she deal with
the unwelcome publicity?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">Karen, could you describe how the book evolved? What came
first, the plot or the characters? Did you work from a detailed outline or were
you a “pantser”? </span></b><span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The writing of every book is always different for me
(although it’s always hard!). But one thing is true about every book I write: I
always come up with the internal arch first. As a writer, mom and reader, I’m
most interested in the inner life of kids. How they deal with trauma. How they
feel about the inevitable changes that adolescence will bring. In <i>No Cream
Puffs,</i> I knew I wanted to write about a girl who was “searching” for a father
who didn’t want her. I also knew that I wanted to write about the drama of how
it feels to “lose” your best friend, if only temporarily. That my main
character would play little league came later. And yes, I am a pantser. No
outlines for me!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">You capture Madison’s conflicting feelings about playing ball
with the boys so well. Were you an athlete as a child? Did you play baseball or
another sport? <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I loved sports and played everything I could. Like
Madison, I was the first girl in my part of the state to play little league
with the boys. A lot of what happens to Madison is fictional; however, a lot I
took from my life, too. Like Madison, I was a pitcher, played short stop and
batted cleanup. And like Madison, I struck out the star of little league in the
championship game. I was a natural athlete, but unfortunately I didn’t have the
head for it. I was filled with a lot of doubt and conflict. A headcase! I don’t
think that people who knew me back then realized this about me. And so this is
one of the themes that I wanted to write about in <i>No Cream Puffs</i> – what it’s
like to be good at something, a trendsetter, and yet have ambivalence about it.
I quit baseball after just one season and turned to competitive tennis, which I
played until I was 18. I was a headcase in tennis, too!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>I wasn’t athletic as a child. In fact, I was the last one
picked for any team. I always envied girls like Madison, but this book gave me
a glimpse of what an athletic girl’s struggles might be. How do young readers
react to Madison? What do you hope a young reader might take away from your
book? </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I get more emails about Madison and <i>No Cream Puffs</i>
than any of my other books. Madison is at an age when girls aren’t always
comfortable with the opposite sex, so I think that many of my young readers
like reading about a girl who has so much direct contact with boys! Others like
her spunkiness, sympathize with her and her fight with her best friend, and
cheer for her against Billy. Underneath all of this, I want girls to know what
it was like before there was such a plethora of sporting opportunities in our
country. Today’s girls don’t have to worry how to be athletes. Nor do they have
to worry that their sporting teams might go away. It wasn’t always like this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">I love Madison’s mom. She blazed trails in her own legal
career, and she struggles to give Madison the room she needs to make her own
choices about baseball. Was Madison’s mom drawn from anyone you know? <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In early drafts I really struggled with mom and what I
wanted her character to be. I knew that Madison would have a push-pull
relationship with her. I’d been reading a lot of female adolescent development
books and was fascinated by the idea that a girl’s primary struggle in
adolescence is learning to separate from her mother. Still, my own mom and
other mothers I knew kept getting in the way. Then one day, Mitali Perkins, who
was in my critique group, suggested that mom should have part of me in her. And
something about this helped free me, and I saw her character more clearly. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Huey, the has-been rock star next door, is a unique figure in
middle grade literature. He becomes a sort of father figure to Madison, even
though he isn’t a very responsible adult. Can you tell us more about this
character? </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was very conscious in this book of not doing the
expected. For example, I could have written a story where the main character is
a star, everyone is against her and she “fights the establishment” to get what
she wants. In stead, I made the primary struggle an internal one. Likewise, it
seems natural that Madison’s father figure would be the baseball coach or
someone who was a good athlete. In stead, I introduce Huey. And I did this
because I wanted to show that Madison wasn’t struggling with baseball as much
as she was struggling with expectations and fame, something Huey knew a lot
about. Also, he was a screw up. So, he was a good alternative to her mother who
Madison thought always did everything right. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Madison’s brother David is such a wonderful mentor for her.
And she has a marvelous relationship with fellow teammate, Brett. Did you have
any strong male mentors in your life? Do you see any parallels between them and
these characters? </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My dad was a terrific sports buddy when I was growing
up. He taught me to play ping pong, basketball, football and baseball. He was a
serious, competitive man who valued sportsmanship and winning. He never seemed
to tire of playing with me, especially after I started beating him at
everything! Because of him, I was very comfortable around men and boys. I
realized, at an early age, that what they valued most was winning. The boys on
my baseball team liked me because I was good and helped the team. The tennis
coaches liked me because I was coachable and won. There were no mind games and no
drama. And so, yes, I carried over these experiences when I crafted Brett and
David’s characters. They both like Madison and they respect her because she’s
good.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;">A Million
Miles from Boston</span></i><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;"> is about Lucy, who’s had a difficult school year, and
whose Dad has a new girlfriend. <i>Tall
Tales</i> is about Meg, who struggles to keep her father’s alcoholism secret.
Where do your book ideas come from? Do you see any recurrent themes or strands
that run through your books?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">All of my novels seem to deal with girls who feel
alone. Lucy misses her mom who died six years earlier. Madison is the only girl
playing baseball with the boys and Meg has just moved to a new town and
desperately wants a friend. I think that this feeling of being alone is
something with which I’m quite familiar and so it feels natural to write about
this. Over and over and over! Many of my story ideas come from personal
experience. But I also have kids in middle school and high school and so I’m
constantly listening to them and their friends and trying to pick up ideas.
Ian, the annoying boy in <i>A Million Miles from Boston</i>, came to me after
listening to my middle child talk about an annoying boy at school. Meg’s story
is based on my husband’s childhood. One of the things I love about writing is
taking what I know and experienced and setting it in a different place, with a
made-up plot, and seeing what happens. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>You work with an editor I greatly admire, Wendy Lamb. What is
it like to work with her? Can you tell us a little about the editorial process?
</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wendy is an incredible editor. She has a way of
strengthening my strengths and building up my weaknesses. My first editorial
letter from her, about Tall Tales, was 14 pages long, single spaced! I usually
do anywhere from four to eight revisions for her. It’s worth it. She has made
all of my books so much better. Typically she’ll break my novel down into
individual threads, and she’ll make suggestions on how to change or deepen a
particular thread. This is a very comfortable process for me since it’s the way
I’ve always approached revision. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Are you working on something new? Can you tell us a little
about it?</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m fascinated by how competitive sports change and
disrupt family dynamics. I’m just rewriting a novel about two sisters, one who
is a star diver who wants to quit but her family won’t let her. I’m interested
in how the younger sister, who narrates the novel, is affected by the attention
and drama given to the older sister. I’m also working on a new project, about a
12-year-old girl with psychic abilities. It’s a fun story, something new for
me, but also with a serious side. And I’m teaching a lot more now. In the
winter, I’ll be running a writing-for-kids adult workshop at Grub Street in Boston.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers? </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for having me, Linda!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;">Thank you
so much for being my guest today. For any readers looking for a great book
about girls and sports, I highly recommend <i>No
Cream Puffs</i> by Karen Day. You can find out more about Karen and her work at
</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1599464296">http://klday.com/books/</a></b><b><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://./">.</a> <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-30083276177221927412013-10-09T14:08:00.001-04:002013-10-09T14:08:34.631-04:00When Rivers Burned Award Winner and KidsFaithGarden Post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9IS_ZbIsw7rMn9TXB4wIX0p5sx5PTV0__OgJdaFY3wBz2tp858Tcbrr6cI6k0oO4pxCwlfGhOfXqZQDN9JesYlqNuUrNIW2tN12eGjBb8l8uGv0gI0Y50e2ZDIzMc3oqJ8yRSVG8MsKam/s1600/When+Rivers+Burned+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9IS_ZbIsw7rMn9TXB4wIX0p5sx5PTV0__OgJdaFY3wBz2tp858Tcbrr6cI6k0oO4pxCwlfGhOfXqZQDN9JesYlqNuUrNIW2tN12eGjBb8l8uGv0gI0Y50e2ZDIzMc3oqJ8yRSVG8MsKam/s320/When+Rivers+Burned+cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Awards</span></u></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After a summer break, I'm back with some wonderful news. </span><div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>When Rivers Burned: The Earth Day Story</i> won two awards, a Green Book Festival award in history <a href="http://bruceharing.brinkster.net/portal/content.asp?contentid=608">http://bruceharing.brinkster.net/portal/content.asp?contentid=608</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">and a Moonbeam Children’s Book Award gold medal. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www2.dmpemail5.com/jenkins/main/index.php?action=t&tag=article.php%3Fpage%3D1704&id=5989&viewers_email=dmann@apprenticeshopbooks.com&dest=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.independentpublisher.com%2Farticle.php%3Fpage%3D1704" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1704</span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
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<u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">KidsFaithGarden Guest Blog</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today is a busy day for me. I'm also appearing as a guest blogger on Nicole Lataif's delightful KidsFaithGarden
website with a post on using imagination to promote kindness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://bit.ly/1e8Z0zz">http://bit.ly/1e8Z0zz</a>. I invite you to come join the discussion! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Finally, I'd like to leave you with this musing on fall: </span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Late September</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I eat lunch under the glowering skies of late September.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Silence surrounds me until</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I bite the succulent flesh of a peach,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sweet remainder of summer, releasing </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The warble of goldfinches. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Out of the corner of my eye I catch</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The flit of a wing,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But it is only a yellowed leaf twisting in the wind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Overhead, a winter jay calls. </span></div>
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Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-76278392378655925182013-04-17T05:00:00.000-04:002013-04-17T05:00:11.356-04:00Author Leslie Connor talks about Crunch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_oNqE70ZRNCBNOOJ7VyE3Gn8Els430_q7YWyVukOA8XZE2pN3BAf_l_TCRNiYYb6tUkEvc1RXaHOeXCGoeEuGJeLCJPTglF4TbDXjiY967AuSb7rWJFajMyKVes6L0cA7ah0X8Gh4Ao9S/s1600/Leslie+Connor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_oNqE70ZRNCBNOOJ7VyE3Gn8Els430_q7YWyVukOA8XZE2pN3BAf_l_TCRNiYYb6tUkEvc1RXaHOeXCGoeEuGJeLCJPTglF4TbDXjiY967AuSb7rWJFajMyKVes6L0cA7ah0X8Gh4Ao9S/s200/Leslie+Connor.jpg" width="142" /></a></div>
<b>I’d like to welcome author <a href="http://www.leslieconnor.com/">Leslie Connor</a>, to my blog today to talk about her middle grade novel, <i>Crunch</i>. Leslie’s books have won numerous awards, and <i>Crunch</i> is no exception. I counted ten on her website, including Kirkus Best Books of 2010. </b><br />
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<b>Since April 22 is Earth Day, and I have my own environmental book coming out this month, <a href="http://www.apprenticeshopbooks.com/when-rivers-burned-earth-story-p-466.html">When Rivers Burned: The Earth Day Story</a>, I just couldn’t pass up this title.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><i>Crunch’s</i> main character, Dewey Marriss, has promised to manage the family’s bike repair business just when the gas pumps run dry. Now his parents are stranded up north, and everyone in town needs a bike. </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzVUlGdyltJsKED3aAWStPLpKmaokdTa1iO1_7yJdqJajCMDl-NDuGYeHIIBmaoWI1_la1DDVF0w4KBLHop2YqyoOZH1ZhYbLhxUHz_c497xLlTHAJFUVuelev0xXcgXLNIk0l1g27L9hg/s1600/crunch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzVUlGdyltJsKED3aAWStPLpKmaokdTa1iO1_7yJdqJajCMDl-NDuGYeHIIBmaoWI1_la1DDVF0w4KBLHop2YqyoOZH1ZhYbLhxUHz_c497xLlTHAJFUVuelev0xXcgXLNIk0l1g27L9hg/s200/crunch.jpg" width="140" /></b></a><b>Dewey and his older sister Lil must look after their younger siblings and run the bike shop on their own. But bike parts are going missing. Is the thief someone they know? </b><br />
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<b>Hi, Leslie! <i>Crunch </i>deals with the energy crisis and the danger of relying on fossil fuels. Yet you are never heavy-handed with that message. Could you tell us a little about why you chose to write about this topic and how you developed the story idea?</b><br />
<br />
Hi, Linda. Thank you for inviting me to visit you at your blog today. I am charmed to be here. <br />
<br />
So, I had the idea for Crunch percolating in the back of my mind basically because I am a drifty, dreamy sort who likes to drive down the highway imagining what it’d be like out there with no cars or trucks. (Oh! Smooth and easy biking!)<br />
A few summers ago, gas prices began to rise—a lot. I was being more careful to combine my errands and I made fewer trips out. I wondered what it’d be like if gas got too expensive for most of us…or if the pumps went dry. I remember the energy crisis of the ‘70’s when we went to odd and even (by license plate numbers) at the pumps. My Mom would go and wait in line and sometimes not be back for an hour or more.<br />
I did a lot of thinking about the inventiveness and resourcefulness of human beings. When I thought about travel, the immediate answer was BIKES.<br />
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<b>I admire authors who can write in an authentic first person kid’s voice. Did Dewey’s voice come naturally or did you have to work at it? What was your process? <br />
<br />
</b>Characters seem to make their way to my ear naturally. (I’m a lucky writer in that regard.) It was interesting for me to write in first person from a male point of view. But I had two brothers growing up and I raised two sons and I am a terrific eavesdropper. Every so often I asked the males in my household, “Hey, would a guy say this?” (My family loves to take me to task.)<br />
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<b>As a kid, I was drawn to books where kids had to manage on their own, without adults. You get Dewey’s parents out of the way, stuck in Canada without any gas to get home, and you keep other helpful adults on the periphery with Lil’s prickly pride in handling things on her own. Did you consciously try to keep the adults out of this story? </b><br />
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Yes, having Dewey’s parents away was always in my vision for this story. That was one more problem I could throw at poor Dewey. But I can never bear to leave my young characters completely without some adult nearby who could step in. (That is for my comfort and for the comfort of the reader.) I saw the Marriss’s as a family that had friends in the wings.<br />
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<b>There was a lot of stuff about bike repair in this story. The Marrisses also live on a farm and sell eggs and goat’s milk. Are you a biker? Did you ever live on a farm? How much personal experience and how much research went into this book? </b><br />
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I do draw on personal experiences for my projects, Linda. I ride a cruiser/hybrid bike, outfitted with a nice front basket and a rear rack. I can get downtown in under twenty minutes if I pedal hard. For years my husband I rode a tandem together, and I loved that because I could sit on the back and look around while he steered. Both my sons work in a bike store, and my husband has built several bikes from parts while I…ahem…watched. (And if your chain fell off, I could most likely get that back on for you.) So once again, I had good help when it came to writing Crunch!<br />
As for living on a farm, well I have lived in farmhouses, and very close to farms without ever really being The Farmer, though I dream of it. I garden, and I did own two little red hens for a while. I’m on a first-name basis with my neighbor’s goats and sheep, and I will confess right here that I like the smell of horse manure.<br />
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<b>Will Dewey and his younger brother Vince be able to keep up with the demand at the bike shop? When will their parents make it home? Who’s stealing those bike parts? Who can they trust? The pace of this story never lags. How did you manage to juggle all these story strands? </b><br />
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Yikes! Your questions take me back to the months when I was writing the story. I worried about those threads—a lot! I’m glad it worked out, but believe me, that manuscript looked like a big crazy forsythia bush for a while and had to be pruned without feeling. When I am working on a novel there is a little bell inside of me that occasionally dings and tells me, hey, you haven’t mentioned such-and-such for six chapters! <br />
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<b>In era of angst-driven novels, the Marriss family is refreshingly different. They work together well, taking responsibility for the bike shop and each other. Dad guides Dewey but never tells him what to do. Yet each member of this family is a distinct individual. How did you come up with these marvelous characters? </b><br />
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Wow. Thanks so much! The answer is I’m a good spy! The Marriss’s are, at least partly, spun from some dear friends of ours. They had five kids when we met them and went up to eight. I was always impressed with how responsible the older children in that family were for the youngest members. My characters are always composites of people I know, people I’ve heard about, or people I can imagine. Serendipity becomes a wonderful tool in that regard too.<br />
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<b>You didn’t always envision yourself as a writer. Could you tell us about your winding journey to this career? How do your past careers influence your writing? </b><br />
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I came to children’s books thinking of myself more as an illustrator. I fell in love with art very early and earned a Fine Arts degree in college. I felt my compass was pointed straight at picture books: art, with a narrative in mind. But then novel writing surprised me the way a friendly tap on the shoulder might. I’m not sure why it took me so long to acknowledge that there was a writer in me. The signs were there; I had always written behind closed doors. I find art and writing very similar and I guess that isn’t profound since both are creative processes. Like many authors, I think in pictures and I run mental movies and snippets of dialog. All. Day. Long.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7UIuR9X5h7yuzhdiqdOwEKi7hZ4XScjY1ZXI_rIn9JHnu9_e2HOEJyDvGLiSWHq-mQ0eiQoNyUuVviLnC_rs9emlC7T2oysPgpKlmwIyCNE1Zal6HWIR-o9rF_iWRXLz62Z-DiV7HEfJ/s1600/waiting+for+normal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7UIuR9X5h7yuzhdiqdOwEKi7hZ4XScjY1ZXI_rIn9JHnu9_e2HOEJyDvGLiSWHq-mQ0eiQoNyUuVviLnC_rs9emlC7T2oysPgpKlmwIyCNE1Zal6HWIR-o9rF_iWRXLz62Z-DiV7HEfJ/s320/waiting+for+normal.jpg" width="217" /></a> <b>Your first book, <i>Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel </i>was a picture book. Next came a YA novel in verse, <i>Dead on Town Line</i>. Your two more recent books <i>Waiting for Normal </i>and <i>Crunch</i> were middle grade novels. Your writing has taken you in many different directions. How do you feel about your varied career? Do you have a favorite genre or age group? </b><br />
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I’m surprised! And pleased! I feel not very responsible for the way these projects arrive to me. One thing I love about genre hopping is that, for me, it seems to keep the writing crisp. I like “Beginner’s Mind” and so if I’ve been away from a genre for little while, I feel new to it again when I come back. If I have a favorite genre, it is probably older middle grade, or ‘tween. Interestingly, that was a time of struggles for me as a kid. Perhaps I set some roots down. <br />
<br />
<b>I hear you’re currently working on a YA Contemporary novel, <i>The Things You Kiss Goodbye</i>. Could you give us a sneak preview of what that book will be about? </b><br />
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Oh, sure I will. The story is about sixteen-year-old Bettina Vasilis. A history of restrictive parenting has her dipping her toe into the social scene at her high school a bit behind the rest of the crowd. In spite of that, she finds herself beginning her junior year in a serious romantic relationship with the high school basketball star. She has even won a spot on the cheerleading squad at his urging. But it is all a bad fit. For one thing, the adorable guy bouncing the orange ball is furtively abusive. One day, while Bettina is running away from him, she runs smack into someone incredible—someone kind, enticing, and completely forbidden. So begins a tricky walk on a tightrope of deception.<br />
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<b>Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?</b><br />
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Yes! I’d like to tell you how much I am looking forward to your important new title, <i>When Rivers Burned: The Earth Day Story</i>. I am an avid reader of powerful nonfiction, and I know your book will not disappoint. <br />
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<b>Wow! That's high praise, especially coming from an accomplished like you. Thank you! And thanks so much for joining me today. I loved <i>Crunch</i>, and I’m so pleased that I had a chance to share it with my readers.</b><br />
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Thank you so much for your thoughtful questions and for your graciousness, Linda. Let’s make sure our paths cross again! Cheers! ~LeslieLinda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-81314977493940175732013-03-14T14:58:00.001-04:002013-03-14T14:58:14.586-04:00When Rivers Burned: The Earth Day Story<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGUh4332KUZ3fU2A-3jXSctvb6Ll3BGkAuY2NNBOwSckNQRkmaXbRo5hIyMyWqp7948G9WeZ4_CDjSKFhmMDFXH1QeaE62bpMfrDIn3v-pSSWkKe9j25FSZzEH7TYzOtnD8FRoAisNWyQO/s1600/EarthDay+cover.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGUh4332KUZ3fU2A-3jXSctvb6Ll3BGkAuY2NNBOwSckNQRkmaXbRo5hIyMyWqp7948G9WeZ4_CDjSKFhmMDFXH1QeaE62bpMfrDIn3v-pSSWkKe9j25FSZzEH7TYzOtnD8FRoAisNWyQO/s320/EarthDay+cover.png" /></a><br />
I've been busy preparing for the April launch of my latest book: <br />
<b><i>When Rivers Burned: The Earth Day Story<b></b></i></b><br />
<br />
I wanted to let you know about a few of my upcoming events. <br />
First, is a workshop for adults interested in writing for children:<br />
<br />
<b>Young at Art: Writing for a Young Audience</b><br />
Date: Friday April 5 6:30-8 pm <br />
Place: One Yoga Center<br />
Foster Market Place<br />
142A Danielson Pike<br />
Foster, RI 02825<br />
To register for this event, contact Ellen Schaeffer<br />
Phone: 401-368-YOGA (9642)<br />
Email: ellen@youphoria.biz<br />
<br />
Workshop Description:<br />
During this 1 ½ hour session, we’ll explore a variety of avenues to writing for kids. We’ll do some writing exercises to see where you might fit best. We’ll talk about the elements of story and discuss where to find support for your writing. Participants are invited to share up to five pages of a previously written work. Please note that new writers and curious non-writers are certainly welcome.<br />
<br />
As an "Author for Earth Day," I'll donate half my fee from this event to the RI Audubon Society <a href="http://">www.asri.org</a> and the Nature Conservancy <a href="http://">www.nature.org</a>. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDDHQzs-yCNHIqP9n7IpZWxtdt33nfAIkp0juwfoGOfHKr_aq7hL4beSja7wC0SmnnNVNROHccDjA1xFEN6pdALH9ZL0ZWFANGFITUlA71tCfzj3MNfq5fDqqAPUGPvnhD_UNeRvpFBSaH/s1600/EarthDay+cover.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDDHQzs-yCNHIqP9n7IpZWxtdt33nfAIkp0juwfoGOfHKr_aq7hL4beSja7wC0SmnnNVNROHccDjA1xFEN6pdALH9ZL0ZWFANGFITUlA71tCfzj3MNfq5fDqqAPUGPvnhD_UNeRvpFBSaH/s320/EarthDay+cover.png" /></a><br />
Next, my book launch: (Yay!)<br />
<b>Join Apprentice Shop Books <a href="http://www.apprenticeshopbooks.com">www.apprenticeshopbooks.com</a> as we celebrate the movement that changed the world with the release of<br />
<i>When Rivers Burned: The Earth Day Story</i></b><br />
Book discussion, question and answer session, and light refreshments served throughout the afternoon. <br />
When: Sunday, April 21, 2013<br />
Time: 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.<br />
Where: Audubon Society of Rhode Island<br />
Audubon Environmental Education Center <br />
1401 Hope Street <br />
Bristol, RI<br />
<br />
$1 from each book purchased on 4/21/13 will be donated to the Earth Day Network <a href="http://www.earthday.org">www.earthday.org</a>. Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7634491986952582470.post-26856110913721756912013-02-04T06:30:00.000-05:002013-02-04T06:30:02.416-05:00Interview with Author Barbara O'Connor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrXbfMWFSvVJIzFvGa6sCb0bWklzRAW5NEGcShWtCowdFgl80XzYUA4KGFki8F0CQLEgSY3qzh8xiTFRljz8vO4OexrmxvBsy6eASjHa7OdTlUwvMivgOZf1-D0FfrLBsfGQap2inQqDFH/s1600/b.oconnor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="74" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrXbfMWFSvVJIzFvGa6sCb0bWklzRAW5NEGcShWtCowdFgl80XzYUA4KGFki8F0CQLEgSY3qzh8xiTFRljz8vO4OexrmxvBsy6eASjHa7OdTlUwvMivgOZf1-D0FfrLBsfGQap2inQqDFH/s400/b.oconnor.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<b>Barbara O’Connor is the author of over a dozen books for intermediate readers, including the award-winning Moonpie and Ivy, How to Steal a Dog, and The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester. <br />
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She’s here today to talk about her most recent novel, On the Road to Mr. Mineo’s, which was named one of the best children’s books of the year by School Library Journal and won a Parent’s Choice Silver Award. <br />
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You open your book with a description of Highway 14 in South Carolina. Then you pull off the highway, following a small green sign to Meadville. There are no characters in sight until you get to town. Stella, the young main character doesn’t show up until page 5. Isn’t this a risky way to start a novel for kids? What made you take this approach?</b><br />
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Yes, risky. Kids usually want to jump right into the action. But I wanted to create a mood. More importantly, I wanted a sort of panoramic view of the town so the reader gets a sense of it right away. Then when the characters are introduced, they will “fit” in their places. The first chapter is very quiet, I know. That’s why I added the last “cliffhanger” sentence so that the reader will know that the pace will pick up in the next chapter.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienHWMggLMt_XDCiuFeZshlGPAAEAzEKtM7bcdtUnkz7Cc6NcSZs9BQuKq636yeEFD9X1SvFTTTiMKf4EFb1muEMYE5LRcq6hmMyHKgE3HHz1eniLxHMqMniVzW1fy-B8C-EhnWAy652ZZ/s1600/mr.+mineos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="173" width="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienHWMggLMt_XDCiuFeZshlGPAAEAzEKtM7bcdtUnkz7Cc6NcSZs9BQuKq636yeEFD9X1SvFTTTiMKf4EFb1muEMYE5LRcq6hmMyHKgE3HHz1eniLxHMqMniVzW1fy-B8C-EhnWAy652ZZ/s320/mr.+mineos.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<b>A one-legged pigeon launches the plot. Stella wants him. So does her brother, and a number of the town worthies. Each chapter revolves around someone’s relationship with this pigeon. How did you come up with such an unlikely plot?</b><br />
<br />
I knew from the get-go that I wanted multiple viewpoints. Once I decided on the homing pigeon (originally Sherman was a racing pigeon), then I needed a thread to tie all of the characters together. Wanting to catch Sherman was the perfect thread.<br />
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<br />
<b>It’s unusual for a children’s book to feature so many adults. How did you make that work so well?</b><br />
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I’m glad you think it worked well. Thanks. That, too, can be a risky move. But since I had so many points of view, I definitely didn’t want them all to be children. I needed a balance. And I used Sherman to add interest to the adults. Giving an adult a pet always helps to make them more kid-friendly, too. (For instance, in my novel Greetings from Nowhere, one of the main characters is an elderly woman. I gave her a cat named Ugly, who helped make her more kid-like and, thus, a character whom kids could connect with.)<br />
<br />
Actually, my favorite characters in On the Road to Mr. Mineo’s are the older couple, Amos and Ethel. I gave them the little brown dog so that their story would be more appealing to kids.<br />
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<b>Each character in this book is unique and memorable. Can you tell us a little about how you developed your characters? </b><br />
<br />
Character development in multiple viewpoint stories is critical. Each one has to be identifiable and distinct from the others. I try to establish their uniqueness immediately, to reinforce that distinction periodically, and to stay consistent. For instance, Gerald is meek, nervous, and not a risk taker – the complete opposite of Stella. So his actions and dialogue needed to reflect that. Mr. Mineo is a bit cranky. I used his dog, Ernie, to help me establish that because he could talk to the dog, expressing his aggravation over Sherman to Ernie.<br />
<br />
So, bottom line, the trick is to give each character a specific personality trait that the reader will recognize throughout the story.<br />
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<b>Many of your books feature animals, from the dog in How to Steal a Dog, to the frog in The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester. Do animals hold a special place in your life? What role do they play in your fiction? </b><br />
<br />
I love animals! I’m a big dog lover. And as for frogs, I was one heck of a good bullfrog catcher back in the day. (I lived in Louisiana for a few years as a child and once caught a giant bullfrog using a birdcage in a drainage ditch.)<br />
I use animals often in my work because kids love animals. And as I mentioned in an earlier answer, animals often help make an adult character more kid-friendly and attractive to young readers. <br />
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<b>You live in New England, yet most of your books are set in the south. Why does that setting resonate with you?</b><br />
<br />
I was born and raised in the South. I didn’t leave the South until several years after finishing college. My heart’s home will always be there. I love everything about it: the people, the food, the landscape. And because that’s where I spent my childhood, that’s the setting that helps me feel like a child again and helps me create stories about and for children. If I tried to write a book set in New England, I don’t think I could conjure up the feelings I need. And it would be harder for me to add the rich details that make a story special because the details of New England don’t speak to me the same as the details of the South: the dialogue, the weather, the businesses, characters, trees, food, etc. All of those things are vital to the story as a whole.<br />
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<b>Your books make delightful read-alouds. I love Mr. Mineo’s daily roll call of his pigeons: <br />
Edna, Frankie, Martha, Samson, Leslie, Taylor, Amy, Joe, Christopher, and Martin. <br />
But not Sherman.<br />
Do you pay special attention to the sound of the words as you write? When does this happen in your process? </b><br />
<br />
Definitely!! The rhythm of the writing is critical to my style and writing voice. For that reason, I use a lot of short, incomplete sentences. (I drive copy editors crazy.) I also love repetition, as in the example you cited. Kids enjoy that. It establishes a familiarity with the story for them. <br />
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As for when in the process this happens, I’d say right away. The rhythm and sound of the words set the tone for the book and that needs to be established very early on. Also, I’m a polish-as-I-go kind of writer. I never leave anything messy behind me. It’s too distracting to me. <br />
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<b>What are you working on now? </b><br />
<br />
I’m in the very early stages of a middle grade novel. I’m hoping to try something new (for me) but it’s tricky and I’m not sure I can pull it off. I’m not going to divulge what it is in case I DON’T pull it off. <br />
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<b>Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?</b><br />
<br />
Just a thank you for stopping by this terrific blog and reading my interview. Thank you, Linda. <br />
<br />
Thank you so much for talking with us today! <br />
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Linda Crotta Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13343135211978896989noreply@blogger.com9