Fiona Ingram interviews Danika Dinsmore

I am currently out of town, at a conference, so Fiona Ingram was gracious enough to post in my absence.  Thank you for this great interview, Fiona!

About Fiona Ingram: Fiona Ingram (B.A., Hons. (Natal), M.A., (Wits)) was born and educated in South Africa. Her interest in ancient history, mystery, and legends, and her enjoyment of travel has resulted in The Secret of the Sacred Scarab, the first in her exciting children’s adventure series—Chronicles of the Stone. The first book was inspired by an actual trip the author took to Egypt with her two young nephews (then aged 10 and 12). The Secret of the Sacred Scarab was a Finalist in the Children’s/Juvenile Fiction category of the 2009 USA Next Generation Indie Book Awards; Finalist in the Children’s Fiction section of the USA National Best Books 2009 Awards.

It was also a Winner in the Preteen category of the 2009 Readers’ Favorites 2009 Awards. The book was nominated Number 2 in the Top 10 Favourite Books of 2009 for Kids, Tweens and Teens in The Children’s & Teens Book Connection. It has also won a Silver medal in the Teen Fiction category of the 2010 Nautilus Book Awards. The book was a Finalist in the 2010 International Book Awards

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Escape to an Enchanted World with Brigitta of the White Forest

My guest today is Danika Dinsmore, an award-winning writer, spoken word artist, and educator. Danika has been working with children of all ages for 18 years. Faerie Tales from the White Forest is her first novel series. Brigitta of the White Forest is Book One of Faerie Tales from the White Forest.

Danika grew up in Northern California. She earned her MFA in Writing and Poetics from Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics (founded by Allen Ginsberg). Her early writing career was built on experimental poetry and collaborative spoken word performances. While living in Seattle, she organized and performed with the 12-person Word Orchestra as well as the performance group FourWord FourTete. Her inspired performances earned her the Washington Poets Association award for Performance Poetry. After moving to British Columbia she turned her attention to film, television, and new media. She has worked as an artist-in-the-schools and media literacy educator for Learning Through the Arts and has taught screenwriting courses in the Writing Department at Vancouver Film School and at Capilano University. She blogs about her multi-disciplined writing life as The Accidental Novelist. She currently lives with her husband and their spoiled cat in Vancouver.

Let’s take a look at Brigitta of the White Forest. Brigitta is a young Water Faerie from the village-nest of Tiragarrow. She’s anxious about going through The Change, as she doesn’t see how destiny markings on her wings should determine her life’s path. A few days before the annual Festival of the Elements, Brigitta is flying an errand with her tag-a-long sister when a mysterious curse turns everyone in the White Forest to stone, except for the two of them. They have no idea why they were not cursed, but they do know if they don’t turn everyone back in time for the festival rituals, the Hourglass of Protection will run out and so will its protective field around the forest. With no one in their forest left to help them, they must leave the protected realm to seek an exiled faerie they have only heard about in ancient tales.

Q&A with Danika

Fiona: Your two main characters are sisters. Is your book specifically aimed at girls?

Danika: I don't know the exact stats for publishing, but it seems to be a collective agreement that young girls read more than young boys. You always hear of people looking for ways to get young boys to read, at least in North America. I'm not sure if it's the same thing in other parts of the world. After I wrote the novel, a few people did ask if I could make one of the sisters a boy (Brigitta and Himalette are the main characters, Himmy is the younger sister). But really it would have been impossible to change either of them. They have a sisterly relationship. The relationship between sisters and brothers is a completely different dynamic. I know, I had two brothers.

Fiona: You wear two hats being in both publishing and films. What are your observations on the boy: girl ratio of viewers and heroes/heroines?

Danika: In the film and TV industry, it's quite the opposite to books where girls are the main readership. The largest movie-going audience is boys age 15-25 (interestingly enough, the 2nd largest movie going audience is women over 50). But, there are a lot of us who think this statistic was created by the industry because of the type of films that are made and marketed. It was self-fulfilling. I used to be on the board of directors of Women in Film and Television Vancouver. The statistics for women in "above the line" positions (i.e. those who have creative control over films) is staggeringly low. Until this most recent Oscars, no woman had ever won best director for a motion picture. 84 years! And, due to the preponderance of males in "above the line" positions, the trickledown effect is that there are a low percentage of female protagonists in films. Last summer I was looking at the marquees for the three leading theatres in town and NOT ONE film had a female protagonist. Not even the animated ones. Remember the animated film "Up"? There were no females in that movie except the protag's wife... who died.

Fiona: You started out originally in film. How has this influenced your writing?

Danika: This novel was originally a screenplay. I'm a screenwriter turned novelist. We always hear about novels becoming screenplays, but not much the other way around. And almost all my screenplays have strong female leads. It's been very important to me to write female heroes and to not use female stereotypes (well, I stay away from stereotypes in general anyway). So, yes, I had purposefully written this with female leads because I feel strongly about strong female leads in films.

Then I wrote the screenplay as a novel. I'd never written a novel before. I decided to do so because I thought there was so much more to this story. More than I could develop in a screenplay format. Screenplays are quite economic. When a novelist tries to write a screenplay, it's probably quite painful, because it's so minimalistic in comparison. You only write what you see (and hear) on screen. And even then, you don't describe anything too much because that's the set decorator's job. Also, I was concerned about rights. I knew I had something with Brigitta. I had written several screenplays, but instinctively I knew there was something special about this one.

Fiona: Who will read your book and why?

Danika: Even though my demographic will probably be marketed as girls aged 9-14, there have been men in their 40s that have read and enjoyed this book. That's because it's a real adventure story. This isn't a Disney fairy tale. This isn't Tinkerbell. This is a "hero's journey" into a dark and frightening place. Sure, there is comedy relief, but there are some quite scary moments. And the second book is even darker than the first. I think that's what happens when you delve deeper into something, it naturally gets darker.

It's also a coming-of-age for a girl who doesn't quite believe in herself. And the theme of "what is destiny?" runs through it. Are we in control of our destiny, or do things have an unalterable course?

Fiona: Did you ever think you’d write a novel?

Danika: When I was 15 I thought I wanted to be a novelist. I kept starting to write books and never finishing them. Then I discovered the magic of poetry, so that's the direction I went in. I even got my MFA in Writing and Poetics. And poetry is really my first love. I went from poetry to screenwriting, which isn't as much of a leap as one might think. They are both about economy of words, beats/rhythm, and imagery. To me, both are about what you SEE, and what is not said.

To answer your question, No, I never thought I'd actually write a novel. It seemed like such a daunting task. Too many words! Too much responsibility! But then I realized how wonderfully liberating it was! I'd been writing in such a restricted format. I became the director, cinematographer; set decorator, stunt coordinator, actor ... everything! It was so wonderful to be able to go into a character's head. So wonderful to describe things I didn't have the room to do so in the script. I got to add scenes! It became a richer, deeper, darker story.

Fiona: Now that you’ve gone and done it, how do you feel?

Danika: I'm excited that I can finally share it with the world. It scares me, though, because now I've created this entirely new world and I want to keep exploring it, so I hope people like it enough for me to continue on. That's what's really unique about this series. This imaginary world in which all the stories take place. It’s a place no one's gone before! That's what tickles me about it.

Fiona: What’s next after you finish Faerie Tales from the White Forest?

Danika: I don’t know what will happen after I finish this series, but I'd love to write a YA novel, something a bit more realistic. Perhaps a little magical realism? And I want to write some books about writing and teaching writing, because I have a lot to say about that. I've been teaching creative writing for 20 years.

Fiona: Thanks for being my guest today, Danika. Readers who’d like to know more about Danika’s work can visit her book website. Danika’s poetry Every Day Angels & Other Near-Death Experiences is also available on Amazon.

Visit Danika's worlds:
http://thewhiteforest.com
http://theaccidentalnovelist.wordpress.com


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Brigitta link http://entheospress.com/index.php?page=brigitta

Danika’s poetry http://www.amazon.com/Every-Angels-Other-Near-Death-Experiences/dp/0975404202/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2

Another good interview that focuses on the book and makes an interesting link is http://www.examiner.com/x-7597-Childrens-Books-Examiner~y2010m4d21-You-can-accidentally-become-a-novelist An interview by Lori Calabrese, National Children’s Book Examiner.

Author Interview and Contest - Barbara Dee

Please join me in welcoming author Barbara Dee to the blog today.  Barbara is the author of the newly released tween novel, This is Me From Now On from Simon and Schuster.  She has also written 2 other books:  Solving Zoe and Just Another Day in My Insanely Real Life.   You can find her online at her website, Barbara Dee or her blog, Barbara Dee Books.

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WFAR (Write For A Reader): When did you know that you wanted to be an author?

BD (Barbara Dee): Actually, I’ve always known that! When I was a little kid, I used to say I wanted to be an “authoress.” (I also said I wanted to be a ballerina, but as it turns out, you don’t see too many five-foot-eleven women in tutus!)

WFAR: What else have you written besides this book?

BD: I’ve written the tween novels JUST ANOTHER DAY IN MY INSANELY REAL LIFE, and SOLVING ZOE, which was just named one of the 2010 Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year. It’s also a finalist in the 2010 New York State Library Association Three Apples Book Award. What’s so wonderful about that award is that it comes directly from kids!

WFAR: What was the inspiration or back story for This is Me From Now On?

BD: When I was in seventh grade, I was a lot like Evie—a good girl who was getting a bit restless. So I became friendly with a much wilder girl who got me into some mischief—nothing like what happens in THIS IS ME FROM NOW ON. But this girl jolted me out of my comfort zone and kept me laughing. She also helped me figure out a few things about myself. I think every girl in middle school needs a friend like that—as long as she’s careful!

WFAR: Why did you choose to write for tweens as opposed to other audiences?

BD: When my own kids were tweens, they’d outgrown the Children’s Section in our library, but they weren’t ready for some of the darker, edgier books in the YA Section. It occurred to me that kids in those “in between years” needed more choices—and they especially needed fun, funny books that took them seriously. As it happens, I’m in close touch with my own tween years, and can channel those emotions very easily. So I decided to try writing for tweens. And I’m having a blast!

WFAR: Do you have writing mentors or influences?

BD: No one in particular. But I sometimes read Lynda Barry’s WHAT IT IS for inspiration. I also love her strips about Marlys—she gets so deep into a kid’s head.

WFAR: What is your favorite piece or book that you have written?

BD: That’s like asking a mom who’s her favorite kid! My favorite is whatever I’m writing at the moment.

WFAR: What do you like to do when you are not writing?

BD: I like to read (of course!), watch movies and baseball, swim, do crossword puzzles, and eat naughty sugary things.

WFAR: What are some of your favorite things: book, genre, author, color, music, etc? 

BD:  I honestly don’t have a favorite book or author, because I love so many! And it drives me crazy when people are snobby about genres. I love HAMLET and PRIDE AND PREJUDICE and THE GREAT GATSBY—and I also love WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE and GOING BOVINE and CALVIN & HOBBES. I’m also just as open about music—when I drive I like to listen to Dave Matthews, Chopin, Taylor Swift, Duke Ellington, Pink, Bob Dylan, show tunes, and the GLEE soundtrack. But I’ve always loved purple. That’s one definite all-time fave.

WFAR: Can you describe your writing space for us? Where is it, what’s around you?

BD: I have a ridiculously cluttered writing desk in my bedroom (kind of like Cassie’s in JUST ANOTHER DAY). Sometimes my work spreads out on the floor. When this happens my cats nest on top of it, which makes for furry manuscripts.

WFAR: What do you think about having your book reviewed by book bloggers?

BD: I think it’s terrific! The more voices readers get to hear, the better!

WFAR: What’s in the works for you now?

BD: I’m in the process of revising my next book, TRAUMA QUEEN, which will be out next spring. It’s about a tween girl with the most embarrassing mom ever.

WFAR: Anything else you would like readers to know?

BD: My favorite sugary thing is chocolate. I’m mentioning this in hopes someone will bake me something with frosting.

WFAR: Thank you for allowing me to interview you! By the way, I am a purple lover too and my favorite sugary thing is chocolate!

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About This is Me From Now On:  Sometimes your life just needs a little jolt. 

This is what Evie's new friend Francesca tells her, and soon enough, Evie's life has had something more like an earthquake. Francesca thinks life is dull unless you go after everything you want and say everything on your mind all the time--and sometimes that includes giving other people a little behind the scenes help to give them what she thinks they want.

Evie can't always tell if she's horrified or fascinated by everything Francesca convinces her to do, but ultimately, she comes to see friendship--and life--in a whole new light.
 

Barbara has sent me 2 swag bags to giveaway this week. Wouldn't you like to win one? Inside you will find some of Evie's favorite things:  Lip Smackers lip balm, bubble gum and a re-creation of Evie's amber necklace.  Winners will also receive one of Barbara's bookmarks.  Comment on this post for an entry.  Spread the word about this contest on your blog, Twitter or Facebook and earn extra entries.  Just leave what you did in the comments.  Contest runs through midnight Tuesday May 18th.  Winners will be chosen at random and posted on Wednesday, May 19th.  Good luck!

Interview - Kami Garcia/Margaret Stohl

This summer, I had the awesome opportunity to read an ARC of Beautiful Creatures, by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.  I fell in love with the characters, the story, everything!  So, today, I am honored to bring you an interview with the authors.  I am so honored that they agreed to do this!

photo credit:  Alex Hoerner

WFAR (Write For A Reader):  Tell a little about yourself.

Margie: I’ve had my nose stuck in a book since Kindergarten. I didn’t speak to anyone outside my family until third grade. I went to a college where I could take only literature and writing classes. I went to a writing school in the UK. I wrote screenplays. I made videogames. I have a husband, three daughters, and two bad beagles. And I read a book almost every day of my life.

Kami: I’ve been writing since I was a kid, and spent most of high school filling about forty notebooks with poetry. I’ve always been a reader, drawn to fantasy in particular, since I’ve always been a little dark. I have an MA in education, and I’ve been teaching for thirteen years. Currently, I’m a Reading Specialist and when I’m not teaching kids to read, I’m discussing books with them.

WFAR:  How did you end up writing a book together?

Margie: We’ve been friends for so long, we emigrated over from being book- swappers to critique partners to writing partners. I guess we just ran out of other things to talk about!

Kami:  And the fact that Margie’s daughters, and some of my other former students, dared us to do it. We were always talking books with them, and I taught them to be demanding readers when they were in my class. They definitely remembered the demanding part – but it’s the reason we wrote and finished BEAUTIFUL CREATURES.

WFAR:  Can you give us some of the back story on BC?  How did this story come to be?

Margie:  It involves a long lunch, lots of Diet Coke, writing on the backs of many napkins, a love of the South, and the words “Sixteen Moons.” From there it was a short leap to Ethan, and telling a supernatural boy meets girl story from the perspective of the boy. Everything just sort of rolled out from there.

Kami:  It was a completely caffeinated, salsa-induced, brainstorming session of epic proportions.

WFAR:  BC is set in the South and you live in California. Did either of you live in the south once? If not, how did you decide on this setting?

Margie:  Our maternal families are both from tiny towns, mine in the west and Kami’s in the South. We both eventually lived with these three generations under one roof, so we have a shared casserole culture between us. I also came to the South through spending many years studying American Literature, and loving Eudora Welty and Harper Lee and Flannery O’Connor.

Kami:  My mom’s family is from North Carolina, and living with my grandmother and great-grandmother, I lived in a world of sweet tea and sass. My mom still remembers her summers on her aunt and uncle’s farm. But small towns are small towns, aren’t they?

WFAR:  What made you choose the YA genre?

Margie:  That’s what we read. My teenage girls and I are practically our own book club!

Kami:  We read YA, so there was never a question about writing it. I think YA is raw and real in a way few genres are. We’re pretty raw.

WFAR:  You have a blog called the Caster Girls. Can you tell the readers about the significance of the Caster Girls and how they can find out more about them? (plugging Vania's blog; it's shameless, I know)

Margie:  The Caster Girls are the girls who have been our first readers, right from the start. The blog their own authentic teen voices, which we felt were important to put out there. They can always be found at www.castergirls.com, or from links at http://www.beautifulcreaturesthebook.com/.

Kami:  The blog is actually theirs. They run it, write it, and maintain it. And they do an amazing job.

WFAR:  Lena, the main character, is a strong-willed character. Is she based on anyone?

Margie:  She’s more of a reaction to many YA heroines than anything else. We wanted her to be powerful and strong and opinionated. The teen girls we know are more individualistic and brave than we are!

Kami:  Lena is as strong as we wished we were as teens. She wants to be herself. But more importantly, she tries to be.

WFAR:  Can we expect a sequel? If so, have you already started? Title?

Margie:  The sequel is just finished, hooray! And we can’t tell you the title yet, but soon!

Kami:  We think the sequel will be out next December, and there are lots of surprises.

WFAR:  What are your writing "must haves,” the things you just can't write without?

Margie:  I think they’ve been fairly well documented: Diet Coke, Starbucks, Wheat Thins, Earphones, Reading Glasses, my MacBook Air and the soundtrack to Spring Awakening. Though sometimes my sister- in-law will make me a mix to go with what I am working on; I’ve had both a Sixteen Moons and a Seventeen Moons writing playlist that have really helped. And I have to start writing with the same song, every time.

Kami:  Aside from food, which Margie covered, I need quiet to write. No music. I hear the voices of the characters in my head as I write, and I need silence to hear them.

WFAR:  How does it feel as you wait to see your book on bookstore shelves?

Margie:  Crazy. Surreal. Amazing. Like a dream. The first time I saw the ARC I cried like a baby. The first time I saw the book on the shelf I forced Anna the bookseller to autograph it.

Kami: The book is actually on the shelves, and it is totally surreal. It’s like I’m living in an alternate universe, looking at something that someone with the same name as me wrote.

Fast Five: Margie

Favorite food and drink – Cheese & Diet Coke
Place you've always wanted to go – Prague
Favorite place to read – In bed with my 8 reading next to me
Word you love to use – “You know what I mean?”
Your wish – for my family to finally not have the flu anymore. And once that happens, to get to keep writing!

Fast Five: Kami
Favorite food and drink – Hot Fudge Sundaes & Diet Coke
Place you've always wanted to go – Italy
Favorite place to read – In bed
Word you love to use – Seriously?
Your wish – For everyone I love to be happy and healthy, and readers to find the book that makes a difference for them. Hopefully, for some, it will be BEAUTIFUL CREATURES.

WFAR:  Ladies, thank you so much for allowing me to interview you.  Beautiful Creatures is a wonderful book and I can't wait for the sequel!!

You can keep up with Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl at http://www.beautifulcreaturesthebook.com/.

Visit Little, Brown’s Beautiful Creatures website at http://www.somelovesarecursed.com/.

Beautiful Creatures is out in stores and would make a wonderful gift for Christmas!
Buy it at Amazon
Buy it at Powells
Buy it at Indiebound

TBS Questions Answered - Book Winners!

Thank you to all who entered Shelly's giveaway! The questions were great and I had a hard time narrowing it down to just five... hence the super long delay in posting the winners! :-) Without *further* ado, here are the 5 winning questions and answers!

1) Steph Su said... How did you react when you found out that your book was going to be published?! What did you do to celebrate?

Well, when I got THE CALL from my agent with the final accepted offer
news, it was about 5 days after receiving the first THE CALL that a
publisher was interested in making an offer. Because I was fortunate to have multiple offers on Twenty Boy Summer, the wait was even longer (*almost died!*) and the internal squealing was even louder (*OMG*)! I
was still working a corporate gig at the time, sitting in a cube farm with like 100 people around me, and I'd been sneaking in and out of the only private phone booth on the floor all day. When the final call came in that the deal was done, I had to keep my freaking out to a minimum in order to maintain my serious corporate, um, seriousness. But I did call my husband and whisper-squeal, and then after work went out for martinis with the girls, then met my husband for an indulgent dinner at our favorite Argentinian restaurant. Thankfully I write full
time now, so I don't have to hide in a phone booth a la Clark Kent whenever I feel like freaking out over something cool!

2) jessica.marie said...Did you go to college to be a writer (major in English)? Do you think it would be beneficial to do so, or major in another subject that you would be interested in writing about such as History?

I studied Communication in college, which has some writing components but not a creative writing focus. I don't think you need to major in English or a writing-related discipline to become a writer. I definitely recommend taking writing classes, joining a critique group, and reading tons of classic and current literature, but you can do all those things while majoring in astrophysics if you want to. And if there's something you might love writing about, like history or anthropology or earth science, then yes, you should definitely follow
that course of study. But only if you're really into the subject, because you're making a pretty big financial, emotional, and time commitment to study something for 2 to 4 years, so whatever it is, make sure you really want it! :-)

3) Jenna said... Have you ever re-read a book that you used to love, and find that you don't like it as much as you used to. If so, why do you think that happened? Is it because your taste in books changed?

I don't recall having the experience of re-reading a book and not liking it the next time around, but I did have the opposite experience, and your question prompted me to write about that. When I was in high school, reading the classics did not appeal to me. I just didn't get into books like To Kill a Mockingbird, A Separate Peace, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I guess I just couldn't connect with the characters at that time in my life, and I felt like something was wrong with me. I mean, how could I not like the classics when I loved
writing so much? But then I re-read them as I got older, and now, A Separate Peace and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn are two of my favorite books. So I do think it can be fun and beneficial to re-read stories when we're at different points in our lives. Our experiences and feelings change as we grow and learn and meet new people, so it makes sense that the way we relate to and connect with stories and characters will change, too.

4) quelleheure4 said... From the reviews I've been reading, your debut YA novel is getting rave reviews so I'd like to know if you'll be continuing in this vein and writing more YA novels! If so, what's next? Can you give us a little hint?

Thank you! Yes, I plan to write YA novels for as long as people want to read them! :-) My next book is called FIXING DELILAH HANNAFORD.  It's about a teen uncovering and understanding three generations of family secrets as she helps her mother and aunt pack up their deceased mother's estate in Vermont.  Delilah comes out in Spring/Summer 2010.  There is an excerpt posted at Starry Night if you'd like to check it out.

5) Nora said...I absolutely love your post on high school memories, want to tell us more about that prom-ditching grateful dead experience?

That was probably one of the funnest nights of my life. :-) Everyone thought I'd regret ditching senior prom for the Dead show, but I thought Jerry Garcia was much better date than any of the prospects at school, and I wasn't disappointed. We didn't even get tickets -- we just wandered around outside the stadium, listening to the music, taking in the scene, hanging out with the peace-loving Deadheads. About halfway through the show, they opened the doors for all of the ticket-less to wander in, and seeing the Dead like that, just jamming
out on the stage during one of their infamous random riffs, was amazing. I was transfixed.

After the show, we wandered back to the side street where my friend's boyfriend had parked his car. We had about 15 minutes till curfew, but we lived close to the stadium so we weren't worried. Of course, when we got to the street and saw that it was completely empty, save for about 100 other slack-jawed people who'd assumed as we did that the cops weren't seriously going to tow *all* of those cars, even if we did park in a no parking zone, we grew concerned! You know what they say about assumptions. The car was at the impound lot! I mean, here I was, ditching prom night, and I still wasn't going to make my curfew!

We spent the next 3 hours collecting cans and bottles from the stadium lots in blankets and dumping them into my friend's mom's minivan. Thankfully she showed up with the grocery-getter to help us carry the bottles to the store. We counted them all out and got $120, of which $80 had to pay to get the car out of impound. By the time the ordeal was over, I was the walking dead, which seemed fitting. I got home at like 6 in the morning with dirty hair, hands that reeked of beer from all the bottles we collected, and a tie-died T-shirt featuring Bugs Bunny characters as pot-smoking Deadheads. Mom was not pleased, but hey. I'll show those pink-satin-wearing prom-goers!

I got grounded for being so late, and so misunderstood, but whenever I think back to that crazy psychedelic riff inside the stadium, I know that it was totally worth it. :-)

Thanks again for all the great questions, and to Shelly for hosting this fun contest!

Thank you, Sarah for agreeing to do this, and thank you to Little, Brown for offering the books for this giveaway.  Winners have been emailed and have 48 hours to get their information back to me.

I will be posting more contest winners this evening.

Author Interview: Coach Pedro

This is the next to last post for Children's Book Week.  Coach Pedro, author of 20 Easy Ways to Help Save the Earth, was kind enough to stop by for an interview to culminate the week.  I will be posting a review of his book later today, but wanted you to get to know the author first.

Coach Pedro Rita resides in Ann Arbor, Mich., with his wife and co-author, Susan Adam-Rita. He works as Coaching Director for Michigan Tigers FC as well as Director of Development for WideWorld Sports Center, a soccer facility with programs for youth players. Coach Pedro is currently working on his next book called Bending a Soccer Ball. For more information, please visit www.coachpedro.com

Write For A Reader (WFAR):  When did you know that you wanted to be an author? 

Coach Pedro (CP):  I always wanted to write about my profession and the experiences that I have had with soccer. But working with children really opened my eyes to the need for more instruction, so I decided to write specifically for them. All my books are related to soccer, even 20 Easy Ways to Help Save the Earth, since it was at the soccer fields where I found the urgency to address this issue of saving our environment.

WFAR:  Would you describe your writing atmosphere to the readers?  Where do you work, when, music, snacks, etc...

CP:  I usually write at home. I live in a quiet place and have the privilege of being surrounded by lots of trees, flowers and birds, so that helps a lot. I keep a little note book with me so that when I have an idea, I can write it down and remember it later.

WFAR:  What do you like to do when you are not writing?

CP:  I like to take care of the garden, and of course, I like everything related to soccer, which usually means I am always working, either teaching or coaching soccer. I really like everything that’s outdoors. 

WFAR:  What are some of your favorites? Author, illustrator, book, color, or any others you’d like to share.

CP:  I have so many favorite authors, books and illustrators. By illustrator, I really admire the illustrator of my book, Murilo. He really gets at what I want and is able to put some “emotion” on the illustrations. A children’s books author I like a lot is Patricia Polaco. She touches my heart with her stories, maybe because she speaks from her own experiences growing up, which is what I do.

WFAR:  What do you find is the greatest challenge in writing children’s books?  Why?

CP:  Perhaps the greatest challenge is to make sure the kids will get involved with the book and enjoy it. I love to hear a kid saying, “I love reading this book.” 

WFAR:  What do you love most about being a children’s book author?

CP:  The contact and acceptance the children show. It is always my biggest reward to hear what lesson the children got from the books. They are not shy to tell you, and it is even surprises me how it touches them and the ideas and lessons they take from it.

WFAR:  Do you have writing mentors or influences?

CP:  The children I work with are my biggest mentors and biggest source of influence. Before publishing a book I always give it to some kids to read it and ask for their input and what they liked or disliked. Since children are very honest, I get the best feedback I could expect.

WFAR:  What’s in the works for you next?

CP:  I am working on my next book, which focuses on issues of inclusion and discrimination and the lessons kids can learn from it. Stay tuned, you are going to love it.

WFAR:  Can you give us the back story behind one of your books. Why did you write it or where did the idea come from?

CP:  Well, the idea of 20 Easy Ways to Help Save the Earth really came from me being at the soccer fields everyday and noticing how much trash kids leave behind. I spent a lot of time just cleaning after them. I noticed that it was happening everywhere I was going to play a game. Within my own teams, I started to talk with them about the importance of living in a clean environment and to take care of what you have. That’s how I came up with the idea of a simple book that could start more discussions and maybe bring more ideas to the table as of what each and everyone of us can do to help save the Earth. It doesn’t need to be a big idea, but small, simple things can help a great deal. 

We also opened a blog call GREEN EARTH, where we post ideas we receive from kids that read the book and are taking action and changing little things at their communities. It is really rewarding. 

WFAR:  What is your favorite piece or book that you have written?

CP:  I really like the Magic Soccer Ball series but 20 Easy Ways to Help Save the Earth is the one I am getting more involvement from kids and parents from all over the world and that’s rewarding.

WFAR:  Tell us something about you that might surprise us.

CP:  I love working in the garden, and I would love to have a bulldog puppy.

WFAR:  Anything else you would like to share with the readers?

CP:  As mentioned before we have a blog called: Green Earth that you can access by going to: http://20easywaystohelpsavetheearth.blogspot.com/.  So send us your ideas and or comments about your views as what to do to help save our environment. Children participating with their ideas and projects are up to get the Golden Green Seal, as a way to recognize their work and respect for their community, school, home, etc. Children’s projects will be consolidate within a foundation we will be opening soon in which we are empowering the children to plan, direct and take action at.  
We also have a campaign that we started 4 years ago, where we send around 4 to 5 big boxes to Brazil filled with used soccer balls, shoes, and clothes that are distributed to very poor kids. The donations and boxes assemble is done by the children we work with and who volunteer their time and effort to give the ones less fortunate to have a better Christmas. Everyone can do a little to brighten a child’s day.

Coach Pedro, thanks so much for stopping by and sharing with us today.

I will be posting a review for this book later today, but until then, here is the book trailer to whet your appetite.

Elizabeth Dulemba Stops By to Chat!

Today's Children's Book Week Celebration post is a chat with illustrator, now author, Elizabeth Dulemba. You can read more about Elizabeth and her books at her website and blog.

Hi Shelly, Thanks for inviting me to "Write for a Reader"! I'm an award-winning children's book illustrator and now author. I've been creating picture books for eight years and was a graphic designer/in-house illustrator, mostly for child-related businesses, for fifteen years before that. I have two dogs (one of them, Bernie, is in all my books), a cat, and a wonderful husband.

Write For A Reader (WFAR):  What was the first book you illustrated?

Elizabeth Dulemba (ED):  My first illustrated picture book was The Prince's Diary, written by Renee Ting (Shen's Books). It's a Cinderella story from the Prince's point of view and was named No.1 2006 Valentines Day Pick by Book Sense (now Indiebound)!

WFAR:  What made you move from just illustrating, to doing both writing and illustrating in your new book?

ED:  I've always loved to write, but the art ability showed up first, so that's where most of the focus in my life went. It's been my life-long goal to do both, but it's taken years of practice to get my writing skills up to snuff. Meanwhile, I have dozens of dummies in my drawers which the public will never see.

WFAR:  Do you have illustrating/writing mentors or favorites? If so, who are they?

ED:  So many! Maurice Sendak of course. Paul O. Zelinsky, Chris Van Allsburg - those were my first heroes in the business. But I've become a huge fan of too many others to name since then!

WFAR:  Can you give us a little of the back story behind your new book? How did this book come to be?

ED:  Paco and the Giant Chile Plant ~ Paco y la planta de chile gigante (a bilingual adaptation of "Jack and the Beanstalk" written by Keith Polette) was the first book I illustrated for Raven Tree Press. They liked it so much, they wanted me to do something else for them, preferably another Jack Tale (which I adore). So when I presented them with Soap, soap, soap ~ Jabón, jabón, jabón!, they flipped over it and snatched it right up - yeah!

WFAR:  What’s next for you as an illustrator/author? Do you have anything in the works?

ED:  I always have lots going on! I'm about to start illustrating The12 Days of Christmas in Georgia (written by my friend Susan Rosson Spain) for Sterling and am doing some illustration work for Highlights Magazine. I also just sent a new picture book to my agent. She loves it, so that will go out soon. I'm also writing a YA novel that I'm having a great time with.

WFAR:  What is your favorite piece or book that you have illustrated?


ED:  PACO is the winner so far, but I can't wait for SOAP to hit the world!

WFAR:  What do you like to do when you are not illustrating or writing?

ED:  Truly, illustrating and drawing are the things I love to do more than anything. But I also love chilling out with my husband, gardening, walking my dog, and driving around with the top down.

WFAR:  Describe your illustrating/writing atmosphere…where do you work, when, snacks, drinks, music while working, etc?

ED:  I redid my office last year and still love it (you can see it at http://www.dulemba.com/2008/06/office-redo.html). I make a pot of hot  tea in the morning and drink it all day. I mostly listen to an NPR station out of Chattanooga - 88.1. Or if I'm illustrating I'll watch shows on hulu, listen to audiobooks, anything that let's my hand just do what it needs to do without my brain getting in the way. If I'm writing, it has to be dead quite - it's so loud inside my head, extra noise is distracting!

WFAR:  What are some of your favorites? Author, food, color, book, any others…

ED:  Author: Too many to name - but mostly YA. Food: I am a sucker for melty cheese and good breads. Color: I'm loving chartreuse of late - totally excites me. And favorite book? Wow, again, too many to name. Although I think the praise for The Hunger Games and The Graveyard Book is well-deserved. Loved them both.

WFAR:  What is a typical day like in the life of a children’s book illustrator/author?

ED:  Well, since I do both, I have two Muses fighting for my time which keeps me pretty darned busy. I'm usually in my office by 7:30 and work until 6 (or later if I have a deadline) at least six days a week. It
depends on which one is screaming the loudest or if a deadline is looming as to what I end up working on for any given day. Somewhere in there I walk my dog and grab a shower. The walks are something I've
recently made a requirement to stay healthy - otherwise I will work from sunup to sundown. Lunch out with friends is also important. I usually try to do that at least once a week. One day a weekend is when  hubbie and I go play. (He's a long-distance motorcyclist, so he's usually gone one day a weekend.) Otherwise, I'm working, but don't feel bad for me. It's what I love to do most.

WFAR:  I follow your Tuesday Coloring Page feature. Can you tell readers about it, how they can find it, etc?

ED:  Sure! It's at http://dulemba.com/index_ColoringPages.html or http://coloringpagetuesdays.com/.  I wanted to create something that would draw attention to my books, bring people back to my site on a
regular basis, and give me regular content. So about two years ago, I started offering a new coloring page on my blog, free for download, every Tuesday. The collection quickly grew (over 100 now) and became an enormous hit! Recently, I added a subscription form so people could receive weekly alerts and the response has been outstanding! I'm thrilled to be able to share them and even more thrilled that people are enjoying them!

WFAR:  Is there anything else you would like the readers to know?

ED:  As you brought up, my first picture book as both author and illustrator will come out this Fall. It's a bilingual adaption of a classic Appalachian tale: Soap, soap, soap ~ Jabón, jabón, jabón!  I hope you'll
look for it!

Elizabeth, thanks so much for stopping by and chatting today!

Thanks so much for having me on today!

Do you have a question for Elizabeth?  I'm sure she'd love to hear from you!  Leave your thoughts/questions in the comments and I will be sure she gets them .