Informal Q&A with the author:
Q: Tell us a little about your childhood, as it relates to writing. What were your favorites, and at what point did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
A: I don't think I ever made a conscious decision to be a writer. I think I was born to be one! Because as long as I can remember, I've been listening to the stories my family loved to tell, reading all sorts of books, drawing pictures and writing, writing, writing. Luckily for me, my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles all encouraged my creativity throughout my childhood, which enabled it to grow. Reading was also encouraged in our household, which was filled to the rafters with books on every subject under the sun. I hid books under my bed, along with a flashlight, so I could read under the covers after "lights out". The first book I remember being awestruck by was A WRINKLE IN TIME, by Madeleine L'Engle.
Q: How did you transition from writing to getting your work published?
A: When I decided to switch from my former writing life---as an advertising copywriter---to writing for children about ten years ago, I realized that the most important thing to understand was what I did NOT know about the field, and to fill in the blanks as quickly as possible. Therefore, I gave myself a crash course in children's publishing. I read every book on the craft of writing for children I could lay my hands on, and wrote something every day, knowing that it would be many months before any of these manuscripts would be even close to ready for actual publication. Taking some college courses in this area helped me develop my craft, too, along with joining a critique group of fellow beginning writers. I joined the Society of Children's Book Writers and attended every conference I could in those early years, where I learned a great deal from the workshops and had the chance to meet real, live editors. Reading professional journals, such as PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, helped me learn about the publishing process and the business side of writing for children. Because publishing is such a fast-paced industry, I'm still in the process of educating myself!
Q: Describe your writing process – do you write at a certain time of day? Do you have a specific location in which you like to write?
A: I start each day with a cup of coffee and my 'free writing' journal, in which I pen three pages of prose without any preparation or any thought of self-editing. This is a lot like an athlete or dancer warming up with stretching exercises---it gets creative juices flowing and helps push away a fear of the blank page. Happily, I'm able to write in my home office most of the time, with my 'co-workers': namely, our family dog, Stella, and our pet cat, Simon. They provide lots of companionship, amusement…and inspiration!
Q: How do you prepare in writing for children? What are the unique challenges, and is there anything special that you do differently?
A: In writing for children, I try to always look at things from their point of view…which is both necessary for a creating a story that kids will relate to, and a lot more fun for me as a writer! The great challenge is to come to everyday experiences in a fresh way, using vivid, specific language to describe it. Although I draw on my own childhood memories in developing manuscripts, I don't rely on them alone. It's important for me to do personal research to make sure I'm capturing the sights, sounds and emotions of what I'm writing about before I sit down at the computer keyboard. For example, when I was preparing to write SIXTEEN RUNAWAY PUMPKINS, I took time to visit pick-your-own-pumpkin farms with camera, notebook and garden cart in hand. I brought home all sizes and shapes of pumpkins, doing drawings of them and 'brainstorming' the many words that might describe their shape, size, color, texture and weight. Then I wrote and re-wrote until I thought I'd captured these observations.
Q: Do your children read over your writing before you submit it? Or do you have some sort of review process w/kids?
A: Lots of writers read drafts of their manuscripts to family members and young friends, but I never have. My work is always reviewed by fellow children's writers in my critique group before being submitted to an editor, however, which is very helpful in finding the "blind spots" where improvement is needed, those story faults and mistakes I'm not likely to see on my own. But I do love talking with kids when visiting schools, libraries, and bookstores. I always ask them, "What are you reading right now? Do you have a favorite book?" And I especially enjoy hearing all the funny stories they've shared with me about their pets and younger siblings!
Q: What do you enjoy doing when you're not writing?
A: When I'm home, I enjoy walking our dog on the trails in a nearby park, cooking meals with new and different (or as my family might say, "weird") ingredients, and taking yoga classes. When I'm traveling, I enjoy meeting new people and learning everything about their 'corner of the world'. The variety of environments, plant life and animal life on our planet never ceases to amaze me! Wherever I am, of course, I've got a book that I'm in the middle of reading.
Q: What are you working on now? What's next for you?
A: I seem to always have about three projects going at one time: one in revision, one in the midst of the actual writing process, and one in the research/plotting stages.
Right now, I'm working on final edits of my next picture book, LULL-A-BYE, LITTLE ONE, which is scheduled for publication in spring 2006 from G.P. Putnam's Sons. I'm writing a historical fiction novel in free verse for middle grade readers, and plotting a step-into-reading story based on my observations of the 'getting to know you' process our very patient Labrador retriever went through when we recently introduced a feisty new kitten into our household.