MotherReader

The Map of My Dead Pilots: The Dangerous Game of Flying in Alaska
by Colleen Mondor
Lyons Press 2011, purchased copy

This book is simply the worst marketing campaign ever for arctic aviation. So you want to be an Alaskan pilot? Because it’s cold, lonely, boring, erratic, stressful, exhausting (very, very cold needs another mention), and you may die. Blending the adventure stories of plane trips both successful and unsuccessful with personal narratives, Colleen Mondor brings the reader into the last frozen frontier. With money at stake, planes fly in weather too cold, with cargo too heavy to be legal or safe. Everyone personally knows some pilot who died, yet the collected stories of deadly accidents don’t change the rules or risks. Published as adult nonfiction, there is crossover appeal for teens in the subject and — let’s be honest here — shorter page count then many nonfiction titles. There is some language throughout the book, but nothing that teens won’t have heard, read, and likely said before.

Personally, I read the book on a deadline, and now feel that it deserves a less rushed reader. Because when I could stop, I was able to process much more of the weight of what I had just read. For example, one anecdote detailed how the operations department was expected to lie on the official documentation for the flight — but in her job the author would write the correct weight on scrap paper, for only cargo and the pilot to see. Based on that real number, they would make the decision whether to take the flight. In a way, that number was the only thing that had substance, reality — in that everything else was faked (like the numbers), uncertain (like the weather) or precarious (like the aging planes): all but that one scrap of paper that would get thrown away. That’s something to think about, right? And that’s this book.

My fellow book blogger and good friend Colleen Mondor agreed to stop by to answer some questions about her book and new authorhood:

When did you start writing and/or seeing yourself as a writer?

I really started thinking that I could write as part of who I intended to be (as opposed to writing all through school and being told it was “a nice hobby”) after I left graduate school and realized that all the research I had done for my thesis was too valuable to shelve. The thesis was the longest thing I had ever written (160+ pages) that made sense and had a real beginning and ending. Once I had it in my hands I believed I could be more than just someone who writes after I do my “real work” every day (as I had always been told growing up) and that’s when I got serious. (I should note that my thesis was on pilot error accidents among Alaskan bush commuters — so it played right into Map.)

Who inspires you personally or professionally?

Ray Bradbury, Louis Armstrong, Hepburn & Tracy, Springsteen, Dan Eldon, Peter Beard, Barbara Hodgson (The Sensualist, Dreaming of East, etc.), Sara Vowell (!), Tim O’Brien (The Things They Carried), and so many more. Lately my life is filled with images of my great grandmother, Julia Lennon, whose photo albums recently came into my mother’s possession. Her life was incredibly hard and I find it amazing how she survived — her sheer force of will is the stuff of legend. If that isn’t inspiring (and she was my Nana!), I don’t know what is.

The narrative has an organic flow, elaborating on things previously mentioned and hinting at stories to come. With that structure, how did you organize the writing process?

Ha! Organization was something that came up all the time — sticky notes and index cards everywhere to keep straight what I wrote where and when I said what and on and on. (I have Scrivener now and I’m hoping it will help a lot in the future.) I wrote the book completely out of order and then, with the help of my agent and editor, put it in the final order you see now. I wish I could have been more straightforward when writing the book as it would have been easier from an organization perspective, but in terms of the actual creative process, easy was just not any part of the writing.

With such a personal and difficult topic, what was the hardest part to write?

Technically it was most difficult to make sure I protected the identities of all the people involved while still writing the complete truth. The hardest chapter though was a surprise for me — it was “The Good Pilot,” about my friend “Adam” who crashed due to pilot error but is still alive and well in Alaska. You would think as he is still here that would have been easier but the crash had such a detrimental affect on him and was so preventable that I really struggled with how not to let my frustration with the whole situation boil over. I wanted a different story for him — I still want a different story for him — and there is nothing that anyone can do about that. At one point I wondered if I could even include the chapter at all. It took forever to get it right.

You’ve had a longtime perspective on publishing from the reviewing side of things at Bookslut and Chasing Ray. What have you found surprising as a new author?

How quickly you become overwhelmed by the need to sell the book now that the book is written. I wish writers could just write and write and write and while I had some idea from friends how much work I would have to put into marketing Map after it came out, I was still surprised. It can overtake your life if you let it.

Where do you go next, either literally with author visits or figuratively as a writing path?

Literally, I will be going through several cities/towns in Alaska this spring and also hopefully in the Pacific northwest. To get the book on lots of shelves I have to help generate interest, and the best way to to do that is to show folks the pictures I have of flying up there and to talk about the job. There is a lot of interest in Alaska — a lot of curiosity — and I have found people very receptive to events where they can see what we saw and ask questions about what the Company was like. That is my plan for early 2012. For writing, I have several essay projects in the works and intend to continue with narrative nonfiction — more on that as it develops!

Be sure to check out other reviews and interviews:

• Whatever: Big Idea series
• SLJ’s Tea Cozy
• Writer Jen
• Beth Kephart Books
• Booklist Online
• Booklist Interview

This interview started more than a month ago in a bar in New York City. I was attending the Kid Lit Drink Night after Book Expo America when I ran into someone I actually knew: Eric Wight of the Frankie Pickle books. He introduced me to his fellow author buddies; I did not recognize the names, but the books I knew. Aaron Starmer’s Dweeb is on my actual home bookshelves. When Matthew Cody told me his book was Powerless, I proved the importance of a good book cover by affirming that it was indeed the book with the blue cover and the superhero flying down. From there we starting talking about Book Expo America itself, where I had found the book promotion on the floor focused strongly on dark and dystopian titles, making it difficult to even locate lighter middle-grade books. I’d say that this is the grain of truth in that Wall Street Journal article BUT this was a week before it hit the Internet, so we get full credit for our subsequent discussion.

In talking about this trend with these two middle-grade authors, I came to find out that both of them had new titles that fit the current tone. From there we had a fascinating conversation, one that I simply had to replicate as best possible for the Summer Blog Blast Tour. Readers here will miss a bit more of the line-by-line conversation of our barroom discussion, but will also be fortunate not to be be shouting said conversation over a throbbing bass line.

Both of you moved to darker novels in middle-grade from your debuts. How did that transition happen for you?

MC: This may sound odd, but when I was looking at doing a follow-up to Powerless, I went darker because I had a desire to do something actually more traditional. I say that may sound odd because when most people think of middle grade — or children’s novels as they were once called — they don’t think about them as dark, but the long history of children’s literature is filled with some very dark stuff, indeed. The unsanitized Grimm’s fairy tales, Alice in Wonderland. These stories are downright creepy in places.

AS: When I was writing The Only Ones, I just had an urge to create something slightly more mature. I wanted to take innocent characters and drop a monumental problem in their laps. The apocalypse! The stewardship of the earth! Because when I was twelve or thirteen, just inching past my innocent but curious phase, every problem was the apocalypse to me. I was thinking about mortality for the first time, and it was terrifying and I felt that my life could be derailed at any moment. It was tragic stories that helped me deal with those feelings. The Pigman. A Separate Peace. Where the Red Fern Grows. They weren’t blood and guts tales, but they were shocking and sad and they had a cathartic effect. My logic wasn’t perfect, but it went like this: If the terrible things happened in the books, then they might not happen in life. And if they did, I might be a little more prepared for them.

Where do you think the line is or should be from middle-grade to Young Adult?

AS: I’m a little confused about that line myself. When DWEEB came out, I’d tell non-publishing people it was “middle-grade“ and I’d get blank stares. Ages nine to twelve seemed a bit arbitrary, so I’d say, “It’s for people who’ve never kissed someone, but might want to kiss someone someday.” I guess that can cover a wide age range, but I kind of like it as a definition. Innocent but curious. Not quite ready. Whatever the age.

MC: I think the major publishing difference between darker middle grade and darker YA has to do with what kind of “dark” you put in your book. I did not shy away from some really scary things in The Dead Gentleman, but it’s the kind of fantastical fright that is meant to entertain. Kids want to be scared and if you tone it down they feel the patronizing adult coming at them a mile away. If it’s scary, it should be scary.

Building on that, where do the darker ideas belong in middle-grade versus Young Adult?

MC: As best as I can understand it, the current debate in YA (is it really even a debate?) has to do with real-world subject matter, depictions of some very heavy stuff, having to do with some very heavy stuff that real-life teens are going through. As a middle-grade writer, I’m not setting out to address those same issues, at least not as directly. I do think middle-grade works well in dealing with important themes, though. For example, victimization is a strong theme in my work, but it’s explored in superhero and ghost stories. I’m not disguising it, but I find it easier to “talk” to my audience that way. But in the end, truth is truth.

AS: In The Only Ones there’s no swearing, only a couple of PG-rated kisses. In that way, it’s very middle-grade. Yet there’s violence too. And I was concerned about how to portray that. I didn’t want it to be graphic or sensational. I wanted it to arise from natural emotions, but be surprising. I wanted it to have consequences. Violence always does. It’s probably too much for most eight- or nine-year-olds, but I don’t think they’ll be interested in the book enough to get that far. I do hope it will connect with kids straddling that blurry and confusing line in adolescence. And I’m confident that most teenagers and adults won’t care about the lack of sex and drugs and four-letter words and just find an engaging tale. People can talk all day about what audiences “want” and “need.” To me, the answer is good storytelling, plain and simple.

I love how you both came to the same point there. How did you two meet?

AS: Matt contacted me when our debut novels came out and we met for coffee to see if we could think up some genius marketing schemes that would benefit both books. We were new to the kidlit world and were just trying to get our bearings (I still am!). Life and other projects got in the way and we never took it much further than that. But we kept in touch a bit via Facebook and Twitter and we ran into each other at BEA (where we met you!) and saw that our new books had similar themes and would probably once again make a good pair.

MC: Like Aaron said, our first books came out around the same time. We were both included in a nice promotion Random House put together for debut authors, and since we are both New York-based, I thought we should put our heads together and devise a plan to dominate the publishing world (domination pending).

Who inspires you, personally or professionally?

AS: Pretty much anyone who’s stupid enough not to give up. Don’t get me wrong, anyone who loves writing and gets paid to do it is blessed and shouldn’t put up a big stink about how oh so tough it is to be an artiste, but the publishing process is full of so many rejections and knockdowns that it’s easy to say, “Screw this, I’m just going to work at a cupcake shop.” About ten years ago, I was reading a lot of Paul Auster and he talks about that stuff in his book The Art of Hunger. Books like that can be a little too self-aggrandizing, but if writers like Auster had quit early, they wouldn’t have inspired me and maybe I would have quit too, and ended up working at a cupcake shop and... well, then maybe I’d have a show on Bravo, so it wouldn’t be that bad.

MC: I wear my influences on my sleeve. Powerless was an homage not just to superheroes but to the dynamic storytelling styles of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The Dead Gentleman takes its cue from adventure/science fiction of the 1800s. Jules Verne, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Lost World stuff. There’s even some weird pulp in there in vein of Clarke Ashton Smith. I love stories with big ideas, that really put my imagination to work. Although I have wider reading tastes as an adult, when I was younger I devoured science fiction and fantasy in all its forms — prose, comics, movies. So when I’m writing for younger readers I guess that’s what strikes my fancy. I’m writing for the twelve-year-old me. (You’re welcome, twelve-year-old me!)

For your upcoming titles, why did you want to write this book?

MC: It came out of my love of a certain kind of fiction (see above) but it also came from a childhood fear of mine — the closet door. My older brothers used to tease me about this, but I was convinced that my bedroom closet hid all sorts of monsters and baddies. (It didn’t help that my closet also led to the attic. Double-threat, there!) After finishing Powerless, I was looking around for my next project and talking with my editor about several possible things I wanted to work on — a historical fiction, a steampunk adventure — but none of them really grabbed me (or my editor!). But then I got to thinking about that closet door again, the closed closet door at night, and how universal that image was and I knew I needed to do something with it. In the end that idea kind of pollinated the steampunk book I was toying around with and The Dead Gentleman was born. 

AS: I was in Maine a couple of years ago and I was looking at a painting of this kid who was sort of like a modern-day wild child who lived on an island. And I instantly had this idea about a thirteen-year-old kid who lives in seclusion on an island and he decides to go explore the world, only to find out that the world isn’t there. Everyone is gone. Of course there had to be a few other characters, so I cooked up a village of oddball kids, like “The Little Rascals” as imagined by David Lynch. The world is one big playground for these kids. I had tons of Swiss Family Robinson-style fantasies when I was young and I guess The Only Ones was my way to indulge those fantasies.

What’s next for you?

MC: I’m finishing up a sequel to Powerless now, which will be out in late 2012. And then I’ll be working on another book for Knopf. In the meantime, I’ve been doing some writing for Marvel and DC comics, which has really been a blast. (You’re welcome again, twelve-year-old me.)

AS: Not anything on the publishing schedule at the moment, but at the end of The Only Ones, a new world is introduced. So I’m writing some stories set in that world and they may end up being a sequel/spin-off. I also have a few adventure stories mapped out that I have to find time for, including a whitewater rafting thriller called “Lava Falls” and a modern Western with kids on BMX bikes called “Kickstand Donkeys.”

Of course, the other thing next for these fantastic authors is a lot of publicity kind of stuff come the fall, when their new books are released — The Only Ones in September and The Dead Gentleman in November. Don’t miss them! You can learn more about Matthew Cody and Aaron Starmer at their websites, or by getting to the right Kid Lit Drink Night and sharing a drink with them — which I highly recommend. Thanks, guys!

I’ll admit that I read Candor because the author is in my DC Kid Lit Book Club. I didn’t really think that the sci-fi, mind-control theme was going to be up my alley. So wrong! Once I started, I couldn’t put the book down. The storyline is gripping, the characters are compelling, and the town of Candor is so perfectly conceived. Plus the book made me think. And not teen angst stuff like girl trouble or rotten parents or a dead brother — though all of those elements are included — but about the constitution of an individual, the obligations of a parent, the nature of man. As I read this book about a town where the teens are controlled by subliminal messages that make them behave perfectly, I was questioning the role that our mistakes, hardships, and choices have in making us individuals. That’s a good book.

For the Winter Blog Blast Tour, I am excited to ask author Pam Bachorz questions about her first novel and her writing life.

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As a parent of a teen, I have to admit that there was a part of me that was intrigued by the idea of a society that could give me a kid who’d do her chores, study for tests, and not kiss boys. How did you find your instincts of parental protection rearing up in writing this “ideal” society?

I will admit that there’s some temptation there, even as a mother of a pre-schooler! Being a parent made me understand how parents could end up moving their families to a place like Candor, Florida. You just want to give your child everything you can — and some people go overboard. In the case of Candor, that would be way overboard! But I think my biggest “mama moments” in writing this story were in portraying the relationship that Oscar had with his mother, and the longing he still has for her. I know I wouldn’t have written it that way if I didn’t have a son.

The kids who listen to the messages in the town of Candor lose their individuality and become, as Oscar suggests, “like robots.” In pulling together the brainwashing concept, how did you consider the various roles that losing their painful pasts, not being able to learn from mistakes, and not actively making choices play in forming the “Stepford Wives” results?

Since these kids can’t grow from their own mistakes or make their own decisions about how to behave, they’re left with a default: whatever the Messages tell them to do. I think that’s true even without brainwashing: If you don’t let kids live their own lives and make their own mistakes, they’re left with behaving like the people around them (which sometimes isn’t the best thing...!).

There are a lot of interesting ideas and messages in the book, but it’s not preachy. What did you do as a writer to keep from crossing that line?

Ugh, I hate preachy stories (don’t really like hanging around preachy people either!). And I hate being told what to do — just ask my mother. So for me, it’s a simple sniff test. If I write anything that makes my toes curl, it’s got to come out. It also comes from motive, I think. If you’re writing a story to “teach kids a lesson,” that’s how it will come out. I like to write stories that entertain and introduce readers to new worlds, so hopefully that’s what I end up doing.

In essence, Oscar controls whether he’ll lose the one person who might make his existence in Candor tolerable. Can you interpret this as a sort of final exam in free choice for the character? How about for the reader?

Yes. The final few chapters of Candor are a crucible for Oscar. He’s grown since he met Nia, and he’s made some decisions about what — and who — is most important to him. But is he brave enough to follow through on those revelations, no matter what the consequences are? I don’t want to spoil the ending for those who haven’t read it, so I will stop there! For the reader, sure, I hope that they’re asking themselves, “What would I do?” throughout. And when you consider Oscar’s family ties, and loyalty, you see that there’s no easy answer for him.

What did you use of your own experiences in writing Candor?

Candor was inspired by the time my family lived in a planned community in central Florida; anyone who’s visited that spot is sure to find some areas that helped to inspire my settings — like the boardwalks, the lake with rocking chairs, the ice cream shop. But of course my real-life neighbors hadn’t been brainwashed (or maybe that is just what I’m supposed to say!). There are lots of small parts of my life that found their way into my story, of course... like my father’s penchant for pointing up in the sky and shouting, “Look! A dead bird!”

Generally, I think I used my personal experiences in feeling like a “hidden outsider”: someone that everybody thinks fits in, but actually feels very much on the outside. That’s how the main character in Candor feels, too. I’d bet that most people have felt that way at some point in their lives.

Why did you feel the need to write this book?

I have loved the idea of writing about brainwashing since I first thought of it, and I am just too stubborn to quit something once I start... no matter how many times I threaten to! I hadn’t read anything quite like this, and I hadn’t encountered a character quite like Oscar or with his problems. So I figured it was worth it: The idea fascinated me and it wasn’t going to be like a dozen other books already out there.

When did you start writing?

I dictated my first picture book, featuring Winnie the Pooh, to my mother when I was four. I wrote my first novel on my father’s old electric typewriter when I was in middle school. It was hunderds of pages long and had something to do with mermaids and mazes. Mercifully, it is lost. Although I hear mermaids are the next hot thing in YA. *head smack*

Where do you do your best thinking?

I do most thinking in my study; I am lucky enough to have my very own workspace (complete with door and lock!) and a desk that I can devote just to my writing. But I find that my biggest breakthroughs happen when I am not at all thinking about writing. The trick is to truly drop it from my mind. I can’t count how many breakthrough ideas I’ve had while I’m watching the opening credits for movies. My brain must really relax then, I suppose.

Who inspires you personally or professionally?

My grandfather, Charles Hockford, is a big inspiration to me. He played piano almost every Friday and Saturday night, in clubs and restaurants, into his eighties. But he also raised a family with my grandma Grace and held down a full-time job. He found a way to balance family, art and paycheck. Of course my grandmother deserves huge credit for keeping things running smoothly... just like my husband, who I like to call The Patron of The Arts (POTA)! I am also inspired to see my other grandmother, Carolyn, pursuing her painting even in her nineties.

How do you balance novel writing and social media needs?

Ha! Very good question. Well, I schedule my novel writing every week: I commit to my writing time on a calendar and post it on my study door. And that is solid writing time; no e-mail, no Internet, nothing. On the other hand, social media is something I fit in “whenever,” and usually that means when I have two minutes to spare. It helps to have a blackberry with the Twitter and Facebook apps installed so I can catch up with social media while I’m at the post office, etc. If I drop off the social media planet it’s probably because I am totally absorbed by writing and too exhausted to do the fun extra stuff.

As a bonus, here’s the answer for the question that I forgot to ask — what’s next? Pam is working on another Young Adult book for Egmont’s Fall 2010 list.

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For more Winter Blog Blast Tour:

Lisa Schroeder at Writing & Ruminating
Alan DeNiro at Shaken & Stirred
Joan Holub at Bildungsroman
Pam Bachorz at MotherReader
Sheba Karim at Finding Wonderland
R.L. LaFevers at HipWriterMama

(Note: Post updated to reflect complete schedule.)

With more than a hundred and fifty book blogger interviews noted so far at the Book Blogger Appreciation Week site, it’s no wonder that my blog reader is filling up so quickly! I’m seeing a bunch of bloggers from the kidlitosphere taking in part in this interview trade, which is wonderful. I’m getting a chance to find out about blogs that I didn’t know before, and I’m sure we’re introducing some KidLit and YA bloggers to other folks. What a great opportunity!

I had signed up for an interview partner, but wasn’t paying attention enough to realize that I hadn’t been assigned one. My bad. By the time I noticed that the interview thing was moving on, I was afraid to be that last idiot person in the meeting who comes late and doesn’t have their agenda and forces everyone to dig through their papers to figure out if they got two copies of the agenda instead of one or could someone share the agenda or it’s okay someone will make another copy but nevermind I’ll do without, but what are we talking about now because you see, I don’t have the agenda.

I suffer that person too much in my life to be that person.

So I’ll take a page from the book of Everything Distils into Reading and interview myself:

What’s one thing that you’d like other book bloggers to know about the kidlitosphere community?

Well, KidLitosphere Central for sure, which offers an access point to the blogs, resources, news, and events in the area of children and Young Adult Literature. I’d also let them know about KidLitCon, taking place on October 17th in the Washington, DC, area, which is open to people who write, illustrate, and/or blog in the area of children’s and Young Adult Literature. Oh, and about the upcoming Cybils nominations, which are awards to given to books and judged by bloggers — again — in the area of children’s and Young Adult Literature.

Um, that was three things.

Yeah, but since I’m writing the questions I thought that it would be okay.

That’s really taking advantage of the interview structure. No wonder no one wanted you as a partner.

That’s not what happened! There were a lot of people who wanted to participate and it’s perfectly understandable that some would have been lost in the shuffle.

Okay, if that’s what you want to think...

This interview is so over!

Maybe the wrong approach. Instead, enjoy the real interviews of and presented by our KidLit/YA bloggers at a number of sites including:

• Semicolon at Everyday I Write the Book and Everyday I Write the Book at Semicolon.


• Chronicles of an Infant Bibliofile at Books and Needlepoint and Books and Needlepoint at Chronicles of an Infant Bibliofile.


• Maw Books at Reality Bites and Reality Bites at Maw Books.


• The Story Siren at Mysteries in Paradise and Mysteries in Paradise at The Story Siren.


• Charlotte’s Library at Musings of a Book Addict and Musings of a Book Addict at Charlotte’s Library


• Book Nut at Bonjour, Cass and Bonjour, Cass at Book Nut.


• Abby (the) Librarian at Diary of an Eccentric and Diary of an Eccentric at Abby (the) Librarian.


• GreenBeanTeenQueen at Farm Lane Books and Farm Lane Books at GreenBeanTeenQueen.


• Persnickety Snark at Musings of a Bookish Kitty and Musings of a Bookish Kitty at Persnickety Snark.
  

Be sure to let me know in the comments if there are more KidLit or YA blogger pairs I should have noted.

I could talk at length about how funny and cute The HICCUPotamus is, or rave about the bright and humorous illustrations, or wax poetic about the clever and silly rhymes. I could do that, but honestly I couldn’t come close to the awesome descriptions given at Fuse#8 and 5 Minutes for Books on Tuesday and Wednesday of this Blog Tour. I can’t corner the adorable market when Aaron Zenz’s own kids have knocked it out of the park on the first day of the tour on his own blog, Bookie Woogie. (By the way, if you don’t know about this blog’s unique approach to children’s books, now is the time to correct that error by reading their post and commenting for the chance to win ten books. Yes, that’s ten books.) But what I can do is share some of the funniest responses ever to my MotherReader Five Ws Interview, with only slight trepidation that said interview reveals the author to be much funnier than... um, me. Enjoy.

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When did you start writing?

I was born with pencils in hand. Although this made for a very uncomfortable delivery for more than one of us involved, it led to many early writing experiences. Here’s the cover from one of my first stories, called “The Great Crayon Escape,” which you can read in its multicolored entirety here.

Where do you do your best thinking?

Typically in my head.

I’ve considered getting one of those puffy thought bubbles, so I can think ABOVE my head. But have you priced those things? Outrageous. I’m going to have to stick with “inside my head” for the time being.

Who inspires you, personally or professionally?

I have to choose either or? Gosh. Well, Personally is an awfully nice fellow. And I really don’t want to hurt Professionally’s feelings. But if I have to choose between the two... Personally. Yep. I’d say Personally inspires me more.

(Man, I hope Professionally isn’t going to be reading this...)

Why did you want to write this particular book?

Hiccup. Plus. Potamus. It all started with a single awful pun in 1996.

The title came first: “The Hiccupotamus.”

Nanoseconds later, the first verse arrived perfectly intact: “There was a hippopotamus / Who hiccuped quite-a-lotamus / And every time he got’emus / He’d fall upon his bottomus.”

After that it took eight years of pounding and hammering and scraping and carving for the rest of the book to come together.

The funny thing is, I later discovered that the “hiccuping hippo” book is almost a genre unto itself. However I have NO idea why. I suspect it’s because they both start with “H.” But if that’s the case, where are all the hiccuping hamsters? Or hiccuping hedgehogs? Type Hippopotamus+Hiccup into Amazon sometime. (Mercer Mayer’s is the best, by the way.) It’s hard to believe that none of these others books were titled “Hiccupotamus” first. Seems like a no-brainer. What other good reason IS there for creating a hiccuping hippo than to use such a wonderfully horrid pun?

Hey I just took my advice — I typed Hippopotamus+Hiccup into Amazon, and I see that Mercer Mayer wrote his on Jan 1, 1976. That’s six days before I was born. That’s cool!

Wait a minute... what was the actual question? Oh yeah, why did I write The Hiccupotamus. I think that Mercer Mayer/birth connection explains everything pretty well.

What’s next for you?

I illustrated a book called Nugget on the Flight Deck (written by Patricia Newman) that comes out this month side by side with The Hiccupotamus. I also have a number of manuscripts that are in publishers’ hands right now. I’m waiting and praying for one of these projects to green-light. If it doesn’t happen soon, I’m going to have to abandon the world of kid lit and go work in a factory. Ha, ha, ha! Actually... that’s true. This is the only answer where I haven’t joked. Publishers? Yoo-hoo? Any green lights out there?

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Admit it, you’re intrigued about the book this clever guy wrote. Well, you can win two signed copies of The Hiccupotamus — one for you and one for a friend — by leaving a comment on today’s post with the title of any of your other favorite funny picture books. (Contest open to U.S. mailing addresses only.)

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is simply beautiful — not just for the artwork, but for the storytelling and the message contained within.

Grace Lin grew up on stories, loving the books and illustrations that were classics in the United States. Seeing her love of stories, her mother brought in Chinese fairy tale books, allowing Grace to learn a little of her cultural heritage. These early experiences inspired the perfect mixture of the themes of both Asian fairytales and North American classics in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.

But did I mention it was gorgeous? I’ve been in love with the cover since I first saw the sketches at Blue Rose Girls, and color illustrations are featured throughout the book.

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What can you share about the artwork, especially that brilliant cover?

In late 2003, I did a cover illustration for Cricket magazine of an Asian girl riding a flying red dragon. As I painted the image, the girl captivated me. I had painted her in traditional clothing, over an idealized Asian landscape. I imagined her full of delight on her ride in the sky, full of adventure and life... That image I painted for Cricket was to transform into my website logo and then into the cover of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.

In China, we visited a cloisonné factory (a tourist standard!) and I I found the many steps that the artists do to create cloisonné images fascinating. The intricate patterns, the ornate borders had a certain jewel-type richness that I felt fit the magical atmosphere I wanted to achieve in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. So the cover illustration was very much inspired by that. The full-page illustrations also had cloisonné as their muse, but they were also mixed with influences of traditional Chinese paintings and the art of antique Chinese vases and ceramics.

How did you incorporate your own personal experiences into Where the Mountain Meets the Moon?

When I first began writing this book, I had visited Hong Kong and Taiwan, which were wonderful trips. Being Asian-American (and more American than Asian), it was a fascinating experience to be surrounded by a culture that was so foreign and familiar at the same time. Whenever I viewed the landscape, saw a temple or a sampan in the water, I suddenly would remember the Chinese folktales I had read as a child. I could see them happening in the setting around me and I knew in there was a book waiting to be written.

I was almost three-quarters finished with writing the book when I went to visit China. This was the perfect time to go, as I had an idea of what kinds of things I wanted to see and research there, but the book was still open enough to be changed. And it was wonderful! Actually seeing China with my own eyes and experiencing it added such a rich layer to the story. For example, one of the excursions we took especially for the book was a visit to a tiny mountain village. I wanted to see a mountain village because I knew Minli (the main character in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon) would be visiting one. The whole time we were there, we were freezing cold but the villagers were so friendly and red-cheeked (which I was to find out later was wind-burn, not good circulation). So, those elements of mountain cold and a warm, friendly shelter became the backdrop of the village Minli visits.

Why did you need to write this particular book?

Well, this book has a lot of personal meaning for me. I prefer not to go into it too much, but as much as it is an homage to the folk and fairytales of my childhood, it is really to honor my late husband. I began the book when he was ill and asked me to write a fantasy to help him imagine himself elsewhere. I finished the book after his death, and it helped me realize the important things in life.

What’s next for you?

My next book will be Ling and Ting. It is an early reader (which is a format I have been wanted to try for a while) about Chinese-American twins. It is almost the reverse theme of The Year of the Dog, using twins, I am trying to show how even when people look the same they can be different. After that I have a picture book on the Moon Festival and a picture book set in Beijing. In the meantime, I have started preliminary drafts for a novel that may become Summer of the Pig, to take place in between my past novels The Year of the Dog and The Year of the Rat. I have no plans on writing a sequel to Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, but I would like to write another fantasy novel someday.

When is the book coming out, and where can we find the book release information and the celebration?

The online book launch is July 1st at my Facebook page and the book website.

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So far Grace has been to Bildungsroman, Shelf Elf, and Paper Tigers, where she has shared other perspectives on her writing and where you’ll see additional pages from the book. Tomorrow she’ll be visiting Charlotte’s Library and then will continue on her blog tour journey for the rest of the week.

Today, Anna Alter kicks off the blog tour for Abigail Spells against the backdrop of National Spelling Week. And to celebrate, she’s giving away free copies of the book! See the end of this post for details on how to win a book with just one word.

In this sweet picture book, Abigail loves to spell any word she hears. Of course, she’ll be a natural for the spelling contest at school. Or will she? I really enjoyed the book, which is a story of friendship and obstacles. That said, I couldn’t be Abigail’s friend, because when people spell things to me, I can’t understand them. If another mom would spell something over the heads of our children, I wouldn’t know if we were talking about a couple that split up over an affair or airfare.

Now, I’ve been watching the artistic process of Abigail Spells from the very beginning through the posts at Blue Rose Girls. I saw the first jacket sketches and followed along as the jacket art developed and finalized. I never thought about how many steps were involved in the artwork of a picture book. I’ve included the illustrations here so you can see for yourself, though follow the links above for the complete description of the process.

When did you start writing and illustrating?

I’ve been making up stories and drawing illustrations to go with them as long as I can remember. I come from a very creative family, so my childhood was full of art-making and good books. Basically I always knew I wanted to be an artist. When it was time to go to college I applied to art school, and was lucky enough to find my way to the Rhode Island School of Design. There I was able to immerse myself in the study of illustration and begin to put together a portfolio.

When I got out of school I knew that making children’s books was what I wanted to do, but sadly didn’t have a clue how to get there. Once again I got lucky and found a job at Houghton Mifflin Company, assisting the Art Director in the children’s book department. Working on other people’s books was a great education and really helped me understand how the whole process of getting published works. I got to see the art samples sent in by illustrators (this is how I reconnected with former classmates and fellow Blue Rose Girls Grace Lin and Linda Wingerter — they submitted their cards to Houghton), and witness the whole editorial, design, and production process in action.

My career as an author/illustrator began in 1999, when I finally got up the courage to begin submitting my book ideas to publishers and got my first contracts. It was a dream come true. Sometimes I still can’t believe it ever really happened!

Who inspires you personally and/or professionally?

I am inspired a lot by experiences and memories from childhood, the kids I taught when I was a preschool teacher, and the work of other artists I admire. Whenever I get stumped and need some inspiration, I pick up a favorite childhood book or look at some artwork I love to get excited about creating again. If I need to draw on a memory, I conjure a strong childhood emotion I want to express. I focus on it until I can start to wrap a story around it. I want to make books that move people, that make them feel more connected to each other, and that offer a new way to look at the world. The best way for me to do that is to delve into experiences I feel strongly about and to seek out other people’s work that do the same thing.

Where do you do your best thinking?

While I’m drawing. If I sit in front of my computer and try to come up with an idea I am sure to sit forever. If I sketch and draw and let my mind wander new ideas inevitably pop up and grab my attention.

How are your own experiences reflected in Abigail Spells?

While I am not nearly the speller that Abigail is, I do relate to her in another way — as a kid I was terrified of standing in front of an audience. When I created Abigail, I wanted to make a character that reflected my childhood experience of stage fright and the disappointment that followed. I think it’s a feeling a lot of kids can relate to. Everyone has had a great disappointment at one time or another, and I think it is an important thing to put into context.

Why did you need to write this book?

I wanted to make a book that, as I mentioned above, gives kids a place to put their feelings of stage fright or disappointment into perspective, and reinforces the idea that winning isn’t everything. Far more kids lose contests like spelling bees than win them, and I think kids need to know how to interpret those kind of experiences, how to learn from them. Abigail Spells is a book about spelling, but it is also a book about friendship and overcoming obstacles.

What’s next for you?

I am working on a new book right now, called Disappearing Desmond. Like Abigail, it’s a book that reflects my experiences as a shy kid. Desmond doesn’t like to be noticed, so he spends most of his time finding elaborate ways to hide and blend into the background. His story is about how he overcomes his shyness, makes a friend, and learns how great it can be to feel noticed.

To win a copy of the book Abigail Spells, comment in today’s post with one word that gives you spelling grief. For me, it’s familar familiar. I’ll pick a commenter (or two) at random to send a free book. For more on Anna and her book, visit her website or her new blog, Painting Bunnies, or the book site at Abigail Spells. The blog tour continues:

• Tuesday the 26th: A Patchwork of Books
  
• Wednesday the 27th: Katie’s Literature Lounge
  
• Thursday the 28th: Brimful Curiosities
  
• Friday the 28th: Jama Rattigan’s Alphabet Soup

My biggest pet peeve in books about small towns or country folk is the tendency for authors to make everyone quirky. The old man who collects shoelaces. The bald hairdresser with fourteen ferrets. The postman who only sings opera. Maybe it annoys me so much because I grew up in a small town, and strange people would have been a welcome relief from the sameness of everything.

So one thing I love about Barbara O’Connor’s writing is that she creates characters with personality and depth, but doesn’t lean on the quirkiness crutch. She often focuses on the kids and adults living on the edge, struggling with poverty, isolation, or family. But the struggles never become a one-note chord, instead deepening the humanity of the writing. The other thing I love about her books is that she doesn’t take the easy out with her endings. The girl doesn’t win the contest. The boy does lose his grandmother. There’s no magic that makes everything perfect, but there is satisfaction in the realism.

Her last book, Greetings from Nowhere, is collecting honors across the United States — as well it should. It’s a brilliant book where the lives of four very different people intersect and change when they all stay at the same motel in the Smokey Mountains. Her newest book comes out in September. It’s set in the small southern town of Fayette, South Carolina, where Popeye finds everything boring. From the jacket flap:

But things start to look up when the Jewells’ Holiday Rambler makes a wrong turn and gets stuck in the mud, trapping Elvis and his five rowdy siblings in Fayette for who knows how long. Popeye has never met anyone like Elvis Jewell. He’s so good at swearing he makes Uncle Dooley look like a harp-strumming angel, and he says “So what?” like he really means it. Then an adventure comes floating down the creek — a small adventure, just the right size for a kid like Popeye — and it all seems too good to be true.

How does your newest book, The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis, reflect your own life experiences?

There are several key story elements that mesh with my own life. The story revolves around two boys playing in a creek. When I was a child, I loved playing in a creek near my home. I would spend hours catching crawfish and minnows and building dams.

Another important part of the story is a motor home (it becomes stuck in the dirt road in front of the main character’s house). There is a funky RV/trailer park near my home that I walk through often because it is on the ocean and has an amazing view. I love looking at all the trailers and seeing the hubbub of activity there in the summers. I love imagining what it would be like to live in one, particularly a family with a lot of rowdy kids — so I took that imagining and put it in a book.

But the best “life experience” that is reflected in the book is a little boat made out of a Yoo-hoo chocolate drink carton. When the story was first simmering in my head, I only had a very hazy idea of two boys playing in a creek. At the time, I envisioned that they were making little boats and sending them down the creek. Then I realized it would be much more interesting if they found boats floating down the creek. But I envisioned the boats as being made out of bark or something. Then I read a blog post by fellow writer Tamra Wight (The Three Grumpies) in which she posted a picture of a fabulous little boat that her son had made out of a Yoo-hoo carton. Eureka! That was it! So I emailed her to ask her if I could steal that great idea and she (and her son) said yes. (He even taught me how to make the boats — starting out with “First I put the straw in and drank it.”)

Why did you need to write this particular book?

I do a lot of school visits. During the last couple of years in particular, I’ve been much more aware of real kids reading real books. I guess that sounds kind of crazy — but I think sometimes when we sit at home in our adult bubble worlds, we forget about the fact that our books are (hopefully) read by real-life children. I also think it’s easy to lose your focus and think more about how adults are going to respond to your work: reviewers, librarians, teachers, parents, etc. (which is understandable, since those are the folks who are the first “entrance” into the world for us — the ones who review the books, buy the books and promote them to children).

So I’ve been feeling more and more like I want to write books with lots of kid appeal, which I think The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis has. I also wanted to write a book that would appeal to boys as well as girls.

When did you start writing?

I started dabbling in writing for children almost thirty years ago. (Yikes!) I was living in Los Angeles and took a class in writing for children at UCLA. Then I attended the national SCBWI conference out there — as a total newbie. I really got the bug and pursued it more seriously, starting with a magazine story, then a terrible novel, then a slightly better but still rejected novel, then biographies (which is where I got my start in children’s publishing).

Who inspires you personally or professionally?

I won the publishing lottery when I sold my first novel (and now, all of my novels) to Frances Foster, my editor at Farrar, Straus & Giroux. She is a brilliant editor and inspires me on so many levels. She totally gets and respects the creative process. She’s able to help me see my own vision of my work and knows how to ask questions that make me think about my work on deeper levels. She doesn’t let me get away with “surface” stuff — and she encourages me to write freely and not censor myself. In his book Minders of Make-Believe, Leonard Marcus describes Frances as “quietly effective.” I think that’s a perfect description.

My agent, Barbara Markowitz, also inspires me by having total, 100% faith in me. We all need someone who believes in us — and Barbara is that person for me. I adore her for that (and it saves me so much money on therapy).

And last, I am utterly, totally inspired by Cynthia Rylant. I credit her book Missing May with lighting the proverbial light bulb for me with regard to finding my own voice and writing style. I sent her a copy of Me and Rupert Goody years ago, along with a letter telling her how much she inspired me. She wrote me the loveliest note back, which I cherish.

Which part of being an author do you enjoy the most?

I love being able to work at home. I love crawling into the heads of made-up people. I love finding just the right words and putting them together so that they sound lovely or funny or harsh or sad or whatever emotion I’m trying to create. And I absolutely adore children.

How do you balance the demands of the writing life with the demands for online presence and book promotion?

Oh, boy, that’s a good one. Sometimes I wonder if I do balance those things. I do find that the weight shifts, which I guess is natural. I confess to the fact that I don’t really enjoy the promotional side of the business and am not particularly good at it. I confess to sometimes being frustrated by having to do all the other things involved with the business instead of writing — and then having no time to write. But I also know that I have to accept that promotion is a necessary part of a successful writing career.

I still believe, however, that for me, the best thing I can do for my career is to put most of my time into writing my next book. So I do limit how much time I devote to some of the more time-consuming promotion that takes me away from my writing.

The good news is that online promoting is right up my alley. I call it “pajama marketing.” I can stay home in my jammies and get news about my book out into the world! I’ve made so many great connections through online venues, particularly blogging. I can also fit it in with my writing schedule. The downside, as most of us know, is that that big online world can be a huge time suck — one link leads to another, leads to another, leads to another. So I have to muster up more discipline in that regard and set aside focused, uninterrupted, internet-off, writing time.

What’s next for you?

I have another middle grade novel coming out with FSG in the spring of 2010, called The Short, Sad Life of Tooley Graham. I’m excited about this one because I think it, like The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis, has lots of kid appeal and boy appeal. And it was really fun to write.

As a writer, which tools would you say you rely on most to define your own writing style?

Character, for sure. For me, nothing happens until the characters are clearly defined in my head. Often, characters come before any storyline is in place at all. I love characters who are unique (without relying on the stereotypical “quirky”), while still being realistic and human. I like for my characters to behave the way we all do — i.e., making mistakes once in a while. I like to give them lots of heart, showing a range of human emotions, such as sadness, jealousy, joy, anger, etc. I also work hard to make them each distinct from one another. That was my biggest challenge when writing the multiple-viewpoint story of Greetings from Nowhere — giving each of those four characters a unique personality and identity.

Setting comes next. I grew up in the South, so that is not only the setting I know best, but it’s the setting I love the most. Setting also helps define character. I rely heavily on my ear for Southern dialogue and dialect and try to toss in lots of Southern details, like magnolias and boiled peanuts and sweet tea (without overdoing it, hopefully). As a child, I spent a lot of time in the Smoky Mountains, which is my heart’s home, for sure. I set my second novel there (Me and Rupert Goody). Then I went back there in Greetings from Nowhere, a book in which the setting (the Sleepy Time Motel) becomes almost like a secondary character. The mountains were such an important part of that story... I can’t imagine it being set anywhere else.

The last tool I’d say that I enjoy drawing on to define my work is that I like to leave the bow that wraps the package very loosely tied. In other words, I like to end my stories realistically (i.e., what probably would have happened instead of what the reader might want to happen) and sometimes a bit open-ended (i.e., the reader can bring his or her own imagination to the ending and think about where the story goes from there). I think this comes mainly from strong identity with my characters, so that I let them take me where their story is heading rather than me, the writer, manipulating the story, if that makes sense. (Sounds a little cosmic, I know...)

I often have students in schools ask me, “What happened to so-and-so after the story ended?” I love that question — because then I can come back to them and say, “What do YOU think happened to so-and-so after the story ended?” The never-ending story. Ha!

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Thanks to Barbara for stopping by MotherReader. The rest of the Summer Blog Blast Tour continues with...

• James Kennedy at Fuse Number 8
  
• Maggie Stiefvater at Writing & Ruminating
  
• Rosemary Clement-Moore at Bildungsroman
  
• Jo Knowles at lectitans
  
• Melissa Wyatt at Chasing Ray

Everyone knows that you can give a preschooler the giggles with one simple word: Butt. Now Erica Perl has tapped that toddler tendency with a funny picture book sure to be a hit at homes and libraries, Chicken Butt! She’s been touring the blogs and stopped by to answer a few questions.

Chicken Butt is a title that’s sure to get some attention. What were your thoughts in putting the “B” word — I mean the other “B” word — front and center?

There was a time when we went back and forth on it. I think we actively considered calling the book “YOU KNOW WHAT?” and keeping the “b” word inside the cover. But that just seemed to defeat the purpose, which was to have 3–6 year olds spotting it, sight-reading the title (or having it read to them) and dissolving into giggles. Ultimately, we decided that since “butt” is a favorite word for kids (and many adults), why not put The Word front and center. The title also helps purchasers know what they are getting… if they’re not comfortable with the “b” word, good to know what’s in store with this book from the get-go.

There isn’t a lot of text to shape the ideas for the illustrations, so how did you work with Henry Cole to share your vision of the book?

I wrote the entire book in dialog between two voices, but it did not occur to me that the illustrations might depict people. I knew there’d be a chicken and I figured the voices would be offstage. However, since they were clearly the voices of a mischievous child and a long-suffering parent, I was pleased that Henry chose to depict them (and did such a great job… the eyebrows alone are priceless). I also loved the idea of chicken-as-alter-ego… when Dad sends his son to Time Out, the chicken ends up sitting and pouting, while the boy is already up and trying out his next joke.

If you’ve taken the book out for some readings, what have been the kids’ reactions to Chicken Butt?

It has been a huge crowd-pleaser. I usually invite kids to help me read it, en masse, which they looooove. I’ve been particularly pleased by the warm reaction from librarians and teachers, who see it as a fun read-aloud with rhymes and interaction rather than a “get-’em-all-riled-up” situation.

Why did you want to write this book?

I really wanted to depict what I call “the familiar face-off between a child’s exuberance and a parent’s exhaustion.” In other words, I try very hard to be a fun and engaging parent, but there are times when I hit my limit. My kids have an amazing capacity to keep goofing long after I’ve attempted to shut them down… which is a very common scenario, I think, but one you rarely see in books. I also wanted to do what I try to do in all my books: write stories that will appeal to kids and parents.

[Lightning round through the other “Ws.”]

When did you start writing?

As soon as I could grip a crayon, I guess. I’m a life-long writer. I’ve done a lot of other things along the way, but I can’t seem to stop writing.

Where do you do your best thinking?

While running when I forget my iPod!

Who inspires you personally and/or professionally?

Personally — my aunt, Emily Perl Kingsley, who writes for Sesame Street, is a disability rights advocate, and is the most openhearted person you’ll ever meet. Professionally (in addition to Aunt Em, whose Sesame Street work is sublime), I’m in awe of Dav Pilkey, Beverly Cleary, Paul Zindel, Mini Grey and many, many others. Authors who can write humor and get the details so right have me bowled over.

How do you balance your writing and family life?

I don’t answer the phone during family dinner and I don’t get nearly as much sleep as I like. That may not be balance, but when it comes close, I’m happy.

What’s next for you?

My next book is my first YA novel, Vintage Veronica, which is coming out in Spring 2010 from Knopf. I also have Dotty, a new picture book illustrated by Julia Denos, coming out in 2010 from Abrams. I’m really excited about both of them, even though neither book has a chicken.

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Visit the rest of the Chicken Butt! Blog Tour:

5/4 — Maw Books Blog; 5/5 — Tales from the Rushmore Kid; 5/6 — here; 5/7 — A Pen and a Nest; 5/8 — Hen Blog; 5/11 — Fuse#8; 5/12 — Write for a Reader; and 5/13 — Chicken Spaghetti.

My original idea was to meet with authors Caroline Hickey (Cassie Was Here, Isabelle’s Boyfriend) and Sara Lewis Holmes (Letters from Rapunzel) at a coffee shop where we would talk about writing, parenthood, books, Obama, shopping, and a myriad of other topics. I would then pull together a brilliant magazine-style interview, which would include phrases like, “When asked how motherhood affected an author, Caroline’s face softened as she looked down at her baby wriggling one arm free of the blanket, and said...”

Instead, Caroline had house plumbing problems, and then we couldn’t coordinate another time amidst our collection of appointments, obligations, and outings. So we chatted online. My intention then was to shape the chat into a more regular author interview. But after cutting the parts about shopping, fear, breast-feeding, anxiety, and phone sex — only one of which I made up as a topic — I liked the style I had. I consolidated the choppy phrasing that instant messaging encourages and tidied up the long chat into something more cohesive. I also realized that I wasn’t the only one asking the questions, so I put the questions in italics instead of my parts as interviewer.

I am probably breaking some Winter Blog Blast Tour rule, but here goes:

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MotherReader: How do you think being a mom — new mom, seasoned mom, in-the-middle-of-chaos mom — affects your writing? Personally, I can say as an in-the-middle-of chaos mom that I can’t hold a coherent thought. Or more precisely, I can’t accurately estimate when I’ll be able to make time to think.

Caroline: As a brand-new mom, only three months in, I haven’t been able to write hardly at all. But I have been able to read some, and I’ve noticed that my tastes are starting to change.

Sara: It’s totally overwhelming, no matter how tough you are.

Caroline: Yes, definitely overwhelming, and I’m looking more to reading for escape than for mental stimulation, if you know what I mean.

Caroline: How about you, Sara? With your kids in their late teens, how does it affect you?

Sara: Well, I wrote this current book for them. They grew up totally not like I did. I stayed in one place, from third grade on. They moved... and moved... and moved, and I worried so much. And they turned out strong and fine. But I wanted to write about military kids and everything they go through. And how that life is a lot like improvisational theater; you make it up as you go along. You rely on community and courage and kindness. In fact, I’m dedicating it to them: For Rebecca and Wade, who are, themselves, both Courage and Kindness.

Caroline: Do you feel like you write your books with your children in mind as readers?

Sara : Not as readers, but to honor their experiences. The Air Force has a PR department. My kids don’t! The poem I wrote for my son this week was the first time I tried to do something that I gave him to read directly.

Caroline: How did it go?

Sara: He said it was “amazing.” Which was better than a starred review.

MotherReader: Caroline, I read on your blog that you were frustrated with writing. That it wasn’t going as well as you’d hoped.

Caroline: That’s putting it mildly. I’m working on a new book, and I have a first draft completed. I’ve been trying and trying to get the book going in a new direction with my revision, but I feel like I’m working with about two percent of my brain and for some reason I can’t “see” this book the way I could see my previous ones. So, when I finally do have time to sit and write, nothing comes out!

MotherReader: You do get better at carving out spaces for yourself.

Sara: My dear friend who’s a grandmother always said that being a mother made me more of who I am, and I should use that in writing.

Caroline: Ooh, I like that. I might just need to give myself a little more maternity leave. I can definitely say my patience has already quadrupled.

Sara: How about your writing, Pam?

MotherReader: I’m still getting there. Lots of ideas, no time to process.

Sara: I learned a lot from my own children’s stubbornness. When they wanted something, boy did they want it.

MotherReader: I may not have a job after July — cut-backs — and I can’t say that I’m upset. I keep thinking about all the time and mind-space I’ll have then. Maybe it’s the push I need.

Caroline: That’s true. But like Sara says, you have to want it, too.

Sara: Cry for it, scream for it in the middle of the night. :-)

MotherReader: What’s it like being a stay-at-home-writer?

Caroline: Pre-Bridget, I was a stay-at-home writer for a year and I loved it. But I also loved working a day job part time, and writing part time because then my writing time was really precious, and I was extremely efficient.

Sara: I love what I do, but it’s lonely sometimes.

Caroline: It is very lonely.

MotherReader: Who do you turn to in the writer’s isolation?

Caroline: Blogs! Instant messenger! My writing group! Meeting friends for coffee!

Sara: I belong to two online writing groups. I do like being alone, though. That helps.

Caroline: Doing events also helps because being around groups of kids gets me very jazzed to write.

MotherReader: What kind of events do writers do?

Caroline: I did a school book fair last weekend. I had visited the school last year, and a bunch of kids who read my first book remembered me and came up to talk to me about it. I signed books at the book fair, but at the school visit I did a presentation about how I became an author and how I write.

Sara: I have done several — a middle school “lunch bunch,” a high school creative writing class, and a fourth grade. I like them. The kids inspire me and I give out “magic” pencils — my red Read*Write*Believe ones.

MotherReader: With all the writing already on your plate, why blog? (And I ask that knowing that you have two of my favorite, must-read blogs — The Longstockings and Read, Write, Believe.)

Caroline: I love to blog! It’s low-stress writing! It’s immediate, it helps me vent about whatever is going on in my writing life, and I get feedback!

Sara: I love finishing something short! And getting instant feedback in the form of comments. Yay for the Comment Challenge! And I have a lot of thoughts that I don’t have any other place for.

Caroline: Yes, I love the dialogue, and I love disagreements. I love hearing opinions from all different players in the children’s book world.

MotherReader: How did you find your agent and how did you know you were right for each other? (Hey, it sounds like couples.)

Caroline: It is like couples. I sent mine a query letter, we had lunch and hit it off! I wanted to like my agent, so I’m glad I met her in person so we could feel each other out. She likes to do some editorial work before we send things out, and I like receiving feedback, so we’re a good match. Finding an agent seems to be different for everyone, but as long as it works.

Sara: I asked my former editor, Lauren Velevis, for a recommendation before she left HarperCollins to get her MFA. Tina was on the list, and I read about her online and liked what I saw, so I emailed her. Tina does some edits for me, too, and I like it. I like that she has an MFA in Poetry, too.

MotherReader: What advice would you give to a new writer looking to find an agent?

Caroline: Find out who they rep and try to find one that reps work similar to your own. Go with your gut.

Sara: Be picky. Know what you want and why you want it. See what other books they’ve repped. Would you read them? What reputation do they have? Do you have the same working style? As in: Do you like to be told every little thing or not? Tina actually asked me how much info I wanted her to pass on to me in the horrible waiting period of submissions. I appreciated that so much.

MotherReader: Would you go the agent route rather than the direct-to-the-publisher route?

Caroline Hickey: Always have an agent! You must have an agent or you will lose rights! The publisher does not look out for you! Publishers dont want to give away film rights or audio rights or sub-rights, but agents fight for them, and they get them. You’ll also get a bigger advance with an agent, and you’ll have someone looking out for you if things with your publisher don’t go smoothly.

MotherReader: Tell me, what are you guys working on now?

Caroline: I’m working on my third book, about a girl who uncovers a family secret. That’s what’s on my plate. When it’ll be done, who can say, but I am working on it in my mind at least.

Sara: I just turned in my second round of revisions to Cheryl; I still have a copyedit round to do. Then I want to get back to two poetry projects.

MotherReader: How would you describe your book?

Sara: It’s about a community that comes together to save one of their own and about theater, and mistakes and Jody calls and airplanes and little green Army men! It had a title change, from New Recruit to Operation YES. The first rule of improv is: Say YES and... The “and” is most important because you’re adding something new to the scene that moves it forward. Like an extended hand to the other players. That’s life, right?

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Last day of interviews from the Winter Blog Blast Tour. Who’s up?

• Wendy Mass at HipWriterMama
  
• Mayra Lazara Dole at Chasing Ray
  
• Francis O’Roark Dowell at Fuse Number 8
  
• J. Patrick Lewis at Writing and Ruminating
  
• Lisa Ann Sandell at Bildungsroman
  
• A.S. King at Bookshelves of Doom
  
• Emily Wing Smith at Interactive Reader