Interview With Bonnie Ferrante

Meet The Author Who Inspires Self-Esteem Through Humour

 

Bonnie Ferrante

 

What inspired you to write your first picture book?

 

I wanted more books for young children that merged good values and female protagonists into fun and interesting stories.

 

When did you start considering yourself a writer?

 

When I was hired to write a weekly humor column for a regional newspaper which I did for more than three years.

 

Out of the books you've written, which is your favourite?

 

Rumpelstiltskin's Child is my favourite because I enjoyed researching medieval items and illuminated manuscripts for my illustrations.

 

How do you feel about being interviewed by a children's book character? (That's me, Destiny!)

 

It's charming. :-)

 

What are you working on next?

 

I have several irons in the fire. I'm illustrating my children's book "No More Red". I'm sketching ideas for my protagonist and her pet for "Where is Jayda?".  I'm practicing drawing cats for "Pirate Smells." All are picture books. I'm also working with an editor to finish my YA book for Tradewind Books.

 

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

 

"No More Red" is about a little boy who dislikes red so much he wants it to disappear.

 

Out of your own characters, do you have a favourite?

 

I love Sunny in "Rayne Shines." She brings her own fun wherever she goes. She's happy with what she has and she's patient with Rayne, who has been taught to be unappreciative and gloomy.

 

Do you have any advice for other writers?

 

Take classes and read books. Treat it like a career. Join a critique group. Get a lot of feedback on your writing. Do not try to jump straight to self publishing. The market is flooded with work that was released prematurely.

 

What do you do when you are not writing?

 

I read a lot. I love playing with my granddaughters. I illustrate. I've changed from acrylics to digital illustration because I've developed Parkinson's Disease (like Michael J. Fox).

 

If you had to live in one of your books which book would it be?

 

The Amida Tree.

 

What was your favourite book when you were a kid?

 

I loved old fairy tales. I read Heidi eight times.

 

Anything you would like to add?

 

I was a grade school teacher for thirty-three years. One of the things I miss the most is reading to the class. I love public readings with small children. That's when my books really come to life, when they are read aloud.

 

Thanks for joining us, Bonnie! It was great to have you!

Interview With Author Kathryn L. Novak

Introducing The Author That Inspires Self-Esteem

Kathryn L. Novak

What inspired you to write your first book?

I wrote my first book to help children. “It Stinks to be Pink!” is based on my own life, and how I overcame the challenges I faced as a child. I always thought how much different my life would have been if I had been given this information as a young child instead of later in life.

When did you start considering yourself a writer?

After my first book was edited, and I was half way through the illustrations, I began to feel as though I was already a published author. I knew the story was good, but when the illustrations were so beautiful, I could see it already published and selling.

Out of the books you've written, which is your favorite?

I love all of my books. Though I must admit that I am quite fickle. I always love my newest creation just a little bit more than the others. (ha-ha) So, today I will say my favorite is, EZ as 1-2-3 Come Learn About Bugs A-Z. It is a rhyming picture book about bugs, and an ABC book as well. I love the illustrations, and the interesting bug facts in rhyme.

How do you feel about being interviewed by a children's book character?

I like it, and think it is quite ingenious.

What are you working on next?

I published my third children’s book this week, it is a children’s rhyming picture book. I have written my fourth book, and am editing it right now. In between books, I spend my time painting. My focus now is on fine art abstracts.

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

My newest book, “I’m No Baby!” is also a rhyming picture book. The title says it all. This book is written from the perspective of a two or three year old comparing their abilities to those of an infant.

Out of your own characters, do you have a favorite?

I still love the Fuzzipuffs from my first book.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Be persistent! I believe the key to success is focus. Make your book a priority in your life. The first thing I do every single day is work on my current book or painting. I believe persistence more than natural talent is the key to success.

What do you do when you are not writing?

I paint, and paint, and paint.

If you had to live in one of your books which book would it be?

My first book, “It Stinks to be Pink!”

What was your favorite book when you were a kid?

The Borrowers, by Mary Norton was my favorite book as a child.

EZ as 123 Come Learn About Bugs A-Z by Kathryn L. Novak

This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read about bugs! 

Kathryn L. Novak's illustrations are amazing as always. But she also ties very interesting bug facts in with learning the alphabet. Some of the bugs are more beautiful than others. For example:

"X is for Xerces, a blue butterfly. This beauty's extinct, we shall never see him fly."

The book is full of sweet rhymes which makes it a very pleasant read. If you are not a bug lover before reading this book, you might turn into one! 

I think this book would not only be useful for having at home to read with your kids, but also for teachers to have at school.

I will definitely be reading this one over and over again because this book is top shelf!

Interview With Author Melinda Kinsman!

What inspired you to write your first book?

I first self-published a "one-off" printed book of poems for my niece when she was about six. Reading the wonderful rhyming Dr.Seuss book "Oh , the Places You'll Go" just seemed to trigger my daft brain into crazy poetry-writing mode! 

When did you start considering yourself a writer? 

I don't really consider myself a writer at all. I studied science, and expected to spend my working life in a laboratory. My love of rock climbing and hillwalking used up all other spare time, so writing anything other than scientific reports was not something I'd even thought about. 

Neck and pain issues put a stop to my laboratory career, and make it impossible for me to do a lot of "normal" things (like sitting at a desk). Writing ebooks using my iPad is something I've found I can do. I do so whilst lying on my side (a position I have to stick to for a lot of every day).

Out of the books you've written, which is your favourite?

Definitely the one that I will be releasing shortly, called "Monster Poems for Monstrous Kids". I had great fun both writing and illustrating this one, and I hope kids will enjoy it.

How do you feel about being interviewed by a children's book character?

I work with the Top of the Wardrobe Gang, so being surrounded by book characters seems quite normal to me!

The Top Of The Wardrobe Gang

What are you working on next?

I want to get the Monster Poems ebook out on both iBooks and Amazon. The latter is a new market for me, and I expect getting things in the right format will take me a while. I also plan to add Audio to the iBooks version, so readers will be able to click on a button by each verse to hear me reading it to them. 

I'm always working on new poems, and frequently get up in the middle of the night with a rhyme starting in my head! I like to grab my iPad immediately and type away until I've got the first draft of a poem done! 

Can you share a little of your current work with us?  

I've attached screenshots for a short poem from my next book called "The Monster Bunch". It stars the four monsters who are on the cover of the new book. I don't promise this will be quite the last version, as each time I re-read my poems I tend to want to make changes!

The Monster Bunch

Out of your own characters, do you have a favourite? 

That's like asking a parent if they have a favourite child! No, I love each of them for their own unique personality, and I refuse to admit to having a favourite. Most of the gang are based on cuddly toys I own, who keep me company every day. Odd Sock's personality definitely has quite a bit of me in it, though, so I can probably identify with her more than with the others.

As far as characters in my poems go, I definitely have a soft spot for the monster who sits in the sink knitting everyone socks. 

 The Monster Who Sits In The Sink Knitting Everyone's Socks

Do you have any advice for other writers?   

Just give it a go, and see what happens. If you don't try then you will never know, and I think that is good advice for everything in life.

What do you do when you are not writing?

I never really know what each day will bring, as my neck problems are both very temperamental, and unpredictable. I might be able to walk normally at one point in the day, only to be struggling to move at tortoise speed at some other point, or I might even be stuck in bed for the whole day, barely able to move at all due to pain. My husband and I are quite used to this as our version of "normal", but it does mean that a lot of my time is taken up just gradually getting on with simple household tasks like food shopping or cleaning. 

I still stay as active as possible, though, and I enjoy swimming face down with a snorkel on, and going to the gym to walk steeply uphill on something called a "Stairmaster" machine. For the last few years, with the careful use of extra medication, I have also been able to sometimes rock climb and hill walk again. The mountains are my greatest passion in life. Being unable to be among them for many years, due to being barely able to walk at all for that period, hit me very hard. It makes me now really appreciate how lucky I am to return there!

If you had to live in one of your books which book would it be? 

I tend to immerse myself into a different world each time I am writing and illustrating an individual Poem. I think I had most fun living in the "Monster Carwash" world from my new "Monster Poems" book. I loved thinking up all the different monster characters who helped with different stages of cleaning the cars, and I think they would all make great, fun friends to live with.

What was your favourite book when you were a kid? 

I honestly don't remember having one favourite. I was quite a little "tom boy", and enjoyed reading adventure series like Enid Blyton's "The Famous Five". 

I'm only 44 now, but when I was really little books were not so cheaply available. We would go to the local library to get new books each week, then return them. My Mum and Dad tell me that I enjoyed Dr.Seuss, but that I was always inventing my own daft versions of things like traditional nursery rhymes, so they never knew what I'd say next! (They felt the zany Dr.Seuss books were seriously to blame!) 

I remember the excitement of going to the library more than which books I chose each week! (And I remember how far away it felt when peddling my little tricycle, even with my Mum pulling on a belt tied around the handlebars!)

Illustrator Questions

How did you get into art? 

Oh dear, that's a tricky question! I was always atrocious at "formal" art at school. To be honest, I felt it boring, and never really tried! Apart from creating and drawing a cuddly pineapple as a hillwalking club mascot at University, I'd never really drawn anything until I started the first Top of the Wardrobe Gang book!

The original poem book that I created just for my niece was illustrated entirely with other people's "clip art". When I realised that I could make commercial ebooks on my iPad, I didn't want to spend lots of money asking someone else to draw pictures for them, so I set about trying myself. The illustrating takes me far longer than making up the rhymes, but I am enjoying doing it!

What art program do you use? (Or is it top secret?) 

No, it's not a secret. I use a wonderful app on my iPad called "Tayasui Sketches", and I use a rubber-tipped tablet pen with it. It's been a bit tricky to get the hang of drawing while lying on my side though. I can often be seen with one knee and leg up in the air to hold my iPad steady while I move the stylus! Thankfully there is an "undo" button, so when I slip I just try again!

Do you feel like it's important to illustrate your own books?

I'm sure there are lots of great illustrators out there who could bring my rhymes to life. It was simply finances that made me illustrate my own work. (As I said above, though, now I've started, I'm really enjoying the illustrating side!)

How did you come up with the concept for Odd Sock?

She sort of evolved from me seeing a joke on Facebook, with lots of pairs of socks marching up to the washing machine crying out "Remember the buddy system!" 

I've always been a daft cuddly toy lover, and a supporter of all sad and lost causes. It suddenly struck me how sad it was that people tended to just throw out poor odd socks, and that they could have a happy second life as cuddly toys! 

Thank you for interviewing me Destiny, I've enjoyed trying to answer your questions. Is it OK if I share the cover of our next book with you here? 

Destiny's note: The pleasure was mine! Of course! Here it is!

We'd love it if people looked out for the book on iBooks (and, we hope, on Amazon later too). They can find out about the gang, and links to all our books (the first three of which are free) at our website http://topofthewardrobegang.weebly.com 

Destiny's note: So there you go! Look out for Melinda and all her books on iBooks and her website, because her books are top shelf! 

All covers and illustrations © Melinda Kinsman. All images used with permission.