I’m playing along in the most recent blog tag game. This one has me sharing my main character with you. I was tagged by historical novelist Kim Rendfeld, author of The Cross and the Dragon and the forthcoming The Ashes of Heaven’s Pillar.
What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or a historic person?
My main character is Snow White. Both fictional and historic!
When and where is the story set? Snow White and the Queen takes place in a standard fairy-tale world, with dwarfs, elves, wisps and an evil Queen.
What should we know about him/her?
My Snow White is a more well-developed character than the one you know from the original fairy tale. She is left with the dwarfs as a baby, and as she grows she wonders why she was left there. Who is she? Where did she come from? When she leaves the dwarf kingdom, she is searching for her identity.
What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?
We, the reader, know that the Queen wants Snow White dead, and Snow White eventually learns this too.
What is the personal goal of the character?
At first, Snow White wants to learn who she is and why she was left with the dwarfs. When she learns that the Queen is her enemy, she decides that she will defeat the Queen.
Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?
My working title is Snow White and the Queen. I have talked about this story in another blog hop and as part of my 2013 NaNoWriMo project.
When can we expect the book to be published? Snow White and the Queen is being submitted to agents at the moment. A publication date will hopefully be forthcoming.
Today I’m welcoming Eileen Meyer to my series of author interviews. Eileen is the author of the recently released picture book Ballpark, for ages 4 to 8.
Q: Can you tell us about your new book?
A: Thank you for inviting me to take part in your author interviews, Elizabeth. I’m thrilled to see this sweet story become a picture book. Written in rhyme, Ballpark brings to life all the sights and sounds of the big game. A boy and his grandpa are heading to their first big league baseball game together. They’ll cheer on their team, keep an eye out for fly balls, eat some peanuts, and hopefully watch their team win the game! Illustrator Carlynn Whitt’s adorable characters showcase all the fun and action of a day at the ballpark. The book celebrates the simple joy of spending a day together.
Q: How long did it take from story idea until the book was published?
A: This manuscript had a lengthy journey to become a published picture book. In its original form, it was a story about the two main characters and also focused on our five senses, incorporating the experience at the ballpark in what we see, hear, taste, touch and smell. After writing it, in 2008 I had submitted the story to a number of publishing houses with no success.
Then I attended the Illinois Prairie Writer’s Day Conference in November, 2010. There I heard a Marshall Cavendish editor express an interest in receiving sports-related picture book submissions – so I made a note to send the editor my manuscript, Ballpark.
Fast forward to Fall 2011. I received an email from the editor. The editorial team had reviewed my manuscript and they were interested in Ballpark, but the story would need some revisions. The editor wanted to play up the experience between the grandfather and grandson and eliminate the sensory focus. I was excited to revise the manuscript with that in mind. In fact, it was a nice challenge. It certainly helped that the fall baseball playoffs were underway and I sensed baseball fever all around.
The editor accepted my revised manuscript and offered me a contract in late 2011 for a spot on their spring 2014 list. Then, the publishing house experienced some corporate changes – Marshall Cavendish merged with Amazon Children’s Publishing, and some of the final paperwork took a bit longer. All told – I wrote the original manuscript in 2008 and six years later, I’m delighted to hold this colorful and beautiful picture book in my hands!
Q: Your book Sweet Dreams, Wild Animals will be coming out in spring of 2015. Can you tell us a little about this book?
A: I’m very excited about this new picture book; this bedtime story presents the varied sleep habits of 14 different animals. Each animal’s sleep habit is introduced with a short poem, followed by a brief factual paragraph, and all are linked with the story thread of a child settling in for the night and wishing “sweet dreams” to each animal.
Q: Your poetry was included in the poetry collection And the Crowd Goes Wild. What do you find the most fun and the most difficult about writing poetry for children?
A: I love writing poetry. I think the challenge of writing poetry (for me, at least) is the mental work I do before I sit down to write. I like to think about what I’m trying to achieve with the piece and find my way “in” – will the poem be humorous, should there be a punch line or a twist at the end, or is it lyrical in style, more informative, etc. Once I have an idea of where I would like to go with the poem, I like the creative challenge of achieving that goal and creating my best work.
Cathy Cronin, Michelle Schaub, Heidi Roemer, Pat Cooley and Eileen Meyer
One very rewarding aspect of my inclusion in the anthology And the Crowd Goes Wild has been the opportunity to continue to work with a number of Illinois poets. A few of us have created a wonderful sports poetry elementary school program and we’ve taken our show on the road to a number of schools this past year. Heidi Roemer, co-editor of the book, helped organize all of us and our team includes Michelle Schaub, Pat Cooley, Cathy Cronin, Patty Toht, and me. We’ve had loads of fun working with K-5th graders, presenting both auditorium programs and grade-level break-out sessions. We all wear our favorite sports jerseys, act out a number of skits for the students, and talk about one of our favorite topics – poetry!
Q: What is your writing process?
A: To boil it down to the most basic steps: I like to think about my project for quite a while and brainstorm ideas, then of course I write an awful first draft, revise – revise – revise, then polish the final draft. If it’s a nonfiction piece, of course there is a heavy research component in the early stages, and that is something I truly enjoy.
Q: To write for children, do you think an author needs to have regular interaction with children? How does that work for you?
A: Yes – our young readers are such a key component to everything we do as we write books for their listening and reading enjoyment. My sons are in high school and college, so they’ve graduated well beyond the scope of what I write for young readers and listeners. I make a point of spending a lot of time with young children during my school and library programs. I enjoy the time together and young kids always make me laugh with their great comments! Most of all, I think you have to be young at heart. I love writing days when I can channel what a 6-year-old wants to read in one of my books. It’s a great day to spend time thinking like a 6-year-old!
Q: Enough about writing—tell us about yourself.
A: Thanks, Elizabeth. On the personal side, I’m a mom who is working herself out of a job, which is what we’re supposed to do! I have three sons – one is a sophomore in college, and I have twin sons who are seniors in high school about to graduate. We’re a big sports family –I’ve watched my sons play soccer since they were very young so I really enjoy going to their games. Next year I plan to travel quite a bit to watch their games at their various colleges. When I’m home, I enjoy spending time with my husband and sons. I walk outdoors each morning to start my day and it’s also a good time to do some thinking about projects; I’m also a devoted reader of books and newspapers, and I enjoy traveling, cooking and watching sports. I came to writing children’s books later in life; in college I studied business and then worked for a dozen years with software products and marketing programs. It’s been a rewarding journey.
Q: Do you have any advice for aspiring children’s writers?
A: Of course, join SCBWI- The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. And get involved in your state chapter – attend programs, serve as a volunteer, join a critique group and get to know the community of writers in your state. Not only will you learn a great deal, but you’ll also enjoy getting to know other writers and make close friends. Writing can be a lonely business, so it’s wonderful to connect with other kindred spirits! I’m very close to a number of friends in my writing groups (two groups – one for all genres, one specifically for poetry) and they are very important to me.
We’ve now reached the time in our interview for the let’s-get-to-know-the-author-better, nearly-pointless, sort-of-silly, rapid-fire questions:
Q: Pizza or salad?
A: I love salads, but can’t resist cheese pizza! So both.
Q: Ocean or mountain?
A: I love hearing the sound of the ocean. It’s always a thrill to vacation near the water
Q: Tree house or doll house?
A: Tree house – I’m a mom of all boys.
Q: Violin or piano?
A: Piano.
Q: Comic story or learn-something story?
A: Learn-something story. I love to research interesting topics and weave the information into my books.
Q: Laura Ingalls Wilder or Hermione Granger?
A: Can’t decide – a tie. I read both series aloud to my kids when they were young, and they enjoyed both immensely.
Elizabeth Caulfield Felt 