I recently had the honor of being interviewed by Brooke Taylor on her inspiring radio show, A Special Connection on WHKW AM1220 in Cleveland, Ohio. Brooke just happened to have stumbled across one of my books at her local public library and was moved by it, so she reached out to me to talk about it.
The whole show is fantastic, but if you’re in a rush, we start discussing Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah at about the 31:58 mark, and Be a Changemaker: How to Start Something that Matters at about 45:37.
I hope you’ll enjoy listening!
https://soundcloud.com/living-the-word/a‑special-connection-with-brooke-taylor-july-25th-2015
What fun! Huge thanks to both Brooke and her producer, Brett Crowe, for making it such a pleasure.
I’ve got a couple more radio interviews in the works as well, so please stay tuned for more audio in the coming weeks!
Interviews
Interview with author Janet Lee Carey
Despite some recent posts about fiction picture book New Shoes and its author, Susan Lynn Meyers, I typically try to stick to posts about nonfiction books and authors on this blog. I’m breaking that self-imposed rule yet again, however, because I’m thrilled to host my friend and agent-sister, the amazing author Janet Lee Carey, on her blog tour for her upcoming fantasy novel, In the Time of Dragon Moon!
About the Book:
Beware the dark moon time when love and murder intertwine
All Uma wants is to become a healer like her father and be accepted by her tribe. But when the mad queen abducts her and takes her north, Uma’s told she must use her healing skills to cure the infertile queen by Dragon Moon, or be burned at the stake. Uma soon learns the queen isn’t the only danger she’s up against. A hidden killer out for royal blood slays the royal heir. The murder is made to look like an accident, but Uma, and the king’s nephew Jackrun, sense the darker truth. Together, they must use their combined powers to outwit a secret plot to overthrow the Pendragon throne. But are they strong enough to overcome a murderer aided by prophecy and cloaked in magic?
From the first time I heard about this book, I’ve been intrigued, and Janet has kindly agreed to answer a few of my questions. Welcome, Janet!
LT: Where did you first get the idea for this particular book, and how did it end up growing and changing as you brought it to life?
JLC: The passion to tell the story of an indigenous healer formed when I flew to Hawaii for a “Maui Immersion” with indigenous healers Lei’ohu and Maydeen. I was profoundly changed by these women’s healing practices as I learned of ancient traditions and the power of the earth’s healing. I knew I wanted to create a story around a female healer, thus Uma was born.
JLC: Jackrun’s story took shape at the same time. I knew they would meet and become embroiled in dangerous castle intrigue involving prophecy, magic, and murder. The novel went through many transformations. I wrote the first draft in both Jackrun’s and Uma’s viewpoint. Later, taking advice from my editor Kathy Dawson, I changed it to a single viewpoint to reveal more of Uma’s personal journey and increase plot tension.
LT: Oh, I love hearing the origins of the female healer story! And it’s so interesting to hear about the viewpoint change.
LT: On a related note, here’s a question from my oldest child (whom you know happens to be one of your biggest fans!): “Why dragons?”
JLC: Oh, I love this question. I didn’t start out wishing to write about dragons, only to write fantasy novels like the ones I’d grown to love only with my own spin. The first dragon, Lord Faul, emerged from a winter of reading too many fairytales with perfect princesses and evil dragons. I wanted to mix things up a bit, so I created a princess with a dragon’s claw, in Wilde Island book one, Dragon’s Keep, and a powerful fractious dragon with his own particular history or rather, ‘hisssstory’. From there the dragon characters continued to enter the books with their own majestic, intelligent, wild, imperious, stubborn, delightful, personalities. Vazan flew into In the Time of Dragon Moon with her own pithy opinions on the English Queen who holds Uma’s tribe captive on the southernmost tip of Wilde Island;
“This queen will leave the king’s soldiers in Devil’s Boot. We’ll lose all our freedom to these English vermin!”
LT: Ha! I love that the dragons are entering of their own accord. But speaking of English queens… It seems like a bunch of research went into this book. Can you tell us about that? Was it different from previous books? Were there any surprises or stumbling blocks? Do you think you’ll reuse any of that research in future stories?
JLC: All the research I’d done on medieval life for the first two books helped this book enormously. That said, In The Time of Dragon Moon offered a brand new set of challenges. This time tribal medicine had to play a vital role. I created the Adan’s medicinal approach from many sources starting with books about medieval medicine, and expanding to books and articles on tribal medicine, preferably written by indigenous healers themselves. I was also privileged to listen to firsthand accounts of traditional healing practices. All these influences quickened my imagination and helped me create the Adan’s close relationship with plants, and his healing philosophy. The research also compelled me to help save the rainforests, where plants vital to healing are even now being destroyed. Help out here.
JLC: Finally, you asked if there were many surprises and stumbling blocks. Yes! The good news is every stumbling block is a creative opportunity. Much as I hate stumbling blocks, I’ve grown to love the surprising results.
LT: Janet, you’re one of the most creative people I’ve ever met, and that’s saying something given how many authors and artists I know! Can you give us a tiny peek into how your creative process works?
JLC: Wow. Thanks for that, Laurie. We’ve talked a lot about creative process in my novel writing courses and the rule is always ‘Do what works for you,’ so knowing my process may not be the same as yours or anyone else’s, I’ll share a bit about what’s worked for me over the years. I start each day as tabula rasa as possible, beginning with yoga, meditation, and prayer then moving into short spiritual readings from a few books, and journaling — morning pages right out of Julia Cameron’s The Artist Way. All of this readies me for creative flow.
JLC: When the kids were school age I broke the morning up, doing the yoga and meditation before getting them off to school, and the rest of the things after. Mediation clears my mind and readies me for journaling which is “active listening” on paper. The journal pages usually drift toward what’s happening in the book so I move to the office and begin writing. The process sounds time consuming but it works for me. Also, aside from my lovely critique group the Diviners, I belong to an artist’s group with fellow authors, painters, musicians and sculptors called Artemis.
JLC: When Artemis gets together, we take turns sharing about our creative process. I learn as much from the visual artists and sculptors as I do from fellow authors. These sessions sizzle with creativity. Photo below of our yearly River Rock Ceremony. We throw stones in the river with our wishes, plans and dreams. Hours of kerplunking fun!
LT: Ah, wishes, plans, and dreams… the perfect segue to my next question: Whenever I’m not writing, I feel like I should be; but whenever I am writing, I feeling like I’m neglecting other important things in my life. What tricks have you learned for balancing your writing with the demands of keeping up with the industry, promoting existing work, taking care of your home and family, personal recreation and self-care, etc.?
JLC: I once made the mistake of confiding this very thing to a soccer mom and she looked at me like I was off my rocker! Here’s the thing. I think writers feel compelled deep down to write. When we neglect it for a while, we get the niggling feeling that something is wrong. When we neglect it for too long, we feel depressed or angry. Once we give in to the urge and actually sit down and write, we feel a great deal better. But then as we write, the laundry piles up and the dust bunnies gather fomenting war under the beds, and our children want a really decent dinner and we feel guilty for having taken so much time away to write, so we go back to our daily duties (the ones other people understand). Then we begin to neglect our writing and start getting that niggling feeling that something’s wrong all over again. There is No solution Laurie T. and I’m not even going to go into taking necessary time to stay in shape or keep up with the industry and launch your books once they’ve been written. The only thing you can do is to be kind to yourself and your family and to accept that things will rarely feel in balance. Bottom line your children will survive and you will get some writing done before you die.
LT: “Bottom line your children will survive and you will get some writing done before you die.” Words to live by. Thank you, Janet!
LT: One more question for you: I think every book teaches us something new, about the world, about ourselves, or about the craft of writing. What have you learned as a result of writing this book?
JLC: So well said, Laurie! Craft wise I challenged myself to leap and loop. To leap into new scenes and briefly loop back and catch the reader up to anything important that happened between scenes that affected the character emotionally. I’m still trying to perfect this fabulous technique. As to what I learned from the book, I think Uma’s personal strength as she’s trying to heal Queen Adela’s madness taught me something vital about love, acceptance and the kind of deep healing that women often do which is overlooked or taken for granted. As Uma’s medicines fail, she simply bathes the queen, combs her hair, and sings to her. Uma simply stays by the woman’s side, for as Uma says, “Joy and sorrow are songs women have long known.”
LT: Breathtakingly beautiful, Janet. Thank you so much for answering all of my questions!
Are you hooked yet? Here’s some more information about Janet and the book…
Book trailer:
Reviews:
- “In the Time of Dragon Moon is a story of courage and romance that readers will not soon forget.” ~VOYA
- “The author’s world-building is detailed and fascinating … This is a must-purchase for libraries owning the earlier installments and a great choice for where teen fantasy is popular.—School Library Journal
About the Author:
Janet Lee Carey grew up in the bay area under towering redwoods that whispered secrets in the wind. When she was a child she dreamed of becoming a mermaid (this never happened).She also dreamed of becoming a published writer (this did happen after many years of rejection). She is now an award-winning author of nine novels for children and teens. Her Wilde Island Chronicles are ALA Best Books for Young Adults. She won the 2005 Mark Twain Award and was finalist for the Washington State Book Award. Janet links each new book with a charitable organization empowering youth to read and reach out. She tours the U.S. and abroad presenting at schools, book festivals and conferences for writers, teachers, and librarians. Janet and her family live near Seattle by a lake where rising morning mist forms into the shape of dragons. She writes daily with her imperious cat, Uke, seated on her lap. Uke is jealous of the keyboard. If Janet truly understood her place in the world, she would reserve her fingers for the sole purpose of scratching behind Uke’s ear, but humans are very hard to train. Visit her website here.
Thanks again to Janet Lee Carey for appearing!
Interview with author Susan Lynn Meyer
I recently posted a review of a fiction picture book called NEW SHOES. I love the book so much, and today I’m thrilled to welcome the author, Susan Lynn Meyer, to the blog! Susan was kind enough to answer a few of my questions. I hope you’ll enjoy getting to know her a little better. I know I did!
LT: Welcome, Susan! I’m so excited to learn more of the story behind the story of NEW SHOES.
SLM: Hi Laurie! Thanks so much for your interest in NEW SHOES.
LT: How did you first become interested in writing about the Jim Crow time period, and what in particular led to thinking about framing it in the context of trying on shoes?
SLM: I was reading about segregation from the 1940s onward both just because I was interested and as research for a novel I just finished writing. (It is called SKATING WITH THE STATUE OF LIBERTY and it’s about Gustave, a twelve-year-old French Jewish refugee who comes to New York in 1942 because his family is fleeing the Nazis.) I was startled to come across a piece of information I hadn’t known about—that in many stores, African-Americans were not permitted to try on clothes, hats, or shoes. I thought a lot about what that must have felt like, especially for a child encountering it for the first time. As I mulled that over, it began to shape itself into a story.
LT: I love that, how one book project sparks and informs another, and in a different genre and on fairly different subject, too. How much research did you do for this book? Can you tell us about that process? During your research, did anything surprise you, catch you off guard, or make you change your planned course for the book?
SLM: I’m lucky because I have access to a terrific academic library since I’m also an English professor at Wellesley College. I went to the stacks, checked out a lot of books about Jim Crow, and started reading! Among the most intriguing things I came across were accounts of the ways, large and small, that African-Americans coped with Jim Crow, the psychological and practical strategies they used. Parents would make sure to bring along water so that their kids didn’t have to face segregated drinking fountains. People would refuse to patronize restaurants where proprietors refused to seat them and would only sell them food by handing it out the back door. I loved the story of one black teenager who had a job at a grocery store and who was infuriated by the stupidity of the fact that brown eggs and white eggs had different prices—and that white eggs were cheaper because they were “better.” So he’d secretly switch the eggs around, mixing them up in the cartons! (I put that incident in the novel I just finished, but I ended up taking it out. I love it so much that I may use it again someday!)
SLM: The hardest thing about writing NEW SHOES (it went through 23 drafts over several years) was figuring out what Ella Mae and Charlotte could do to resist the unfair situation they found themselves in. The solution they come up with isn’t perfect, in the sense that the shoes are still second-hand, but people can buy them with dignity. Sales at Mr. Johnson’s shoe store, where Ella Mae hasn’t been allowed to try on shoes, are likely to suffer as a result, which is a nice additional benefit.
LT: In EMMANUEL’S DREAM, I wrote about a disabled man from Ghana, despite being none of those things myself. I know people have questioned if I should’ve been the one to write that story, despite the fact that I did extensive research and had the manuscript vetted many times along the way, including by Emmanuel himself. IT was a story I felt I had to tell, in part because no one else had, but also because I could so identify with the emotions involved, even if not the specific experiences. Clearly you also believe that it is okay to write outside of our own culture, as long as we do so with care and respect. What do you say to people who question your authority to write this book?
SLM: All I can really say is that I write the stories that come to me. When I found out about this aspect of Jim Crow, it really hit home for me, and I mused a lot about what that would have felt like, especially for a child encountering it for the first time. Imagining and wondering led me to this story. I’m not demographically similar to any of the protagonists in the books I’ve had published so far, actually—I’m not a black American girl living in the 1950s and I’m not a French Jewish boy living in the 1940s either (as in my novel BLACK RADISHES or the sequel to it that I just completed, SKATING WITH THE STATUE OF LIBERTY). Writing fiction is about imagining your way into a character who is not you—and trying to do it so effectively that your reader is drawn in as well. Writing for children especially involves this kind of leap—because all the writers are adults trying to imagine their ways into the minds of children. Writing across gender or time or nationality also requires this kind of leap.
SLM: But in order to be persuasive to the reader, that imaginative leap has to be an informed one, and it was also important for me to get the reaction of black friends to NEW SHOES when it was in draft. One early reader told me something that really resonated with me. I had initially had Ella Mae’s mother directly express anger after the shoe store incident. But this friend said that her older relatives would not have talked that way about racism to their children, that to protect the child, they would have encouraged the child to think positively. When I thought about my own older relatives and also about the way I am as a parent, that felt so intuitively right to me. So I changed Ella Mae’s mother’s answer. Now she tells Ella Mae that she should think about how nice her feet will look for school. And that feels so much more like what a parent in those circumstances would do. I’m really grateful for that reader’s early response.
LT: Oh, I love that answer! So, how exactly were you able to “imagine your way into a character who is not you” in this case? How did you put yourself in someone else’s shoes (no pun intended), and tell a story that—on the surface, at least—you have no direct experience with? What was the personal connection for you?
SLM: In some ways, my own experiences inevitably find their way into anything that I write. I was one of six children, money was limited, and we wore a lot of hand-me-downs. I now enjoy telling students at the schools I visit about an absolutely humiliating experience I once had with hand-me-down boy’s long underwear. (Don’t ask!) My parents also had me and my brothers and sisters polish our school shoes every weekend and we washed the shoelaces when we did it. I’ve never asked to find out if anybody else did that! I wasn’t great as a kid about doing chores—who is?—but I actually didn’t mind polishing my shoes and I found washing the dirt out of the shoelaces, the way Ella Mae does, very satisfying. On a deeper level, there’s the issue of injustice of all kinds, which I was very attuned to as a child. I often said furiously, “It isn’t fair!”—and I hope kids will have an intense reaction of this kind to the situation in NEW SHOES.
LT: Well, I’ve never polished shoes or washed shoelaces, but I’m sure almost every kid—including me—has roared, “It isn’t fair!” It’s kind of sad that we become more desensitized to injustice as we get older.
LT: I think every book teaches us something new, about the world, about ourselves, or about the craft of writing. What have you learned as a result of writing this book? What surprised you the most during the process?
SLM: I loved hearing from Eric Velasquez about his method of illustration, and it really made me realize how much a picture book is a truly collaborative process. Eric has models pose, takes photographs, and then paints from those photographs. He chose two girls who were friends to pose for Ella Mae and Charlotte, because he wanted their closeness to show in their body language. It is wonderful to me to look at his paintings and to think about all the people besides me—Eric Velasquez, the models, as well as all the people working at Holiday House—who came together to create this book. I also especially love the end papers Eric designed for the book, which are tracings of one of his girl model’s feet. They encapsulate what the story is about so wonderfully in a simple and powerful visual image.
LT: Yes, I loved the end papers, too! And the illustrations are so beautifully realistic. Kudos to Eric!
LT: I always said that I would know I’d made it when I received one letter from one child saying that something I wrote made a positive difference in his or her life. How do you define success? Do you feel like you’ve achieved it? If not, what’s left on your to-do list?
SLM: I think I’m always going to want to write another book and get it published, so I don’t know if I’ll ever really feel as if I’m at the point of success! But the other day, I checked out a book from the public library, and it been read so many times that the pages were soft they were about to tear. What I want more than huge sales is to have my books find a home in libraries and stay there for many years waiting for a child to come along and pick them up. I think when I come upon a copy of one of my books in a library and the pages are as worn and soft as the pages of that book—that’s when I will have achieved success.
LT: That’s a wonderful image and a perfect definition of success.
LT: Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions, Susan! It’s been lovely to learn more about your process.
SLM: Thank you so much for having me on your blog!
In which I make my podcast debut on The Artist Rolls!
As I’ve mentioned before, I love listening to podcasts. One of my favorites is The Artist Rolls.
On The Artist Rolls, Sean and Jamie ask their creative guests to fill out a form loosely inspired by character sheets from role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. They use these character sheets to help explore and discuss how each guest divides their time across the many different roles creative people must take on, what mediums they use to do their work, what their personal work style is, and how they view their own skill set. They incorporate dice to randomize the conversation, graphs to help visualize it, and humor and heart to bring it to life. It’s a fun way to learn about other people’s creative processes and challenges.
I was introduced to The Artist Rolls by my good friend (and amazing collage artist!) Liz Ruest. Since then, I’ve enjoyed listening to and learning from many of their chats with other creative types, so it was a thrill to be able to participate in one myself, made even more exciting by the fact that it was my podcast debut! I revealed much of my nerdy nature and consistently rolled well below average, but other than that I don’t think I embarrassed myself too badly. Check it out for yourself by clicking below:
The Artist Rolls, Episode 26 — Laurie Thompson Reminds Us to “Do Unto Others”
Interview w/Matthew Winner of the Let’s Get Busy podcast!
Every now and then I stumble on something so wonderful that I want to add it my own list of “My Favorite Things” and share it with the world: the Let’s Get Busy podcast from Matthew Winner is one of those things. Whether you’re an author, illustrator, teacher, librarian, agent, editor, bookseller–if you have anything to do with children’s literature at all–this show is too good to miss. Think you don’t have time for podcasts? I listen while I’m in the car. Or while I walk the dog. Or while I clean the house. And, believe me, all of those tasks are way more enjoyable when you have Matthew and his guests with you!
Matthew recently recorded his 100th episode of the podcast, and he put together a massive blog and podcast tour to celebrate. Here’s where he’s been so far:
- Wed. Nov. 19: Picturebooking Podcast (Nick Patton)
- Fri. Nov. 21: 100th episode of Let’s Get Busy podcast, featuring Lauren Castillo
- Sat. Nov. 22: The Library Fanatic (Sherry Gick)
And I’m thrilled that today is my turn to host! Matthew was kind enough to answer a few of my questions, so we can all get to know him better.
LT: Hi Matthew, and welcome! I’ve already gushed to you about how much I love your podcast, but I’m curious to learn more. How and when did you first become interested in doing a podcast like Let’s Get Busy? How did you get started?
MT: I listen to a lot of podcasts. I mean, a whole lot of podcasts. All the time. When I’m driving to work. When I’m washing the dishes. When I’m shelving books. When I’m mowing the lawn. It’s the primary media I consume. The idea for doing a podcast of my own and, specifically, a kidlit podcast just sort of popped into my head one day, took up camp, and then wouldn’t leave. But it took a conversation with Travis Jonker (of 100 Scope Notes) to nudge me into actually starting it. He and I were talking one evening during an ALA conference in Chicago about how much we love the insights but also those memorable vignettes that inevitably stick in your brain whenever you’re in the company of authors or illustrators (or anyone who has something to say, for that matter). Travis asked me what my next big project would be and I told him that all I could think about was this idea of capturing these sorts of conversations through a loosely formatted podcast. Then he basically asked me when I was starting, and that was all it took.
LT: Sometimes we just need the tiniest nudge, don’t we? (Thanks, Travis!) You sure have been busy since then. I can’t believe you started less than a year and half ago, and you’re already up to 100 episodes!
LT: How much time do you spend on the podcast overall, and what’s the breakdown of how that time is spent (lining up guests, recording and editing, promoting, etc.)?
MW: Eeep. Let me try to make this as interesting as possible.
MW: I shoot for 30-minute recordings so that I’m able to post twice a week (or 8 episodes per month). A lot of this is based on bandwidth limitations and the cost of maintaining a subscription on Libsyn, a podcast host site. I usually talk with each guest for about an hour total and we spend the unaired time locking into a comfortable candor (or going on tangents and then saying, “Shoot! I should be recording this!”). Editing and prepping the accompanying blog post takes anywhere between 30 and 60 minutes. And coordinating schedules and review materials and recording logistics over email can take upwards of 30 minutes per scheduled guest, but that might be over a series of weeks.
MW: So, let’s see. That’s 25 minus the circumference of Y, carry the 3 and substitute 7 for X… about 2–3 hours per guest from first contact to published and promoted episode.
LT: That’s a big commitment (but less than I thought–you’re fast!). What then is the hardest part of doing the podcast, and how do you deal with that?
MW: The hardest part for me is asking new people to come on. It seems like everyone and their mother has a podcast nowadays, but I’m often the first podcast my guests have ever appeared on or, in some cases, listened to. And also, many of them have no idea who I am. That gets in my brain and makes me think all sorts of wonky things and then I start to psych myself out over sending that first contact email. I’ve coped with it by asking each of my guests, following our own conversations, to recommend a friend or colleague whom they think my be a good fit for the podcast or this interview format. It’s worked pretty well for me and my guest list now reads like one great big family photo album with all sorts of zigzagging connections between each of the faces.
LT: That is really neat to envision. So much of what we do is built on personal relationships, isn’t it? I don’t think you have anything to worry about, though. First, kidlit people are the best people in the world, don’t you think? And second, I’m sure most authors and illustrators are thrilled by the opportunity to chat with you: you’re interested in our work, and you give us a chance to talk about it. Just remember: we’re nice, and you’re doing us a favor. There’s no need to psych yourself out! 🙂
LT: What has surprised you most about the podcast?
MW: Everything surprises me about the podcast. Sometimes the thing that surprises me most is knowing that anyone’s actually listening. I learn something new with each new person who comes on and by rule of thumb I allow myself space to wonder, to be excited, to nerd out over process, and to ask whatever comes to mind. That approach has served me well and has led to a good deal of surprises when our conversations take unexpected turns. It’s how I learned that Laurie Keller (Arnie the Doughnut) plays banjo, that Nick Bruel (Bad Kitty) used to work at Books of Wonder, a landmark children’s bookstore in New York, and that Steve Light (Have You Seen My Dragon?) works with PreSchool students!
LT: I love that every episode feels like a casual conversation between friends, rather than an interview, per se. In fact, it’s my favorite thing about listening to them! What is your favorite thing about doing them?
MW: So, I have a blog called The Busy Librarian. I started it as a sort of advocacy blog for all of us teacher librarians who are all just so busy all the time. On October 10th, 2010, I published my first post. Here is the text in its entirety:
This is a blog for busy librarians.
For those of us who feel, well, overwhelmed.
It’s a place of comfort and, hopefully, a source of inspiration.
Here you will find the opportunity to interact globally and to impact locally.
We’ll synergize moments, ideas, and activities that will enable us to become more effective librarians, more efficient in our libraries, and more energetic with our students, without feeling like things are careening out of control.
So, let’s get busy!
It made perfect sense to me to name the podcast as an extension of the blog itself. Hence, Let’s Get Busy. My very good pal Sherry Gick, teacher librarian at Rossville Consolidated Schools in Rossville, IN, and author of the Library Fanatic blog, and Nikki Ohs Barnes, fellow Nerdy Book Club member and co-founder of the Virtual Book Club, met me at ALA where, just one night previous, Travis and I had talked about podcasting. Super excited to share, I told Sherry and Nikki that I was going to start a podcast and that I decided to call it Let’s Get Busy after my blog. They both immediately broke into what they decided would have to be the podcast sound effect… a sort of BOW-CHIKKA-WOAH-WOW that I have not to this day been able to get out of my head whenever I’m about to start an interview. Carrying those sorts of memories around everywhere I go is definitely my favorite thing. And with 100 episode behind me, I’m definitely carrying around a lot of stories!
LT: I’m sure you are!
LT: How do you feel your other activities (teaching, presenting, writing, blogging, Twitter, parenting, etc.) make the podcast better? And, vice versa, how does the podcast contribute to those other facets of your life?
MW: Oh my word! Everything and I mean EVERYTHING goes into the pot when it comes to making these recordings. Books from my picture book guests are typically already bedtime staples with our 4‑year-old son. Teaching and being a teacher librarian is the best and comes up over and over again on our chats because I like to share the way that the guests’ book is reaching kids and supporting readers in ways that I get to experience firsthand. Twitter is my professional learning community, but it’s also where I get to nerd out with friends over great kidlit and meet very cool people creating very cool books in the process, many of whom I’ll invite on the podcast because their work sticks with me.
MW: Doing the podcast brings me pure joy and is or has become a part of my identity. And I’ve gotten to meet a ton of really cool people in the process. I’m thankful that our son is growing up in a house surrounded with beautiful picture books, both on our bookshelves, and in frames hanging up throughout our house.
LT: Oh, I love that. Why have I never thought of framing picture books? (Hmmm… just in time for Christmas, too!)
LT: I’ve always said that I will know I’ve made it when I receive one letter from one child saying that something I wrote made a positive difference in his or her life. How do you define success? Do you feel like you’ve achieved it? If not, what’s left on your to-do list?
MW: I listen to my guests and I listen to my listeners. The podcast succeeds when the guests feel like they’ve found a home in our conversation and when the listeners feel like they’re in the room with us. I also try to take in the kind things people are saying about Let’s Get Busy or about me personally. Seymour Simon once told me that he thinks of me “like a son” and that he’s proud of me. I achieved all I ever wanted when I published the very first episode of Let’s Get Busy. And I’m thankful that so many people feel moved to tell me how the podcast is connecting with them. Success to me is knowing that one person cares about the thing you’re making, or saying, or creating. And I’m one person that cares a great deal about what I myself am making, saying, and creating. So with every episode I get to share, I’ve already achieved success before a single download occurs.
LT: What a wonderful attitude, Matthew! I care a great deal about what you’re making, saying, a creating, too. Thanks so much for sharing it with us !
As you can see from above, Matthew calls himself “the busy librarian” for good reason. Here are some of the places you can find more from him:
- Listen to the Let’s Get Busy podcast: http://lgbpodcast.blogspot.
com/ - LIKE him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
BusyLibrarian - Read his blog, The Busy Librarian: http://www.busylibrarian.com
- Follow him on Twitter: @MatthewWinner
And be sure to follow the rest of the Let’s Get Busy podcast/blog tour, here:
- Mon. Nov. 24 — 100 Scope Notes (Travis Jonker)
- Tue. Nov. 25 — LGBPodcast via McSpedden Elementary Library blog (Nancy Jo Lambert)
- Wed. Nov. 26 — Writer Side Up (Donna Marie)
- Thu. Nov. 27 — Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast (Julie Danielson)
- Fri. Nov. 28 — Brain Burps About Books (Katie Davis)
- Sat. Nov. 29 — LGBPodcast with Aimee Winner
- Mon. Dec. 1 — A Fuse #8 Production (Betsy Bird)
- Tue. Dec 2. — LGBPodcast with Carter Higgins
- Wed. Dec. 3 — GreenRow Books blog (Beth Panageotou)
- Wed. Dec. 3 — Pretty Good for a Girl blog (interviewed by Louise, the main character in Kelly Light’s debut picture book, Louise Loves Art)
Interview: Chris Barton, author
On Monday, I reviewed a new alphabet book, ATTACK! BOSS! CHEAT CODE!: A GAMER’S ALPHABET, written by Chris Barton and illustrated by Joey Spiotto. Today, I’m thrilled to introduce you to Chris!
Chris was kind enough to answer a few of my questions about writing ATTACK! BOSS! CHEAT CODE! Read on for the interview:
LT: I have a sort of love-hate relationship with video games. I enjoy playing them, but have to watch my tendency to get obsessive. I suspect my growth is permanently stunted from spending my teen years playing Caverns of Mars on my Atari when I should’ve sleeping. In college, I could spend whole weekends playing Civilization. Now, I struggle not to play too much solitaire, Candy Crush, or Ticket to Ride, and I have to monitor what my kids are playing and how much time they’re spending at it, as well.
LT: Tell me about your own video gaming experience, past and present. What kinds of games do you like to play? How has your game-playing changed over time?
CB: Honestly, there’s a lot more to say about my past experience than my present experience — and, even then, there’s not a huge amount. Gaming has never been as big a part of my life as it is in the lives of my kids.
CB: But I do have some vivid memories from when I was growing up: of my great-aunt and ‑uncle giving my brother and me Pong one Christmas, and of us hooking that up to the black-and-white TV in his room; of celebrating the 12th birthday of my friend Ty (to whom Attack! Boss! Cheat Code! is dedicated) by playing a lot of Ms. Pac-Man at Malibu Grand Prix and then going to see Tron in a theater; of finally moving up from Pong by buying Ty’s Intellivision console, on which I especially loved playing Pitfall!; and of the thrill of playing Spy Hunter at the Aladdin’s Castle arcade whenever I got to go the mall 80 miles from my hometown.
CB: I still really enjoy playing arcade games — that overall sensory experience is a surefire way to bring out the 13-year-old in me. Being big fans of the Beatles, Jenny and our kids and I love playing Beatles Rock Band together on our Wii. And I highly, highly recommend the game Gone Home, a first-person game in which you’re a college student returning from a year abroad only to discover that all sorts of things are not right at the house your family moved into during your time away. Recently I was struggling to remember the name of the YA novel I had read that got me all choked up at the very end, but then I realized it hadn’t been a novel at all. It had been Gone Home.
CB: I would undoubtedly spend more time playing games — and watching TV, and going to the movies — if it weren’t for all these books I’d like to write. I can’t do it all.
LT: Yes! That’s what keeps me off of them, too… most of the time.
LT: What was your favorite part of A!B!CC! to research and/or write?
CB: Oh, it was definitely the page at the end where I use all 26 gaming terms in a single sentence. Figuring out how to do that was not only a fun puzzle to solve, but also a good test of how well I knew my terminology. I suspect that page will also be my favorite part of the book to read aloud, though I’m going to need a bigger set of lungs if I’m ever to get through it in a single breath.
LT: That’s funny–I would’ve expected you to say that was the hardest! It was indeed impressive. What, then, was the hardest part of the book to research and/or write?
CB: “I is for Instance,” by far. The usual suspects in an alphabet book — Q, X, Z — weren’t all that challenging. But “I” had surprisingly few terms that seemed like great candidates, especially since I avoided brand names or names of specific games or characters. I was happy to include “Instance,” as I think it’s an important concept for understanding why your screen isn’t overrun by other avatars when you’re playing a massively multiplayer online game, but getting the definition just right — correct, yet easy to understand — took a lot of effort.
LT: Interesting! It certainly wouldn’t seem like “I” would be one of the tricky letters. I can see how instance would be a tricky one to explain, though, and you’re right about it being an important concept. Great choice!
LT: Were there any surprises along the way?
CB: Sure. I began the project with a desire to show some of the richness and depth and breadth of gaming culture and history. But I was still taken aback by the passion and thoughtfulness and sincerity of other writers, commentators, and gaming professionals who have dedicated themselves to this field far more extensively than I have. And I’ve been especially intrigued by the current parallels between the gaming and children’s literature worlds as both strive to make themselves more diverse and inclusive, to allow more participants and consumers from more backgrounds to take part in these fields and recognize themselves in the work that’s created.
LT: I’ve noticed those parallels, too, and it’s definitely a good thing.
LT: One last question… I think every book teaches us something new, about the world, about ourselves, or about the craft of writing. What have you learned as a result of writing this book?
CB: I’ve got a new appreciation for what a great tool an alphabet book can be for organizing information about a topic, and for exploring a topic beyond what you’re already familiar with. It’s a format that forces you to dig deeply and employ some creative research skills and weigh why one concept might be more important to include than another. I’d recommend that other writers of all ages give it a try. I myself expect that I’ll return to this approach sooner or later.
LT: Great advice! And I look forward to seeing what you do with it next time.
LT: Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts, Chris. I had a great time, and I wish you the best of luck with ATTACK! BOSS! CHEAT CODE!
The BE A CHANGEMAKER Blog Tour
I’ve been surprised and honored to be included on a plethora of fantastic blogs as part of a blog tour to help launch Be a Changemaker into the world. There are guest posts written by me on a variety of topics related to the book, as well as interviews, reviews, quotes, and, yes–book giveaways! Be sure to check out all of the tour stops, and please give these lovely bloggers some love, won’t you?
Here’s what has already been posted:
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9/8/2014
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Review, author interview, giveaway
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9/9/2014
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Review, guest post, giveaway
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9/10/2014
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Reviews, teaching tools, guest post, giveaway
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9/11/2014
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Review, resources lists
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9/12/2014
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Review
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9/12/2014
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Guest post
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9/13/2014
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Review, giveaway
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And here’s what is still to come:
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9/15/2014
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Review, giveaway
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9/16/2014
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Review, giveaway
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9/17/2014
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Author interview, giveaway
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9/18/2014
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Guest post, giveaway
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9/19/2014
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Author interview, giveaway
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9/20/2014
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Guest post, giveaway
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This incredible lineup has been assembled and managed by the lovely ladies at Blue Slip Media. Thank you, Sarah and Barbara!
The Emu’s Debuts launch party for Be a Changemaker
One of the most rewarding experiences of being a debut author has been participating on the Emu’s Debuts group blog (for clients of Erin Murphy Literary Agency who are in between deal and publication). Last week, my fabulous friends and fellow Emus threw me THE BEST LAUNCH PARTY EVER to celebrate the upcoming release of BE A CHANGEMAKER! (They went a week early, since Lindsey Lane’s EVIDENCE OF THINGS UNSEEN is releasing at the same time. I’ll be helping them celebrate that launch next week!)
They were all so generous, authentic, and hard-working in bringing the daily posts to life (as they are with everything they do!), and I was thrilled anew every morning to see what they had put together. In case you missed them, please go check out their posts. They’re fun, informative, and inspiring!
Here’s the roundup:
On Monday, Lindsey Lane (with some backup support from Tara Dairman), posted Welcome to the World: BE A CHANGEMAKER by Laurie Ann Thompson!, which included stories of and interviews with five other Erin Murphy Literary Agency authors who are changing the world in their own meaningful ways:
- Chris Barton, who came up with the idea for the BookPeople Modern First Library Program;
- Ann Bedichek Braden, who helped start Gun Sense Vermont;
- e.E. Charlton-Trujillo, creator of Never Counted Out and At-Risk Summer;
- Corinne Duyvis, co-founder of the Disability in Kidlit blog; and
- Lynda Mullaly Hunt, who created Book Train.
Tuesday featured several videos compiled by Megan Morrison, BE A CHANGEMAKER: Words of Wisdom. The clips contain contributions from fellow Emu Debuts bloggers offering their own words of wisdom, sharing quotes that motivate and inspire them, and giving advice they wish they’d gotten at the beginning of their journey. Great stuff, and so personal! It’s a great way to get to know these wonderful people a little better.
For the Wednesday post, BE A CHANGEMAKER: Celebrating with Quotes!, Jennifer Chambliss Bertman compiled and created a collection of gorgeous images featuring quotes that inspire and motivate the members of the Emu’s Debuts blog team. If you want to spice up your Facebook or Pinterest feeds (or your office walls!), there are some fantastic finds here. Plus, they included the explanations behind why the quotes are so meaningful for them, making them even more special.
For Thursday’s post, Penny Parker Klostermann, gave readers a sneak preview of Be a Changemaker with excerpts of the first 25 pages as well as the event planning chapter. Her post, BE A CHANGEMAKER: A Tool for Change, gives a sense of how the book can be used as a tool by individuals, teams, and classrooms.
On Friday, Tamara Ellis Smith closed out the party with Music to Be A Changemaker By, an inspirational and motivating Spotify playlist of songs recommended by the Emu’s Debuts bloggers, along with the explanations of why they included them. Spanning genres and emotions, you’re sure to find something of interest here–I know I did!
I’m so grateful to the awesome authors at Emu’s Debuts! Thanks to them, the Be a Changemaker pre-launch week was better than I ever could have imagined. I’m looking forward to each and of every one of their debuts–coming soon!
Meet Changemaker Edward Jiang, founder of StudentRND
This is the second post in the series introducing the amazing young people who are profiled in my upcoming book, BE A CHANGEMAKER: HOW TO START SOMETHING THAT MATTERS (Beyond Words/Simon Pulse, September 2014). Today I’m introducing Edward Jiang, founder of StudentRND, and giving some behind-the-scenes details about our in-person interview.
Meet Changemaker Charles Orgbon III, founder of Greening Forward
Today, I’m kicking off a series of blog posts that will introduce you to some of the amazing young people who are profiled in my upcoming book, BE A CHANGEMAKER: HOW TO START SOMETHING THAT MATTERS (Beyond Words/Simon Pulse, September 2014). Each of the 18 chapters in the book includes a short piece about how one or more young people changed the world and their experiences with the chapter topic, in particular. I was able to interview most of them in person, via Skype, by phone, or by email, and I have so much more great stuff about them than would fit in the book–sort of like out-takes, only better! I hope you’ll enjoy “meeting” them here and reading more about them and their work.
