Author Interview with Chris Mihaly By Suzy Leopold

HEY, HEY, HAY!
A Tale of Bales and the Machines and
the Machines That Make Them
by Christy Mihaly; Illustrated by Joe Cepeda
Book birthday: August 14th; Holiday House

Chris' cute smile. 😊

Hip, hip, hayray for fellow GROGger, Chris Mihaly and her new book HEY, HEY, HAY! A TALE OF BALES AND THE MACHINES THAT MAKE THEM. Written by Christy and illustrated by Joe Cepeda this book makes its debut on August 14th. 

Read all about this rhyming picture book ⎯⎯⎯ a tale of a Mom and daughter duo and the process of making hay on their farm. 

Children ages 4-8 are sure to have a better understanding about farm life and how things work. Back matter is included.

Living on the Illinois prairie, there are farm fields surrounding us for miles. Six years ago, our little farmhouse was built on what was once a corn field. Together my husband and I enjoy gardening on the Midwest soil. My roots come from a long line of farmers who farmed on the plains of North Dakota and Minnesota.

My cousins continue to farm the land my great grandparents once farmed. My heart is connected to the earth and all its beauty. So with an appreciation for the land, I am captivated by Chris' book about bales of hay.

Please join me as we have a conversation to learn more about Chris and her latest picture book.

Q1: Chris, tell us about HEY, HEY, HAY! What was the inspiration behind this story? The Vermont Farm Bureau promotes your title on their web site. Tell us more. 

A1: Suzy, I’m so impressed that your sleuthing about my book led you to the Vermont Farm Bureau! I interviewed with a reporter from the Farm Bureau this month. She’s writing an article for their monthly magazine about Vermont writers of children’s books about farming. I had a great time chatting with her about the book.

In HEY, HEY, HAY! I wanted to share with kids the real-life excitement of bringing in a crop from the fields. I figured young kids would be interested in what hay is and how it's made, and also in the big machines that help bring in the hay. It turned out there wasn't a kids' book about hay— who'd have thought it? So, I could fill that gap! (As the director of a state agriculture-in-the-classroom program told me, "Give me accurate farm books—I don't need books about talking cows.").

The initial inspiration for the book came from my own hayfield. The rhythm of the haying machines (mower, rake, tedder, baler) got into my head during haying. I realized that storing all that grass over the winter was, in essence, storing summer, and these words began to run around my mind: "Listen and I'll tell the tale how we store summer in a bale." The book grew from there.

Inside spread: When it's high enough, we mow!

Q2: Share your author history. When did you begin writing for children and how did you know it was something you wanted to do?

A2: I always loved to write but for some reason I didn’t think of writing as a viable career. I went to law school and became an environmental lawyer in San Francisco. I loved the work there (and it involved a great deal of writing!) 

I began thinking about writing for children after I had kids and spent time reading to them in the 1990s. About twenty years ago, I took the Institute of Children’s Literature distance learning course in writing for children. I enjoyed the course and loved the idea of writing for kids—because it was clear to me that raising a generation of readers is our best hope for the future—but my personal writing aspirations didn’t go beyond that for many years. 

Q3: How long did you write until you became published? Can you tell us about the process of finding and signing with and agent/editor?

A3: I had been writing for years, but not seriously working toward publication. That changed in 2011 when our family went to live in Spain for a year. My husband had a sabbatical leave and he was invited to teach for a school year at the University of Seville. So we went! My daughter attended a local Spanish school, my husband was teaching, and I took the opportunity to try out writing full-time. I focused on writing for children’s magazines. I returned to some assignments I’d completed for the ICL course all those years earlier, and worked on polishing them. I didn’t have an English language library nearby, but I could research magazine markets and make submissions online (Back then, Highlights was still requiring submissions by mail, so I didn’t send to them).

The cool thing was that living in such unfamiliar surroundings shook loose a lot of fresh writing ideas for me. That year, I published my first piece, a story about a girl who moved to Spain. It was published in an online magazine, an unpaid market. But, a credit! My next piece was an article for one of the Cricket magazines. It was about the Spanish sailors who sailed with Columbus – a topic all the kids in Spain knew about, though I hadn’t.

When we came back to the US in 2012, I resolved to keep this incipient writing career going. I published an essay in a local parenting newspaper, and I continued submitting queries for articles. I also started attending conferences and workshops, and became more active in SCBWI (the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). I joined a critique group, which has been the most important step for me in learning how to write and revise. Our online group has been together five years now, and during that time all of us have been published, and some have signed with agents, and we’ve all improved in our writing. I learned to write picture books and also started publishing nonfiction in the school and library market, which I still enjoy. 

In the summer of 2014, I wrote Hey, Hey, Hay!  I sold it in the summer of 2015. About a year after that, I submitted my work to agent Erzsi Deak of Hen & Ink Literary Studio, and she now represents me. 

My hayfield

Q4: Share your love for the beauty of nature. 

A4: I’m not happy if I can’t get out in nature. When we lived in town, I often set off up the hill to take long walks in a large, leafy park. What I loved most about my work in the law was knowing I was making a difference in preserving valuable habitat for wildlife, clean water in the lakes and rivers, and beautiful open space for farms and ranches.

Now that we live out in a rural area (by the hayfield!) I especially love watching the land as the seasons change. In winter, I look for little critter footprints on the blanket of white snow covering the fields and forests. When the sun melts the accumulated snow in the springtime, I love watching the green leaves pop out so suddenly, and listening for the first cheeping of spring peepers (tiny frogs). In summer, I love the songs of the birds, the frogs, and the crickets, the cries of the hawks returning to their nest each year, and the dances of the fireflies in the night. The autumn is spectacular as the leaves turn brilliant red and orange, and the air crisps up and the cycle of the seasons turns again. And there’s nothing like a walk outdoors to get the creative juices flowing, or to get a writer out of a stuck place in a work in progress. It’s always inspiring.

Haying!

Q5: Do you write every day? Do you experience days when you become stuck and don't know what to write next? Have you ever given up on a book and filed it away? 

A5: I write something every day. I can’t always get to a work in progress, and sometimes what I write is just bad. When I can write a poem in the morning – that always starts the day off right. These days, though, my writing is more likely to be related to promoting my picture book than to be on any new creative project. But I write because writing is what I do.

Often I have a deadline for a work for hire, or for an article that I’ve pitched. I find that deadlines are the best inspiration there is! And I’ve always got more than one writing project on my list. 

How to get through a stuck spot? I actually wrote a GROG post about blasting through writer’s block last year.

Some ideas: get up and move (the old walking cure); read; try a writing prompt unrelated to your stuck project; or some creative (writing-related) procrastination.

And yes, I have many story drafts that are filed away, waiting for me to come back to them (or not).

Q6: Where do you find inspiration and ideas for your manuscripts?

A6: It is cliché, but I find inspiration everywhere – in the news, in things my neighbors say, in things children say, in books I read, in dreams, in songs—inspiration is, like my hayfield, under my nose.

Q7: Do you have ideas in your head at the moment? What is your next project?

A7: I’m writing a cool STEM book under contract for an educational publisher. So I should be concentrating on that right now…

But, yes, there are always new ideas bubbling up, uninvited. I have a couple of picture books on submission (which may mean more revisions in the future); I am revising several more before my agent starts submitting to publishers. I’ve also got a good start on drafting a middle grade nonfiction book about a musical topic. I’m writing some poetry. And I’ve got a list of ideas for new projects that somehow keeps getting longer.

Mom drives the tractor in 
Hey, Hey, Hay!

Q8: Do you have any thoughts on including Back Matter for a fiction book?

A8: I’m a big fan of back matter in all books. I think that relevant factual information, well presented, enhances the reader’s experience of any book, be it a picture book biography, middle grade science fiction, or adult historical fiction. 

Hey, Hey, Hay! is fiction because I invented a narrator to tell the story of how we make hay. But it’s also accurate and informational, and I wanted the book to include factual information about hay. I love that we have a glossary of haymaking terms (like “tedder,” and “baler,” two of the machines used, and “switchel,” the traditional haymakers’ drink). And my editor suggested adding a recipe for switchel, which makes it even more fun. 

Reading to the first grade: An advance copy!

Q9: What are your thoughts about critique partners and critique groups? Do you have any advice for finding writers and sustaining a long-term relationship that encourages learning and growing?

A9: As mentioned above, my online critique group has been a pivotal influence in my writing life. I’ve learned a great deal through reading and critiquing their work, and of course the members of the group have taught me so much through their comments on my work. After five years of working together online through monthly manuscript and critique exchanges, we are more than writing partners, we have become real friends. I’ve met up with several of them at workshops and conferences and on personal travel, and in fact one member, Sue Heavenrich, and I collaborated on a book (more on that later). 

Our group, which we call the First Friday Scribblers, has organized an “unworkshop” at Highlights Foundation, and will be meeting in person for several days of intense writing this summer. We’re planning discussions and presentations and other writerly activities – as well as hanging out and enjoying one another’s in-person company.

Recently I also joined a local critique group of children’s writers. I like meeting face to face, and I enjoy getting to know members of the local writing community as well. In finding a group, my experience is that it’s best not to rush into it – first get to know the people in the group, and their writing, before you commit to joining. But I have also found that pretty much all children’s writers are welcoming, supportive, and sharing.

As to tips for success, I’d say, communication is the key. Be clear about what the rules for your group are. And, be kind. Because the goal of a crit group is to help all the members improve their writing. 

Grandson, 
an excellent advocate of Nana's book.
"Such a cutie patootie!" ~Suzy

Q10: Tell us about your previous publications, stories, poems, magazine articles, and educational market?

A10: As I mentioned, I started with magazine work, which was a great way to hone my writing, learn how to work with editors, and write to a publisher’s specifications. I still write for magazines, because I really enjoy it (and they publish what I write—usually within a few months, and they pay). 

The first book I published (in 2016) did not have my name on it. It’s the National Geographic Kids’ Junior Ranger Activity Book. I wrote the words for the games and activities and quizzes, and worked with a team to review photographs, illustrations, and other graphic elements. Since the book tracked a format and used features that NGK had previously developed, the publisher didn’t offer me an author credit. It didn’t bother me, though, since I had such a great experience working with that team, and the book was so much fun to create.

Since then I’ve published a half dozen educational books on topics ranging from “Moose” to “All About Apps” to “Using Math in Fashion.” Each one has been fun to write, and for each one, I’ve learned a ton.

I’m particularly excited about Diet for a Changing Planet: Food for Thought, which I co-wrote with Sue Heavenrich (a fellow GROG member and also a member of my online critique group). This book is aimed at kids in grades 8 to 12; it explains how we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions—and also perhaps help relieve world hunger—by changing what we eat. We invite young readers to consume more weeds, invasive species, and insects (which are plentiful and nutritious and don’t require large investments of fossil fuels). Recipes are included. It will be published by Twenty-First Century Books (Lerner) with an official release date of October 1.

I’ve also been writing more poetry recently. I published a nonfiction poem in Highlights magazine (inspired by my time in Spain, again) last year, and this year, two of my poems were included in a poetry anthology, IMPERFECT: Poems about Mistakes: an anthology for middle schoolers. 

Q11: Share something about yourself that very few people know about.

A11: For several years while living in California I owned a Kawasaki motorcycle. I lived in a houseboat in Sausalito, in San Francisco Bay, and on nice days I commuted across the Golden Gate Bridge on my motorcycle. I loved it.

Chris in a canoe.

Chris reading to first graders.

Q12: Where can readers find out more about you?

A12: I’d love to connect with readers out there in the social media universe. Feel free to comment on this post, and …

Please like my Facebook Author Page.

Check out my author website.

You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram, too.

It’s been such a pleasure “talking” with you, Suzy. Hey, Chris! I, too enjoyed our conversation. It's been my pleasure. 

I look forward to reading your picture book, HEY, HEY, HAY! and learning about the summer chore of baling hay shared by mother and daughter. The warm paintings of oil-over-acrylic illustrations by Joe Cepeda, of the mother/daughter team look warm and inviting. 

I can't wait to read the recipe for a mug of switchel.

Natural Living Ideas
http://www.naturallivingideas.com/switchel-benefits/

Meet GROGger Kathy Halsey ~ by Patricia Toht

Here at the GROG, we writers come in a variety of flavors. 

If I had to choose one flavor to describe my fellow GROGger, Kathy Halsey, it would be super-duper-confetti-cake-wonder-cream. (Okay, I cheated with all of the hyphens, but Kathy is all that!) Here's your chance to get to know her a bit better.

When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer? What drew you to writing for children?

Kathy: Since I was a child, books surrounded me. Both my parents read to us - MIKE MULLIGAN, MILLIONS OF CATS, and LYLE, LYLE CROCODILE, among other classics. Newspapers, Time, National Geographic, and Smithsonian magazines were everywhere.

After many years as a 7^th grade English teacher, I acquired certification as a school librarian and fell in love with books all over again. I experienced the power that reading had for K-12 students, the right book for the right reader, and I wanted to wield that power that writers have.

Now I write stories that I wish had been there for me as a child – biographies of women who knew no boundaries, adventure stories, and humorous tales to make kids laugh. Being a kid isn’t always easy. I advised many a student as an educator about big life issues, and I know they need to laugh.

 What inspires you to write? How do you come up with ideas that you want to write about?

Kathy: After my first PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) in 2011 with the amazing Tara Lazar, I found that ideas surround me and can pop up daily. I enjoy coming up with titles, and I carry a notebook in my purse for brain bursts. The sheer exuberance, honesty, and lack of artifice in children inspire me. They are society’s truth tellers.

I carry a notebook, too, Kathy. What a shame if those ideas slipped away before we wrote them down!

Can you share your author history with us? How long have you been writing?

Kathy: I wrote poetry in 5^th grade, kept a journal off and on since I was 12, and was accepted into a juried master class in poetry at Ohio State. Writing to publish began in earnest 2.5 years ago when I hit a certain birthday ending in zero. I joined SCBWI, hit Facebook, and joined every group I could for writing challenges and information. My 15 years as a school librarian gave me the deep reading background all writers need.

What authors have mentored you?

Kathy: At my first AZ SCBWI meeting, I was blessed to meet Dianne White (author of BLUE ON BLUE), who became my first mentor and part of a face-to-face critique group in Phoenix. Ada Kent, friend, librarian, and former Newbery committee member, encouraged me to go to The Mazza Museum Summer Conference in Finlay, OH, several years ago. They instituted a writers’ track that year, and Ohio author Michael J. Rosen gave me my first critique. Alayne Kay Christian, Miranda Paul, Dianna Aston, Kristen Fulton, and my agent Jodell Sadler have all made an amazing difference in my writing! My writing buddies include a myriad of GROGgers, and Pamela Courtney, Jackie Wellington, and Pam Vaughn. They inspire me.

Kathy and fellow GROGgers
kicking up their heels with Kristen Fulton

If you could invite any author or illustrator to dinner, who would it be?

Photo by manhhai

Kathy: My dad introduced me to Robert Benchley and James Thurber. I’d love to chat with Thurber. We both love dogs, went to Ohio State, and I am doing research on him for a biography now. I adore his illustrations and dry humor.

Tell me about the reading program you started at the indie bookstore in AZ.

Kathy with illustrator Lynne Avril
at Changing Hands Bookstore

Kathy: I’m always in bookstores, and I noticed how adults often looked lost when choosing books for kids. I reached out to Gayle Shanks, the owner of Changing Hands Bookstore, an indie that’s been around for 40 years, volunteering  to do book talks for adults. Her sister, another former educator, also had the same idea, and the Grandma’s Club took off!

This rewarding experience gave me a chance to hone my public speaking skills, read tons of new books from picture books to middle grade, and connect with local authors. When I go on my first book tour (I think big – Julie Hedlund taught me that), I know that Changing Hands will welcome me with open arms.

What else would you like to share with our GROG readers?

Kathy: Believe in yourself.  Surround yourself with people who share your goal to be an author. Look for opportunities – make them happen. Be bold, brave, and generous to others in the field. Remember, children’s writers write for the noblest audience there is! Give them your best.

Kathy and me at the SCBWI LA Conference,
affirming that two GROGgers are better than one!

I'm so glad to learn more about you, Kathy! Thanks for giving us a taste of your life, and best of luck with your writing.

Meet a GROGer: Tina Cho! ~By Suzy Leopold

ALL ABOUT TINA CHO

When did you first know that you would like to be a writer?    

Tina Cho
A beautiful smile!

I’m not one who always dreamed of writing. In fact, I hated writing papers in college. But while I was an elementary teacher, I fell in love with picture books and wanted to write a book to leave a legacy for my children. And growing up, I loved reading. 

Title page from a forthcoming book

            In 2008, I had an unplanned career change. We moved from Arizona to California, and during the hard economic times, I was unable to find a teaching job. So I surrendered to God’s leading, and He led me to the SCBWI web site. Someone there gave me Nancy I. Sander’s information because she headed a critique group in my area. She invited me, took me under her wing, and I took off learning all I 
could about the craft of children’s writing. 

My two kids next to a rice field.

What inspires you to write? How do you come up with ideas that you want to write about?

Most of my ideas come from my two children and the activities and places we go. When they’re playing together, I often eavesdrop. I hear good imaginative thinking that I jot down in my idea notebook. Also, when we go on family outings to some place new, a story idea churns in my head. It’s not too hard when you’re overseas.

The Cho Family 

Share your author history . . . How long had you been writing until you became published? 

I began writing the fall of 2008 and my first acceptance came three weeks later. This wasn’t for a book, but a children’s story for a private school’s reading curriculum. I became part of their cadre of freelance writers and sold over 20 stories to them. Since then I’ve published many articles, lesson plans, guided reading books, a coloring book, etc…much for the educational market. I have three nonfiction books forthcoming from Legacy Press Kids and something else in the works that I don’t want to reveal yet.

A Sweet Surprise
A rebus story

What words of wisdom or advice do you have for *writers under construction*?

It’s so important to find a critique group! I’m in two online picture book critique groups, and I’ve learned so much. Writers need a community to cheer each other on and to learn from each other. 

And also since getting a book published traditionally takes so long, it's important for authors to see their names in print via other ways so they stay encouraged. Be proactive. Don't be afraid to write for other markets such as magazines, educational markets, etc. . . . Send out queries to publishers and get contracts to write. I've written about some of these other ways on our  Grog blog.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor? 

Nancy I. Sanders has been a terrific mentor to me since I first began, and I continue to email her with any questions.

Tina Cho and Nancy Sanders

If you could invite anyone to dinner who would you choose?

I would invite everyone in my critique groups. After years of having an online relationship, it would be wonderful to meet face to face.

What is your current WIP? 

My writing area
*Pictures drawn by my kids 
*Roses made out of soap from hubby
* A special Bible verse
*All my notebooks I use for projects and stories

I’m pretty much always on some kind of work-for-hire assignment for the educational market. But since I’m also in Julie Hedlund’s 12x12 challenge group, I write one new picture book draft each month. 

Do you have any hidden talents you want to share?

I play the piano. (I used to be the church and college pianist.)

Share something about yourself that very few people may know about.

For those who don’t know, I grew up in Iowa and am now living in South Korea. I’m homeschooling my two kiddos while writing. And I love Dr. Pepper; it helps me write—seriously! Thankfully, some places carry it here in Korea!

Seoul, South Korea

Where can readers find out more about you?

www.tinamcho.com 

Bio: Tina is an author of 25 guided reading books from Lakeshore Learning and Compass Media. A coloring book, God Is So Good, from Warner Press was published in 2013. Three nonfiction books are forthcoming from Legacy Press Kids.

A fun way to tour Korea.

Tina is a former elementary teacher who currently homeschools her 7^th grade daughter and 4^th grade son. Though she grew up in Iowa, she now lives outside of Seoul, South Korea.

Thank you for the interview, Tina. So nice to learn more about you, your family and your writing journey. I look forward to meeting you in person.