A "Beary" Funny Story...Interview with Sharon Giltrow and Book Giveaway-First of the Month Book Release

By Janie Reinart

Sharon's Little Bear reading his Daddy Bear a story.

This is a "beary" funny story. A real life incident sent our guest author Sharon Giltrow, an early childhood teacher, on the exciting path of writing a special how-to picture book story.

By Sharon Giltrow
EKBooks Australia
Booktopia Australia's Local Bookstore
Amazon USA

One night, Daddy Bear (Sharon's husband) was putting their son to bed. Daddy Bear belly-flopped into their son's bed and said, "Tonight you are putting me to bed." And the rest is bedtime history.

Art by Katrin Dreiling

Welcome, Sharon we are thrilled to have you here to share your story. Congratulations on your debut picture book. Let's snuggle in and start the interview.

1. Who is your agent? 

     

 No-one yet.

 2. What is your favorite part of the story?

  My favorite part of the story is when Daddy Bear interrupts Little Bear and asks,  

    

  'Why don't ducks have arms?'

                 and 

  ‘Do sharks sneeze?’ 

   Such good questions and very typical of small children’s inquisitive minds.  

   

Art by Katrin Dreiling

3. How long did it take to write? Get to a publisher?

I wrote the first draft in June 2017. Revised it for four months. Then submitted it 
November 2017, which was too soon. Put into the drawer. Took it out of the 
drawer in June 2018, revised it again. Submitted it to EK Books and signed the 
contract in August 2018. So short answer four months to write and one year to 
get an offer to publish. Then two years after acquisition, it was released, in May 
2020.

4. What is your writing routine?

 I have a monthly schedule where week one and week two of the month I write a 
 new picture book. Then week three I revise a previous manuscript and critique. 
 Week four if I have a manuscript ready, I submit to publishers and agents. I        
 teach three days a week so my writing days are Monday and Friday. After dropping    
 the children at school, I go to my home office and try to write for at     
 least an hour. I am a member of a picture book accountability group and we       
 have a spreadsheet where we record our individual time spent writing. I find this    
 accountability essential. I aim to write a total of one day i.e. 24 hours each       
 month.

5. What is your favorite writing craft book?

I am better at doing online courses to improve my writing. My favourite courses 
are the ones offered by The Childrens Book Academy. I have done the picture 
book course and the middle grade course.

6. What inspires you to write? 

 Inspiring ideas get me started. The creative act of making a story out of words 
 gets the story written. Then sharing the story with my critique partners gets my 
 story to a submittable standard. And now that I have a published picture 
 book the joy of sharing my story with children keeps me writing.

This is Sharon's workspace and Pepper.

7. What are you working on now?

 I am currently working on a story about my niece who was born through             
 surrogacy.

 8. Words of advice for writers. 

   In the words of a very wise little blue fish called Dory, ‘Just keep writing,
   just keep writing,    
                                   writing, 
                                                writing.'



Thank you, Sharon for joining us today. Sweet dreams and best wishes with your debut book.

   

Enter Rafflecopter for a book giveaway of Bedtime Daddy.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway   Runs until July 8, 2020. Watch for the winner. 

                                                           

Twitter: @sharon_giltrow

Instagram: @sharongiltrow1

 Facebook: @sharongiltrowwriter · Author

  · Author· Author

Website: sharongiltrow.weebly.com

Sharon Giltrow writes humorous picture books and adventure-filled chapter books. Sharon was born the youngest of eight children and grew up on Yorke Peninsula in South Australia surrounded by pet sheep, sandy beaches and fields of barley. She now lives in Perth, Western Australia with her husband, two children, a tom cat and a miniature dog.

Writing that Sings

by Sue Heavenrich

Last month I reviewed Watersong over at Archimedes Notebook. It's got spot-on rhyme. A narrative arc. An environmental STEM connection.

And it does all that in 56 words. Fifty-six! 

So I had to ask author Tim McCanna how he managed to fit so much story into so few words. 

"It started as an experiment," he said. California was caught in severe drought. "Reservoirs were alarmingly low, and all the beautiful creeks and ponds had completely dried up." Tim missed the lush green walks he took with his family - missed them so much he started thinking about the sounds that water makes. Then he started jotting down words. He searched the internet for lists of any words related to water.

"I noticed that certain words rhymed and played around with them, dividing them into stanzas of words with similar meter and pattern." 

Tim at one of his favorite waterfalls

drip drop
    plip plop
        pitter patter pat.

twinkle sprinkle
    splitter splatter
        spitter spatter splat.

You can hear the music of rain beginning - almost smell that earthy wetness.

"What it had going for it," Tim said of his final manuscript, "was that it left so much open to the illustrator to explore." He credits Richard Smythe with bringing another dimension to the book. There was no fox in Tim's story. Not even in the art notes he included. The fox - its journey through the storm, following the water - pure illustrator brilliance.

"Picture books are a collaboration, and the end result was stronger and more heartfelt than I ever imagined on my own." Tim, who began writing picture books about nine years ago said that at first he thought it would be hard to cut words. But with practice - and reading enough picture books - it got easier to get into the minimalist mindset.

"You can tell a lot in few words, but you have to trust the reader," he said. "You have to trust the illustrator." The thing about Watersong, Tim said is that he wasn't trying to write a story -  he was just playing around. "It was liberating to try something and not have any expectations."

The cool thing: even the back matter is lyrical. 

"Ah, well..." Tim said, "about that back matter." He hadn't included any notes in the original manuscript, so when the editor asked for a page of back matter (a few weeks before the book went to print) Tim had to take a deep dive into watersheds, water cycles, rainbows, and foxes. His take-away: we all live in a watershed. 

"Water will pass through your home (landscape) so we have to be conscious about how our acts - pollution, erosion - affect it."

Since Tim has written a few books in rhyme, I asked him what advice he'd give to writers who want to write their own rhyming books.

"Rhyming books definitely have a place in literature," Tim said. "They are as valuable as any other book. Trust your instincts. Experiment with your words. And take the time to shape and practice your writing, to develop your ear so that you know when it's working." Writing a good rhyming book is about simplicity and meter - but mostly about the story.

You can find out more about Tim and his books at his website. His new book, Barnyard Boogie, was just released a few weeks ago. Check out the trailer!

After the interview ~ turning notes into story

by Sue Heavenrich

interviewing bumble bees at RMBL

I’ve been committing journalism for a couple decades and no matter what I am writing about – whether it’s how to plant strawberries or the effects of repealing the Affordable Care Act – I always end up interviewing someone for nitty-gritty details. The trick is turning 5 pages of notes and quotes into an article that both educates and interests the reader.

“But there’s so much material,” you say. “I want to share it all.”

Short answer: you can’t. No one wants to read transcribed notes. Your job, as a writer, is to sift through what you’ve learned and find the important nuggets – and then develop a story that provides context for the reader. For me, this process involves a yellow highlighter and a cup of tea. After reviewing my notes, I jot a rough outline focusing on the most compelling points. Meanwhile I’m asking myself: what’s the most surprising/interesting thing this person has to share?

I think of profiles as a story: I am telling you, the reader, about this cool writer I met. She might have some useful insights on research, or he might have a funny story about what inspired his book. So I use the same process that I would use telling any story: who is this person, what’s the cool thing, and why does it matter – and for GROGGERs, how can we use this in our own craft?

That means that I will describe how they work, paraphrase some of what they have to say, and use the occasional quote. Though I am not a big fan of the Q & A format, I sometimes use it in a longer piece to focus on specific questions. 

GROG:  So how do you use quotes? 

Chris Mihaly (fellow Grogger): If I'm using quotation marks, I use the interviewee's exact words, altered with [brackets] if necessary. Otherwise, paraphrasing works well. 

Jilanne Hoffmann: I paraphrase quite a bit. It really depends on the purpose of the interview and the allowed word count. That tends to drive the form. I don't like word-for-word transcriptions. It doesn't leave much room for shaping the article/interview.

Should writers let the interviewee review the article? Most journalists don’t, though when I am writing something technical I will often email a section to the expert to make sure that the quotes and context are correct. I’m not the only one; Nalini Krishnankutty was happy to have an expert go over what she’d written, and thankful that person caught an error. “But no one has ever asked me to change anything else in either my writing style or the focus of my story,” she says, “and if they did, I am not sure I would be willing to do it.”

Among the many wonderful resources about interviewing, here are two I find useful (please add your favorites in the comments section):

Anatomy of Nonfiction, by Margery Facklam and Peggy Thomas

“How to Write a Profile Feature Article”  by the New York Times.

Rosi Hollinbeck Reviews Books

by Sue Heavenrich

Rosi Hollinbeck loves words. A retired high school English teacher, she's continuing to follow her passion by reviewing books. Her reviews are published in the San Francisco Book Review and the Manhattan Book Review as well as her blog, The Write Stuff.

"These aren't paying jobs," she says; she does it for the books. The reviewing gig started when a friend suggested she contact the San Francisco Book Review. They were looking for contributors. That was five years ago, and she's still going strong. Rosi reviews some picture books, mostly middle-grade novels, and some YA. She chooses the books she reviews, and is committed to giving an honest assessment of how the books speak to her.

"I see my role as someone who tells the truth about the books," Rosi says. She's not out to sell a book, but to let potential readers know what the story's all about and her impressions. "And there's the discipline of it - the reviews have to be succinct and get to the heart of the book immediately." Rosi's reviews are limited to 200 words - except for reviews she posts on her blog.

When she's reviewing a book, she reads it like... a reader would. She might stick page-markers where a particular passage exhibits excellent writing - something she wants to cite in her review. She'll read through picture books two or three times; novels are so long that she reads them once - and then sits down immediately to jot down her notes.

Rosi considers a lot of things when she reviews a book:

• is it something a kid would like to read?
• will it enrich their lives?
• will they be exposed to good writing?

"I want the book to contain terrific storytelling," says Rosi. "I want it to have reliable characters, with flaws. I like to see some kind of redemption or growth at the end - otherwise what's the point?"

Before choosing a book, Rosi does her homework. When she gets a a list of titles to choose from, she begins by looking for authors she's familiar with. She also looks at the titles - and if one captures her interest she'll read a synopsis about it. She looks at page count; a 500-page fantasy is too long for her - plus she's more interested in historical fiction and contemporary novels.

"I also read a lot of blogs - about 30 a week - and sometimes I see a book that interests me, so I'll ask for a review copy," says Rosi.

Reviewers are subjective - and Rosi hopes people reading book reviews keep that in mind. Even when she ends up with a book that just doesn't resonate with her she tries to find something good to say about it. 

When she's not reviewing books, Rosi is writing them. She's had stories published in Highlights and High Five magazines, and a rhyming story in the anthology, Fifty Funny Poems for Children published in the U.K. Now she's beginning to submit her picture book manuscripts - and a novel. "Plus I'm working on my second novel," she adds.

Rosi's advice for people who want to review books: start by contacting publications where books are reviewed. It might be the San Francisco Book Review, or perhaps a local paper has a book review section. "You can review for Goodreads and Amazon," she adds, "or even start a blog." As for earning money doing it? Mostly you get "paid" in the books you get. You can find out more about Rosi here.

An Interview with publisher Lucinda Clark

            A Lady of Many Hats:  An Interview with Lucinda Clark

By Anne Iverson

Lucinda Clark, the founder and publisher of P.R.A Publishing, wears many hats in and about the literary and publishing worlds.  In a lively interview, she discussed several of these hats.

 A:  Lucinda, can you first give us a little of your background?

L:  I had my start as an art dealer for 10 years and am the principal of Phoenix Rising Art Consultants..  I currently live in Martinez, Georgia with my husband, Robert,  and we have two grown children.

A:  One of your hats is that of Publisher.  What were your reasons for starting P.R.A.? What is your background?

L:  I started my company back in 2001/02 with the publication of a book of poems written by  Jeanne McGhee, a visual artist I was representing.   Back then, our local Barnes and Noble, Borders, and Books-A-Million,  were eager to help local authors and would give them shelf space.  Unfortunately, that’s not necessarily the case today. 

            I truly enjoy working with emerging authors (international and in the U.S.), getting to know them, and developing personal relationships.   We really care about our authors and I’m proud of the fact that 4 of our 6 titles coming out in 2016-17 are by international authors. (Of those books, one is YA Fiction and five are poetry.) Yong Ho Nam's My Love for You Before I had You, Derek Berry’s Heathens and Liars of Lick Skillet County and From Above and Below, Volume 5 of Middle of the Road series. Sighs and Murmurs, Poetry Diversified 2017, Growing Flames.

           

A:  What about your Author Hat?               

 

L.  My first love is poetry.  I want poetry to sing!  I want to feel something when I read it or hear it.  I enjoyed reading all of Dr. Seuss books, especially Green Eggs and Ham.  He had such cool characters and I loved the rhymes!   

            I have a series of five poetry anthologies, View from the Middle of the Road.  Volume one, Where the Greenest Grass Grown (2000), which I wrote with my children.  Volume Two, U. S. .and Us (2006), features the work from four African American Poets.  Volume three, Search for Knowledge, was published in 2008.  Volume four, A Pathway to Dreams (2010), features contributions from all male poets. The Fifth Volume, From Above and Below, will be published in 2017.   In 2013, I published Poetry Diversified:  An Anthology of Human Experience, which features the collected experiences of the 2012 Poetry Matters Contest Winners.

A:  What about your Poetry Matters Hat?

 
L:  My husband and I started Poetry Matters in 2000 as a local writing contest in the Columbia County, Georgia, school system, which was designed to highlight middle school poets.  The contest grew to include more categories—young poets (middle school and high school), adults (poets ages 20-60), and seniors (poets 61 and above)—and has broadened its scope to the “Poetry Matters Project, Ltd.” .  We feature emerging poets— locally and globally, and offer opportunities (workshops and poetry readings) for the gifted poets in our area.   Our contest is open to everyone and there is no entry fee.

            I'm also working with Poetry Out Loud, a national program created by the National Endowment of the Arts Foundation.  (According to its website, "Poetry Out Loud encourages students to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life.”)  I am pursuing channels to get our area high schools involved.

            For those of you who live in or near the Augusta, GA area, Lucinda will be presenting Emily Cobb, Poetry Out Loud Outreach Program Coordinator (from Atlanta) on Tuesday, Dec. 6^th at Open Mic Night at the Hire Grounds Café (3179 Washington Rd., Augusta, GA  30907) from 5:00-8:00 PM).  For more information, email www.poetrymattersproject@gmail.com.

A:  How about your Explorer Hat?                                              

L.  Yes, I am interested in exploring different genres and possibly expanding the scope of P.R.A. As you're aware, the publishing world is a far different one than just five or ten years ago.  Some of the literature genres I'm considering include science fiction, thrillers, post apocalyptic, fiction, and YA.  I am NOT interested in romance or erotica.  Whatever the genre, the focus for me (and the rest of the publishing world) is diversity.      

.

Links:  www.prapublishing.com

            www.poetrymattersproject.org

            https://poetrymattersproject.submittable.com/submit 

            www.poetryoutloud.org.

           

 
            

Posted by Anne Iverson at Thursday, November 17, 2016

Labels: Anne Iverson, Author Interview, interview, poetry, publishing