Read, Write, Repeat.

A few summers ago, my youngest daughter attended science camp. One day, she came home quite excited.

She had spent the day talking about different kinds of animal excrement and had even made models — using Play-Doh — of various types.

Because I try to be a good mother, I sat and listened while she eagerly explained that wolf poop often has fur in it because wolves eat bunnies, but don’t digest the fur and other interesting, um, bits of information that I have not retained.

If Lisa Morlock’s new picture book, Track That Scat (Sleeping Bear Press, 2012) had been out then, I could have happily channeled my daughter’s energy to it.

And, as soon as I received my copy, I handed it to her, and she was instantly lost reading the story and learning even more facts about animal scat.

Today, I’m thrilled to have Lisa join us to talk about her debut book.

When and how did you first know that you wanted to write for children?

My mom was a teacher, and she took me to an International Reading Association conference where Cynthia Rylant talked about The Relatives Came. Her story was magical—my family “drank up all the soda pop and ate up all the crackers” too.

I was young, and Rylant was a first real writer I’d ever met. She was wonderful, and I wanted to be just like her. That goal has never really changed.

What gave you the inspiration for this book?

Another mom and I took our young sons to a summer library program. We were really early, so we went for a walk outside. The library had a nearby pond with a huge flock of geese on it. The boys started running toward it. By the time we caught up, the geese were chasing the boys, and the two were up to their big toes in goose scat. We moms gagged, but the boys were fascinated by the color and content. That stinky day, an idea was born.

What research did you do? Was any of it hands-on? Tell us some gross details!

We had our nose to the ground for this one! Since the process began, our family has photographed, drawn, and poked (with a stick) about every questionable pile we’ve come across. I also used lots of books, a few websites, and some experts for research.

 How did the story evolve? What was its path to publication?

I wrote the story and sat on it for a bit. At an SCBWI-IA conference, I had a critique with editor Amy Lennex of Sleeping Bear Press. She liked it and soon after acquired it. The tale went through a few revisions, including one in which Finn became a girl. (My son is still bent out of shape on that one.) There would have been no “path to publication” without the support of SCBWI-IA friends.

 I like how you incorporate the three meanings of the word “scat” into your story. How did that come about?

It’s a fun word to say, and the triple meanings were just there from the beginning.

For the jazz reference, I’ve always loved legendary trumpet player Clark Terry’s scat song entitled “Mumbles” and Ella Fitzgerald’s scat version of “One-Note Samba.” They’re fast, funny feats of talent — and my very favorite type of scat.

For the final verb form, we always told our farm cats, who were notoriously underfoot, to “skit-scat.”

What’s been the most exciting part of this process for you?

It’s all pretty great. The excitement of the manuscript sale is incredible, but seeing Carrie Anne Bradshaw’s whimsical illustrations with the total book design truly takes the cake.

What were you most surprised to learn about the book publication process?

It takes a team. Thank you to my encouraging community of writers, great editor, talented illustrator, sales team, and, finally, to my family. I really did drink “up all the soda pop” in the process — at least all the Diet Coke.

Thanks, Lisa!

If you want to learn more about Lisa — and you really should, she’s very nice — you can:

• Visit her website.
• Read her blog — 365 Uses for a Picture Book.

We’ve Got a Job  (Peachtree, 2012) by Cynthia Levinson tells the little-known story of the 4,000 black elementary-, middle- and high school students who voluntarily went to jail in Birmingham, Alabama, between May 2 and 11, 1963.

Their protest efforts succeeded where adults had failed, and they helped desegregate one of the most racially violent cities in America. Focusing on four of the original participants, who participated in extensive interviews, this book recounts the amazing events before, during and after the Children’s March.

There was such a lovely interview with Cynthia on Audrey Vernick’s Literary Friendships blog about how she got the idea to write this book, that I couldn’t possibly compete with it.

So, I decided to ask Cynthia about a topic that always fascinates me – the writing process.

Once you decided this was a story you had to tell, how did you start?

I read. This may sound obvious or old-fashioned because, these days, there are many sources of information. But, I made a concerted effort to read just about every nonfiction book I could find—for both adults and children—on civil rights and on the history of the South. Several of the books for adults had won Pulitzer Prizes and were, literally, voluminous. Periodically, I interspersed my fact-finding with wonderfully evocative historical fiction.

After a couple of months, when I started seeing the same information in multiple sources, I realized that I had covered the terrain as best I could. Still, I kept reading for another month. When I began to detect inconsistencies and contradictions in what I was reading, I knew that I had finally learned enough about both civil rights and its coverage to be able to evaluate the sources.

Without this depth of book-learning and, finally, analysis, I wouldn’t have known what questions to ask when I ventured from the library to the site of the events.

How did you find the children – now all grown up – that you interviewed for your book? And were they eager to participate, or did you have to convince them?

Fortunately, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute has been conducting video interviews with civil rights activists for the past 15 years. Portions of the recordings are posted on the BCRI’s website. And, many complete transcripts of these interviews are available for purchase. So, I contacted the interviewer, Dr. Horace Huntley, and the archivist, Laura Anderson, and asked for guidance on which transcripts to read. In addition, I contacted many of the people who were quoted or discussed in all those books I had read! Ultimately, it was a matter of making cold calls, just like a pre-Internet Encyclopedia salesman.

Most people I contacted—I considered dozens of people before settling on the final four—were very generous with their time and information. Audrey, for instance, invited me to her home where I got to see where Dr. King discussed strategy with her mother and the piano where her father’s choir leader practiced the song “We’ve Got a Job.” Another person offered to participate but, then, stopped responding to my inquiries; after many months of futile effort, I honored her ambivalence and stopped stalking her. A third person interviewed me—for good reason!—before agreeing to participate.

I knew it was important to show the events from various perspectives because history is not a single story. The second to last paragraph of the book summarizes the role that each of the four children played during the March. Finding the right mix of people who were willing to spend hours and hours being interviewed and then vetting what I wrote was a major undertaking.

What was the hardest part about researching this book? Did you ever despair that you wouldn’t be able to find all the information you needed?

The research was intense and prolonged but I despaired more about the writing than about the research. (Maybe this just says more about me than about the general process of writing nonfiction.) The reason for this gets back to the inconsistencies and contradictions I mentioned before. I also discuss this issue in my Author’s Note at the end of the book.

As we know from recent research on court trials, witnesses’ and participants’ perceptions of events differ, not only from each others’ but also over time. Some of the memories my interviewees shared with me did not accord with the written record or with other people’s memories. Sorting through these multiple perspectives required very fine-grain and sensitive probing and cautious writing.

An area that confounded me for months was the relationship between the civil rights protests and Birmingham’s mayoral election, which was going on at exactly the same time. As with the rest of the research, though, I found an amazing book on internal politics in three Alabama cities, including Birmingham, which sorted out for me how the election and the civil rights movement were integrally related.

Then, I certainly despaired about being able to write about municipal politics in an engaging way for ten-year-olds. As with the rest of the writing, my indefatigable editor helped me explain the issues clearly and succinctly.

What was the most interesting thing you learned while gathering your information?

Everything was fascinating! But, the areas that, perhaps, interested me the most were the ones where I—and many other people—wanted to resist the truth.

The first of these was the fundamental discovery that it was children, not grown-ups, who were jailed, attacked by dogs, and hosed. The second, related to this, was that extremely few white people in Birmingham knew about the marches, attacks, hosing, and jailings, even while they were going on. How could they not know what was happening in their downtown every day for almost two weeks? The answer, I discovered, is that the newspapers buried the information, and the city was so segregated, their lives did not intersect.

These were hard-to-accept but riveting truths.

How was fact-checking done? By you? By the publisher? By outside experts? All of the above?

Yes! I sent the manuscript to the people I interviewed, for vetting, as well as to several scholars. Peachtree’s editors also probed the “facts” in detail, to be sure they were actually facts, and also sent the draft to an outside reviewer.

We discovered several errors, which was both relieving and dismaying. I also revised some statements to make them less assertive and more nuanced. I’m immensely grateful to everyone who read the drafts, though I fear that errors may remain.

I am especially grateful to Jane Ann Baggett, a 10-year-old reader and writer who told me exactly what she thought of the manuscript from a reader’s perspective!

How long did it take you from your first forays into research and interviewing until you finished your final, submission-ready draft?

I never had a “final, submission-ready draft.” What my agent, Erin Murphy, submitted to publishers was a very extensive proposal.

Getting from the initial idea to the point of sending out the proposal took about eight months. Then, everything lay fallow for about a year while the proposal was rejected by 18 or 20 publishers. From the point that Peachtree bought the proposal to the time that the final manuscript, complete with photos and source notes and index, etc., was sent to the printer took another two years. During some of that time, I researched and wrote intensively; for many months in between, I had to allow my editor to work on other people’s books!

Did researching and writing this book change how you will approach future books? Do you have a more refined, clearer writing process now?

Although I thought I kept scrupulous source notes, fact-checking took an inordinate amount of time because I had to re-trace several research routes. So, I’m trying in my next projects to be more careful about foot-noting.

The writing process, however, has not, yet, become more streamlined. The reasons are that I’m trying my hand at picture book manuscripts, which require an entirely different style from long-form narrative, one that I need to learn. Also, each subject and its intended audience requires its own approach, its own format and voice. Perhaps if I muster the energy for another middle-grade or YA book, I’ll be able to apply the lessons I learned from We’ve Got a Job. Meanwhile, the lesson I learned is to take a break!

What advice would you give to writers who want to create in-depth nonfiction books? What should they keep in mind?

Love your subject. Love it so much that you have to pull yourself away from the research and writing to feed your family and see your friends. Keep loving it so that, when you get to the copy-editing stage, you’ll actually care whether or not the commas are consistent. Love it so that when it sees the light of day, you’ll be proud to share the story only you could tell.

Thanks for visiting us, Cynthia!

You can learn more about Cynthia and her book by visiting her website. The book is officially released on Feb. 1. And, if you visit the EMU’s Debuts blog that week, you’ll learn even more.

Fantasy lovers discovered Sarah Prineas in 2009 when the first book of her Magic Thief series debuted.

It was an instant success with readers and reviewers, earning starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist and the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books and also being named to the New York Public Library’s list of 100 Books for Reading and Sharing.

Two equally successful books followed in the series. And now, Sarah has released another fantasy, Winterling (HarperCollins, 2012).

Today, we’re honored to have Sarah visit Read, Write, Repeat to talk about her brand-new book.

Was it difficult to start another story after the success of The Magic Thief series?
It wasn’t difficult, no.  Writing is a real joy for me, so I was very excited to meet some new characters and find out about their story.

Are their any similarities between your three Magic Thief books and Winterling? Are they for the same type of readers?
Both the Magic Thief books and Winterling are similar in that they’re for upper middle-grade readers, ages 10+, and they’re both fantasies.  They’re different in three ways.

One is that the Magic Thief books are “secondary-world fantasy;” that is, they take place in a world not our own.  Winterling is what’s known as a “portal fantasy,” because it starts in our world — in Iowa, actually! — and then takes the reader into another, magical world.

The second difference is that the Magic Thief books are in the first person; the books are narrated by the main character, a street-kid/wizard named Conn. Winterling is a third-person narration.

Finally, the main character of the Magic Thief books is a boy, and the protagonist of Winterling is a girl.

Winterling refers to Norse and Celtic mythology. What kind of research did you do to incorporate those myths into your story?
It’s kind of funny, actually. I went to the University of Iowa library and did a lot of research into fairy lore, especially the fairies of Ireland and Scotland and the Scandinavian countries.  But I never actually use the word “fairy” in the book.

An early review mentioned Winterling‘s many female characters. I was excited to hear that. Tell us how you “cast” the book and what you hoped to achieve?
That review (from Kirkus) made me laugh, because I hadn’t realized how girl-power the book ended up. I was really glad about it, though, because I certainly intended to write a book with strong female characters. There are strong girls and women in the Magic Thief books, too, but it’s a lot more obvious in Winterling.

What do you think Winterling readers might be most surprised by?
There are some turns in the book that I think are surprising, but I don’t want to give any of them away. Let’s just say that the main character, Fer, makes some unexpected choices at key moments in the plot.

What are you working on now?
I’m revising the companion novel to Winterling, which is called The Summerkin.

Anything else you’d like to share?

• For any of your blog readers in Iowa, the landscape of our beautiful state was a huge inspiration to me as I was writing Winterling.  You’ll recognize the farms and the soybean fields, and the patches of wildness hidden in folds in the land.
• Oh, and my publisher did a terrific book trailer for Winterling.
• And for readers in the Iowa City area, there will be reading/signings at the Iowa City Public Library on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 1 p.m., and at Prairie Lights on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 1 p.m.

Thanks for stopping by, Sarah!

If you’d like to learn more about Sarah and her books, you can:

• Visit her website.
• Check out her blog.
• Read this interview on Cynsations.

Earlier this year, author Audrey Vernick’s first middle-grade novel Water Balloon (Clarion, 2011) was released.

It’s the story of Marley Baird, who just wants things to go back to the way they used to be. Instead, her parents are divorcing and she’s spending the summer with her father in his new house, away from her friends and doing a job she’d rather not. There is a cute boy who could make life more bearable, but things don’t always go smoothly there either.

Audrey is well-known for her picture books, especially Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten? It’s nice to see her novel getting positive buzz as well.

Here’s what Kirkus Reviews had to say:

“Vernick makes a very auspicious fiction debut here with her breezy, briskly paced tale, well-portrayed characters, authentic relationships and keen ear for realistic dialogue. The sweet, swoony young romance doesn’t hurt either, and preteen female readers will eat this up … a harbinger of more good novels to come from this author.”

Audrey was kind enough to stop by Read, Write, Repeat and talk about her new book and why writing it was similar to visiting the dentist.

This is your first middle-grade novel. How easy or hard was it to move from picture books to a book for older readers?

The difference between the two kinds of writing is enormous. I have a much easier time with the picture-book form. Novels are a struggle. I become overly focused on word count in a sort of desperate-to-reach-the-finish-line way. It’s nothing like that with picture books.

How does your writing process differ when you’re working on a picture book versus something for older readers?

I don’t have to fight myself to write picture books. I’m happy to do the work. I enjoy almost every stage of it. But it’s murder for me to eke out a first draft of a novel. I have to trick and bribe myself. I sometimes send my family on weekend trips so that I can have a writing marathon weekend at home. Novels are so LONG, with so many balls to juggle, and I get into this fearful place that if I go down a wrong path I’ll have so much to undo and fix and sometimes that keeps me from pushing forward. In other words, my writing process for picture books seems kind of healthy, whereas it’s wholly dysfunctional for novel writing.

It’s probably worth noting that once I’ve completed a novel, I’m very happy to have done so. It’s like exercise, or even dental cleanings — I don’t enjoy getting through it, but I feel better for having done it.

You have also written two books about baseball and two books about buffalo. Do either baseball or buffalo make an appearance in Water Balloon? (I heard something about a dart board with the Red Sox on it …)

There is not a single buffalo appearance in Water Balloon. But there is a reference to a forthcoming picture book–a private joke with myself. In the end, though, the joke was on me. In Water Balloon, a child shows Marley, the main character, a book with a dog and a potbellied pig on the cover, a reference to Bogart and Vinnie: A Completely Made Up Story of True Friendship, my picture book coming out in 2013. But in the time since I wrote that scene, that potbellied pig, Bogart, has turned into a rhinoceros. (It is worth noting here that one of my favorite things about writing for children is the occasional opportunity for sentences not unlike the previous one.)

As for baseball, Marley’s cute neighbor, Jack, is a baseball player. Her father is a big Yankees fan who named their dog Gehrig, after the great Lou Gehrig. And one of my favorite scenes in the book takes place at Yankee Stadium. (I had to update that scene in the revision — from the old stadium to the new.)

I read an interview with you where you said, “My books will never have last-minute helicopter rescue scenes. Or vampires. No magic potions to magically fix everything on the second-to-last page. No explosions, either.” What will readers find in Water Balloon?

I hope readers find a connection to a character living through a difficult time with as much grace as she can muster. I like to think that readers will settle in and really get to know Marley Baird. That’s generally what I seek in the books I read and the movies I watch — I want to get to know a character well. When I think of the books and films I remember, I think of the characters I met, not the plots.

What did you learn while writing this book?

I learned that I do well working in bursts — I can write about 8,000 words in a day, but I can’t sustain that rate. More than anything, I learned that writing a novel is really hard for me. I have some friends who crank them out, but it doesn’t work that way for me. I also learned that my brain is working out plot and character points even when I’m actively engaged in other activities.

What were your favorite books as a child?

I loved A Secret Garden, and remember repeatedly rereading that magical scene when Mary discovered the garden. A bit younger, I loved Ursula Nordstrom’s A Secret Language. I’m a lifelong fan of Harriet the Spy and desperately wanted to like tomato-and-mayonnaise sandwiches so I could be more like her. (But ew.) I love it when my daughter signs her name with her middle initial, M., as it reminds me of Harriet

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

To always keep a hand in it. When I was a mother of very young children, I felt panicked that I was not writing (at the time, I wrote short fiction for adults). And I was told to just keep a hand in it. Back then, I did so by sending out my stories, even while not producing new ones. These days, when I’m not actively writing, I try to keep up with publishing news, my own publicity activities in support of my books, and reading blogs by writers — just to keep a hand in it.

What are you reading now?

I’m reading a novel: To Be Sung Underwater, by Tom McNeal. The book before that was outstanding: Jo Ann Beard’s In Zanesville.

What are you working on now?

I’m about to start a new novel. Well, I started it, but I think I need to start it again. I know a lot about my characters, but, as usual, I’m terrified to jump all the way in, and thus have been using the excuse of housebreaking a puppy and renovating a kitchen to not write. But I think it’s time to begin. I also just committed to coming up with 30 picture-book ideas in the month of November — I’m a PiBoIdMo participant.

Thanks for stopping by, Audrey!

You’ll be seeing quite a bit from Audrey in the future. She has two books coming out next year — So You Want to Be a Rock Star (Walker Children’s) and Brothers at Bat: The True Story of An Amazing All-Brother Baseball Team (Clarion).

If you’d like to learn more about Audrey, visit her website.

Or, you can stop by her Literary Friendships blog.

And finally, there’s a really nice interview with her on author Lynda Mulally Hunt’s blog

Dana Regan is an extremely prolific children’s book creator.

She’s illustrated more than 75 children’s books during her career and also has written the last nine. Recently, she’s ventered into the world of e-books and has illustrated and animated two books, including the recently released I Can Do It Myself! Today, she joins Read, Write, Repeat to talk about how her career has evolved.

You started out designing greeting cards for Hallmark, then you were a freelance artist and then began illustrating children’s books. Tell us about your career path and what you learned each step of the way.

I wrote a report in third grade about wanting to be a children’s book illustrator when I grew up. I had the wonderful perspective of childhood confidence that all I had to do was decide what to be and then be it. I realize now what an advantage it is to always know what you want to do without be hindered by the facts.

So I drew and painted, and I went to college to learn to draw and paint better and contemplated applying to Disney to be an animator but finally decided that I wanted to do what Dr. Seuss did. And Maurice Sendak. And so many other influencers from the books I read when I was younger.

When Hallmark recruited me from college my senior year I was a bit wary of changing my career path. My mother, however, who was very worried about her fourth child making her way in the world with a bachelor of fine arts degree, strongly encouraged me to join Hallmark. It was excellent advice. It was an amazing graduate degree program. Hallmark employs some of the most talented artists I have ever met and I learned a great deal there. I did not give up on books, though.

You have produced a very extensive body of work. What do you attribute that to? What advice do you have for illustrators and writers who would like to build up a similar portfolio?

All the while I was creating greeting cards for kids, I was also building my freelance career. I would travel every summer to New York with my portfolio and visit any publisher who would agree to see me. I would get book contracts and slowly build my connections in the industry.

But every time I sat in the lobby of a publisher’s office and looked around the room, I saw that there were several other artists waiting just like me, for a chance to show their portfolio. And most of those artists lived in the city and could solicit work regularly. The next summer’s appointments were all with agents. I have worked with an agent since 1987. Now, she shows my portfolio for me and I can stay home and work.

I decided to leave Hallmark when I had so much freelance work that I couldn’t do both. I didn’t have children yet. In fact, I wasn’t married yet, but in keeping with my childhood optimism, I knew I would want to be home with them when I did have kids.

Now that I have two sons, I have never regretted that decision. Although, once, when Tommy was in kindergarten, his teacher pulled me aside in carpool and said, “Do you know that your son doesn’t know what you do for a living?” What? She said they had a project at school to talk about their parent’s professions and Tommy said he didn’t know what mine was. So as I drove him home I casually asked him about the project and reminded him that I draw and color pictures for books and he replied, “They don’t mean that, Mom, they mean a REAL job.” I hope I am less of an embarrassment to them now.

How did you move from illustrating children’s books to writing them, as well? What was the biggest challenge for you?

I started writing funny, rhyming stories for my boys when they were little. My mom had always done that for us when I was a kid, and I guess I get that from her. I actually didn’t think they were good enough to submit to a publisher because I thought of myself as an illustrator, not an author. (Where was that childhood optimism?)

Jane O’Connor at Penguin was the first publisher to take one of my stories. I was visiting New York and showing my portfolio, which I still do from time to time to maintain contact with editors and art directors I work with. She saw a poem in the back pocket of my portfolio and pulled it out, read it and announced that it would make a fun beginning reader. Monkey See, Monkey Do was born.

I looked back at all the things I had written for my boys over the years, and it has proven to be a gold mine of material for future books. Penguin’s Big Hill and Penguin’s Skating Party were inspired by my oldest child who was a bit timid about trying new things.

Your latest project features text written by your mother, Mary Gustafson, for your sons. What was it like illustrating her words?

I Can Do It Myself was also inspired by my children, but it was my Mom who had the inspiration. When they were toddlers, I remember calling my Mom and complaining about how frustrating it can be to raise toddlers and she mailed me a poem she wrote for me called, I Can Do It Myself! I immediately thought it would make a great book but somehow I didn’t get around to actually making it happen until 13 years later. Just in time to venture into the world of e-books.

You’ve published two e-books recently. How did you get started with that?

I love the new electronic medium and the chance to make my illustrations move. It is a small taste of that Disney career I once contemplated. I love books on paper still, and I love ebooks. A good story is a good story where ever it comes from. I think there is plenty of space in a child’s imagination for both.

Thanks, Dana!

I Can Do It Myself! is available for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch and will be available for Barnes & Noble’s Nook soon.

If you’d like to learn more about Dana and her work, visit her website. You also can learn more about Mary Gustafson, who wrote the text for I Can Do It Myself!, here.

Debbie Bernstein LaCrois wrote her debut picture book, It’s Almost Time (Kane Miller, 2011), because her young son was fascinated by clocks.

So, she wrote a story replicating all the sounds they heard when they visited a local clock shop. Here’s how the publisher describes Debbie’s work:

It’s almost time … the gears are winding, getting ready to chime! Are you ready? Join the countdown to the most colossal cacophony of clock sounds ever! From chimes to ding dongs, from grandfather clocks to cuckoos, this collection of sounds will have young readers buzzing with excitement.

Today, I’m happy to welcome Debbie to Read, Write, Repeat. She was kind enough to answer some questions about how her book came to be.

How did you get the idea for your picture book?

My son loves clocks! We spent hours visiting the local clock store. The guy who works there is awesome and would wind the clocks so they would dance and sing. I wanted to capture the store and bring it home.

How long did it take you to write, revise and polish?

I wrote it six years before I submitted it. I researched the publishing process and wanted to be able to market my book. Because I was pregnant when I wrote the book, I knew it wasn’t the right time. Then, honestly, I forgot about it.

In 2010, I decided to submit another story I had written, and came across It’s Almost Time. I submitted both at the same time, with permission from the editor. I never did hear back about the other story.

What’s the biggest thing you learned while going through the publication process?

I learned so much! First was the consideration process. I was asked to do a rewrite because the beginning was similar to another book.

The original was: “Sshh, listen, it’s almost time.” It was changed to: “Tick tick tock. It’s almost time …”

Then I had to wait some more. Kira Lynn, my editor, wanted to publish it for Fall 2011 (this was May 2010), so the editing process moved quickly. She always told me to take my time and not rush. This is hard for me, because I tend to push things through when I am excited. She chose the illustrator, and gave me her name.

Of course, I Googled her (Sarah Chalek) and LOVED her artwork! I did not talk to her or meet her during this process. When I first saw the illustrations, I was speechless! She had added a horse to my book! A horse and a bluejay (which I now love)!!!

The illustrations change the story, but they make the book. I love the final product.

What advice would you give other writers hoping to be published?

Keep writing. Don’t give up. And really follow your instinct. Also, putting something away for a while is a great idea. When you pull it out, you know if it really has potential or if it’s just like a new toy you bought that you have to have, but soon realize it’s not so great.

Oh, and networking can help. And finally, find a critique group. Your friends are the worst editors, because they love it because it’s you. You need good, helpful feedback.

What other projects are you working on?

For writing, I’ve written my first middle-grade chapter book, which I’ve submitted and had sent back, but with positive feedback. I think I finally figured out what the problem is and can’t wait to go in and rework it.

I also have a few picture books. And of course, many in line in my mind waiting to come out!

Thanks for stopping by, Debbie!

If you’d like to learn more about Debbie, you can visit her website.

If you’d like to learn more about illustrator Sarah Chalek, you can visit her website.

If there’s a tween girl in your life, you might want to introduce her to the Goddess Girls books by Suzanne Williams and Joan Holub.

This six-book series — with more installments on the way — takes a lighthearted look at what the lives of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses might have been like when they were growing up.

The most recent book in the series is Aphrodite the Diva (Aladdin, 2011). Previous books have been about Athena, Persephone and Artemis.

Today, we’re joined by the series’ authors, who share some insight into these delightful books and how they came to be.

What inspired you to start writing these books? Did you have a strong knowledge of mythology before you started? What kind of research do you do for each book?

Suzanne (That’s her on the left.): First of all, thanks for having us at Read, Write, Repeat today, Pat! The Goddess Girls series began with a conversation over dinner. Joan asked if I might like to collaborate on something, and I said yes.

Goddess Girls was Joan’s idea — one of several ideas we came up with — and about the time Rick Riordan’s Lightning Thief debuted, we were putting the finishing touches on a proposal.

Joan: (Seconding Suzanne’s thanks, Pat!) It was my lucky day when Suzanne agreed to write with me. She is the best co-author ever. I really enjoy building the fictional Goddess Girls stories on the frameworks of existing mythology. I’m a history and mythology fanatic, and I’ve always been partial to Greco-Roman mythology.

It’s fun to update the stories, but for the most part, we try to stay true to the myths — or at least the spirit of the myths! I have a long list of book ideas and book titles. I often start a book or series with only a title, and think … What could that be about? What if this happened or that happened? That’s how Goddess Girls was born.

Suzanne: Because our goddess girls and our readers are tweens, we adapted the myths to make them age appropriate. It was fun to imagine the personalities and predicaments of our young goddess girls and god boys, based on their mythical adult counterparts.

I’ve heard some of your readers have started their own Goddess Girls clubs at schools where they pretend to be the characters. Who seems to be the favorite goddess? Did you expect the books to get such a positive response?

Joan (That’s her on the left.): I’m not sure if our fans have any clear favorite — maybe Athena, since our fans tend to be avid readers like her. But Aphrodite, Artemis, and Persephone have their cheering sections, too! We have the best fans in the world and have dedicated many of our books to them. Aphrodite the Diva just got an awesome video review from tween reviewer, Reagan, of Reading Tween.

Suzanne: I agree. Athena may have the edge, but some girls identify more with one or two of the other characters. We didn’t really know what kind of reaction to expect when the series pubbed. The positive response has been very gratifying. And we love that teachers have told us the books get girls excited about Greek mythology.

Joan: And excited about reading!

How many books are planned for the series?

Suzanne and Joan: Well, we have many of them planned in our heads, but we don’t really know for sure how many will be published. Goddess Girls started out as a four-book series. Now we’re up Book 6. And Books 7 and 8: Artemis the Loyal (December 2011) and Medusa the Mean (April 2012) are in the works. We know there will be 12 for sure — more about that below.

Joan, you started your career as an illustrator, then were an illustrator and writer and now — I think — only write. Tell us a little about how that evolution happened. What was your path to writing, Suzanne?

Joan: You’re right, Pat. Even before illustrating, I was a graphic designer in advertising, then in children’s publishing in New York City. I became a freelance children’s book illustrator next. When I realized I loved writing even more that illustrating, I gradually I segued into writing full time. I’ve written and/or illustrated over 130 books at this point. Everything from board/novelty books, early readers, picture books, and chapter/middle grade.

Suzanne: I was an elementary school librarian before I began writing for children. It was reading all those wonderful children’s books I purchased for the library that made me want to try my hand at writing too. I’ve published more than 30 books now — all fiction — mostly chapter book and middle-grade series, but also six picture books (including Library Lil, illustrated by Steven Kellogg).

You both write fiction and picture books and middle-grade novels, and Joan also writes nonfiction. What parts of your writing process are the same no matter what you’re working on, and what parts vary depending on genre?

Suzanne: Revision is the most important part of the writing process, and that’s universal! I brainstorm a fairly detailed chapter-by-chapter outline before beginning the first draft of a novel, but a sentence or two is the only planning I’ll do before drafting a picture book. Even fiction — especially Goddess Girls since it’s built on existing Greek myths requires some research. We use books like Edith Hamilton’s Mythology as source material, and also Internet resources like Wikipedia.

Joan: I learned to outline from Suzanne when we began Goddess Girls. When you’re writing with a co-author, outlines really helps to work out plots before you go too far down a road that’s not really a good direction. Suzanne and I talk over broad plot ideas, then outline on our own, and then we have long conversations about the outlines.

I don’t outline for any other books, but I do often make book dummies for picture books and easy readers, even though I’m not illustrating them. Dummies help me figure out the flow of the book and art. I don’t dummy nonfiction, but I usually break the manuscript into the number of pages the book will be. Artists and editors often change what I’ve suggested, which is fine with me. Every book is a team effort, and it’s all about making a book the best it can be.

On your website and your Twitter account, Joan, you ask, “Did you bring me a cookie?” What’s your favorite kind?

Joan: I love that you read that tagline, Pat. Are you perhaps a cookie monster as well? Chocolate chip!

Suzanne: Mine would be chocolate chip, too.

What projects do you have under way now?

Suzanne: Our publisher recently asked us for four more Goddess Girls books — our very first “Super Special,” and Books 9 – 11. We post updates about the series and answer questions from fans on all things Goddess Girls at our Goddess Girls Facebook page. (Editor’s note: You can also learn more about Suzanne’s projects at her website.)

Joan: Wagons Ho! is just out with co-author George Hallowell illustrated by Lynne Avril (Albert Whitman & Co, picture book). Two girls travel the Oregon Trail in comic-book style. One takes five months in 1846, and the other takes five days in 2011. Also coming up is a lift-the-flap magnetic-hand (ages 2-6, Scholastic, September) book titled A Kiss for You! And last but not least a picture book titled Zero the Hero (February 2012, Macmillan Christy Ottaviano Books, illustrated by the fab New York Times bestselling Tom Lichtenheld.) Visit my website for links and info.

Thanks again, Pat. This was fun!

School is ending across America, leaving teenagers wondering just how to spend their summer.

One good idea might be for them to read A&L Do Summer (Egmont USA, 2011), the newest novel by Iowa author Jan Blazanin. It follows Laurel and Aspen on a series of well-intentioned misadventures involving pigs, skunks, boys, firecrackers, mud, beer and more.

Today, Jan visits Read, Write, Repeat to talk about the book and her best summer adventures when she was a teen.

A&L Do Summer is about the adventures two Iowa girls get into during what they think will be a boring summer. What’s the most adventurous thing you ever did over a summer?

None of my adventures were nearly as wild as Aspen and Laurel’s. One summer, I took a biology class where we chased insects, collected plants and puddled in ponds and streams looking for microscopic creatures. I spent two summers working on a chicken farm, which unfortunately was a factory farm rather than free range like Eggstra Good. Whenever possible, I caught a ride into Adel to go swimming in the town pool. But living in the country with no transportation except my bike kept me from being too adventurous.

Were you more like Laurel or Aspen as a teen?

I was more like Aspen in appearance as well as personality. We were both conscientious students who obeyed our parents and teachers, earned good grades and turned our homework in on time. And I definitely had — and still have — her sarcastic sense of humor.

However, there was a Laurel side of my personality that occasionally broke through and convinced me to do something foolish. For example, in the middle of the night at a slumber party five other girls and I decided to take a walk through town. I’m not 100 percent sure it was my idea, but if it wasn’t, I jumped on board without a moment’s thought. The policemen on patrol saw us, and we ran like criminals, which led to a trip to the police station at 3 a.m. Definitely a Laurel moment.

You live in Iowa. How many of the Iowa references are true to life, and how many just seem like things people in Iowa might do? Are any based on things that happened to you or your friends?

While none of the incidents were “ripped from the headlines” in their entirety, quite a few are based on actual events. My friend Susie’s pet skunk inspired me to create Sammy Stripers. A grumpy woman who lived down the street from my grandparents was the model for Miss Simmons. My brother’s friend Alan threw M-80s into the toilets of the Adel City Park, and the police sentenced him to spend his summer painting buildings and fences in the park. Another of my brother’s friends vomited on a police officer’s shoes after the car he was riding in was pulled over.

My sophomore year in college I went to a kegger in the woods that the police discovered. A guy from school helped me escape, but I tore my shorts climbing fences and lost part of one shoe in a plowed field. I also missed curfew and was “campused” for a week. And the school sent a letter to my parents.

What’s the story behind this book? How did it evolve?

The idea for A&L Do Summer came from a friend who told me about an article she read in a local newspaper. Several high school kids were suspended for smuggling a pig into the principal’s office. That article triggered my memories of the kind of high school incidents we’d all rather forget. As the idea evolved I picked my brother’s brain for the funniest and most embarrassing moments he could remember. After I created Aspen — a small-town Iowa girl with an older brother — the rest of the story quickly fell into place.

There’s been a lot of focus in the media about bullying. Your story features some high school boys who bully Aspen and Laurel. What do you hope readers will take away from that story line?

Although I didn’t write the story with a bullying message in mind, the girls would have avoided most of their trouble if they’d told their parents or Officer Sierra that they were being bullied. I would advise teens to stand up to bullies if possible. But if that strategy doesn’t discourage them, tell a person in authority. If the first person you ask for help isn’t effective, ask someone else. Whatever you do, don’t suffer in silence.

What advice would you give teens looking to have an awesome summer?

Get out of the house and away from the computer and television. You can do that stuff anytime. Dive into volunteer activities, spend time with your friends, and enjoy the gorgeous summer weather. Sit in the shade and read a book, walk the dog, drink fresh lemonade. Summer disappears before you know it, so appreciate it before it’s gone.

And, finally, what other projects are you working on?

I just finished the first draft of a young adult paranormal novel about two teens — one from the present and the other from 3,000 years ago. They must work together to complete a mission or risk the destruction of both worlds.

Thanks, Jan! It was great having you visit.

Jan has written another young adult novel called Fairest of Them All (MTV, 2009). It tells the story of Oribella Bettencourt, an up-and-coming model, dancer and actress who suffers from alopecia and loses her hair, and possibly, her career.

If you’d like to learn more about Jan, visit her website.

You also can read an interview with Jan at Mike’s Blog and Notes and another review of A&L Do Summer at The Book Swarm.

Today, author and illustrator Janeen Mason joins Read, Write, Repeat.

And our converstion covers a wide range of topics from her recent books to the projects she’s working on now and how her youthful fascination with girdles helped her discover her talent as an artist.

Janeen has written and illustrated several books, including:

• Gift of the Magpie (Pelican Publishing, 2011)
• Ocean Commotion: Life on the Reef (Pelican Publishing, 2010)
• Ocean Commotion: Sea Turtles (Pelican Publishing, 2006)

She’s also illustrated books by other authors, including several with Jan Day.

Now, on to Janeen!

You’re a wonderful artist, who also writes. How did you make the transition from illustrating to writing and illustrating?
It has always been easier for me to tell a story with pictures. I COULD write, but it felt a lot like algebra … you know? Work … work … work … work … The stories I’d written and sent around didn’t sell – so it was just easier to concentrate on illustrating, my first love anyway.

 I’d finished the art for my seventh book when a group of philanthropic women formed in Stuart, my little town on the east coast of south Florida. Each decided to donate a certain amount of money annually to create a pool of funds they could use to support art in our community. So, I wrote for a grant from Women Supporting the Arts, and I was among the recipients in their first granting cycle.

 South Florida is one of two places in the world where loggerhead sea turtles nest, and the story of their migration is simply astonishing. I believe kids think nothing important ever happens in their own backyards. I wanted our kids to know how unique in the entire world our sea turtle nesting beaches are – how impossible the journey of the female loggerheads who crawl out of the ocean to dig their nests under the sand on the very beaches where we play every day.

But I had to write the story. And I needed the comfort of freedom from overhead to do so. It was an enormous honor to have Women Supporting the Arts believe in me enough to fund my living expenses while I wrote the book.

It’s powerful when someone believes in you. I met the scientists, I did the research, I wrote the book. My critique group helped me polish it up, and by that time in my career I had relationships with a couple publishers where the editors knew my name and were willing to consider my material. I sold it!

When it was time to make the art my paintbrushes practically rattled every morning when I walked into my studio. The illustrations were calling, “Paint me today! I need blue! Right here, right here! Dab a little yellow!”

Ocean Commotion: Sea Turtles!was hatched, and I was hooked. I’m willing to do the algebra, the work … work …work …work … work … to write the
manuscript, because I’ve discovered one of life’s greatest luxuries is to paint
the artwork for a book I’ve written. Ahhhh.

Many of your books have ocean themes. What are your favorite things to draw?
Well … I love color. Always have. When I looked underwater at a living coral reef for the first time I was about 13 years old. It changed the direction of my
life. To see such a dazzling display of brilliant color, and to swim over this
neighborhood populated by astonishing and unlikely creatures … each one
perfect and perfectly unaware of our human civilization just above, I was
fascinated.

I fell in love with the life in the sea and knew then that by studying it I could learn the use of color. I’ve never looked back. Saltwater flows in my veins.

Which picture books or illustrators have influenced you most?
This is such a good question because I’m helpless in the children’s department of the bookstore. I’ve developed a pretty substantial collection of picture books over the years, and I’d be hard pressed to name my favorite illustrators.

The list is ever changing. Here are some that I’m perpetually crazy about:

Henry Cole, Floyd Cooper, Betsy Lewin, Ted Lewin, David Shannon, Mark Teague, David Diaz, Maurice Sendak, Anik McGrory, James Dean, Mark Buehner, Carter Goodrich, Mini Grey, Jerry Pinkney, Judy Schachner, Erin Stead and Peter Brown, and I’m sure I’ve left off names of others I’ll feelbad about tomorrow.

When did you first realize you could draw and that you liked it?
Oh, I’ve always, always, always been attracted to a new box of crayons! Ahhh! The smell! The colors! The possibilities! Then when I went to kindergarten I got in serious trouble for drawing on the floor with a fat red crayon when we were supposed to be napping after lunch.

I was just trying to figure out what the teacher had going on under her dress – such an odd contraption, I could see when she passed by and I looked up. I’d never seen a girdle before. Fascinating.

Boy, did that sketch cause some commotion. Later, after I’d scrubbed the wax off the wood floor and the proverbial dust had settled, I handed in a drawing of my mom waiting at a bus stop (I don’t know why the bus stop … Mom had a car.) But my drawing was clearly my mom – everyone else drew their mothers with huge heads shaped like a piece of toast and little tiny bodies. I couldn’t see the sense in that.

Perhaps for that reason alone, a proportionate head, my career was launched at such a tender age.

What have you learned about illustrating books as your career has progressed? What advice would you give someone just starting out?
To someone just starting out I would say “pace yourself.” The nature of this business is fraught with disappointment. It is a tricky field. Know your client – the young reader who is going to stare at your work open mouthed in rapt attention.

Children’s picture books are a primary source of inspiration which have enormous consequence in our culture. They provide the introduction to a lifetime of creative imagination and appreciation for the arts. This is powerful juju in a landscape of ever-accelerating technology. It can be tough to navigate the world of laying your heart and your talent on the line for the
business people in publishing to march across on their way to the bottom line.

Do your best artwork, remember the children you may never meet but whom you may influence in ways that cannot be quantified, and be gentle with yourself when the accountants and attorneys and editors stare at you with one eyebrow raised. To prosper they need the creative visionaries, but it can be hard to be the one who has to have one foot in each world.

What are you working on now?
I’ve been on a really busy schedule lately. I just finished serving four years on the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. (You know how tough state budgets have been on the arts! If you’ve got money in your state budget for the arts, I guarantee someone has been actively advocating with your legislators, and that’s the job of members of State Arts Councils). Florida’s Secretary of State appointed me two weeks ago to serve now on a board of Citizens for Florida Arts.

It’s more work, but I can’t think of a cause more important to me. Sir Ken Robinson said it best, I think: “Creativity is as important as literacy, and must be nurtured.” Legislators tend to treat the arts like they are only for the elite. It takes time to teach them that, “NO! THE ARTS ARE FUNDAMENTAL.” I live my life in columns, its eems. That is one important column.

In my career column, which is also important, I’ve been promoting my newest books. Last fall, Ocean Commotion: Life on the Reef came out, then in January Gift of the Magpie was released. (Hooray, it got rave reviews from Kirkus!) In March I finished the artwork for a 48-page nonfiction picture book
written by the curator of fish at the National Museum of Scotland. It’s titled Fish Facts and is due for a fall 2011 release.

Then I took a short breath for another important column. (One daughter is getting married in the fall and our son and his wife just had their first child, a baby boy. I’m also involved in the lives of our other five grandchildren, whom I adore.)

And now back to column number two, I’ve just sent off a manuscript for my mentor, Joyce Sweeney, to read, before it goes to my editor – this is the third in my Ocean Commotion series, titled Ocean Commotion: Caught in the Currents!

While waiting for Caught in the Currents to come back, I’m finishing up a spectacular room divider for a patron of mine. It measures 6 feet, 8 inches tall and 7 feet wide. I’m using Japanese paints and gold leaf on wood laminate. My husband is a master cabinetmaker, and he created the most magnificent, manly frame for it. The paint has dried, and I’ve got to get back to work on it right now, actually!

Thanks, Pat, for asking me out to play with you on your blog. It’s been a pleasure.

To learn more about Janeen’s artwork and stories, visit her website.

You also can read this interview that Elizabeth O. Dulemba conducted with Janeen on her blog.

I have to be honest.

Before I saw the brightly colored picture book Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix at my local library, I knew very little about Jimi Hendrix.

If pressed, I might have said that he had lots of hair, wore bright colors and performed during the 1970s.

But now, thanks to author Gary Golio and illustrator Javaka Steptoe, I know a lot more. And learning it was a delightful experience.

The book, published by Clarion in 2010, focuses on Jimi’s love for sounds at an early age and how he heard music that others missed. Whether he was listening to rain falling on a roof or a truck backfiring, Jimi heard a song. And after he got his first $5 guitar, he spent all his free time playing those songs so others could hear them too. (And, of course, I recognized several of his songs once I saw the titles.)

What originally made me pick up the book were the beautiful illustrations. Javaka Steptoe made them by swirling vivid paints on recycled plywood from Seattle, Jimi’s hometown. The artwork is bold, captivating and — I have to say it — psychedelic.

Once I started reading, I was equally caught up in the beautiful language. The story itself was lovely and lyrical, and the thorough backmatter fills in the rest of Jimi’s life, including a discography and details of his drug-related death at age 27.

And now, I’m even smarter because Gary Golio has stopped by Read, Write, Repeat to talk about this beautiful book.

How did you get the idea to write a picture book about Jimi Hendrix?

I started reading about Hendrix back in 2002 (I love to play electric blues on the guitar), and was struck by what were—to me, at least—the surprising details of his childhood. There was a lot of tenderness and beauty amidst the poverty and tough times, and Jimi’s devotion to his craft, very early on, was inspiring. So I thought I’d share that sense of surprise with readers, and hopefully create a meld of words and images that Jimi himself could be proud of. With Javaka’s help, I think we did a pretty good job.

What type of research did you do? What was the most surprising thing you learned?

I did a lot of reading—adult bios of Jimi, old articles and interviews from the 60’s, extensive web-tributes—and immersed myself in recordings (CDs, old vinyl, archived and bootleg cuts) as well as movies of Jimi and his performances (thanks, YouTube!). And it was much more a spiraling kind of process than a linear one, going back to things I’d missed, re-reading and re-listening, and searching out clues to the young Jimi wherever I could. Good research is an adventure story in itself!

Did you listen to Jimi Hendrix music while you wrote the book? What songs especially inspired you?

I especially love to listen to Hendrix songs that are unusual and atypical—things like 1983 – A Merman I Should Turn to Be, One Rainy Wish, alternative takes on classics like Hey Joe or The Wind Cries Mary, and studio outtakes that reveal Jimi’s creative process. The last album he made while alive—Electric Ladyland—in particular, is mind-expanding to me, and if that’s not a 60s-style compliment, I don’t know what is!

You have other music-related picture books coming out soon. Did you plan these as a series or did they evolve separately?

When Bob Met Woody (Little, Brown), a story of the young Bob Dylan and his early meeting with mentor Woody Guthrie, is coming out in May. And in Fall ’12, my middle-grade, 48-page picture book on John Coltrane, Spirit Seeker (Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), is due out, as well. It just kind of worked out this way, with JIMI and BOB being my first two literary children. But in between those and the Coltrane book, I wrote others on Pablo Picasso and Henri Rousseau —books that reflect my other life as a visual artist—which I’m still trying to sell. So from a certain promotional point-of-view, the first three books being about musicians is probably good, though I’ve got many interests and lots of ideas for other subjects.

I’ve heard you play instruments when you speak at schools. What kind of a musician are you?

I’m in love with the electric guitar, and most enjoy playing blues or classic rock with a slight jazz tinge. For some of my booksignings and planned school visits, I use the Fender Stratocaster (Jimi’s signature guitar) to present a musical story of the young Jimi Hendrix, which complements the book with snippets of songs that influenced the young guitarmaster (B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley), and “sound effects” that mimic, à la Jimi, what he heard while living in Seattle (raindrops, train whistles, airplane engines up in the clouds, people talking out on the street, etc.). It’s a lot of fun for me, and beats just reading the book out loud. As for the Dylan book, I’ll switch over to acoustic guitar since it’s about his early folk period.

You’re also an artist. Was it hard turning the illustrations for the
book over to another artist? What was your first reaction when you saw the illustrations?

Interesting that you ask, because I’ve wanted to illustrate a book for several years. In fact, right now I’m doing just that, with a picture book text I’ve written about Charlie Chaplin. But as for Javaka’s amazing images—when I saw them the first time, I was speechless. (And that’s saying a lot for me, as my wife will attest!) Javaka did something visually which I never would have imagined, even while creating bold and multi-layered illustrations that go hand-in-hand with Jimi’s music. And I only see more things when I look over the spreads—there are subtle and somewhat hidden images in there, and for me it’s like a treasure hunt. It’s amazing what can be done with recycled plywood in the right hands.

What other projects do you have in the works?

There are some other fabulous subjects that I’m looking at right now. I’m forever interested in writing about the lives of artists, no matter what medium they work in.

Thanks, Gary!

This book has gotten a lot of buzz. Earlier today it was named to the Kirkus Best Children’s Books of the Year 2010 list. And there have been some wonderful reviews of it, including this one by author Mitali Perkins. It looks at Jimi’s multicultural approach to live and music.

If you’d like to learn more about Gary and his many interests, visit his website.

If you’d like to learn more about Javaka and other books he’s illustrated, visit his website.

And, finally, if you’d like to look at the biography of another rock legend for older readers, check out this interview with Ann Angel, author of Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing.