Hello, lovely readers!

Hooray for you ― you're back at the Oasis and it's so great to have you visit again! This is the place to refresh your spirits, recharge your creativity, and get a literary mood boost!

Now, stretch your smiles even wider and get comfy and cozy for a delightful chitchat because today we have another awesome creative on the KidLit Oasis series... Children's author Marcie Wessels is here to share some wisdom, insight, and inspiration with us!

(Plus, check out my promo gift offer at the end of this interview.)

Welcome, Marcie! Thank you for joining us on the blog. Please briefly describe your journey to publication. 

A: Thank you for inviting me, Rosie! I used to teach Spanish language and literature at the college level. In 2006, I left academia for motherhood.

In 2011, I decided I needed a new challenge. I’ve always loved books. But could I write one? I set out to find out.

My first stroke of luck was discovering the Writing for Children’s Program at UCSD Extension. I enrolled in the first of three classes, formed a critique group, and joined SCBWI. After attending SoCal SCBWI’s Editor’s Day in 2012, I landed an offer for my first picture book! Pirate’s Lullaby: Mutiny at Bedtime, illustrated by Tim Bowers, was published by Doubleday Books for Young Readers in 2015.

My second book is my first work of nonfiction. The Boy Who Thought Outside the Box: The Story of Video Game Inventor Ralph Baer, illustrated by Beatriz Castro, will be published by Sterling Publishing on April 14, 2020. Like my first book, Boy was inspired by my son. A bit of a reluctant reader, he fell in love with Whoosh: Lonnie Johnson’s Super Soaking Stream of Inventions (Charlesbridge, 2016), written by Chris Baron and illustrated by Don Tate. The book was so kid-friendly, it inspired me to look into the history of other toys and games. Like most boys, my son loves video games. “Who invented the video game?” I wondered.

As I conducted research, I discovered the unpublished memoir of Ralph Baer, the inventor widely regarded as The Father of Video Games. It was a crucial discovery that helped me connect with the project in a completely different way. I wrote many drafts and then my agent sent it out on submission.

While we were waiting to hear back from editors, I happened to read Laurie Wallmark’s Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer (2017), illustrated by Katy Wu.  I noticed it that it was a part of Sterling’s People Who Shaped Our World Series. I thought my manuscript would be a great fit for Sterling’s list so with my agent’s blessing, I submitted my story. A few months later, it was picked out of the slush pile and I had an offer.

Q: What do you find most challenging in this business, either on the creative or publishing side of things? What do you find most rewarding? What helps you stay motivated?

A: I’ve written about my fear of the blank page on a different occasion (read here) so I’ll just say it’s all challenging! Coming up with an original idea, figuring out how to tell the story, then finding someone who believes in your story as much as you do, such as an agent or an editor.

Luckily, the kidlit community is one of the kindest and most supportive. I feel blessed to have so many creative and inspiring friends. 

As far as motivation, you definitely need to be persistent and patient. Hearing how much someone loves your book (especially a kid) is one of the things that keeps me going.
 
Q: Could you share any craft tools or techniques that you find most helpful to you when working on a project? What does your revision process look like? 

A:  My revision process is messy but one of the best tools I have in my writer’s toolbox is the story board, a technique I was introduced to in Illustrating Children’s Books at UCSD Extension. Visually laying out a story often reveals problems with the narrative and helps you correct pacing. All picture book writers should storyboard - even if you can only draw stick figures like me! For more revision tips, please check out this post. 

Q: What's coming up for you next? Please tell us about any new releases, exciting news, upcoming events or anything else you'd like to share with our readers?

A: The launch party for The Boy Who Thought Outside the Box: The Story of Video Game Inventor Ralph Baer will be on Sunday, May 3, 2020 at 1 PM at the Barnes and Noble (Mira Mesa) in San Diego, CA. 

Thank you, Marcie. Wishing you all the best on your journey!

Dear readers, please support our featured authors/illustrators by following them on Twitter, requesting their book through your local library, posting reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, and of course, purchasing their books.

I hope you enjoyed this post — comments and shares are appreciated. Thank you!
 
Connect with Marcie:
Website: www.marciewessels.com
Twitter: @MarcieDWessels

Marcie Wessels loves to play games – especially board games like Scrabble. She tinkers with words and invents stories including PIRATE’S LULLABY: MUTINY AT BEDTIME and THE BOY WHO THOUGHT OUTSIDE THE BOX: THE STORY OF VIDEO GAME INVENTOR RALPH BAER. She lives in San Diego, California. You can find her online at www.marciewessels.com.
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*Charm bracelet -- each charm is different and something that can be found in the book, bookmark, postcard and button. 

(US only, while supplies last. Use my Contact form on the menu bar to let me know you pre-ordered and send me your mailing address.)

Hello, fantastic readers!

Are you new to the KidLit Oasis? Welcome! If you're coming back ― it's great to have you visit again! This is the place to refresh your spirits, recharge your creativity, and get a literary mood boost!

Now, stretch your smiles wide and get comfy and cozy for a fabulous chitchat because today we have another awesome creative on the KidLit Oasis series... Children's author Della Ross Ferreri is here to share some wisdom, insight, and inspiration with us! Plus, she is generously donating a copy of either one of her books, GOD BLESSES ME or HUGGLE WUGGLE, BEDTIME SNUGGLE (Winner’s choice).

Welcome, Della, and happy book birthday to God Blesses Me! Thank you for joining us on the blog. Please briefly describe your journey to publication.

A: Thank you so much for having me, Rosie. I’m delighted to be here! My writing journey began over twenty years ago (wow, can that be true!?) when my children were young. We’d cozy up on the couch and read piles of picture books together. I’m sure those sweet moments planted the seed for me to create stories of my own.

Right away, I signed up for a class through the Institute of Children’s Literature, joined SCBWI, attended conferences and found local writers who shared the same passion. My first published story was a rebus in Children’s Playmate. I was so excited and felt validated to keep writing and submitting. I continued with more magazine stories and poems, then sold two easy readers to educational publishers. All the while I continued working on my craft, attending conferences and paying for manuscript critiques. It’s a good thing I kept working hard - when I look back at some of my earlier pieces, I realize – gulp! - I had a lot to learn!

Once I started getting personal rejections with ‘please send more,’ I knew I was getting close. I doubt she’ll remember, but one day when meeting up with some on-line writer friends in Maine, Toni Buzzeo read one of my manuscripts and wrote three words: ‘What’s the problem?’ She was right! I had a fun rhyming ‘poem’ about a child tucking in his stuffed animals- but no problem, and therefore no solution and no story arc. I revised (again!) and added a stanza about the child feeling a teensy bit nervous about sleeping in his first big-boy bed, a bit more escalation, and then a stanza where he solves the problem. On my next round of submissions, Sterling Publishing accepted that first picture book manuscript, How Will I Ever Sleep in this Bed?

Over the years, my journey had plenty of ups and downs. There were revision requests that didn’t pan out, and manuscripts that went to acquisitions, but ultimately turned down. Despite the disappointments, I persevered, and published a couple picture books with small publishers – Star of the Show, and Beep! Beep! Special Delivery, and in 2019, two sweet board books, Precious Baby and Huggle Wuggle, Bedtime Snuggle, with Beaming Books. Fast forward to today where Huggle Wuggle, Bedtime Snuggle was named a 2019 CYBILS finalist in the board book category, and my newest book with Worthy Kids releases on March 3, 2020. It’s called God Blesses Me and is a sweetly illustrated lift-the-flap board book that helps children discover the blessings all around them.

I now have an agent and she’s been tremendously helpful in taking my manuscripts to the next level and getting them out there.
 
Q: What do you find most challenging in this business, either on the creative or publishing side of things? What do you find most rewarding? What helps you stay motivated?

A: Good questions. I would say juggling life and writing is my greatest challenge. My teaching job is quite demanding and since I prioritize family time, so much of my writing takes place in spits and spurts at night, on weekends or summer vacations.  Ideas can be slow to percolate and since many of my stories are in rhyme, it can take a long time to get it right. Actually, even my non-rhyming stories seem to take a long time to get in shape!
Thankfully, I have supportive critique partners and writer groups – on-line and in-person. Their feedback has been instrumental and I definitely wouldn’t have my publishing successes without them! My in-person group also organizes writing conferences. We call ourselves Children’s Writers of the Hudson Valley. We’re a group of volunteers who enjoy organizing hands-on writing events. Our planning meetings often double as critique sessions where we work on conference details, critique stories and eat, drink, and laugh. All this fun and support help me stay motivated. By the way, Rosie, if any of your readers live near the Hudson Valley in New York, I hope they’ll consider coming to the Poughkeepsie CWHV conference. This year it’s Saturday, June 13. We’re working on finalizing the day’s schedule.  Here’s the website that will have more information soon: http://www.cwhv.org/
 
Q: Could you share any craft tools or techniques that you find most helpful to you when working on a project? What does your revision process look like?

A: Ah, revision. I have a love-hate relationship with revision. Sometimes I focus to the point of obsession on one particular story. Other times I bounce around from project to project, seeing what mentally clicks when I open a document on my computer. Sometimes the writing process takes just a few months, and other times it takes YEARS to feel like I’m getting it right.

What seems to work for me is writing in different locations and taking breaks. When in the brainstorming phase or when searching for just the right word or image, I use sites like rhymezone.com or look at Google images or watch YouTube videos for inspiration.
Often the answer to a writing problem or even a new idea pops into my brain when away from the computer. I’ll take my manuscript on a walk, or think about it while folding laundry or while taking a shower or reading other books.

This leads into my next tip – be patient and allow time for the brain to mull things over. I used to be overly eager to submit to publishing houses, but now, unless I’m on a deadline, I put my writing aside for weeks(or longer, if possible) to revisit with fresh eyes.

Another suggestion is to ask someone else to read your manuscript aloud. For me, since my writing tends to be short, this helps me hear when the story feels off or needs perking up.

Of course, read read read as many current books in your genre, and pick apart the ones you love. Why do these favorite books resonate with you? Is it the storyline? Character? Language? Humor? Is it that satisfying feeling at the end? Is it the subtle message or take-away? If you’re like me, it’s probably a combination of those elements. When reading amazing published books, we get inspired to write and revise our own stories.
 
Q: What's coming up for you next? Please tell us about any new releases, exciting news, upcoming events or anything else you'd like to share with our readers?
​
A: My most exciting news is that God Blesses Me, published by Worthy Kids, releases on March 3. It’s my first novelty book with lift-the-flaps. I’ve been asked if I left art notes for the illustrator. The answer is yes. The story features many scenes that lend themselves to lift-the-flaps – a puppet theater, bedroom curtain, animals behind a bush, etc, so I made suggestions. Lizzie Walkley, the illustrator, used many of my suggestions and added her own flair to make the flaps fun and interactive. Toddlers and preschoolers will love peeking under the flaps and seeing the changes and surprises to each scene. It turned out to be such a sweet story that will encourage children to think about their everyday blessings. 

It was a pleasure having you over, Della! Thank you again for sharing your journey, tips, and books with us, plus a wonderful opportunity for writers to attend Poughkeepsie CWHV conference!

Readers, please support our featured authors/illustrators by following them on Twitter, requesting their book through your local library, posting reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, and of course, purchasing their books.

I hope you enjoyed this post and will be back soon!

To enter the giveaway, simply comment on this post. 

Connect with Della Ross Ferreri:

Website: www.DellaRossFerreri.com
Twitter: @DellaRF

Hello, lovely readers!

It's great to have you back at the Oasis! Remember, this is the place to refresh your spirits, recharge your creativity, and get a literary mood boost!

Now, stretch your smiles wide and get comfy and cozy for a delightful chitchat because today we have another awesome creative on the KidLit Oasis series... Children's author and illustrator Jaimie Whitbread is here to share some wisdom, insight, and inspiration with us!
 
Welcome, Jaimie! Thank you for joining us on the blog. Please briefly describe your journey to publication. 

I was pretty sure about wanting to be a picture book illustrator about half-way through college, and started plowing towards that goal single-mindedly as soon as I graduated.
I was just going to be an illustrator. I would tell people I was going to illustrate books and, oh yeah, maybe I’d write one someday, too. How short-sighted that turned out to be! In my head I had all these stories and characters that I’d been drawing for years, with a secret wish to see them out in the world someday with their stories fully fledged and ready to fly, but somehow it just didn’t occur to me that what I really wanted to be was a writer.

After about four years of single-mindedly trying to become an illustrator - skill-building, sending out postcards to art directors, looking at art reps, all that - I realized my mistake. I was aiming for a career in illustration, no writing in sight, but I kept telling people I wanted to write someday. I knew how disciplines worked - if I wanted to write “someday” I’d better start writing right then and get those awkward growing years out of the way as soon as possible.

So at that point I circled back and really started focusing on my writing. I put off my attempts to get my foot in the door with my illustration, since if I was going to debut, I wanted to do it as a writer and an illustrator. It was such an exciting time! Writing out the stories I’d always had in my head was completely new and felt momentous. And yet it felt strange and scary. To give so much of my time up to writing that had previously been focused entirely on art. I had felt like I was “almost there” with illustration and now I was starting this whole new thing that would need its own time to grow. But boy I really liked writing, so there was no turning back.

In 2017, about 8 years after setting publication as my goal, I won the Don Freeman work-in-progress award from SCBWI for a dummy book I’d written and illustrated about a tiger searching for her stripes. The same dummy helped me find my agent, Jamie Weiss Chilton of the Andrea Brown Agency, and eventually sold to The Innovation Press. It will be my debut book, and, I hope, the first of many!

Everything took a long time, but I think that’s because art takes a long time. Every discipline takes time to develop. Until my writing and my illustration had gotten to a certain level, I didn’t see much traction - which I think was a good thing. I’ve only just now gotten to the point where I’m absolutely proud of the work I am able to produce.
 
What do you find most challenging in this business, either on the creative or publishing side of things? What do you find most rewarding? What helps you stay motivated?

I think the uncertainty of whether a project will ever find its feet out there in the world is the most difficult thing I struggle with. Each project takes such an enormous amount of effort and thought, and my hopes are always so high for each one - and yet it’s such a highly saturated market, and an uncertain industry. It can be hard to keep tangling with a difficult manuscript, knowing how many potential pitfalls stand between it and being published even if I do get it written. It’s always tempting to self-reject.

I just try and remember that bringing each story to life is its own reward. That each untangled manuscript will make me a better writer, whether it sees the light of day or not. But also that no amount of potential future rejection can un-write it – a finished story with all the characters in place and doing and saying all the things I imagined them doing and saying is a gift to myself. That’s become my litmus test for whether a project deserves my time or not. If I would want to see it written whether anyone else ever reads it or not, then it’s worth my time. I am the only guaranteed reader of any story, so I better be in love with it, proud of it, glad to have written it. Whatever happens after that is out of my hands.
 
Could you share any craft tools or techniques that you find most helpful to you when working on a project? What does your revision process look like?

Because I’m an illustrator and a writer, I go back and forth a lot between the two, using one to inspire the other. I love to draw characters and scenes from manuscripts I’m working on, and to brainstorm stories based on my one-shot illustrations. The back and forth between the two keeps everything fresh and exciting through the long drudgery of getting something written and revised.

I do a lot of work in revision. I think one of my gifts is in seeing what a story should be – the dramatic, comedic, poetic potential – and being bothered when it’s not up to snuff. I get so frustrated when a manuscript feels under-cooked, I end up with pages and pages of notes on character and plot and theme and how I can make it all better. Then it’s just a matter of keeping at it until it really, deeply satisfies my inner lover of great stories.
 
What's coming up for you next? Please tell us about any new releases, exciting news, upcoming events or anything else you'd like to share with our readers?

My debut book, A Tiger Without Stripes, is out March 3rd! It’s a thoughtful, modern fable about a tiger searching for her stripes, which touches on self-identity and self-acceptance.

I’ve been doing a weekly over-view of the creation process for A Tiger Without Stripes on my social media, called Tiger Tuesdays, so check it out!

Thank you, Jaimie, this was an amazing chat! I love your attitude in regards to the many uncertainties in this business and what you said here is a good reminder for all of us: "I just try and remember that bringing each story to life is its own reward."
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Readers, please support our featured authors/illustrators by following them on Twitter, requesting their book through your local library, posting reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, and of course, purchasing their books.

I hope you enjoyed this post — comments and shares are appreciated. Thank you!
 
Connect with Jaimie:
Website: jaimiewhitbread.com
Twitter: @jaimiesomething

Hello, ravishing readers!

Hooray, you found your way to the Oasis ― it's great to have you visit! This is the place to refresh your spirits, recharge your creativity, and get a literary mood boost!

Now, get those smiles ready and get comfy and cozy for a fantastic chitchat because today we have another spectacular creative on the KidLit Oasis series... Children's author Christy Mihaly is here to share some wisdom, insight, and inspiration with us! 

Welcome, Christy! Thank you for joining us on the blog. Please briefly describe your journey to publication.

A: Thank you for inviting me, Rosie. I love your blog's name—I can just picture all these lovely kidlit people chatting around the watering hole—and I'm happy to share my path to publication. But I have to warn you, there's no blockbuster drama here, just many small steps.
 
Although I always loved to write, when I was in college I didn’t think of writing as a career. I went to law school. Then I got busy being a lawyer for a couple decades. After I had kids, I started dreaming of becoming a children's writer, but I didn't have time.
 
       Getting Started
 
Fast forward to 2011. My husband, 12-year-old daughter, and I moved to Spain for a year (he had a teaching gig there). I decided to use that year to write. I'd taken a course with the Institute for Children's Literature, so I pulled out old stories I'd drafted for the course, revised them, and started sending them out to kids' magazines. Rejections rolled in. I kept subbing, and one day, I sold a story. For $5! I was SO EXCITED.
 
But wait. A month before my story was to be published, the magazine went out of business. I never got paid, and that story remains unpublished. And so it goes…
 
I made more submissions, received more rejections. Needing new material, I found story inspirations all around me—we were living in an unfamiliar country, after all! I wrote a story based on my daughter's experiences at school in Spain. I sent it out, and at last, someone accepted it. My story, "Hola, Amiga,"was published in a kids' online magazine.They didn't pay, but I had a writing credit. Woo!
​
What else could I write? I really like nonfiction, so I investigated the children's nonfiction magazines that announce themes for future issues. I began pitching ideas. Again, many were Spanish-themed. After some rejections, "AppleSeeds" liked one of my pitches and sent me my first assignment. I researched and wrote, and in 2012 the article was published. A few months later, I received an actual check. Yay!

            Upping My Game

At the end of our year abroad, I was committed to writing. I wanted to be a working writer—making enough money that I could quit my day job. That meant I had to up my game. I signed up for SCBWI and other writing organizations, joined a critique group, attended workshops and conferences and took online courses, made kidlit friends,and read hundreds of kids' books and magazines. I drafted and polished manuscripts: picture books, middle grade, proposals for longer nonfiction. I helped start a group blog (GROG) to blog about kidlit.

            Work for Hire

I also learned about work-for-hire writing. I sent out my resume and writing samples to educational publishers and book packagers, which hire people to write on assignment. That's how I wrote my first published book—under contract with a book packager in 2015. Though that book doesn't have my name on the cover, my name was on the checks!
I kept working to improve my writing, created more stories, and collected rejections—too many to count. I also kept doing work-for-hire. This gave me the opportunity to team up with great editors, learn best practices for research and nonfiction writing, and get books published.
 
             More Books
 
I also continued attending conferences, bringing my manuscripts for editor critiques. I started submitting to agents. I teamed up with a critique partner, Sue Heavenrich, to write a nonfiction book proposal. Eventually, at conferences, I connected with two different editors. The first made me an offer for a picture book manuscript in 2015, which I accepted. In 2016, I signed with my agent, Erzsi Deak, and that same year signed a second book contract. In 2018, my first picture book,Hey, Hey, Hay! (A Tale of Bales and the Machines That Make Them) was published by Holiday House (illustrated by Joe Cepeda). Later that year, Lerner published the nonfiction YA that Sue and I co-wrote, Diet for a Changing Planet: Food for Thought.
 
My second illustrated picture book is coming soon, and I've got some manuscripts in the pipeline. Meanwhile, I still like work for hire. In fact, that's what has allowed me to quit my day job. I've written more than twenty books for the educational market. I'm particularly proud of the recent series "Shaping the Debate," which helps middle- and high-schoolers analyze the complexities of topics such as Human Rights, Climate Change, and Freedom of the Press.
 
So that's where I am on my kidlit journey—so far! I'd be happy to answer questions if you leave them in the comments. I know I wouldn't be here without a lot of support and help from other book creators, editors, and mentors all along the way.
 
Q: What do you find most challenging in this business, either on the creative or publishing side of things? What do you find most rewarding? What helps you stay motivated?

A: My big challenge: The Wait.The Wait comes in many versions… When I have submitted a manuscript: The Wait to hear back. If a picture book manuscript sells: The Wait for an illustrator. If good news arrives: The Wait for an announcement. Once a book is completed: The Wait for book reviews, The Wait for publication, The Wait for the sales numbers. Sigh. I am working on patience.

What's most rewarding: School visits. This surprised me, because I used to believe nothing could be better than research and writing. But I've learned that visiting schools and talking to kids about books makes this book creation work we do even more meaningful. And I love seeing kids read (or listen to) my books.

What helps me stay motivated? Deadlines! I may be weird here, but I love due dates. I'm at my most productive when juggling multiple deadlines on different projects: I might be working to complete a magazine assignment, a pitch, a school presentation, revisions requested by an editor, and an outline for a new book. Honestly, without deadlines, I get anxious. In fact, if I am not facing an editorial deadline, I'll set one for myself: Send book proposal to Erzsi by next Friday—or else! There's nothing like a good deadline to produce a surge of writerly adrenaline.

Q: Could you share any craft tools or techniques that you find most helpful to you when working on a project? What does your revision process look like?

A: You've probably heard that revision is the heart of writing. It's true! Your first draft gets words onto paper, but it will need work, usually a great deal of work. My advice: Have fun with revising. Let your self play. Experiment! (Also—ahem—save all your drafts and revisions. You never know which version you'll want to return to.)
When revising, it's important to re-think big issues, so you're not simply polishing the language. One trick I use to bring a new vision to revision is to rewrite from a new point of view. Perhaps change your POV character, or shift from third person to first person. You may not keep these alterations. But when you rewrite from a different point of view, you'll see new aspects of your piece that may help you improve it.

Q: What's coming up for you next? Please tell us about any new releases, exciting news, upcoming events or anything else you'd like to share with our readers?

A: March will be a big month! March 1 is the release date for my picture book, Free for You and Me: What Our First Amendment Means. This book introduces young readers to the five freedoms protected by the First Amendment (freedom of speech, religion, and the press, the right to peaceful assembly and the right to petition the government), using poetry, historical vignettes and a contemporary story. It is illustrated by Manu Montoya and published by Albert Whitman. I'm looking forward to seeing FREE out in the world and sharing it with kids around the country during this election year.

I'm also helping organize amid-March bookstore event, Celebrating New Nonfiction Kids' Books, with my local indie bookseller Bear Pond Books. We'll share some exciting new and forthcoming NF books. At the end of the month, I'll be heading to KidLitCon 2020 in Michigan. I'm on a panel with author Keila Dawson and poet Shawntai Brown of the Detroit organization Inside Out Literary Arts. We plan to share techniques for bringing poetry and picture books into classrooms.

What else? I'm open to ideas, inspirations, and assignments. And if you're still reading this, thank you—may you find success on your own journey.

Thank you, Christy, it was great chatting with you!

Readers, please support our featured authors/illustrators by following them on Twitter, requesting their book through your local library, posting reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, and of course, purchasing their books.

I hope you enjoyed this post — comments and shares are appreciated. Thank you!
 
Connect with Christy Mihaly

Website: www.christymihaly.com
Twitter: @CMwriter4kids
Instagram: @christymihaly

Thank you for joining us, dear friend. Please briefly describe your journey to publication.

A: Thank you so much for having me on your blog, Rosie. I love to share my defining moment – the event that plunged me into the kidlit world – because it definitely caused me to turn the page to a new chapter in my life and I always hope it will inspire others to follow their dream.

On my 64th birthday, my son took me skydiving and my view of the world changed. 😉 When my feet touched the ground, I knew that if I could jump out of a perfectly good airplane, I could do anything. And what I wanted to do at that point in my life was to be a writer for children. So, I jumped into the kidlit world the same way I had jumped out of the airplane…with my whole heart.

That was 2012…I joined 12x12, did Storystorm, participated in every writing challenge and contest I could find. I wrote, revised, joined critique groups…but the feedback from agents told me I was missing something. One agent said my OTTERS story (it had a different title at that time) was pure poetry…but not for him. Another agent liked the idea of my DYLAN MCGEE story, but he wondered if maybe I should write it in prose, not in rhyme. And still others didn’t like my voice. VOICE? What was that?

And that was when I decided it was time to take some picture book writing classes. I signed up for Susanna Hill’s Making Picture Book Magic, Renee LaTulippe’s Lyrical Language Lab, Mira Reisberg’s Illustrating Children’s Picture Books (no, I didn’t want to become an illustrator, but I thought it might help me with pacing and page turns and with understanding the role of the author and the illustrator 😊) as well as two other classes. Yup, five writing classes in one year…I was definitely a student in 2014…and you know what they say…when the student is ready, the teacher appears.

But honestly, that paid off because my writing improved. My voice became stronger. And I developed more confidence and submitted more. Submitting more was a key ingredient in my search for agent. But there is also an element of luck on this path to publication…Essie White created a submission list for Sweet Dreams, Sarah and within two months, by December 2015, we had a signed book deal. However, even though she continued to submit more of my manuscripts, we didn’t get another book deal until the end of 2017…and then we got three. That’s how this business is…you need patience and perseverance. Perseverance because you just have to keep trying. And patience because sometimes the path to publication takes a very long time…that first book didn’t launch until April 2019. Happily, it recently received a Eureka Honor Award and also has been selected for the 2020 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People. Plus, it was made into an animated DVD and is being translated into French.
 
Q: Could you share any craft tools or techniques that you find most helpful to you when working on a project? What does your revision process look like?

A: Because I write a lot of nonfiction, I love YouTube for interviews, especially if the person I am researching had some celebrity status. Watching an actual interview of your subject can give you such a great picture of their personality. For my rhyming stories, I love Rhymzone.com. And of course, Thesaurus.com is a constant companion. My favorite technique is to write my pitch and/or one sentence AFTER I research my topic, but BEFORE I do much writing of the manuscript – it’s important for me to know what focus/direction my story will take. And I spend a lot of time crafting the opening lines – they are the doorway into the story – often providing a peek at the flavor/voice of the rest of the story. And my closing lines often circle back around and echo the beginning.

Revision? I embrace it…although sometimes it is painful. It’s difficult to make major changes once you get comfortable with your text…so I rely on critique buddies to point out places where change might make the story stronger. I revise LOTS of times…with the Ella Fitzgerald/Marilyn Monroe story, I did three major revisions, each for a different editor who had fallen in love with the manuscript, but wanted changes before they acquired it. And because of how this business works, even though you may revise successfully, the editor still might not be able to acquire the story. This happened to that story twice. Just the other day, one of my long-time critique buddies emailed me a copy of my first iteration of that story. Some things remained the same, but many were different.
​
Here's the first page of the original manuscript written in late 2014/early 2015 (Title: Standing Up for Friendship) and the first page of the revised one that became the book (Title: Making Their Voices Heard: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe).
​

​And here’s another tip – something I do without fail – read the manuscript aloud…and record myself. Then I listen back and can hear where I trip up or become disengaged from the story. If I lose attention, so will my young readers…and I can make revisions to ramp up the drama and improve the page turns.
 
Q: What's coming up for you next? Please tell us about any new releases, exciting news, upcoming events or anything else you'd like to share with our readers?

A: When I returned from last year’s round-the-world trip, I thought for sure that this year would be quieter. After all, last year I had three picture books debut almost at the same time…and this year I only had Making Their Voices Heard: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe (Little Bee Books, illustrated by Alleanna Harris) that launched on January 28. But things are still crazy busy…in all the best of ways. VOICES launched at a local Barnes and Noble in Nashua, NH and then the next day, I flew out to Chicago for an Author Night at the Lycee Francais Chicago where my granddaughter goes to school. Then I had an author chat and Q&A event at Andersons Bookstore in Naperville, IL and several school visits. Later this week, I leave with my son and his family for ten days in Barcelona and Madrid – and what luck…I have a manuscript about a Spanish sculptor who sold his clay figures on the steps of the Cathedral of Barcelona when he was eleven. It will be so much fun to do research in the field…I don’t often get to do that! There are also several other book events coming up…March 21 at the Silver Unicorn in Acton, MA and April 4 at Toadstool Bookshop in Nashua, NH…plus one coming up sometime in March at the Books of Wonder in NYC. Oh, and the Children’s Festival of Stories in Denver, CO on April 25.

An event I would LOVE to share with your readers, Rosie, is my #50PreciousWords Contest which I will hosting on my blog February 29-March 5…the prize list is PHENOMENAL…three editor critique opportunities, seats in writing classes, and lots of author critiques and picture books…there are over 20 prizes already! Last year we had 300 amazing entries…and I’m looking forward to reading everyone’s precious words. You never know what doors this contest will open…several entries from previous years are already on bookshelves all over the world. So please, everyone, follow your dream…because nothing is impossible if you can imagine it!

Encouraging as always, thank you so much, dear Vivian! What a great way to inspire  everyone as we end our chat on a high note!
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Please support our featured authors/illustrators by following them on Twitter, requesting their book through your local library, posting reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, and of course, purchasing their books.
 
Comment on this post and share it on social media for a chance to win one PB critique ans one copy of our guest's book. Two lucky winners will be announced next week!

And the winner of our previous giveaway is... Shauntrell Leaks!
Shauntrell gets a copy of Nancy Churnin's Beautiful Shades of Brown, illustrated by Felicia Marshall. Congratulations!
 
Connect with Vivian:

Website: www.viviankirkfield.com
Twitter: @viviankirkfield

Writer for children—reader forever…that’s Vivian Kirkfield in five words. Her bucket list contains many more than five words – but she’s already checked off skydiving, parasailing, banana-boat riding, and visiting kidlit friend around the world. When she isn’t looking for ways to fall from the sky or sink under the water, she can be found writing picture books in the quaint village of Amherst, NH where the old stone library is her favorite hangout and her young grandson is her favorite board game partner. A retired kindergarten teacher with a masters in Early Childhood Education, Vivian inspires budding writers during classroom visits and shares insights with aspiring authors at conferences and on her blog, where she hosts the #50PreciousWords and #50PreciousWordsforKids Writing Challenges. She is the author of Pippa’s Passover Plate (Holiday House); Four Otters Toboggan: An Animal Counting Book (Pomegranate); Sweet Dreams, Sarah (Creston Books); Making Their Voices Heard: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe (Little Bee Books); and From Here to There: Inventions That Changed the Way the World Moves (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). You can connect with her on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Linkedin, or just about any place people with picture books are found
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If you'd like to support my work, please order one of my books and/or invite me to your elementary school for an author visit.

Hello, radiant readers!

Hooray, you found your way to the Oasis ― it's great to have you visit! This is the place to refresh your spirits, recharge your creativity, and get a literary mood boost!

I know you're already smiling, but stretch your smiles even wider and get comfy and cozy for a delightful chat because today we have another awesome creative on the KidLit Oasis series... Children's author Nancy Churnin is here to share some wisdom, insight, and inspiration with us! Plus, in celebration of her book's birthday, Nancy is giving away a signed copy of Beautiful Shades of Brown! 

Welcome,  Nancy, and Happy Book Birthday! Thank you for joining us on the blog. Please briefly describe your journey to publication.

NC: I was a longtime journalist when I promised my friend, Steve Sandy, who is deaf, that I would write a picture book about the great Deaf baseball player, William Hoy. I thought I would write it quickly as I do my newspaper stories. But I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I made the promise in 2003 and kept revising and getting rejected until I realized I needed, classes, critique groups and support groups. I got my agent, Karen Grencik, through Julie Hedlund’s 12X12. She sold The William Hoy Story and it came out in 2016, 13 years after I made that promise! I have now sold eight picture book biographies, two of which are coming out this year.
 
Q: What do you find most challenging in this business, either on the creative or publishing side of things? What do you find most rewarding? What helps you stay motivated?

NC: Every story presents its own unique challenges as you try to bring a life or story alive in a way that will resonate and find a special place in the heart of young readers. It can be difficult when you know you’re on the road to something good, but you haven’t quite figured out how to bring it across. The most rewarding part is when it all comes together and the story lives and breathes on its own and you have confidence sending it out into the world knowing that it will be a friend and support to a child. I love doing author visits where I share the book and can see a child’s eyes light up and feel a heart brighten. At a recent school visit, a child asked me if I could please write five new books this year. I said I would do my best. That is motivation!
 
Q: Could you share any craft tools or techniques that you find most helpful to you when working on a project? What does your revision process look like?

NC: I spend a lot of time thinking about what my character’s dream is – what he or she wants more than anything – what the challenges are and the actions my character takes to achieve that dream. I find it helpful to make a book dummy to make sure that my scenes are changing and moving and that there’s enough tension and forward movement in the story to make a child want to turn the page. In revision, I try to trim to the essence, to stick to the essentials. That’s a lot harder than it sounds because when you fall in love with your character, you have to fight the urge to go on and on and tell your reader all the wonderful anecdotes you have!
 
Q: What's coming up for you next? Please tell us about any new releases, exciting news, upcoming events or anything else you'd like to share with our readers?

NC: I’m thrilled to share that I have two picture book biographies coming out this year: Beautiful Shades of Brown, the Art of Laura Wheeler Waring, illustrated by Felicia Marshall, on Feb. 4 from Creston Books/Lerner Books and For Spacious Skies, Katharine Lee Bates and the Inspiration for ‘America the Beautiful,’ illustrated by Olga Baumert, releasing April 1 from Albert Whitman & Company.
​
Thanks again, Nancy! All the best with your wonderful kidlit work and we can't wait to see more beautiful and inspiring books from you!

Please support our featured authors/illustrators by following them on Twitter, requesting their book through your local library, posting reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, and of course, purchasing their books. Thank you!
 
Comment on this post and share it on social media for a chance to win a signed copy of Beautiful Shades of Brown. Winner will be announced on 2/11/20.

Connect with Nancy
website: www.nancychurnin.com
Twitter: @nchurnin

Nancy Churnin, a longtime journalist and former theater critic for The Dallas Morning News and The Los Angeles Times, is the award-winning author of eight picture book biographies, including Irving Berlin, the Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing, a Sydney Taylor and National Council for the Social Studies Notable; Manjhi Moves a Mountain, winner of the South Asia Book Award, a Junior Library Guild and Anne Izard Storytellers Choice Award selection, The William Hoy Story, on the Texas 2X2 and the state reading lists and Martin & Anne, on the Jewish Book Council’s recommended Civil Rights and Race reading list. She graduated with honors from Harvard University and has a masters from Columbia University in journalism. She lives in North Texas with her husband, a dog named Dog and two cantankerous cats.
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I hope you enjoyed this post and will be back for our next chat. If you'd like to support my work, please order one of my books and/or invite me to your elementary school for an author visit.

Hello, wonderful readers!

Hooray, you found your way to the Oasis―it's great to have you visit! This is the place to refresh your spirits, recharge your creativity, and get a literary mood boost!

Now, stretch your smiles wide and get comfy and cozy for a lovely chitchat because today we have an awesome creative on the KidLit Oasis series... Children's author Beth Anderson is here to share some wisdom, insight, and inspiration with us! 
​
Welcome, Beth! Thank you for joining us on the blog. Please briefly describe your journey to publication.

BA: Thank you so much for your invitation! After retiring from teaching, I set out to learn about the industry and go after writing for children. The local and online kid lit community has guided, taught, supported, encouraged, and offered up so many opportunities. Taking advantage of that has brought me to where I am. After 2+ years, I signed with an agent and am forever grateful I decided on that route. With the benefit of a knowledgeable advisor, I’ve been better able to take advantages of opportunities. After meeting an editor at a retreat and revising per her feedback, we submitted and soon had my first contract—An Inconvenient Alphabet. Though that all sounds so simple, there’s been tremendous time invested, much learning, and the usual bumps.

Q: What do you find most challenging in this business, either on the creative or publishing side of things? What do you find most rewarding? What helps you stay motivated?

BA: I think the most challenging part is crafting an irresistible premise and story that will grab an editor. And I don’t think that gets any easier – at least not so far. The most rewarding aspect is getting the books into the hands of kids, engaging their brains and hearts, and witnessing their joy in reading. Young readers are certainly motivators, but curiosity also drives me forward.

Q: Could you share any craft tools or techniques that you find most helpful to you when working on a project? What does your revision process look like?

BA: Finding a way to organize research (nonfiction can be an organizational challenge) and all the ideas that pop in my head as I write was extremely helpful. I did a blog post about it, and if you’re interested, you can learn more about that HERE. 

My revision process is long and varied! :) Lizzie Demands a Seat took more than 90 revisions, but this was largely due to my inexperience when I started it (2015) and also that many of the changes I made were minor revisions. Now I do a lot more “pre-writing” work as I plan and gather information and ideas in a spiral before I draft. I work through timelines, delve into characters and setting, plot the arc, and brainstorm special ways to tell the story. I’m also more willing to take a wrecking ball to the writing to experiment with structure and big changes. One of my favorite ways to revise is to print out the draft (one sided), lay it across the desk, and use highlighters to analyze arc, characterization, conflict, scenes, proportions, transitions, beginning and end, and more. I make notes all over it as thoughts pop on how to revise, and then start pulling in bits and pieces, moving text, reshaping, and reworking.

Q: What's coming up for you next? Please tell us about any new releases, exciting news, upcoming events or anything else you'd like to share with our readers?

BA: I’m very excited about upcoming events with the New York Transit Museum. I had sought help from their historian when I researched my Oct. 13 release, “Smelly” Kelly and His Super Senses, which takes place in the NYC subway in the 1930-40s, and then had a few questions in the final stages of Lizzie’s story. (It’s pure coincidence that I ended up with two 2020 books that deal with NYC transportation!) She shared the stories with their education coordinator, and they decided to create a family program around both books. So I’ll be in NY for the Elizabeth Jennings program on Feb. 20, and do an extra reading on the 21st. Then serendipity struck with a couple more opportunities while I’m there…stay tuned! 

Thank you, Beth, it was a pleasure having you! And huge congratulations on the recent starred review from School Library Journal for Lizzie Demands a Seat! ​Check it out here. 

Please support our featured authors/illustrators by following them on Twitter, requesting their books through your local library, posting reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, and of course, purchasing their books.

I hope you enjoyed this post -- comments and shares are appreciated. Thank you!

Connect with Beth Anderson
website: www.bethandersonwriter.com
Twitter: @BAndersonWriter 

​Calling all elementary school teachers and librarians! FREE game and prizes for your classroom, mailed directly to you. No purchase necessary. 

Here's how it works: I will send you a package containing my Trivia questions or Two Truths and a Lie cards plus an assortment of charm necklaces and swag (as shown on the picture above, including signed postcards with inspirational messages) so you can play the games with your students. Are you in? Simply contact me to request your shipment and it'll be in the mail within three business days. That's it!

Ready to have some fun? Contact me today!

(Please read the fine print :))

Fine print: Trivia questions and Two Truths and a Lie will be about me or my books. No purchase necessary to participate, but please consider my books for your school library. Follow me on Twitter @RosiePOV to be eligible. Game will be active until supplies last, USA only, one package per school.

Thank you!

Use the contact form at the bottom of this page.

1st place
The Lovely Beach
by Jane T.  
 
Gentle, peaceful breeze
Frothing, foaming waves lapping
Against the calm sand
 
(K.B. Polk Center for the Academically Talented and Gifted, TX)
* * *
2nd place

Mark G. 4th Grade

A lovely sunset
Reminds me of my mother
Both are beautiful
 
(John Ireland Elementary, TX)
* * *
3rd place
Storms
by JI Carrillo
 
The dark, damp storm cloud
Destructive light burns the trees
Noises, it cries out
 
(K.B. Polk Center for the Academically Talented and Gifted, TX)
* * *
4th place 
Hippopotamus
by Toby L.

Hippopotamus
Eats a can of green bean soup.
He likes green bean soup!

(Van Elementary School, IN)
* * *
5th place
Summer
by Bryce F.

The warm, cool summer!
When kids play outside all day!
But it never lasts…

(Van Elementary School, IN)
* * *
6th place
Maximiliano R. 4th Grade

A peaceful evening
Sparrows singing together
With pretty feathers.

(John Ireland Elementary, TX)
* * *
7th place
Genesis E. 5th Grade
 
My mom, beautiful.
She is the best at loving.
She likes reading books.
 
(John Ireland Elementary, TX)
* * *
8th place
Fire
by Braelynn J.

Dancing with the wind,
Glowing all night in darkness,
Warming people’s hearts.

(Van Elementary School, IN)
* * *
9th place
Snow
by Isaac C.

A winter blanket,
It covers the icy ground.
It is beautiful.

(Van Elementary School, IN)
* * *
10th place
War
by Ricardo J.
 
Clouds made from ashes
Bombs of death and destruction
Power and money
 
(K.B. Polk Center for the Academically Talented and Gifted, TX)
* * *
First Honorable Mention
Dinosaurs
by James D. 3rd Grade
 
Dinosaurs are cool
Dinosaurs: awesome creatures
I want to see one

(George Mitchell Elementary School, Bridgewater, MA)
* * *
Second Honorable Mention
Emily P. 5th Grade

Mr. Estrada
Is the funniest of all
And he is the best!

(John Ireland Elementary, TX)
* * *
Third Honorable Mention
Emotions
by Annie P.

Sad, mad, happy, shy,
All the things that are inside,
To have and to feel.

(Van Elementary School, IN)
_______________________________________________________
And the Teacher/Librarian prize goes to . . .

My youngest child did the honors and picked the teacher to win the Starbucks gift card. Here's a picture of him drawing Shannon Anderson's name from
​the bag with the tickets.