Hello and welcome back to KidLit Oasis -- the place to ​refresh your spirits, recharge your creativity, and get a literary mood boost!

We continue the Chitchat series with another awesome creative. It's my pleasure to welcome my friend and wonderful author, Melissa Berger Stoller! I can't wait to hear about Melissa's journey, her new projects, tips on revising and much more. 

Melissa is also generously giving away a picture book critique AND a copy of her new book so be sure to enter the giveaways! We will have two lucky winners with this interview!

Now, without further ado, here's Melissa. . .

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

A: First of all, thank you for welcoming me to your blog, Rosie! I’m happy to be here and enjoyed answering these thoughtful questions! :)

My journey to publication has been long and windy. The short version starts with my career as a lawyer and legal writing instructor, moves to my work as a freelance writer and editor, and also early childhood instructor, and lands on my dream job: children’s book writer. I have four books published so far. All my books were inspired by observations in my world, questions I asked, or family connections. SCARLET’S MAGIC PAINTBRUSH stemmed from a question I asked while standing in front of a Monet painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC (my favorite museum): What would it be like to paint with a magic paintbrush? READY, SET, GORILLA! was inspired by a billboard I observed in Times Square that said, “Ready, Set, GO!” - I imagined a little GOrilla racing a GOpher! And my chapter book, THE ENCHANTED SNOW GLOBE COLLECTION: RETURN TO CONEY ISLAND, and my latest picture book, SADIE’S SHABBT STORIES, were both inspired by family history. I have many wonderful storytellers in my family including my parents and grandmother, and these books honor the stories I cherished growing up and beyond.
 
SADIE’S SHABBAT STORIES is really the story of my heart. Lisa Goldberg’s gorgeous Chagall-like illustrations brought the characters and scenes alive in such a beautiful and moving way. The book is about Sadie, who loves hearing her Nana tell stories about their family heirlooms, relating to the candlesticks, Kiddush cup, and challah cover they use to celebrate the Jewish Shabbat. Sadie longs to find her unique voice and tell her own special stories, just like Nana. When writing, I also thought about my three girls, and I wanted to depict Sadie as a strong girl growing and using her voice. I’m so thankful to Callie Metler-Smith at Clear Fork Publishing for believing in this book, and to Mira Reisberg for her amazing editing and art direction.

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?
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A: I find most challenging the waiting we all do in the publishing world. From sending out queries to agents and editors, to waiting for the finished book to appear in our hands, it’s often a long wait at every turn. But when I share a book with children at school visits, the smiles, head nods, questions, and comments remind me that it’s always worth the wait! Connecting with readers is one of the most rewarding and motivating parts of the publishing world, aside from the moment you hold a finished book in your hands for the first time. That is truly a moment to take a deep breath and celebrate!
 
 
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: When working on a project, there are many craft techniques that are helpful. I always pay attention to pacing and page turns in picture books. Good pacing ensures that the reader will want to turn the page. I often use sticky notes on blank pages of paper and I move text around to capture the perfect page turn. Also, I write a mission statement/pitch at the top of every manuscript and also list mentor texts. I keep an eye on the mission statement to ensure my manuscript is moving in the correct direction in terms of plot and theme (and sometimes I change the mission statement if the story is moving in a different and better direction!).

When revising, I try to make sure that the story has enough heart, humor, or whatever the voice is. Heart is always at the center of every story. Of course, my critique partners are so vital to the process. They comment on big picture and small picture items, and always spark revision ideas. Sometimes during revision, I may totally change the point of view or add or subtract characters. Anything can happen! 

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: I’m so happy that RETURN OF THE MAGIC PAINTBRUSH will be releasing in 2021. It’s the sequel to SCARLE’T MAGIC PAINTBRUSH, and it’s all about friendship and second chances. It also includes colors and nature –  both STEAM themes. The illustrations I have seen so far from artist Sandie Sonke are amazing! Also, I’m collaborating on a project with Callie Metler-Smith and Shirin Shamsi – a new picture book series. The first book is PLANTING FRIENDSHIP – PEACE, SALAAM, SHALOM. It’s about three girls from different faith traditions who find friendship while cultivating plants at school. Callie, Shirin, and I are from the same faith traditions as the girls, and we have had so much fun sharing ideas as well as our unique heritages while writing the story together. I can’t wait for this book to be out in the world as it celebrates kindness, cultures, and kids.
 
Thank you so much for chatting with me, Rosie! I can’t wait to add your latest book, SUNDAY RAIN, to my picture book collection! 

You're very welcome, Melissa! Thank you for your continuous support of my work and thank you for being my guest on KidLit Oasis! I hope you will be back to chitchat about your future releases, too. 

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 — social media shares and boosts are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

To enter the giveaways, please leave a comment and indicate your preference of critique or a book.
 
Connect with Melissa Berger Stoller:

Website: https://www.MelissaStoller.com
Twitter: @MelissaStoller

*Click on the book cover to order a copy of Sadie's Shabbat Stories

​Melissa Stoller is the author of the chapter book series The Enchanted Snow Globe Collection - Return to Coney Island (Clear Fork Publishing, 2017); and the picture books Scarlet’s Magic Paintbrush, Ready, Set, GOrilla!, and Sadie’s Shabbat Stories (Clear Fork, 2018 and 2020). Upcoming books include Return of the Magic Paintbrush. Melissa is a Blogger and Assistant for the Children’s Book Academy, a Regional Ambassador for The Chapter Book Challenge, a Moderator for the Debut Picture Book Study Group, a volunteer with SCBWI/MetroNY, and a founding member of The Book Meshuggenahs. In other chapters of her life, Melissa has worked as a lawyer, legal writing instructor, and early childhood educator. She lives in New York City with her family, and enjoys theatre, museums, and long beach walks.

Hello everyone! 

It's another terrific Tuesday and you're back at KidLit Oasis. Thank you for visiting! As you know, this is the place to refresh your spirits, recharge your creativity, and get a literary mood boost. 

Are you comfy and cozy? Are you ready to welcome this week's guest? The multi-talented Author and Librarian, Kena Sosa is here to share some wisdom, insight, and inspiration with us! 

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

A: It’s strange how the most healing practice in my life is writing and my most major writing accomplishments seem to partner with downturns, like writing was there for me during my harshest trials. I discovered how easily words took me out of my pain as a teenager. I was grounded and thought I would literally die of boredom. I found a typewriter and let it free me. In publishing I started out writing travel pieces and articles as well as reviewing children’s books. I wrote and wrote and wrote, for myself mostly but after moving to Dallas and attending SCBWI, I thickened up my skin and started submitting.

There were rejections, as there are in life. I kept trying. My first book was released by 4RV Publishing in 2015. It was such a victory, and then months later, my household tore apart. It was painful to meet people and force a smile, but I knew this was my chance to prove that I could be an author. I am immensely thankful to the authors I met during that first year who shared their expertise, their techniques and their stories with me. Their kindness and friendship kept me from giving up. I wrote my second book based on what I learned during a travel and research grant, but many found the subject matter a bit controversial for a picture book. 4RV took it on, but had me rewrite it as a chapter book, a new challenge for my squirrel-like attention span. How right they were! That book, Kindertransport-a child’s journey, earned my first award as an author, a Children’s Literary Classics Award in historical fiction in 2018. Soon after my third book, The Unhuggables, emerged after my son asked me what would happen if you hugged a porcupine. That book, under River Road Press, won an award as well, The Enchanted Page Book Award in 2019. With each heartbreak, a victory, and with these experiences I can say, it has been a life worth writing about. 

​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 think one measures challenges in the same way one measures success, through the lens of perspective. I have always struggled the most with the gaps between projects. Like Tom Petty sang, “the waiting is the hardest part.” You are filled with anticipation, excitement, or anxiety simply waiting for an acceptance or rejection, waiting to see a finished product, waiting to find out how your creation will be received.
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Coming in at a close second is editing. It is so necessary like going to the dentist, but never something one looks forward to as a writer. To get through it, I try to make the journey of editing like a mental puzzle, to challenge myself to make it better by arranging the pieces in ways they work better.

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: As far as my writing process goes, I always keep a scrappy notebook. Whenever a little spark flickers at me, whether it is a name I like, a phrase or a plot twist, I jot it down before I forget. I don’t typically sit down to write an entire story from conception to birth in one sitting. It needs time to grow and develop. So, I let those snippets sit in the notebook until they find each other organically and weave themselves into a story I can tell. That’s when I take a seat and let the story tell itself from start to finish. I give it a day or two to settle, and then from the scrappy notebook, where the story may be written in the margins, backwards or upside-down, however it decided to be, and type it up. I edit mostly during this stage. Once it is in the e-world, I employ tools to help me polish it up.
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I just learned recently that Word will do a readability check for you which tells you the reading level of your manuscript, including incidents of passive voice and counts the number of words per sentence. My inner child may write through me; however, she writes too mature for her age. This tool helps me figure out how to rewrite and adjust my voice to the right audience before it is ever seen by an editor. There is also a citation checker built in. I am a firm believer in working smarter, not harder so any trick to get things moving is a plus in my book.

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: Although many aspects of life have slowed, I am still coming down off the thrill of winning the Enchanted Page Book Award in 2019 for The Unhuggables.

Considering current events, most of us have not held in-person events and have turned to technology to pursue our dreams as authors. I have been learning to adapt like the rest. I worked on improving my website and updating my social media presence as well as opening my mind to more unconventional opportunities.

Meanwhile, these days appear to be the perfect time to speak less and read more. I can help with that. I am happy to announce that I am anticipating a new release in 2022! I can’t wait for you to read it!

Thank you, Kena -- I can't wait to read your new book! It was a pleasure having you on the blog! I wish you all the best on your journey and many more successes! 

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 Kena Sosa:

Website: www.kenasosa.com
Twitter: : @sk_kso

School librarian by day and writer by night, Kena Sosa adores words. She also loves playing the drums. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Our Lady of the Lake University and her master’s degree in bilingual education from Southern Methodist University. Her first children’s book, Rey Antonio and Rey Feo, was born of the celebration of her childhood in San Antonio. Her second book, Kindertransport: A Child’s Journey, is about the escape of children on the Kindertransport train just before the outbreak of World War II. Kena Sosa has lived in Japan and Mexico, but sharing stories with her two sons and other eager readers has been her favorite adventure yet!