Christmas Stories for Children: Author Interview with Laura Sassi

Today I'm pleased to host Laura Sassi whose work has appeared in Highlights for Children, Cricket, Ladybug and Spider. She's also been featured in Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr. - two publications of Focus on the Family. She is also the author of the delightful Goodnight Ark (Zonderkidz, 2014) 

How did you come up with the idea of your latest book, Goodnight, Manger?

As a mom, I have tender memories of putting my babies to bed and how hard it was when they were overstimulated or overtired. I also have memories of my sweet daughter playing with the little Baby Jesus that was part of our nativity set. She’d carry him around the house saying things like, “Baby Jesus crying. It’s okay, Baby.”  Then she’d gently feed him or rock him and sing a lullaby. Before listening to her tender play, I’d never thought of Baby Jesus as ever crying. But, he was human (and God) and so he must have cried.  With those sweet sparks of inspiration, I was ready to write my Christmas bedtime story. 

Could you give me a short synopsis on the story for my readers?  

It’s bedtime for baby Jesus, but who knew a stable could be so loud? Mama, Papa, and all of the animals try to lull the baby to sleep, but between itchy hay, angels singing, and three kings bearing gifts, it’s too noisy. Cuddle up as everyone tries working together to shepherd Baby into peaceful dreams. 

What made you decide to do a Christmas themed book?

I wanted to write a fun Christmas-themed book that would center on Christ, rather than Santa, in what has become a very secularized Christmas season. I was not born into a Christian home, so I have a heart for families like mine - and wanted to write a Christmas story that would be fun for anyone to read, but which would point them in the direction of Jesus - the real gift of Christmas.

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?

I love Christmas! Our family’s favorite traditions include: picking out the tree for Christmas, making homemade ornaments, baking cookies, reading a snippet of the Christmas story each evening during advent, and caroling in our neighborhood on Christmas Eve (after the children’s service). 

My son, who is now 15, also likes to keep his eyes pried open as best he can so that he and I can stroll into down at 10:30 for the candlelight service that gets out at midnight. I’m not a night person, but I love that he wants to go to church TWICE on Christmas Eve and I cherish this extra mother/son bonding time. It’s quiet as we walk into town and part of our emerging tradition is talking about our faith and God’s wondrous gift of a Savior.  

What’s next?

I am always working on new picture books and I have several at various stages of completion. I’ll leave the details up to your imagination, but let’s just say that some of my new characters include a mouse, some cheese, a lamb, and a hedgehog. Stay tuned for updates.

Any special awards or achievements you’d like to mention?

My first picture book, GOODNIGHT, ARK, also illustrated by Jane Chapman and published by Zonderkidz, was a 2015 Christian Book Award® finalist.  That was exciting.  =)

What’s the best writing tip you’ve learned or been given that you’d like to share?

One of the best tips I’ve learned as a writer of rhyme is to make sure that I have someone else read my pieces out loud. This is an effective way to ensure that the piece I’m working on reads smoothly. It’s a good check against forced rhymes or meter that work only because of faulty pronunciation, misplaced emphasis on a syllable, inverted word order etc.

What do you know now about writing and publishing you wish you had learned sooner?

I wish I had learned sooner that you can’t rush the writing process. Looking back at the earliest manuscripts I sent publishers, it’s no surprise they were rejected!  I wrote and sent them off much too quickly.  Good, multi-layered, rich writing takes time and more rounds of revision than you ever imagined.

I spent TWO years revisiting and revising my first book, Goodnight, Ark before it was fit to float and many, many months revising Goodnight, Manger. That might surprise readers, but I believe that the time and effort spent revising was the key to capturing Zonderkidz’s interest (and hopefully readers’ interests as well).

Any last words or tips?

I’ve found that the long, hard journey to publication just wouldn’t be the same without a nice support system. For me this includes my family, my lovely agent, and the wonderful network of children’s writers I’ve connected with over the years, many of whom have become dear friends and trusted critique partners. So, my parting bit of advice today is to find a writing buddy or two to join you on the journey! I think you will find, as I have, that it makes all the difference. Happy writing!

As a special kick-off to the holiday season, Zonderkidz is offering a hardcover copy of Goodnight, Manger - fresh off the press to one lucky winner who will be chosen in a random drawing from all entries. To be eligible, just sign up as a follower (click on "join this site"  which is located on the left sidebar across from this text)  The winner will be required to provide a physical address, not a P.O. Box address for the book delivery. U.S. residents only. Contest ends December 4th and the winner will be announced on this blog December 8th.

 Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/LauraSassiTales

Blog:  https://laurasassitales.wordpress.com/

Book Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kppv9AMwJrA

Links to the blog tour for Goodnight, Ark

https://laurasassitales.wordpress.com/2015/10/03/goodnight-manger-blog-tour-itinerary/

Persevering Beyond Rejections: Guest Blog by Natasha Yim

As authors one of the biggest writer's block we have to deal with is handling rejections from publishers. Nothing can kill a creative spirit quicker than being told your writing isn't 'good enough' whether its in the actual written form or a lack of response at all. Today I'm turning over my blog over to one specific writer who knows how to go beyond rejection to acceptance.  

Natasha Yim is the author of Otto's Rainy Day (Charlesbridge Publishing, 2000), Cixi, The Dragon Empress (Goosebottom Books, 2011), and Sacajawea of the Shoshone (Goosebottom Books, Oct. 2012) and Goldy Luck and the Three Chans (Charlesbridge Publishing, 2014). She has also been published in the children's magazines, "Highlights for Children", "Appleseeds", and "Faces", as well as in adult local and regional magazines and newspapers. Her ten-minute plays have been performed in venues around Northern California, Los Angeles, and at the Short+Sweet Ten Minute Theatre Festival in Sydney, Australia. 

With all those wonderful writing credits, you might think she is now immune to the dreaded rejection. However, that is not the case. Read on to learn from her experiences.

                       ON REJECTIONS—AND OTHER LITERARY DISASTERS
We’ve all heard those success stories, right? The ones where debut authors wrote their 300 page novels in 6 weeks, sent their manuscripts to the first agent they found in the Writer’s Market, got a response in two days, and an offer for acquisition a week later. The stories that make you want to gag, cry, rip your hair out in frustration as you continue to labor over Chapter Three in a novel that’s taken 5 years out of your life. And if that success story belonged to a friend, you battle the demons of ambivalence as you graciously congratulate your friend and wish her the best of luck, while behind closed doors, you scream, “Why couldn’t it have been me???” at the writing Gods for all the literary injustice that you—and only you—have suffered.

Well, I’m here to tell you I’ve been there. And back. I’ve tumbled into the black hole of despair when it seemed like my writing was on the train to nowhere, and obsessively checked my email 20 times a day in the hopes that today was the day I got a positive response from an editor or agent (waiting for the mailman is soooo last decade). But perseverance is the name of the game in this business, and all good things can come to those who wait.

Take my picture book, Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, for instance. It’s a multi-cultural twist on the Goldilocks tale. I first began writing the story in 2005, and revised and re-revised it for over a year until I felt confident enough to send it out to 5 different publishers. A couple rejected me rather quickly, two others made me wait 3 months, and the 5th, Tricycle Press, I never heard back from. Finally, after 7 months, I wrote a letter of inquiry to the editor, and received a fairly quick response from another editor that Editor 1 had left the company, but had passed on my manuscript before she left. Editor 2 really liked it and wanted to take it to acquisitions. I was on Cloud 9. Somebody liked my work! She had some great editorial suggestions, and we made several rounds of revisions. We revised, we emailed back and forth, then...nothing. My emails went unanswered. No more communication. I panicked. Did my last revision suck? Did she hate it so much she couldn’t bear to tell me, and decided that if she just ignored me, I’d go away?

Then one day, while considering whether I should attend the Book Passage Children’s Writer’s Conference in Corte Madera, California, I noticed that Editor 2 was on the faculty list. That was it. I was going to the conference. I was going to find out what happened to my manuscript. I was going to hulk around in dark shadows and stalk this editor. As it turned out, I didn’t have to be the creepy writer trapping the hapless editor inside a bathroom stall while she made empty promises to get me a contract so she could escape back into the Land of the Living. Coincidentally, she sat at my table for lunch and we got to chatting about Goldy Luck. She was really nice...and warm...and generous. She spent an hour with me giving me line by line feedback, and invited me to re-submit to her when I was done with revisions. See, it pays to go to writers’ conferences. I was back on Cloud 9. Three months later, I sent her my revisions. Then...nothing. I emailed to ask if she had received my manuscript, and got a quick response from the publisher’s assistant. Editor 2 had also left the company. Crap. And Double Crap. All that work! All that time!

However, not to be deterred, I asked for the name of another editor. I emailed Editor 3. Had she heard about Goldy Luck? Tricycle Press was, after all, a small publishing house. Editor 3 wrote back. Yes, she had. She was at the acquisitions meeting when it was presented. And Editor 3 was interested. But nobody could find the manuscript, so could I send another copy?

To make a long story—well, not quite as long—Editor 3 and I worked on the manuscript for another year and a half, then in August 2010, I finally got the phone call every writer dreams about. I got to hear those beautiful words, “We want to publish your book!” By this time, Tricycle Press and it’s parent company, Ten Speed Press, had been purchased by Random House, so it was now an imprint of RH. Not only was I getting a contract, I was thrilled to say I was going to be published by Random House, one of the Big 6 publishers! How exciting was that!

Not exciting enough, the literary gods decided. We’ll just throw a few more bumps her way so she’ll really appreciate what it takes to get published. A week after I signed my contract, RH decided to close down Tricycle Press. My path to publication suddenly stalled Big Time. Contract cancelled. End of story. Well, I could have let it end there. But I didn’t. Did I wallow in drink? Hemingway would have. Tennessee Williams would have. But I’m a teetotaler. So, I did what any sober writer in her right mind would do. I sent the manuscript back out. This time to my former editor at Charlesbridge Publishing who had published my first book, Otto’s Rainy Day. Editor 4. Charlesbridge doesn’t publish many folk or fairy tales, but the editor was intrigued by the multi-cultural angle.

Two months later, in March 2011, Editor 5 (Editor 4 had now become head honcho since I’ve worked with her so passed the story on to Editor 5), contacted me. She loved the story. More revisions. Another acquisitions meeting. Another stall. Now, it’s the Marketing Department. Folk and fairy tales aren’t usually Charlesbridge’s thing. Do they want to take Charlesbridge into a different realm? Oh, to be a fly on the wall of that discussion. In the end, they decided to table any decisions till the fall. Another 3 months of waiting!

Finally, in October 2011 (Oct. 5, at 8:05 am. to be specific—you tend to remember these things), my agent Karen Grencik (Red Fox Literary Agency) called and told me Charlesbridge wanted to publish the book! The book is now scheduled to be published in 2014.

The moral of the story: Believe in yourself as a writer, believe in your story, and never give up. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Richard Bach, “A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” Enjoy the journey!

If you would like to learn more about Natasha and her wonderful books, here are some options...

natashayim@natashayim.com
www.natashayim.com
www.natashayim.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/natashayim.author

This guest blog post is a reprint of a post that originally ran in bananapeelin.blogspot.com. It is being reprinted under the express permission of Natasha Yim as well as Elizabeth Stevens Omlor who is the owner of that blog. Drop by her blog as well for an interesting read.

Interview with children's picture book author, Jenny Sulpizio

If you've recently had a child or know someone who has you will probably want to learn more about the books by this author, so take a moment to relax and review our interview.

You now have two children’s books in print –one for girls and the second book for boys. What motivated you to put your thoughts of having these children in book form? What do you hope that the reader will take away from reading your books?
As soon as my first child was born (my daughter), I took the time to sit down and express exactly how I was feeling. All of the emotions that well up as a parent, the hopes and the dreams you have for that tiny child of yours-I wanted to create a keepsake that my daughter (followed later by my two sons), could read. Later on as adults  they could reflect on it, and even share it with their own children, grandchildren and so forth. I also wanted these books to become keepsakes for other parents so that they too could relate to the message, cherish the reading time with their children, and eventually pass on to them once they have grown.

Have you always wanted to write? What is your writing background prior to these books?
I've always loved tapping into my imagination and creatively expressing my thoughts on paper. It's an outlet if you will and a process I thoroughly enjoy. Prior to these two books, I had no publishing credits to speak of.

How many different publishers did you contact before going with your publisher? What did you like about them? How much input did you have with the artwork design?
I literally wrote "Mommy Whispers" seven years before it was published. I had tried traditional means of publication and wasn't very successful in my attempts. It was at that point that I "shelved" my work and all ideas of publishing...that was until I sought out the advice of a good friend (and published author) who referred me to Ajoyin, a vanity publisher. I had full and total control over the artwork and the emotion I wanted to evoke through each illustration.

What has surprised you the most in getting the first book published? What has been the best way you’ve found to promote your book?
The amount of work involved as far as marketing these books has been the biggest surprise. I have found that the best way to promote is by reaching out to other authors, guest blogging, and word-of-mouth.

What are some of the best writing tips you’ve learned that you would like to share with others?
Don't. Ever. Give. Up! 

How do you find time to write with taking care of 3 children?
I do most of my writing when my kids are fast asleep.

In your bio it says you are currently represented by The Seymour Agency but not for your children’s writing. How did that come about?
I write for varying genres and am represented by The Seymour Agency for my Women's Christian Non-fiction works. I am currently querying and submitting for my children's picture book manuscripts in the hopes of securing and agent for those as well.

Which style of writing suits you more – children’s books or your inspirational writing?
I love them both. I try to incorporate faith-based principles into all of my works. They are the foundation.

Any other books in the works that we should know about?   
There's always something brewing in my brain...I've got lots of ideas just waiting to hit the paper!

If you would like to learn more about Jenny and her writing, here is a link to her website…
http://www.jennysulpizio.com  

Interview with Children's Author and Writing Instructor, Nancy Sanders

Let me introduce you to our author today. She is the bestselling and award-winning author of over 80 books. This is someone who I would consider my mentor and writing guru. She is the leader of the writing group where I am a member and a leader. Maybe I'm a bit prejudiced about her writing and teaching skills. However, if you were a regular attendee of our regional writers group, known as CHAIRS, you would probably feel the same. So relax and learn from a prolific writer.

You’ve published a variety of books in your publishing career from fiction to nonfiction. In your book for writers, Yes! You Can Learn How to Write Children’s Books, Get Them Published, and Build a Successful Writing Career, you write about the importance of getting your foot in the door of publishing by writing nonfiction. Why should a writer try that route?

There are two main reasons every children’s writer should try writing nonfiction.
#1) The odds of getting published. Magazine and book publishers get oodles of fiction manuscripts submitted to them each year. Nonfiction submissions are slim. In this highly competitive children’s market, your odds of getting a nonfiction piece published are much, much greater based on sheer statistics. Then, once you have gotten your foot in the door and are working with an editor, they’ll be much more open to looking at your fiction.

#2) It’s easier for most writers to write successful nonfiction. It can take years to learn how to craft a strong story arc, engaging dialogue, and award-winning characters for successful fiction. In the meantime, write a short nonfiction article about a historic fact you’re including in your novel that you’re writing. (Get double mileage for research you have to do for your fiction novel.) Submit that nonfiction article to a magazine and start building published credits while you’re learning how to write great fiction.

How did you get your start in writing books on African-American history?
After I wrote my first book for Chicago Review Press, my contract said I must submit my next book proposal to them. So I studied their current catalog and saw that they published nonfiction activity books on various cultures. I saw that they didn’t have any books at that time on Mexican-American history, Chinese-American history, African-American history, or Egyptian history. Even though I had never studied any of these topics, I knew there was enough research out there to give me plenty of material to write about.

So I pitched these ideas to my editor and she said that out of the bunch, she’d like to see a proposal on African-American history. I wrote the proposal and landed the contract for A Kid’s Guide to African American History. The information I discovered during the writing process convinced me that I had unearthed amazingly valuable treasures that I wanted to continue to write about so kids could learn what I learned.

How do you go about researching for a nonfiction book?
I visit my local public library, local university libraries, and search on Amazon for books on my topic. Then I choose 1 or 2 children’s books and 1 or 2 adult books to use as my main resources for research. I often purchase these at huge discounts from used bookstores on Amazon. When I write about the same topic for several different books, I keep using the same books but add several more each time. This builds my research library at a rate I can afford.

I use the children’s books on my topic to help me create my chapter outlines, timelines, and grasp the wording for the age level I need to use to write about my subject. I use the adult books for the actual reliable information I need to present, plus I search in their bibliographies and list of photo sources for more research sources I can use.

What tips to you have for doing research?

Develop a rhythm of daily writing for a nonfiction children’s book. Read for an hour and take research notes. Then write new content on your manuscript for an hour using the notes you just took. Then fact check for the next hour for any information you presented that needs three resources to back it up. Then go back and self-edit what you just wrote. Then spend your final hour doing odd tasks that need to be accomplished such as answering editor e-mails, building a website for when your book gets published, or fleshing out your outline to prepare for the next writing day.

Then start the process all over again the next day. Developing and maintaining this daily rhythm will help you move forward in your research and writing new material at a constant rate so that one or the other doesn’t fall behind.

Can you give me one or two examples of something that surprised you in doing research?
When I began to study African American history, it surprised me that I had never learned any of this in school. The great men and women heroes of our nation and the amazing accomplishments and achievements they made, often to contribute significantly to America’s history, had been left out of most textbooks. That’s one of the reasons I feel so passionate about writing books for kids to let them know the names and faces of these people and how they shaped America and continue to shape it today.

It also surprised me that some collections lose their items or don’t know where they’re located. However, most are short-staffed these days, so it’s understandable. I actually helped a couple museums/archives locate items they didn’t realize they had by quoting books that cited specific files or sources in their collections.

Do you do much research in writing your fiction books?
This depends. For my historical fiction, the research is overwhelming sometimes because I have to learn what that particular time period was like in the setting it takes place. For a fiction story that was published in a children’s magazine, I still do a bit of research. For instance, in my story about a little kangaroo and koala bear who become friends, I did research to learn more about kangaroos, koala bears, and also about Australia where the setting takes place. I even learned a bunch of Australian words like “walkabout” and “mum” to incorporate into the dialogue.

How long does it take to write one of your picture books? Is the publishing and editing side easier since you’ve written so many books?
It took me three months to write D is for Drinking Gourd: An African American Alphabet. I could write it in such a short time because I had already done all the research for most of the topics in that book. If I want to write a fiction picture book just for fun, I can write it in one day.

But if I want to write a fiction picture book that my agent will accept and that will fit well into today’s competitive market, I usually allow myself three months. This gives me time to really develop each of my characters and their unique voices, plot out the story arc so it’s strong and exciting, and choose words and sentences that make my story shine.

I think asking if the publishing and editing side gets easier with the more books I write would be like asking if having the fourth baby was easier than the first. In some ways, yes, it’s easier. I know sort of what to expect along the journey, I have the basic research books and office tools already that I need, and I know what it’s like to work with editors.

But in other ways it’s still very challenging. You never know what’s going to happen at a publishing house during the journey…you might get a new editor who wants massive revisions at the last minute, your book might fall to the wayside for a couple of years and not move forward toward publication, or the entire publishing house might even get sold.

What’s one of the best pieces of writing advice you’ve ever been given?
Brainstorm. Use charts like story webs or story ladders to organize your ideas whether it’s for dialogue, character development, crafting a scene, or building the plot. Some writers sit down with a blank computer screen or piece of paper and wonder why they have writer’s block. But if you start by sitting down to brainstorm and read books on your topic and jot down ideas for the various ingredients in your story, it gives you material to work with when you sit down to actually write.

That's enough to get you started. For more info on Nancy and her writing, go to her website at www.nancyisanders.com. She also teaches writer’s workshops over Skype to writers’ groups across the nation. For more information about scheduling a Virtual Writing Workshop for your writers’ group, please visit: www.YesYouCanLearnVirtualVisit.wordpress.com

Interview with author, Bettina Restrepo on her book, Moose and Magpie

My interview today is with Bettina Restrepo. Her writing has appeared in Highlights for Children, Nature Friend, and Boy's Life magazines. Moose and Magpie is Bettina's first picture book. She is also currently writing young adult novels.

Your current children’s picture book is called Moose and Magpie and is called “a fiction book with a non-fiction base.” What exactly does that mean?
Sylvan-Dell’s concept is that children absorb facts best in a story rather than bulleted factoids. While a talking moose is pure fiction, the idea behind his migration or the symbiotic relationship he has with Magpie is straight fact.

The book is published by Sylvan Dell, a publisher who strictly deals with stories about nature and science. What made you decide to contact them?
My writer friend, Doris, had just finished 3 beautiful math books for them. I met the publisher at a conference and he referred me to their website where they provide their current list of needs. I designed Moose and Magpie solely for SD. It never went anywhere else. My experience in the educational market was magazine writing which helped me to think in small “bites” of info.

What sort of research did you do in preparing to write this book? Reading over 40 books about moose, wildlife blogs and just a general curiosity about these large animals.

Did you suggest the fun facts in the book?
Most of them, yes. But, the information was edited beautifully by my editor.

I see their guidelines say up to 1500 words. Do you recall the original word count for your book?
It was 800. To me, it’s still too wordy. I think I could have done a better job at 500 words!

From the time you sent in your manuscript how long was it before you got any feedback?
One month – which floored me. Donna German has a quick eye and knows what fits her list. She finalizing her list by season and I received a contract within four months.

Is this the original title?
The original title was “Why did the moose cross the road?” Moose and Magpie is so much better,

How is the writing process this book for Sylvan Dell different from writing for Katherine Tegen Books (an imprint of Harper Collins)?
My SD book was very focused on format. I knew I had sixteen spreads to get from birth to migration. Systematically, it was broken down and then the story built around the concept.

In my YA novel, Illegal, I worked with the character Nora to tell one snippet of her story. The ARC is larger, the characters deeper. But, the editing process was minimal. Books nowadays must be 98% ready to go to market. My agent (who I didn’t have while I did Moose) truly helped shape Illegal.

Do you have a preferred preference for writing in a specific genre? If so, which one and why?
Yes, YA. It’s where my voice is at. I hope to return to fictional picture books in a few years when the market is better.

Do you have any other books in process with either of these publishers? Yes, my next novel is optioned at Harper Collins. They are a fabulous publisher to work with and I have been very pleased with the product we have created together.

What do you do to promote your book?
EVERYTHING. Blogs, conferences, bookstores. I’d dance down Broadway naked – but I think that wouldn’t be so good for my book career.

What advice would you give someone who wanted to submit a manuscript to Sylvan Dell or other education related publishers? Research what they have – and look for their holes. Then, understand their style and tailor your word to fit within.

Thank you for your time, Bettina. If you would like to learn more about her writing or would like to buy her books, here are some helpful links...

If you would like to read an except from her YA book,Illegal, click here
To see the the book trailer, click here.
www.bettinarestrepo.com
http://www.facebook.com/bettina.restrepo
http://twitter.com/bettinarestrepo