Interview with children's author Jennie Ross

Author Jennie Ross is here today to chat about her new children’s book, Slicker McQuicker and the Hike (written as Jennie Wren).

Welcome, Jennie. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

I was born in Austin, TX where I graduated from Austin High School and attended the University of Texas. I've written the lyrics to over ninety country western songs, have written several mysteries, scores of children's books and a lot of poetry. When we moved to Nevada I decided it was time to get serious and get published. My hobbies are traveling, swimming and horseback riding. My husband and I live on seven acres with two dogs, two horses and a spectacular view of the mountains.

Please tell us about your current release.

Slicker McQuicker and the Hike is a book that takes you on an adventure with Slicker and Michael the Pup. They run into a couple of unexpected bears and Slicker comes up with a scheme to outwit the bears.

What inspired you to write this book?

While raising 3 sons and my youngest having learning disabilities, I realized that there were so many important values that were not being taught. I created the character Slicker McQuicker to be someone kids could relate to and look up to. Slicker is a real funny boy. His ears spring out, his eyes change from brown to blue, he has red curly hair, freckles and looks different than the other kids. He teaches kids about acceptance, self love, friendship, safety, and bullying while taking the audience on fun adventures.

Because of my youngest son’s learning disability, he was seeing a child psychologist by the name of Tom Oakland who was world famous for helping children. He read my Slicker books and felt that they had values that children could benefit from.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I just finished writing Cindy the Cow for children. It is being illustrated now and should be out by October 30^th. I am currently writing a mystery novel, A Promise Made that is a sequel to my first published crime/drama/mystery book, Frozen Image.

I have published 3 crime/drama/mystery novels Frozen Image, Outback Murders, and Sea of Death, 1 adventure/drama novel The Wrong Side of the Blanket, 1 American history/short story that is humorous and educational, JENNIE’S AMERICAN SHORT STORIES.

My children’s books are:

Slicker McQuicker and Friends, Slicker McQuicker and the Rescue, Slicker McQuicker and the Eagle, Slicker McQuicker and the Mermaid, Slicker McQuicker and the Hike

(There are about 50 that have been written and will be published. The next Slicker will be Slicker McQuicker and the Swing.)

Children’s books that are not Slicker related:

Mickie the Mermaid will be out soon.

Cindy the Cow will be out by the end of October.

Jargin McFargin will be out before Christmas.

We are also in the process of creating a toy line for the Slicker McQuickers. Slicker character will be out before Christmas and the other characters from the books will follow shortly.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

In high school I won a prize for writing for the veterans. I guess that was the point that I began to feel like a writer.

Do you write full-time?

Yes

What's your work day like?

I start writing at 11am, take a dinner break around 5pm and resume writing after dinner until about 7pm. Some days I find myself working longer and later while other days I take off.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I don’t like to use the same words often so I use a thesaurus, a rhyming book, and a dictionary.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? A rancher and a politician.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

My older brother and my parents were both into poetry. They were a big influence on me. When I was in the first grade my older brother introduced me to the works of Robert W Service and Rudyard Kipling. My father and I would walk down the street quoting “Thanatopsis”. I still to this day quote the poems that my parents and I shared while I was very young. At about 4 years I was already reciting poetry by Robert Lewis Stevenson. When I was in first grade I always carried a poetry book in my back pocket. It was by Robert W. Service and was called “The Spell of the Yukon”. When I was in the fifth grade, the teacher read “The Cremation of Sam McGee” and I was so enthralled by it that I went to the library, learned it and still to this day recite it word for word.

I still have the same poetry book that I kept in my back pocket from my childhood.

Links:

Website | Facebook

Thanks for being here today!

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Interview with children's author Rene Cournoyer

Children’s author Rene Cournoyer joins me today and we’re chatting about The Fantastic Adventures of Sticky.

Welcome, Rene. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am blessed to have two wonderful children and five beautiful grandchildren. They have kept me young at heart.

Writing a book has been a lifelong dream. Science fiction and fantasy are what I love to read and wanted to write about. However, I could never get the book out of my head and onto paper. My grandchildren have always told me I’m a big kid at heart and suggested I write a children’s book. It resonated at once, the children’s genre is where my book belonged. The next day I started typing and never stopped. As a result, Sticky was born and grows in time.

You’re all invited to come take this journey with Sticky and his friends.

What do you enjoy most about writing short stories?

Each of my characters are a part of me and I feel like I am living the adventure with them. If there’s comedy, suspense or even pain from injury, I feel it all when I write. Even though my characters are a part of me. I feel a stronger connection with each one of them. I find writing to be very therapeutic. When I find myself laughing out loud while writing, I know something is going right, because it feels so right.

Can you give us a little insight into a few of your short stories – perhaps some of your favorites?

This is my first book. I do have more planned after this 4-book series. I have another 3-book series that continues where this one leaves off. There’s an ongoing story built into all the adventures that happen throughout the series. Sticky has a way of finding trouble and trouble almost always finds him. He can go from total klutz to hero of the day.

One of my favorites is when Sticky cracked the Liberty Bell with his head and another is when he saved a little girl from a fire in the barn. Klutz to hero, that’s my Sticky.

What genre are you inspired to write in the most? Why?

Children’s fiction. There is not a doubt in my mind that I belong in this Genre. I am a kid at heart and I have so much fun creating adventures, suspense and comedy.

Because my book has Sticky going from the fantasy world and into the real world in Philadelphia – 1776. I get to teach kids some of our history and they can have fun while they learn it. To be honest, I learned a few things myself. I have Sticky reliving the events and then I put footnotes that teach the real history. The second series, ‘Sticky and the Magical Portals’ is a trip to Boston in 1777. They make a trip from Springfield to Boston and have many adventures along the way.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I have 10 other books in their 1^st stage of writing. They are all adding to Sticky’s adventures for Sticky. These 10 books create 3 more series You get to read about how these characters grow in many ways. There are also many life lessons for the kids as Sticky does a good deed and is commended for it. He is also told when he is doing something wrong and is corrected by Robyn, the leader of the group.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I have always wanted to write a Science Fiction novel like Enders Game or Lord of the Rings. I wanted to create different worlds and have continuing stories about them. I always wanted a continuing series. I have that kind of imagination.

The problem was getting the book out of my head. I started many novels and stopped after a few chapters. It just didn’t click. Back in 2011, I was sharing this story with my grandkids. They suggested that I write a children’s book. Because I am a kid at heart, I should be writing for kids. That was all I needed to hear. It hit me like a brick.

The next day when I was driving to work, I had to pull over and take notes. A massive volume got downloaded into my head. The ideas were floating around in my head and needed to come out. And come out they did. I typed for months, morning, noon and night. When it stopped and I went back to see what I wrote. I couldn’t believe it. Hundreds of pages, mostly in 1 paragraph. I had my work cut out for me. So, I divided and conquered the manuscript. I knew nothing of how to properly format a children’s’ book. I had so much to learn. It was overwhelming and thoroughly exciting at the same time. I loved the whole journey and continue to love it today.

How do you research markets for your work, perhaps as some advice for writers?

Google is everyone’s best friend, no matter what you’re doing. I go from one writers site to another. I don’t leave a site until I have learned something new. When you write, you must keep reading. It’s probably your best teacher. I read books at home and listen to audio tapes when I’m driving. I don’t listen to music or news stations on the radio. It’s all about the books.

Believe it or not, writing your book is the easy part. It gets difficult after that. There is so much to learn. Never give up your dream.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I would have to say that the character flaws of my characters, are my own. They are truly a part of me.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be an astronaut. Soaring to the stars on an endless adventure. I do get to enjoy the endless adventure. It’s here on earth and not in the stars. However, you never know what the future may bring for Sticky. Anything is possible with this crazy little elf.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I have found that my books are good for all ages. I read them weekly to my grandchildren when they couldn’t read. They couldn’t wait for the next part of the ongoing story. My brother and sister read them and loved every bit of them. My father, who is 90, read the series. When he finished, he came up to me and hugged me. He thanked me for letting him feel young again for a brief moment in time.

Thanks for being here today, Rene.

Interview with children's author C. T. Markee

I’m keeping the children’s theme going. Today’s guest is C. T. Markee and he’s chatting with me about his new middle grade (MG) novel, Maria’s Beads.

Bio:

Charles coordinates Sonoma County Society meetings for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). He has published three middle-grade novels, short works in four literary anthologies and the Santa Rosa Pressdemocrat newspaper. He is also an active member of Redwood Writers a branch of the California Writer's Club (CWC).

Welcome, Charles. Please tell us about your current release, Maria’s Beads.

In this story of magical realism, a mysterious old woman gives María Cortez some strange, very pretty beads. She has no idea they came from mara’akame Spirits. When her best friend, Hannah, becomes deathly ill and Hannah’s parents refuse medical treatment, María desperately tries to save her friend. Adults won’t intercede, so she turns to the magic beads, but they can’t do it alone. María must find and use her own inner strength, passed down to her through her ancestral Huichol culture . . . or watch Hannah die.

What inspired you to write this book?

At age 13, my wife lived next door to her best friend in Salinas, California. The friend contracted kidney disease. When her family refused medical intervention, she died (not so in my story). I believe this event resulted in my wife’s career as a health professional. This story was so powerful; I had to write it to influence children today.

Excerpt from Maria’s Beads: 

Ahead at the corner of Hebbron Street, two older boys stand with their hands in baggy pockets next to a little old woman, leaning on a cane, waiting to cross. She’s dressed all in black with a shawl over her head. I hang back so the boys can’t tease me. When the light turns green, they slouch across, but the old woman waits, shifting her purple bag with a bead picture of a deer to the other shoulder.

When I reach her, I ask if I can help, “¿Puedo ayudarle en algo?”

She greets me with her eyes like she knows me. “¡Ay, aquí estás! Te estába esperando.”

How could she be waiting for me? Maybe she has Alzheimers and is confused. I’m sure I’ve never seen her before. She has high cheekbones like Mamá, but her skin is a darker brown, and her neck has lots of wrinkles. I say, “Do you know me?”

“Los espíritus te conocen.”

The Spirits know me? Her dark eyes pierce mine like she is looking straight inside me, and the back of my neck tingles as if ants are walking there. I get a cold feeling in my stomach because, as weird as this is, she doesn’t seem crazy. I want to ask her what’s she talking about, but the light turns green. She slips her arm in mine. “Vamos.” 

What exciting story are you working on next?

I’m close to publishing the third book of my “Otherworld Tales” trilogy. Its subtitle, “The Ultimate Battle,” suggests that our three heroes, Irish, Streak, and Frost (a girl), may be on the verge of ridding us of Abaddon, the most evil being in existence. BUT, don’t be too sure. Irish, their leader, is vulnerable to Abaddon’s evil powers.

The story begins when our three friends on a family vacation in Hawaii, wake up on a beach, one thousand years in the past. According to a sacred prophecy, they must defeat Abaddon in a Ultimate Battle in order to go home.

Irish and his friends vanquished Abaddon in the first two books, Irish the Demon Slayer and Demon Invasion. If they can defeat him a third time, he’s gone forever and he knows it.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I was a writer before I knew it. Family, friends, employees and peers recognized my talent and encouraged me. When I finally escaped my day job, I returned to school where I focused on creative writing. It became my second love. It was almost, but not quite, a replacement for ballet class, my first love, which I had to quit at age 49 – too many injuries.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

 Writing days are four hours long starting at 8 am. I have to fight for those days against myriad interruptions, many of them my own doing. We have a huge extended family, so add birthdays, graduations, medical trips, visits, reunions, then mix in home maintenance projects, meals and shopping. Finally, I beat my internal critic into submission and go to work.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

No quirks. Just an author with a passion for kid’s books.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I was very happy being a child and had no interest in growing up. A significant portion of my brain is still twelve-years-old. My characters and I go on these dangerous and exciting adventures together. It’s like the Tao of writing. I go there and don’t want to come back.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Maria’s Beads received a 2^nd place award in the category junior fiction in the prestigious Colorado Independent Publishers Association (CIPA) 22^nd annual contest.

My Website.

Thanks for being here today, Charles.