Interview with children's author Kenneth Caldwell

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Author Kenneth Caldwell wraps up the week with me by chatting about his new children’s book, Zac Von Stick.

Bio:

Kenneth Caldwell is a 53-year-old Surveyor, living in Glasgow. A keen dog lover and with a special affinity to the Weimaraner breed. Like Zac, loves the outdoors in all weathers and the muddier the better.

Welcome, Kenneth. Please tell us about your current release.

This book is dedicated to our first Weimaraner, Mardi it is a celebration of the breed and the joy that Zac brought into our lives. Zac coming from a difficult start. Providing a new home was a fitting way to provide a legacy for Mardi.

Zac is feeling sad and lonely. His Mum and Dad can’t look after him anymore and so he needs to find a new Mummy and Daddy to love him. Finding new parents is very scary. Zac and his special stick start the journey to finding happiness again ……

What inspired you to write this book?

I was going through a very difficult time after ill health and losing my job. I walked Zac and noticed how he would not let go of his sticks. It suddenly became apparent to me that his stick could be a metaphor for his heart……

Excerpt from Zac Von Stick:

Zac now has a pile of special sticks outside the front door, each one showing how special and loved he is!

Zac now also now knows "his special stick" is not made of wood. His special stick is his HEART! And that sometimes you have to wait to find out who you trust to play with it !!

What exciting story are you working on next?

• Zac and his Pink Tummy
• But Mummy I have more room in my Tummy
• Zac’s Special Ball

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Only in last couple of years

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?

Work in Property Maintenance and writing has been only recent hobby and borne through as difficult period in my life. Expression in words can be very cathartic.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Looking at life as a metaphor and through the non-judgmental eyes of a dog.

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

A Vet.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Only that my introduction to writing was during difficult times. It made me realise that everything around you can be captured in the medium of words and that the simple act of your dog playing with his favourite stick can have a much more profound metaphor in life.

Links:

Twitter | Publisher

Thanks for joining me today, Kenneth!

Interview with children's author J.R. Becker

Children’s author J.R. Becker is here today to talk about his newest book, one with a focus on science, called, Annabelle & Aiden: Worlds Within Us.

During his virtual book tour, J.R. will be awarding 2 personally-signed Annabelle & Aiden books, along with 3 limited-edition Annabelle & Aiden bookmarks (US ONLY) to a randomly drawn winner. To be entered to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:

AUTHOR: J. R. holds a B.A. in Philosophy and a Juris Doctorate from Emory University School of Law. When he's not practicing entertainment law, playing drums, or enjoying the great outdoors, Joseph enjoys all the science and philosophy books and podcasts he can, pondering the bigger questions and dreaming up ideas for future children stories. (Got any? Send them in!)

After publishing his first (philosophical, dystopian) novel, The Spider & the Ant, and later becoming a father, Joseph was inspired to found the Annabelle & Aiden series to foster curiosity and scientific awareness in the next generation.

Joseph lives in New Jersey with his wife Leah, and two children, Annabelle & Aiden.

ILLUSTRATOR: Max lives in a small town just outside Venice, Italy. As an illustrator, she is proficient with multiple mediums (from physical to digital) and can draw in multiple styles, as seen in her portfolio below. Max is especially fond of cats, Game of Thrones, and Lindsey Stirling. After wandering the cosmos in search of the perfect illustrator, we're lucky to have found her, just on the other side of our blue planet. Check out Max's site HERE. See Max at work on her YouTube page HERE.

Welcome, Joseph. Please share a little bit about your current release.

This gorgeously-illustrated book takes children on an adventure through the earliest stages of our universe. “How did our universe form?" Annabelle wonders to Aiden. Luckily, the friendly Tardigrade Tom answers by taking the children on their biggest adventure yet! Soaring through space and time, they marvel at the big bang, and learn how each and every one of us is literally made of the same stardust. This book empowers children, who learn how we each hold a part of the universe inside us, and are far more special, interconnected, and 'larger' than we may think.

What inspired you to write this book?

My inspiration for this book, and in fact, the entire Annabelle & Aiden series, is to show children that our actual reality can be just as exciting as fiction, or more, and can help us change the world.


Excerpt from Annabelle & Aiden: Worlds Within Us:

Did you know you hold the strength of hydrogen bombs?

Or that there’s parts of different stars in each of your palms?

We’re made of pieces that used to be part

Of dinosaurs, Shakespeare, and Amelia Earhart.

So when you feel small, that you don't matter much,

Know stars are inside you, whole worlds you can touch.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I hope to write the very first children’s book that explores death from a scientific and humanist standpoint.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I very much took to writing in high school. I’m in love with the written word.

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?

Nope. I’m a civil rights attorney, and work with inmates at Riker’s Island. I write at night, and wish I had more time.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I need just the right music to write to. That may involve anything from Radiohead to Sigur Ros to Beethoven, depending on the night.

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

An architect.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Annabelle & Aiden is a children's book series dedicated to inspiring a new generation of scientists, thinkers, and all-around adventurers. Our books are tailored to foster curiosity, wonder, critical thinking skills, and inspiration on the line where science and philosophy meet.

Links:
Facebook | Book listing | Website

Thank you for being a guest on my blog!

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Interview with children's author Rita Avaud A. Najm

Children’s author Rita Avaud A. Najm joins me today to talk about her series of stories, La Petite Rita, Volumes 1 & 2.

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

I am an American-Lebanese mother of two amazing loving boys, Leonid and Mark. Moving with the family to Houston, Texas in 2007 made us do lot of absolute changes. One of them was changing my career as a registered nurse, and going back to college to study business management.

Wonderful things started to happen. Working as a library assistant was one of them. This rich and joyful experience made me change my mind on working in health care management. I even decided that my graduation project should be a teacher and parents’ guide to encourage elementary students to read more non-fiction and poetry books.

My life path brought me to Utah, where I found out that many public schools have dual French immersion program. Being multilingual (French is my second language), created in me the desire to write stories about a 7-year-old girl named “Rita.”

Yes! Rita! Since some of the stories had to do with my childhood, I wanted to share them with you. Young readers will enjoy Rita’s daily life experiences, her cute funny adventures, as well as learning some French words from her short conversations with her parents.

I will keep writing and will make my collection bigger; hoping that one day my children won’t need to buy books for their children to read.

What do you enjoy most about writing short stories?

Writing short stories is like arranging a bouquet of flowers; each flower has its unique smell, color and shape. Short children’s stories are usually fun to write, since the message is clear and the end is cute. Children love to jump from an adventure to another without being bored.

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

Most of my stories have to do with my childhood. My joyful moments, that I made stories about, are all my favorites. I was and still shy because of my accent, even though many of my friends think it’s cute, same way with Rita’s friends at school (Coming to America, Volume 1).

I even bought a white Christmas tree for my children; because I loved the one I had long time ago, and still remember how I felt the first time I saw that sparkling, beautiful tree (A White Christmas Tree, for Rita Volume 2).

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

I love to write morals stories that hold a message or a simple lesson that teaches children about love, honesty, virtues and courage, while entertaining them and showing them how blissful their innocence is while experiencing life. 

What exciting story are you working on next?

I am working on my 3^rd volume of La Petite Rita.

I also have 5 other stories ready to be published yet needs illustrations, with no human characters and some tales and fables that everyone will enjoy.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Once I decided to publish my books, I felt the responsibilities of a writer. Being creative as much as I can while expressing my ideas using the right words is not easy. I have to write about interesting things and funny ones, since my audience is basically children, while taking into consideration all reviews and comments to succeed and make my work better each time.

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

Promoting through blogs and creating websites,

Joining Facebook pages that promotes new releases,

Making trailers on YouTube, as well as taking advantage of all social media sites by talking and sharing publicly everything about my books (Google+, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter).

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I actually don’t have one, but I usually laugh if what I am writing is super funny.

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

I wanted to become a lawyer to defend women’s and children’s rights. I studied political law for one year, but I felt that my time would be wasted, since I was born in a country where, even now, these rights are still not guaranteed because they are religiously-based with little or no government oversight.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

My books are not just about a little girl. They are about every single person who comes to the USA and struggles with the language. It’s for everyone who likes to learn a foreign language too, since most of the dialogues between the main characters are In French. Easy short and common French sentences (translated to English on the bottom of each page) will make these books unique and entertaining.

I would like to share my Instagram link where followers will find lots of beautiful quotes about life, and of course info about my books.

Thanks for being here today, Rita!

Interview with illustrator and debut children's author Roni Kennedy

Today’s special guest is illustrator and debut children's writer Roni Kennedy. We’re chatting about The Boy That Grew Teeth in His Ear.

Bio:

Roni Kennedy was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and comes from a family of eight. She is the oldest of six brothers and sisters and was taught at an early young age that she needed to set the example for her younger brothers and sisters. In her later years she moved to Salt Lake City, Utah and has three children and four step children.

Roni is a self-starter and has her own sign business which she used to run out of her home for 20 years and now at a location in Tooele, Utah for the past 10 years of her life. In her shop she designs, prints banners, does vehicle lettering and all types of signs. She has an artistic talent that she has been blessed with to support her family and lively hood. She also has and still paints windows as well seasonal and promotional for businesses and homes. She is a hard worker and likes to do crafts in her spare time and spend time with family and keep a clean home.

In the early 1996 Roni and another partner had two clipart books which were called Primary Paraphernalia Volume 1 and 2 that were published by Sounds of Zion in Salt Lake City Utah and were distributed all over the United States In Deseret Book Stores. She considers herself accomplished and when the going gets tough the tough get going.

Welcome, Roni. Please tell us about your current release.

First of all before I get started I want to give all my credit to my mother who was from Eunice, Louisiana. She left her family when she met my father in the service and married and moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. She is a strong woman and a brave woman. She was a school teacher and continued her education to getting her master's degree while she was raising us and teaching. She wrote a few books and tried to get them published but at the time it was quite expensive raising six children. Our needs came first.

The Boy That Grew Teeth in His Ear is about how sometimes we can get caught up in following the crowd and wanting to be popular. Since bullying has been a problem from the beginning of time this book is to invite children to realize they can be good friends and not pick on others and make fun of others that are different than them or new to a school or neighborhood.

Aaron has moved to a new neighborhood and is being teased and picked on. In order to fit in he starts doing bad things to make himself fit in to the group that's picking on him. He soon finds out that a tooth is forming in his ear and he tries to hide it. When his friends discover it they want to have one just like he has. They think it's cool. The tooth makes him more popular and he and his new friends start picking more and more on others. Then more teeth grew in Aaron’s ear until he had none left in his mouth. He starts hiding out in his upstairs bedroom and won't go out and play or anything. He feels like a total freak and sobs and cried himself to sleep. Then the ear talks to Aaron in his sleep and tells him to repent of his wrongs - he will get better. So Aaron regains his mouth full of teeth and also lots of friends.

What inspired you to write this book?

I think part of it has been my life events. My mother was a school teacher and 3 of us older siblings went to the same she taught at and were somewhat picked on. I remember one time we were spit on and called teacher’s pet. A few other things have been insensitive people that I have encountered throughout my life. 

I have been married 3 times. I was verbally and physically abused in my first marriage and he did not want to work. My second marriage was not so good either. He lied about money and to me about a lot of things and when I did the Primary Paraphernalia books he became very jealous of my ability to do something for myself. Part of the book starting ideas came from my hard times. 

At the time I wrote this book I was doing well with the Primary books and wanted to make a career of it. Everything was put on hold due to a divorce in 1998. At one point I sent it in to Agreka Books and they wanted me to publish and do a second book about morals. I did not have the funds and this book was put on a shelf for 18 years. I had to raise my daughter and just worked on getting the sign business going. 

Due to more humbling experiences in my life and moving to a small town with my sign business, I decided to blow some dust off of it and get it published this year. I cannot tell you it all except small towns have bullies and mean people as well as very good people so this book was a perfect time to get published. I have been bullied by a newspaper out here that was trying to put my sign business under when they advertised in their paper that they did signs and banners and undercut my prices after I closed my sign shop up in Salt Lake. I had two shops at the time and the economy was going south. I did not go through them for my published book needless to say.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I would like to work on my mother’s book. I have done the illustrations for her years ago. It needs to be edited and shortened. It is called the story of Timmy Mitton.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I was probably in my teens. I used to babysit the neighbor’s children and would write poems.

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?

No I do not write full time. I have a full time business. I wish I could write full time and use my creativity.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I wrote and pencil sketched this book in a snap. The idea came very quickly to me.

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

I loved horses. Maybe live on a farm with lots of horses.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I am a really good person. I care about others and have empathy towards them. I try to help others but I also know there are boundaries and not to let others take advantage of me. I am trying to accomplish morals, values, true principles and good teaching lessons.

Links:

Facebook Author | Facebook Book | Amazon | Professional Women Business Owners of Utah and America

Thanks for being here today, Roni! Happy writing.