I AM OKLAHOMA – Pati Hailey – Interviews with Authors Behind the Series

I am honored to be hosting five delightful and talented fellow OK SCBWI writers this week in anticipation of their fantastic new series for children, which debuts October 6th. It’s called I AM OKLAHOMA Children’s Series, and each book is a biography about an important Oklahoman who helped make this state great.

 

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Today, I am interviewing the next author in the series, the dynamic and divine Pati Hailey. Over her career, Pati has written state legislation, online training for large corporations, lesson plans for teachers, and literature for children and adults. She is a frequent speaker at conferences and schools. Pati’s articles have appeared in newspapers and magazines, including Cricket and Hopscotch. Her contribution to this series, TE ATA: Oklahoma Cultural Treasure, is her first published children’s book.

 

The Interview

 

Valerie Lawson: What excited you about this project? 

Pati Hailey: People have fascinated me since my earliest memories – picture a preschooler, so shy she can’t tell you her name, sent to stand in the corner for asking a grownup personal questions. Although I never found those corners interesting, what I heard while standing in them was.

How people live and dress, what they believe and value, what they think about, what they find entertaining, who they love and hate, what motivates and demotivates them, and so much more intrigues me.

The idea that I could share that fascination with kids by writing biographies about important Oklahomans was my first surge of excitement. When I began the project, Te Ata was unknown to me. Getting to know her through my research sustained that initial excitement. Talk about a fascinating person!

 

VL: Curious from the beginning – perfect for a writer’s temperament. 

How did you get involved in the project? 

PH: Darleen Bailey Beard brought the idea to our critique group after a school librarian told her of the desperate need for biographies about Oklahomans written at 3rd and 4th grade level.

When Darleen asked if the group was interested in pursuing filling the need, I immediately wanted to be involved even though it would pull me away from other projects of great importance to me.

VL: Good thing you took advantage of this opportunity when it presented itself.

You’ve had many writing occupations, how did that prepare you for the world of children’s writing? 

PH:  My B.A. is in Human Resources with an emphasis in juvenile delinquency. My first profession was as a caseworker and counselor. Soon after I started, my boss assigned the projects requiring writing skills to me. I didn’t know then that many professions require strong basic writing skills, and it was years before I understood that many, many people find writing difficult, even the basics. I never had.

What I’ve learned along the way is that those basic writing skills transfer regardless of whether I am writing case notes, legislation, technical or people-management training, online communication or marketing, processes and procedures, articles for newspapers and magazines or even emails. All require concise wording, carefully structured so that the meaning is not misinterpreted. (Okay, legislation might be an exception!) Writing for children requires the same basic skills.

VL: So true! Wish more of an emphasis were placed on strong writing skills for all, but I digress.

How did you choose the subject for your project in this series?

PH: We wanted the series to be reflective of Oklahoma’s diversity in ethnicity, sex, and vocation so our design had specific criteria for the first set. One was that each of the five subjects represent a different part of the state. When we first came to the drawing board, two of us had chosen someone from central Oklahoma and we had no representation from southeastern Oklahoma. We also needed another female. So, I started researching and when I came across Te Ata’s story, I was immediately hooked.

VL: How was she a great Oklahoman?

PH: Te Ata faced incredible challenges as a Native American and as a woman throughout her life. She was a talented performing artist from the Chickasaw tribe and even performed on Broadway. What made her a great Oklahoman was that for more than seventy years, she used her acting talent to show people around the world the beauty and wisdom of Native American cultures through her one-person performance of Indian folklore.  Her determination, passion, and conviction helped change opinions about Native Americans held by both powerful and ordinary people. Oklahoma honored her work by inducting her into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and by designating her as the first Oklahoma Cultural Treasure. The following quote says so much about her.

“I wanted to be of some service to my people and I wouldn’t allow myself to do anything in the program that would harm my people. I wanted to do something different from all the scalpings and wars that people were seeing in movies, and show the creative and spiritual side. I selected with care the things I did.”

Te Ata died in 1995 shortly before she turned one hundred. Today, people from all over the world come to the Chickasaw Cultural Center to learn and experience the Chickasaw culture. If Te Ata were born today, practicing Chickasaw traditions would not be taboo. What a great Oklahoma role model for living a thoughtful, purposeful life.

VL: Wow! She was indeed a fascinating person. 

What have you learned from this publishing experience?

PH: This was a challenging project for me. I’ve always admired writers who work in early chapter books because not only are you restricted to a low word count, you are restricted to a specific readability level. I often found that the word that best conveyed what I was trying to say was too advanced for this age group.

As I came to know Te Ata through my research, it became ever more important that I write about her life with the same thoughtfulness, care and honesty that she exhibited. My biggest challenge was writing about Te Ata’s work and its impact in contextual terms third and fourth graders could grasp.

I could not simply say she was born in Indian Territory and move on, I had to discuss the impact Oklahoma becoming a state had on her life as a Chickasaw. I could not say she grew up to be a talented actress without discussing how she used her talent as the means to achieving her life-purpose of preserving the culture of Native Americans. Which meant discussing why the culture was being lost. In 1900 words.

VL: That seems quite the daunting task, and yet you did accomplish this. Wonderful!

What advice can you pass on to other writers?

PH: Hone the basic skills until they are automatic. Don’t be lazy or afraid to stretch and pick up advanced skills and knowledge. If you aspire to writing as a profession, be open to varied publishing opportunities. I had dreamed of writing biographies but I never imagined writing biographies for children as part of a series for the publishing arm of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. Dare not only to dream, but to say yes to opportunities that stretch you.

VL: What’s next for you? What are you currently working on?

PH: A good night’s sleep! Then back to finishing my final semester of classes in pursuit of a MFA in Creative Writing at UCO with the goal of being an artist-in-residence.

I’ve turned my focus back to the two young adult novels I was working on before this project came along. One is in final revision (hopefully) and I’m about two-thirds through the rough draft of the second. Last week, characters from a third began talking to me, so I’m jotting down notes about it.

VL: What a wonderfully busy time for you! I can’t wait to read all about Te Ata and I wish you the best of luck with this book!

Thank you so much for sharing your time with us and your wonderful stories. 

Tomorrow, we’ll talk with author Cheryl Schuermann about her book from this series.

 

 

 

 

 

I AM OKLAHOMA – Jane McKellips – Interviews with Authors Behind the Series

I am honored to be hosting five delightful and talented fellow OK SCBWI writers this week in anticipation of their fantastic new series for children, which debuts October 6th. It’s called I AM OKLAHOMA Children’s Series, and each book is a biography about an important Oklahoman who helped make this state great.

 

Today, I am interviewing the second author, Jane McKellips. She is the author of BILL WALLACE: Author of Adventure and Animal Stories, a biography about Oklahoma native and children’s book author, Bill Wallace. This is her first published book. Her second, DUST STORM, will be released in early 2016.

 

The Interview

 

Valerie Lawson: Welcome to the blog, Jane.

Jane McKellips: Thanks for asking to interview me about my book. It was a pleasure to meet Bill Wallace and to write this book about him. His children’s books are known all over this country and some have even been translated into Korean and Danish.

VL: You were involved with this project from its inception, what did you think when Darleen Bailey Beard brought this idea to you? Did you ever think it would become a reality?

JM: When Darleen first told me about the need for biographies of Oklahomans on a 3rd to 4th grade readability level, I thought it was a great idea for us to write them. I’d been a freelance writer for educational publishers for over 30 years and believed we could not only write text on that level, but make it interesting for that age group.

My only hesitation was in wondering what publisher would want to publish books only about Oklahomans. When we discovered Oklahoma Heritage Association Publishing, the publishing arm of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, was interested, it seemed like a match made in heaven!

VL: That was amazing! We need more stories like these in publishing!

How did you choose your book’s subject? JM: I chose the Chickasha, Oklahoma, children’s author Bill Wallace as the subject of my biography. I’d been a fan of his for a long time. I remember when his first published book, A Dog Called Kitty, was published. I enjoyed reading it, and knew many young students at that time who also loved the book. I was particularly interested in learning more about his writing career and believed students would, too.

VL: What was most surprising to you when you learned about Bill Wallace’s life?

JM: The most surprising thing I found out about Bill’s life was his reluctance to read when he was young. He said that he was a daydreamer in elementary school. His second-grade teacher thought he couldn’t read well, but an adult friend of the family brought him a book about reptiles. When Bill read the name of one of the reptiles in the book, the friend realized he could, indeed, read. He just needed to read books about things that interested him. Then, after he finished college, when he began teaching fourth graders, he realized there weren’t many books about adventures, a subject his fourth graders loved. He began writing adventure books so his students could enjoy reading the way he himself enjoyed it as a young student. And most of his adventure books also had animals in them.

VL: Yes! It’s all about engagement. Love that he did this for kids.

What made him a great Oklahoman?

JM: I believe it was his genuine love of his students and for students everywhere that made him a great Oklahoman. He saw a need for children’s adventure books and fulfilled that need. After he quit public school life, he not only continued to write children’s books, but also traveled all over the United States, speaking at schools and conferences. He made a huge impact on students when they heard him speak. For many, it was the first time they had heard of an adult who didn’t like to read as a young child. He was someone students could identify with and from him could learn how to better enjoy reading.

VL: This is your first published book, what’s next for you?

JM: My chapter book about Bill Wallace is my first published book, but I also have another book due to be released in early 2016. It’s an historical fiction picture book titled Dust Storm. Many of my ancestors lived in rural Oklahoma during the dust bowl era. One of them was a great aunt named Clara who, as a young child, had suffered from polio. It left her crippled and in need of braces and crutches for the rest of her life.

The main character in Dust Storm is Clara, an eleven-year-old girl who is loosely based on my great aunt. When most of the character’s family goes to a nearby town to shop, a ferocious dust storm strikes her farm. Clara works hard to save her little brother, the farm animals, and herself. I’ve always wanted to honor my great aunt and others in my family who were handicapped and had to struggle in life. I hope readers can feel my main character’s struggle and determination in Dust Storm. I so enjoyed writing Bill Wallace: Author of Adventure and Animal Stories and Dust Storm that I’ve already started researching facts about my next book about past Oklahoma life. I don’t want to give away the subject matter yet, but hopefully I’ll be ready to talk about it in 2016.

VL: Both books sounds fantastic, and I can’t wait to read them. Thank you so much for joining us, today. I wish you success with the new books!

JM: Thanks so much for interviewing me, Valerie! I enjoyed it.

 

Tomorrow, we’ll talk with another author from this series, Pati Hailey.

In Celebration of Banned Books Week – a TGNA post

 

Surprise! Two posts in one day.

It’s Travel Tuesday over at The Great Noveling Adventure and I’m sharing ways that you can celebrate Banned Books Week.

I had the pleasure of attending the most amazing event last night put on by our local Booksmart Tulsa group. I had the opportunity to hear the phenomenal Salman Rushdie speak.

Outstanding! Inspiring!

Talk about the ultimate way to kick off this week. I applaud the gang at Booksmart Tulsa for pulling off the greatest Banned Books Week event.

EVER.

I have no idea how they will ever top that.

For some ideas on how you can celebrate this most revered of bookish holidays, check out this excellent blog post.

Here’s a preview:

 

 

The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) – I looove that they have an office devoted to this! – promotes awareness to book challenges and at the same time celebrates freedom of speech during Banned Books Week, what an awesome thing!

And that week is now. YAY!

For this Travel Tuesday, I am supplying you with fantastic links so you can participate in this great event.

I know, I know…you’re very welcome.

To see the rest of the post (which will show all the fabulous links, as well as a great visual aid depicting last year’s most challenged books) click here.

I’d love to hear about how you’re celebrating and what you’re reading for Banned Books Week, too.

 

If you’d like some company as you write, please join us each week day morning on Twitter!

I host AM #wordsprints over on the TGNA group Twitter handle @Novel_Adventure from 6-8am CST. We sprint in 20 minute blocks with ten minute breaks in between each session. This season, I’m throwing in some fun challenges each day to keep things interesting.

Hope to see you there!

I AM OKLAHOMA – Darleen Bailey Beard – Interviews with Authors Behind the Series

I am honored to be hosting five delightful and talented fellow OK SCBWI writers this week in anticipation of their fantastic new series for children, which debuts October 6th. It’s called I AM OKLAHOMA Children’s Series, and each book is a biography about an important Oklahoman who helped make this state great.

 

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This series is the brainchild of Darleen Bailey Beard, author of six published books, including The Babbs Switch Story, Twister, The FlimFlam Man, Operation Clean Sweep, The Pumpkin Man from Piney Creek and Annie Glover is not a Tree Lover. I’ve interviewed Darleen previously on the blog. It was right after she let me hang out with her during a school visit a few years ago. She really knows how to connect with kids, and get them excited about reading. (Read the interview here.)

Let’s find out more about this brand new series and how it all came together.

The Interview

 

Valerie Lawson: What was the inspiration for this project? 

Darleen Bailey Beard: I got the idea for this series when I did an author visit many years ago at Houchin Elementary in Moore. The librarian there, Nancy Marshall, told me that I should write a series about famous Oklahomans on a 3rd-4th grade reading level. She said she couldn’t find enough books on that level for her students who study Oklahoma history.

She even showed me a coloring book that she was actually giving to her stu-dents (ripping out pages for them to use) which featured famous Oklahomans and each page had just a sentence or two describing each person. So . . . as I finished out my author visits that year and even the following year, I mentioned this to the many librarians I met and received an overwhelming “YES! WE NEED THIS SERIES!”

 

VL: That coloring book scene is rather pathetic, and makes me want to get involved, too – what a lack of available resources! Yet at the same time, how creative was that librarian?

 

What was your next step in bringing this project to life? 

DBB: I mentioned the series idea at Encyclo-Media and I realized that there was indeed, an overwhelming need, when 90% of the room raised their hands when I asked if there was a need for this series. So . . .  I met with Jane McKellips, an author friend of mine, and we discussed the possibility of writing such a series. We mentioned it to our other writing friends who said they’d like to get in on the series, too, and here we are.

 

VL: Once you took on this major project, how easy was it to sell this much-needed idea to a publisher?

DBB: We tried getting several publishers interested in our series but no one wanted to take it on until we met with the Oklahoma Heritage Association (OHA). The only problem they had, though, was that they needed a donor to come up with the money needed to publish the series.

It was a l-o-n-g five year wait, we almost gave up—but our patience paid off—and a donor came through and here we are with our first set of five books about famous Oklahomans. And what made it even more special for us, is that OHA is donating a FREE set of all five books to every public elementary school in the state of Oklahoma. Now how cool is that???

 

VL: That is fantastic! And this is the first set of five? Does that mean we can expect more books in this series in the future?

DBB: We “hope” there will be more in the series.  Since OHA is a non-profit organization, that means OHA has to get donations/grants from outside sources to fund their publishing endeavors. So we are hoping another donor will come up with the necessary money for the next set of five biographies, especially when he/she sees the success of the first five books. So for now, OHA is looking for donors. Any donors out there who want to support OK history and education? Let OHA know!

 

VL: Looks like a worthy cause to me. I wish you luck!

Tell us about your book in the series.

 

DBB: I was fortunate enough to write my book on Will Rogers. I say “fortunate enough” because I found so much information, so many fun and intriguing stories, and thousands and thousands of photos which made the writing of my book much easier. I went through his museums in Claremore, looked through album after album of photos of him and his family, talked with the museum directors and staff, and absolutely loved writing this book.

 .

Will Rogers, obviously, was before my time, so I didn’t really know a lot about him, but I soon learned how wonderful of a man and humanitarian he was. He’s known as “Oklahoma’s Favorite Son” and is still to this day one of the most quoted men who ever lived. He was the highest-paid actor of his time, the highest-paid radio host of his time, an international star at the Ziegfeld Follies, and one of the most-loved men in the world during the 1930s. But what impressed me even more than his talent, his fame, his humor, and his roping skills, was his simple, honest heart of gold. Really.

 

VL: Can you give us an example?

DBB: Here’s a story that’s in my book that all of us can learn from: When Will started first grade (there wasn’t kindergarten in his day) he was six years old. The closest school for him to attend was near his grown sister’s house, so he moved in with his sister and rode a little chestnut mare to school every day. Little Willie, as he was called, was only six years old, yet he was concerned with the welfare of his classmates. He noticed that they didn’t have much to eat in their lunch buckets, so he always shared his lunches. He also noticed that the girls in his school wore ripped and ragtag dresses.

This bothered him. So he wrote a letter to his mother, asking if she would buy a bolt of calico and send it to his teacher so that his teacher could sew new dresses for all twelve girls. And that’s exactly what happened. So here he was—only six years old!—already showing love and concern for others. This con- cern and love for others lasted his entire life and career. And that’s just one of the many stories in my book which show what kind of a special and loving man he truly was.  After I finished my biography, I was so inspired by this man that I wanted to be a better person. It’s my hope that readers of my book will also be inspired to be better people because of Will’s true love for others.

 

VL: Amazing story! I’m sure kids would love to learn more about him, too.

What are you currently working on?

DBB: Just the other day I got an agent! Yea!  Marietta Zacker whom I met through one of our SCBWI conferences. She is going to represent me and said that she wants to mail my book out to several editors at once and we’ll see what happens.

My book is called, “Wiley, Muley, & Me” and it takes place during the Great Depression in 1931, is set in southeast Oklahoma in a lumber camp, and is about a girl who moves to a new lumber camp and finds a starving mule in the woods. At the same time, a very famous flight (a real historical flight) was taking place—the flight of Wiley Post and Harold Gatty who were hoping to break the world record for the fastest flight around the world. As the book moves along, the adventure to save the mule and the adventure to fly around the world become entwined. It’s about 220 pages and I’m crossing my fingers it will sell this year…

So for your readers out there who haven’t sold a book in a while don’t give up hope. Keep trying and your day will come. And for those readers out there who haven’t sold a book yet, you will. But you’ve got to keep writing and keep revising (revision is the only way to sell a book!) and keep believing in yourself. You can do it!

 

VL: Yes, perseverance is the key! Congratulations, Darleen! Well done! Thanks so much for sharing your time with us, today.

And congratulations to all the authors contributing to the series. Tomorrow we talk with Jane McKellips. 

Learn more about Darleen Bailey Beard here.

Follow her on Facebook here.

 

 

 

September #writemotivation Goal Check

August was insane on the personal front, so I skipped sharing goals. This month, things cranked up from lazy summer, everyone’s-on-vacation speed to back-to-work warp speed so fast, I’ve just held on to the emergency brake in case the wheels fall off altogether. Finally caught up (for the most part) I’ve had a (very brief) moment to reflect on my goal progress.

Frankly, I’m amazed I even made goals for this month in the first place. Woohoo! Let’s celebrate that!

Here are my goals for September:

1. Make significant progress on current MS project. Progress made! Even in the midst of all the chaos and change, I’m making time every week day to work on this project. It helps that I’m getting up before the sun to host the AM #wordsprints on Twitter for TGNA. (Who needs sleep?)

2. Plan out September blog posts. Done! And actually working into October. Next week starts a whole series of posts that I’m really excited about. Can’t wait to share them with you.  

3. Prep for all upcoming interviews. In progress. And more than halfway done. Most remaining are for next month. I have so many interviews for the blogs coming up! I know you’re going to love them. 

4. Prep for all upcoming Twitter chats. Almost done! We have one final Twitter chat this month, and I only have a few tweaks to make. These are so much fun; they don’t really feel like work.  (And yet, there’s a lot of prep that goes into them.)

How’s your month coming along? Feel free to vent, celebrate, etc. No judgment zone here.

As always, if you missed the sign up this month (or aren’t quite ready to declare your goals publicly), you can still follow along with the hashtag #writemotivation on Twitter any time you need some encouragement. They are a fab group of supportive people.

Have a productive week/month!

Interview with Ginny Sain – Actor, Writer, Celebrator of Boundless Imagination

We’ve been getting to know some of the faculty for our upcoming 2015 OK SCBWI “Fan the Spark” Fall Retreat through a series of Twitter Chats and now, right here on this blog.

Today, Ginny Sain stops by for an interview. As a faculty member of the Novel Track for the Fall Retreat, Ginny will share drama techniques to help writers with character development. Below, she’ll enlighten us on how acting and writing are more alike than one might think.

About Ginny

Ginny graduated summa cum laude from the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Arkansas, in 1995 with a degree in theatre.  She has worked as an artist in residence teaching theatre arts workshops in Arkansas and Oklahoma schools as well as teaching and directing all classes, workshops, and productions for over 18 years with the very successful Stages Theatre for Youth program, an intensive actor training program for serious and dedicated young theatre artists in grades K-12, which she founded at the University of the Ozarks, where she also worked with college theatre students.

With more than 20 years of experience as a working director, choreographer, playwright, theatrical designer, performer, and theatre arts teacher, Ginny is thrilled to be back in Oklahoma as one of the founders of HeARTsong Creative Center, a creative and performing arts organization dedicated to providing professional quality arts programs and events that will encourage people of all ages to explore the depths of their souls, stretch the limits of their possibilities, celebrate the boundlessness of their own imaginations, and recognize the value of hard work paired with creativity.

 

The Interview

Valerie Lawson: You grew up in a very literary household, and yet you chose the theatre. What about that medium called to you?

Ginny Sain: Oscar Wilde said, “I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”

I’ve always believe that. I’ve always been drawn to the immediacy and intimacy of communication that you get in the theatre – both with your fellow artistic collaborators, and especially with the audience.

VL: I love that – thinking of your audience as part of the art.

In the realm of theatre arts, you have been a teacher, director, choreographer, actor, playwright, etc., what aspect of the field do you enjoy the most?

GS: I love to act, but what I am most passionate about is teaching and directing young people who are serious about developing as theatre artists. I spent 20 years working with one amazing group of kids, taking many of them literally from kindergarten through high school graduation, and watching them grow and develop as artists, and as people from year to year.

The kind of theatre we were able to do together because of that, and the kind of community they built with each other – that was such a huge thing to be a part of, for them and for me. So many of them are out there doing amazing things now. No matter what else I do with my life I will always consider those students to be the most special thing I have ever been a part of, my greatest contribution to the world.

VL: That kind of continuity is rare, I would imagine. So fantastic!

How would you say that acting and writing are related? What can a writer learn from the theatre arts?

GS: For writers and actors, it’s all about developing real, honest, believable characters and bringing them to life for an audience. Both art forms are about creating something so real that, just for a little bit, people forget that those characters don’t exist.

In the theatre, we do a lot of character analysis work that I think would be very beneficial to writers. We learn to think about the whole life of the character, not just the aspects that figure directly into the story. We build a whole world and we spend time living there. For an actor, the key is asking questions and then, instead of deciding on an answer ourselves, letting the character answer those questions for us. And I think actors tend to ask those questions in a slightly different way than writers do. It’s a really interesting process that actors have.

VL: Yes! Let the character answer the questions. Wonderful.

For the Oklahoma SCBWI Fall Retreat this October, you are co-hosting the Novel Track with your mother, author Anna Myers, how will you be contributing to the workshop?

GS: I’ll be talking specifically about the character developement process we use in the theatre, and how writers can adapt that for their own work. I’m really excited about that. Hopefully, it will cause people to view their characters from a slightly different perspective.

VL: I’m so curious about this different perspective; I can’t wait to discover this new way of looking at my characters.

Tell us a little about your teen years growing up. What was the most embarrassing thing you experienced? What was the most memorable adventure you had with your friends?

GS: Well, you know my mother is going to read this, so……my friends and I spent most of our time just sitting around reading poetry and behaving ourselves.  Lol.  Honestly, my friends were theatre kids and show choir kids. And I grew up in a very small town. Our idea of adventure was, I’m sure by most standards, pretty tame. We were in rehearsal for one thing or another a lot of the time, and those were the best times I remember.

VL: Ha! Well, it was worth a shot. Actually, my daughter might read this, so…yes! That’s all good theatre kids should do – rehearse and read poetry.

What has been your favorite book to read/book you’ve been most excited about over the past year?

GS: I’ve been reading a lot of young adult books this last year.  I really enjoyed John Green’s “Looking for Alaska.” Like I said earlier, I’ve spent almost half my life working with teenagers, and I love them. And the voices in that particular book rang as so authentic to me.

VL: I have heard that you yourself are working on writing a novel, tell us about your experience. What have you learned about writing? About yourself as an artist?

GS: I am working on a book – a young adult novel set in the world of the theatre. Since that’s the world I know best, that seemed like a good place to start. I guess the main thing I’ve learned is that I really enjoy writing. I’ve been told my whole life that I had some ability as a writer, but I never really thought it was something that I enjoyed particularly. Theatre is such a collaborative art form. Writing always seemed to me to be such a solitary process, and that just never really appealed to me. But, I’m beginning to understand that isn’t really true.

VL: Ha! Yes, it may take one writer to draft a novel, but it takes a village to raise it.

You and your sister started your own creative arts center a few years ago, what can you tell us about that project

GS: I’ve always been a director and teacher, and my sister is a licensed teacher. She’s taught in schools in Oklahoma, Texas, and in Malta. So, when I was looking for a change, it just seemed kind of natural that we should combine those things into one joint creative venture. We offer theatre and other creative classes for students of all ages. Most of our work is done in after-school programs at local schools. It’s something we both enjoy and it gives us a lot of flexibility in the projects we work on, which is something that was important to both of us, since we are also raising children and pursuing other interests. It’s been a hard process getting it off the ground, but we’re finally making some good progress.

VL: You have an excellent program. I know my daughter enjoyed taking acting lessons from you. She learned more about her personal strengths and weaknesses as an actor – and how to improve – from you than her own drama teacher. I wish you well in that venture!

Thank you so much for sharing your time with us, Ginny. I look forward to your presentation at the retreat next month!

There are still a few spots available for our Fall Retreat. If you would like to hear Ginny speak, along with our other faculty members, sign up, today! This is an event you won’t want to miss!

Visit the scbwiok.org website for more details and to register online.

And don’t miss the next Twitter Chat on September 22nd, from 7-8pm CST, when we chat with picture book author Janee Trasler. Use the hashtag #okscbwichat. Hope to see you there!

Welcome Back to the Adventure – a TGNA post

 

It’s Media Monday over at The Great Noveling Adventure and we are returning from our summer vacation. I’m discussing what those that are new to our blog can expect to find each day, along with a little motivational surprise at the end.

Here’s a preview:

Welcome back, everyone!

I hope you’re ready for a new season of great writing adventures. We at TGNA are ready, and we hope you’ll join us every week day for a different themed post as we travel along together.

For those who are new to the blog, here’s what to expect:

Media Mondays: These posts will share media gifts with a literary theme for our readers – downloads, printables, playlists, and more.

Travel Tuesdays: These posts will focus on guest posts, interviews, informative link roundups, and sometimes even posts that are actually about travel.

Writing Wednesdays: Excellent craft posts about writing, from beginnings to revisions, and for all levels of ability. You won’t want to miss them.

Things I’ve Read Thursdays: Book reviews! Posts where we get to talk about the thing we love most – books!

List of Five Fridays: Our most intriguing and surprising posts come from our favorite things. A list of five favorites can be anything that inspire us.

To see the rest of the post, click here.

With the return of TGNA blog posts, comes the return of weekday morning wordsprints on Twitter.

If you’d like some company as you write, please join us! I host AM #wordsprints over on the TGNA group Twitter handle @Novel_Adventure weekdays from 6-8am CST. We sprint in 20 minute blocks with ten minute breaks in between each session. This season, I’m throwing in some fun challenges each day to keep things interesting.

Hope to see you there!

Book Blitz – LEGENDS by Doug Solter

I’m happy to be the host for today’s stop on the LEGENDS Book Blitz tour for my friend and #okscbwichat co-host, Doug Solter. This is the third book in this exciting series, and I for one can’t wait to read it.

(Stay tuned for a huge giveaway package!)

 

Let’s learn a little bit more about the author:

Growing up in Oklahoma, Doug Solter began writing screenplays in 1998 and became a 2001 semi-finalist in the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting. He made the switch to writing young adult novels in 2008. His first novel, the Formula One racing romance SKID, was honored as a young adult semi-finalist in the 2013 Best Kindle Book Awards. His paranormal werewolf romance MY GIRLFRIEND BITES was honored in the same category in 2014. Doug is also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. He respects cats, loves the mountains, and one time walked the streets of Barcelona with a smile on his face.

Learn more about Doug Solter here.

Follow Doug on Twitter here.

Follow Doug on Facebook here.

 Visit Doug's Goodreads Author Page here.

Let’s get some details about the new book:

 

LEGENDS (Skid#3) by Doug Solter

Release Date: September 2, 2015

Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

Order the eBook on Kindle: 

Plot Summary:

Looking for an exciting young adult read about a kick-butt girl that doesn’t revolve around high school?

Meet Samantha. She drove the car that killed her dad. Now racked with guilt, the 18-year-old-girl racer dedicates her life to becoming what her dad always planned her to be…a racing champion. Now demoted to number three driver, Samantha feels alienated from her friends on the crew and Manny. And the worst part of it is…she knows it was all her fault.

Determined to make amends and save her Formula One career, Samantha re-commits herself to winning the championship. But how? How can she convince her boss to give back her car? How can she convince the crew that she’s changed? And how can she win eight consecutive races against the best drivers in the world? That’s what it will take for her to have a shot at the world championship.

Manny doesn’t like to create waves. His uncle owns the racing team, but the crew teases the boy like one of their own. But that’s okay. Manny dreams of designing his own race cars and he thought his girlfriend Samantha would race them. But she tossed him to the side when the self-absorbed racing star took over from the small-town girl from Oklahoma that he fell in love with.

Samantha needs an edge. She needs that revolutionary new transmission Manny designed that made her car so nimble and fast. But Manny hates her. She neglected him so bad that he broke up with her. Why would the boy help her? Especially when Manny’s ex-girlfriend is making her move to take Samantha’s place.

The world now thinks Samantha Sutton is a joke. Solid proof that girls don’t belong in a race car.

She doesn’t have a choice. Samantha must prove the world wrong.

I love stories about girls that kick butt. And if you’ve read my bio, you know I’m a fan of speeding, errrr, driving.

 

Let’s read an excerpt:

Chapter 1

 

Samantha

Munich, Germany

The human shell that bears my name wears jeans, a little makeup, and a St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap. She feels hollow. Like her guts have been scooped out. The guts that made her take risks. The jittery stomach that made her puke before a race. The pulsing heart that made her fall in love. The delicate tissues that made her human. Made her real.

It’s all been sucked out of her.

Shutting my eyes, I listen to the sounds around me in the first-class departure lounge. A man speaks to his wife in German. He’s flying to Toronto on business and must be on the phone since he’s telling her when his plane is scheduled to leave. A woman in a strong Jersey accent scolds her child for making a fuss over her drink. Yeah, she’ll be sitting right next to us on our flight, I bet.

I tune out the voices and stretch on this comfy leather couch I found.

The silk scarf covering my face lifts as my sister leans in to destroy my moment of nirvana.

“Are you gonna be moody on the plane too?” Paige asks.

“Yes.” I grab the scarf and place it back over my face.

Paige lifts the scarf again. “Do you want a cookie? The walnut chocolate-chips are wicked.”

“No.” I take it from her again. I don’t wanna talk. Eat. Or experience life. I want life to leave me alone for a while. Or better yet, forget that Samantha Sutton ever existed.

Doesn’t Paige get the message? Do I have to spell everything—

Paige lifts the scarf. “Please stop feeling sorry for yourself. You’ll get through this. Everything will be mucho better. You’ll see.”

A spark of rage throws me off the couch and into my sister’s face. “Shut up. You don’t know anything. My future is gone. I screwed up my entire life and I don’t need my baby sister acting like she knows what’s best for me because you don’t know crap. You’re useless to me right now. Do you understand? Useless. Go bother someone else with your condescending wisdom.”

Paige wants to cry, but she somehow chokes off the tears. She stands and grabs her purse before shuffling out of the lounge.

Good. Now I’ll have some freaking peace.

I lie down on the leather couch. Voices murmur around me. Fingers point. That loud argument with Paige draws the room’s attention to that eighteen-year-old girl on the couch. That girl who looks oddly familiar because she took off her stylish Italian scarf and her large designer sunglasses that disguised her identity.

Crap.

Please leave me alone. I don’t want to be her. I want to be a nameless traveler. A plain, uninteresting girl you would pass in the hallway without a second peek.

I throw on my sunglasses, hoping it will make me invisible again.

Wrong.

Their hushed voices start it off.

“Is that the girl who…?”

“Samantha Sutton. Yes, that’s her!”

“How could she do that to her team?”

“What a spoiled brat. Did you hear what she did?”

“What an embarrassment to the sport.”

“She’s a teen girl. What do you expect?”

The first-class lounge becomes my court room. All the passengers self-appointed judges. I can’t look at them. But I can’t stare at the ceiling for another hour. Maybe if I sit here and be quiet, they’ll leave me alone.

The voices go on and on as if I can’t hear all the awful things they’re saying about me.

People take pictures. I ignore them and play a game on my phone.

They stand up and approach me.

I don’t look up or acknowledge them.

Those people snap pictures anyway. Like I’m this inanimate object. Not a person with feelings. Or a girl who craves her privacy.

A few ask questions. Normally I would answer and be that professional sports celebrity I’ve been in the past. But I’m too fragile now. If I talk about what’s happened this week, dig up all those horrible moments again, I’ll totally lose it. So I walk out of the first-class lounge…

…and into a sea of media. They circle me like a pack of wolves and I’m trapped. They just won’t let the story die. Guess my location isn’t a secret now. Microphones and cameras aim for my head. It’s the quickest way to take me out. Their questions fly like spears…

“What’s the real reason you skipped the German Grand Prix? Was it to get back at the team for not supporting you?”

“Will Porsche sack you for embarrassing them?”

“Did Ralf Wolert’s nephew break up with you because he found out you were pregnant?”

“Was the pressure too much for you? Are you seeking professional counseling?”

“Is this the end of your career in Europe? Will you try to race in America?”

I can’t answer them. The mountain of crap that I’ve created is suffocating and I have no energy left to fight it.

My cheeks become moist.

Crap. I can’t start bawling. Not here. Not in front of the cameras.

They want to break you. Reduce you to nothing. Don’t let them do it.

The cameras move in to capture my face. The tears flow and I can’t stop. These reporters will get what they want. A pathetic little girl crying over the boy she loves.

I wedge myself in between two reporters and push through them. I dash across the terminal in this frantic state. Searching for an escape. Searching for anything that will keep them away.

And they’re chasing me. Seriously. Chasing me across the freaking airport.

I spot a women’s restroom and dash inside.

Finding an empty stall, I slam the door shut and sit on the cold toilet seat. I relax for a second and rest my head against the wall. Then it rolls out like a tidal wave. I sob and the tears drip off my jaw. I drift forward. My wet cheek slides against the wall. The friction it makes is the only thing preventing me from collapsing on to the bathroom tiles.

There’s a commotion as the restroom door opens. Things being moved around. It must be the mob. They won’t give up. They’re stuffing themselves into this bathroom. Excited that I’ve trapped myself inside this stall. They don’t care about decency. Or empathizing with the pain of a human being. All they care about is their story. Catching pictures of me in this helpless position would be the perfect image for their news feeds.

The stall door opens.

It’s Paige.

She kneels down and wraps her arms around this hollow and broken girl who’s totally lost it. Paige rocks me back and forth like a child. But it does the job. It helps me find my voice.

“I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to say,” I blubber through the tears. “I’m losing my mind.”

“Don’t worry,” Paige says in this upbeat tone that I hated a few minutes ago…but I so need to hear now. “I blocked the door. No one’s coming in here.”

“But they’re still out there. Waiting to pounce. I can’t—I can’t get on a plane now.” I sniff and my nose is clogged from crying. “Look at me. I’m a disaster. And everyone’s gonna stare at me on the plane for what…? Nine hours?”

“We’ll charter a private jet home, okay? Megan will have a cow, but this is an emergency and we’re spending the money.”

I manage a nod.

Paige dives into her purse for a moist towelette and cleans my face. I sneeze and snot comes out my nose. Paige gives me a tissue and I blow into it. Paige gets rid of the tissues and my ball cap. She brushes my hair to make me look like a girl again.

I breathe in and relax.

Paige searches her purse and takes out a big cookie. “Here, I saved you one.”

I take the cookie and examine its rocky surface of walnuts and serious chunks of chocolate. My mouth waters. “Are they really wicked?”

“Dude! You won’t regret it. Now do the Cookie Monster on that bad boy while I call NetJets.”

Nice! I’m ready to find out what happens next. And strangely, I’m hungry for a chocolate chip cookie.

Doug has self-published all three of these books and has done a tremendous job. So much hard work goes into this process when you do it right. Doug will actually be speaking about the ups and downs of self-publsihing at our local SCBWI schmooze in October as part of a panel on self-publishing. If you are interested, check our OK SCBWI website for more details.

And now that you are all excited about Doug’s new book…

THE GIVEAWAY!

And man, is it ever a big one!

• One signed paperback copy of LEGENDS.
• One paperback copy of the first two books in the series (SKID and RIVALS)
• One T-shirt and one hat from the main character’s fictional racing team
• And one book cover jigsaw puzzle!

 

ENTER HERE!!!  ➤➤➤ LEGENDS Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck to all who enter!

FYI,  I just picked up the first book in the series, SKID,  at our spring conference so I could have an autographed copy, but if you are also new to the series, you can get it FREE for your Kindle on Amazon. And the second book, RIVALS is only .99 this month.

ORDER HERE!!!  ➤➤➤

Thanks for allowing me to host this fantastic event. I wish you well on the rest of your book tour, Doug!