I'm Building a Bridge

Not literally, just metaphorically, today and every single day since I've become a mother of two!

Today I am a guest at Adriel's site "The Mommyhood Memos!"

I don't recall how I stumbled upon Adriel's blog; however, I do remember that when I did I knew in an instant I had found a gem of a site. Adriel's blog speaks of the pure beautiful truth of being a mother in a literary way, and I love it!

It's an honor to be on her blog today discussing how I've been building a bridge, 

so please pop over to The Mommyhood Memos!

Interview with Writer-Mama Judy Miller

There are five people I've met in my life who radiate something extra-ordinary, something truly remarkable about the human spirit: a boy named Esteban in Costa Rica, a young woman named Arwa in Virginia, a boy named Mikal in Japan, a girl named Katelyn in Memphis, and my husband, Dave.

From the second I met each of these people I knew, I sensed it, and I wasn't alone. Others commented on the same unusual special feeling they got when they were around these individuals.

Have you ever crossed paths with someone who seemed to be glowing with a special energy?

Today I am fortunate to have on my blog a sixth person who gives me such a feeling, even though I have never met her and given her a hug. Some day I hope too, but I already know she is like the people I mentioned above. She is phenomenal and since I began blogging and discovered her blog, I continually find peace and inspiration every single time I read her blog and her writing. There is something truly special about this woman.

So thank you Judy Miller for being so extraordinary and for showing us all what it means to be a true guiding light in this world that sometimes seems to weigh us all down!

Judy creates ripples where ever she goes, and trust me, she goes to a lot of places! I hope you'll enjoy this interview with Judy and her bio below. Please stop over to her blog if you haven't already become a reader of The International Mom's Blog!

Here is just a small sample of Judy's voice:

 Between Us

Every time I look at the moon and stars, in the deep quiet of the night, I send prayers and thoughts your way, believing you can feel my intentions and that they will find you healthy and happy. At peace.

She is our blessing. She is my heart and your soul. Born of you, adopted by me. Our daughter.

And to top off today's wonderful interview with Judy, every person who leaves a comment will be entered into the pool to win a free copy of Judy's book, What to Expect From Your Adopted Tween! By Sunday evening I will choose one person who leaves a comment at random using a random number generator, and he or she will receive a free copy of Judy's book. Just be sure to check back to see if you've won so I can get your email address!

The Passion

In the past two years you have had several major accomplishments: you've published an e-book (What To Expect From Your Adopted Tween), you are a presenter at conferences and symposiums, you're a column writer for Grown in My Heart, you're TheAdoption Pro for Parenting Squad's ProSquad, you've published essays and articles, you've continued your blog (The International Mom's Blog), and you've been raising four children! Whew! Judy, you are an inspiration to us all! What is the driving force behind all of these accomplishments? Years ago did you see yourself becoming a key voice in the world of parenting and adoption?

Judy: The driving force? College tuition. Actually, that’s not quite all of it; my kiddos inspire me to stretch myself as a woman and human being. I never imagined that my experiences with adoption (international and transracial) and parenting kids who were adopted would impact others. What I came to discover was that expanding our family through adoption required we become advocates—for our family, other families like ours, and for adoption…or be mowed over by the misinformation out there, i.e. ‘second best,” “damaged goods,” etc. I am passionate about my children and parenting them well, so naturally I discovered my voice, honing it through writing and it grew from there—into teaching, speaking at conferences, and into what I hope is the first of many e-guides. My parenting journey is one I love to share with others.

The Publication

WOW! Women On Writing recently published Issue 46, The E-Publishing Revolution, where they discuss the issues, challenges, and successes of digital publication. As you created your e-book, What To Expect From Your Adopted Tween, where did you go to find guidance for publishing your book digitally? What has been the biggest success and the biggest challenge from publishing your book online?

Judy: To learn how to create and micro-publish I took an amazing class from writing teacher and platform guru, Christina Katz: Micro-Publishing For Mom Writers. The biggest success that resulted from publishing my guide, What To Expect From Your Adopted Tween, was complete control over the final product, marketing and sales. The biggest challenge I experienced was learning the formatting and marketing the guide ongoing to my niche audience—adoptive parents.

The Personal

My readers range from mothers of adopted and biological children to writers and artists. As both a mother and a writer, how do you manage it all? You give so much of yourself to your family and the adoption community. What do you do to give yourself some 'me' time as well?

Judy: I try to balance and maintain spiritual, physical, and emotional health (not too easy some days…). As I tell the many parents I work with, “me” and “us” (couple) time is essential. Having happy, loving, connected parents is one of the greatest greats parents can give their child. Parenting four kids, although infinitely rewarding, can be exhausting. To replenish I try to find some quiet time each day, just for me. Quiet time is often one to two hours before my kids get up for the day or after they’ve gone to bed. If that doesn’t pan out, I try to get a walk in or go for a bike ride while they’re at school. I’m a big believer in the kitchen timer, to help me break larger projects into chunks, multi-tasking—doing laundry while I write, for example. After twenty years of marriage I still date my husband. Yep.

The People

Every day I come across an article or a story that spins a different angle on adoption: the let-down from an adoption that does not work out, a parent who regrets adopting a child, a non-adopter who sees adoption as a failed system, an outsider who can't understand how a multi-racial, mult-ethnic family can function, an adopted child who struggles with the question if he should find his biological parents. And then I read your blog and blogs of other parents who have adopted and I am uplifted and inspired! I am a mother of two, soon to be three, daughters, all of whom I've given birth to. My husband and I would both love to adopt a child one day, but I think we might find our family of five to be the right number for us. But I want to still offer myself to the adoption community. When I read your blog and the articles or stories that spin different angles on adoption, I feel a strong desire to help. There are so many views and opinions about adoption, and because I have no experience in it I feel like I shouldn't step in and help. But I want to. What advice can you give to individuals like me, who believe so strongly in adoption but don't have any experience with it, but want to help some way?

Judy: I’m not sure what you mean by “help,” but what I would share is that grace and compassion are appreciated. Offer support and withhold judgment. Be thoughtful with your questions and comments to parents who have adopted and children who have been adopted. Teach your children that people adopt because they wanted to be parents and love their children as much as you love the children you gave birth to. Also share that families come in different “packages.” Families created through or added to via adoption are “real.” They view themselves as similar to other families and want to be accepted as such. I do offer a lot of perspective and offer questions for reflection on my website, http://JudyMMiller.com, where I feel people gain a great deal of insight about adoption and parenting children who have been adopted.

Thank you Judy for giving us such an in-depth, honest insight into your life and the journey you've been on! This interview is sure to touch many hearts today!

Please be sure to leave a comment on today's post for a chance to win a free copy of Judy's book!

Judy M. Miller is an adoptive parent and adoption advocate living in the Midwest with her husband and four children. She coordinates and teaches parent preparation education to parents who are in the adoption process: parenting and adoption, adopted children, preparation and adjustment, and transracial parenting, as well as Parenting Your Adopted Child: Tweens, Teens & Beyond. Judy also works as a support specialist, assisting parents and their children with information and techniques to equip and empower them during challenging times. 

Judy presented on "Finding Our Stories Online" at Stories of the Heart in Austin, TX and has appeared on MomTV’s Adoption Angles and TogiNet’s Adoption ~ Journey to Motherhood.  Judy spoke at the Parenting Summit in March 2011. She will present at the Symposium 2011 Opening Adoption: Realities, Possibilities, and Challenges in Richmond, VA and the Crossroads of America Adoption Conference in Indianapolis, IN this September.  

Judy is the Adoption Pro for Parenting Squad’s ProSquad and a columnist for the adoption network, Grown in My Heart. Her essays and articles appear in adoption and parenting magazines and her stories are featured in A Cup of Comfort for Adoptive Families (Adams Media), Pieces of Me: Who Do I Want to Be? (EMK Press), Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Mom (Chicken Soup for the Soul), Sensational Journeys (Future Horizons), and Women Writing on Family (The Key Publishing House Inc., January 2012). She is the author of What to Expect From Your Adopted Tween.

I'm a Guest Today at Abby Off the Record

Writer Abigail Green from Abby Off the Record has invited me over to her blog this week!

Today and Wednesday I'll be sharing my thoughts about managing the homefront and my writing career,

while my husband is deployed half-way around the world!

So please step over to Abby Off the Record today and Wednesday!

Be sure to also check out this fantastic class taught by Abby:

"Personal Essays That Get Published"

I'm Featured on BlogHer!

I'm honored to be on BlogHer today!

They are featuring my post "Not For Sale," so please click here to go to BlogHer!

I wrote this post to express my fear, to help stay in control of my fear, and to bring awareness to the issue of human trafficking.

I hope today's discussion on BlogHer about "Not For Sale" will help bring us one step closer to keeping all of our children safe.

Small Tokens

Today is a special day!

 

I'm at Kiddothings today discussing 'Small Tokens,'

so please hop on over to Malaysia with me!

I've been so fortunate to discover new blogs through Stasha's Monday Listicles,
and Kiddothings is now one of the blogs I start my mornings off by reading!
If you haven't already been to Kiddothings,
prepare to stay for awhile as Germaine's posts will inspire both your mind and heart!

The Momoir Project

Ladies,  you're in for a treat! Today we get to sit down and have a cup of coffee with Cori Howard, founder of The Momoir Project. Just wait and see what she what kind of waves she's been making! 

Welcome Cori Howard! I am thrilled to have you on my blog today.

 Cori, the stories told by these authors in Between Interruptions held me spellbound and showed me the extraordinary depths of motherhood. How did the experience of putting this collection of work together impact you as a mother and a writer?

The impact was huge and it's ongoing. The initial impact was that I received hundreds of emails from mothers who wanted to share their stories and didn't know how. That was the beginning of The Momoir Project which has become, three years later, an online writing centre for moms who want to write. Teaching and running The Momoir Project wasn't something I had ever envisioned before the book, so it was a gift because it turns out teaching writing to moms is the best job ever. The other impact the book had was emotional - the positive feedback I got really helped me believe in the power of storytelling and its ability to connect mothers over time and space. I knew that stories could do that but the book really drove it home. 

  

I love the idea behind The Momoir Project that you have created. What role has The Momoir Project had in connecting writers and mothers with each other? What might a writer expect to get from The Momoir Project workbook that is available on your website?

The connections happen on many levels. Let's start with the geographical connections. Because I teach online, women from all over the world get to read and share each other's life stories. In one recent session, I had a woman from Germany, a woman from Singapore, a woman from Australia and a bunch of women from across Canada and the US. It was amazing. Of course, English is often their first language but I've also had many brave students writing in English when it's their second language. Learning about the differences in our lives because of where we live is an incredible experience. The other connections are emotional. Sharing our deepest fears and secrets with each other inevitably leads to a deep intimacy and strong sense of connection with each other. Often, the women in my online classes stay connected (online) over time and develop deep, nurturing friendships and writing groups. It's beautiful to watch. 

 

The Momoir Project workbook is really an alternative to the classes for women who don't have the time or money to commit to the class. The workbook provides the same lessons, without the group dynamic, and without the experience of sharing your stories with others. What it does do is get you started writing about your journey as a mom, offering the tools and skills so you know where to start. 

 

 Literature on motherhood is quickly gaining ground and the field is expanding. Women are reading more honest accounts of motherhood than ever before. How do you help writers get to the truths about being a mother in their writing?

Well, the answer to this would be different for different genres of writing. I've noticed motherhood creeping into many, many novels and it's delightful. But in memoir writing, the way to dig deeper and unravel the layers of emotion for the reader is to work with a really good editor or with a group of writers that can help you ask questions that you might not have seen where there. I've had that experience in my own work as a memoir writer and it's always very terrifying and in the end, very satisfying. They are the hard questions - the ones you were hoping to avoid - and asking them of yourself is not an easy process. But it does lead you to discover things about yourself and your life you may not have known. There are other strategies for uncovering the truth in writing but I'll leave it at that, for now. 

 

You've begun offering an online class for moms who wish to writer their stories. I have met so many mothers who have a profound wish to write their story, but their biggest hurdle is confidence if they aren't writers. What advice do you have for these mothers to encourage them to begin writing their stories?

 

Yes, confidence is absolutely the biggest hurdle and it's because culturally, we don't value mothers and the work they do. So we often embody that, but once we recognize the source of our lack of confidence, it's much easier to start to build it up again. And really, what I find helps is showing women - through the writing of other published moms - that the seemingly mundane details of our day to day lives matter. That they are the stuff of compelling stories. Because buried under those details are stories of transformation and struggle - with our identities, our ambition, our marriages, our friendships, our spirituality. The stuff of life. And once they recognize that, and start to write their own stories and share them with others, the confidence returns.

Thank you Cori for all of this fantastic knowledge and experience you've shared with us today! This has given us a lot to think about. I am very grateful that you are helping so many women write and share their stories, because it helps all of us as mothers!

Multicultural Mothering

Last week I posted a list and review of some fantastic mother literature books. And today we traveling half way around the world to Japan to meet with Suzanne Kamata, editor of Call Me Okaasan from the Mother Lit List! Suzanne has been a very positive role model for me, and her encouragement has helped me to keep going and have hope.

I am so fortunate to have discovered Call Me Okaasan soon after its publication in 2009, because as a mom of a newborn as well as a toddler my world quickly became overwhelming. Motherhood took on a new meaning for me with two children under the age of two. I found this book to be like a bridge for me in that journey of learning how to be a mom to more than one child.

This book quickly expanded my impression of being a mother, because it connected me with mothers across the globe. It is extraordinary in its depth and diversity. And I am so honored to have Suzanne Kamata, the editor of Call Me Okaasan, here on my blog today!

1. Thank you Suzanne for being here today. Your anthology is an extraordinary feat as it connects mothers around the globe. How did reaching out to these writers and mothers across the world influence you as a mother and a writer?
 

Thank you, Kim. As I mentioned in the introduction, it took a little bit of effort to track down stories on mothering across cultures. But once I found some of these mother/writers, I realized that there were many others puzzling over the same issues of culture and language. I became even more convinced that there is a need for writing on these topics, and that I should continue writing about mothering in a multicultural family.

2. What role might multicultural parenting play as our communities and societies become connected on a more international level?

I like to think that multicultural families will someday form a bridge between monocultural familes. It seems as if there are still a lot of parents who don't understand the value of having their child learn a second language, or of understanding other cultures. Many Americans still seem suspicious of President Obama's multicultural background. I think it's good to have a connection to one's culture and community, but not at the expense of compassion for one's fellow world citizens.

3. As a well-published author, how have your books and being an author influenced your experiences of living in another country?

As an expatriate in Japan, I often fumble through my daily life. Even after twenty plus years of living in Japan, my Japanese isn't perfect, and I continue to make cultural blunders. Having had some success in writing gives me confidence that I might not otherwise have. It also allows me to feel connnected with the wider world, outside of the conservative farming commuity where I live. I think I might feel claustrophobic if I wasn't able to reach out via writing.

Also, since I write in English, I have a certain sense of freedom and privacy. If I write something personal, it may be read by many people on the other side of the world, but it won't change my children's classmates' parents' perceptions of me. My neighbors won't be offended.  

4. When it comes to multicultural parenting, what challenges do you see most parents facing across the globe?

Ignorance and prejudice among monocultural parents present the biggest challenge, I think. Also, some cultures are more dominant than others, so it's sometimes a little hard to convince kids that their second culture is worth keeping.  But thanks to the Internet, and to the increase in multicultural families, I think parenting across cultures will become easier. Or at least it won't feel so lonely!

Thank you again Suzanne!

You're welcome!

Suzanne has published some amazing books! Please check out her website to learn more about her as an author!

Writer Mamas Have The Word

(Mama Kat Writer's Workshop post is below this one!!)

Remember that witty, eye-catching mama on the playground today who spoke so eloquently?

Well, that wasn't me.

I was the one standing behind her, checking the back of my two-year-old's diaper while keeping an eye on my older daughter as she attempted to climb the rock wall. Perhaps you might have noticed me after all if you wondered why that mommy, who obviously hadn't showered in two days, was carrying a small notepad in her back pocket and a pen stuck through the messy knot on top of her head.

Do I really get a chance to write when I am at the playground? No, not usually, but the pad of paper makes me feel better, inspired, hopeful. Playing with my girls outside makes me feel just as happy.

So I've been wondering - just how do moms who write and publish books and articles have time to write. Some of them have more children than me, some have twins or triplets, some work full-time. It's already the 6th month of 2011 and I've only completed and submitted one short story.

So here's what I've come up with on my search for the truth:

(Actually I just asked my favorite writer mamas "How do you make time to write?" and this is what they said:)

Suzanne Kamata (author/editor) -

"When my now twelve-year-old twins were babies, I asked people (my husband, my mother-in-law, friends) to look after them for an hour or so once or twice a week while I walked down to a nearby cafe with my notebook to write. It's important to ask for help." (http://www.suzannekamata.com)

Mary Jo Campbell of Writers Inspired -

"Ha! Well, I feel like a poser even replying to this question, because as of late, I haven’t been finding (or making) time to write. Although, as every true writer knows, if we’re not writing, we’re a miserable mess.  So, I do the best I can to fit in blocks of writing time.

 Since I work full time, I’ve dedicated my one hour lunch breaks to my writing. I’ll either sit in my car or walk across the street to Borders, where I’m currently rewriting chapter one of my YA novel (again!) It’s not ideal, since the words really begin to flow just as my lunch time is ending. Sigh. I also try to utilize the 30 or 40 minutes after my youngest (age 7) goes to bed and before my husband and I try to have some quality time. I always think the weekends will allow uninterrupted time when we don’t have family plans and I’m not teaching my writing workshops, but alas, Facebook, email and my blog win over any creative ventures. I don’t have a set writing schedule, but I do seem to get some (not as much as I’d like) done. I write better with snippets of time, rather than long blocks – because I‘m a big procrastinator, then beat myself if I didn’t rewrite 8 chapters in my 3-hr afternoon. Such is the life of a writer!"

When married mom of two boys, Mary Jo Campbell, isn't refereeing fights over the Xbox or commuting to/from her day job, she's working on her YA novel. Mary Jo also teaches young writers' workshops several times a year. She shares advice and inspiration for writers of all ages at her blog: http://writerinspired.wordpress.com

Cori Howard of The Momoir Project -

"Here, there and everywhere. I don't pressure myself to write at a certain time every day. That works for some people, but I'm not an every day kind of person. I believe that a lot of the work of a writer happens in my head - dreaming, thinking, scheming. So sometimes, if I'm at the gym, those long 30 minutes on the treadmill will result in a great idea and I have stooped to typing on my iPhone while exercising. Not a super safe idea, but I'm grabbing the time. Sometimes, I will make myself stay up after the kids are asleep to write. Sometimes, I'm too exhausted. Mostly, I don't have enough time to write as much as I want. I have learned to give myself permission to be less productive as a writer. We will all get the time back - whether we want it  or not. Day by day. Word by word. Keep writing - however much you can, whenever you can - and the stories will build. Slowly, but surely."

Cori Howard

Founder, The Momoir Project

Editor, Between Interruptions: Thirty Women Tell the Truth about Motherhood

www.themomoirproject.com

Mom to 10-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl

Katherine Hester of Grist for the Mill -

"How do you find time to write?  Not  a question that can be answered in a sentence, because juggling the two, the writing life and the life of a mother, gets at the heart of the journey we embark on once we become parents.  There's a reason nobody else in your playgroup is writing a novel. (If they are, I want to be in your playgroup.) Writing is about taking risks.  Motherhood is in many ways about keeping a weather eye out for danger and avoiding risks.  To balance those two warring impulses takes real work.  

Before my first child was born, the advice I received was "write while the baby sleeps."   Because I expected do be able to do exactly that, what was I blessed with?  A child who despised sleep. And on the rare occasions when she did sleep, sometimes I needed to sleep myself.  Or read a People magazine.  Or stare at the wall.     

Now my children are in elementary school and I do, in fact, have more time to work.  But during their younger years I was never "getting as much done" as I thought I should be.  

My advice:  remember that it never does fields a disservice to lie fallow for a couple of years, in fact, it makes them more fertile.  And it's okay to write about what you're living, even if you're just writing it down on slips of paper or in a journal, even if sometimes it feels like what you're living might be a tad... boring.  We live in a world that likes exciting "plots" but there are beautiful stories to be found in the diapers and the late nights, the laundry and the love." 

Sage Cohen of The Path of Possibility -

"For me, there is an alchemy of accountability that happens with a deadline. I prioritize projects that have due dates and build them into my schedule so I can be sure they'll happen. When I don't have a real deadline, I invent one to keep me moving, and then work with a writing friend to check-in about my progress."

http://pathofpossibility.com/

Sage Cohen is a single mom of one toddler, two dogs and three cats. She works full-time as a freelance writer.

Jordan Rosenfeld of Write Livelihood -

Before my son, who is almost three, was born, I woke at 5:30 on purpose, and crept delightedly upstairs to my little office space and wrote for several hours before my "real" work began (I'm a freelance editor/writer/writing teacher). The moment we brought him home, I knew those days were over, and I will not lie that I suffered quite a lot of grief over the loss of that precious, quiet morning time. Since then, like all other mother writers I know, I write whenever I can. Before I had daycare, I wrote during naps, and I wrote one-handed while nursing him. I wrote chicken scrawl on scraps of paper in my car, and in the bathroom while visiting my parents.

But I am now in the position where my son is in daycare five half-days a week, and so I once again write around the cracks of my work, whenever and wherever I can. It helps me to be working on a specific project--I'm a novelist by passion--because then I can bring myself to it with intention. I do miss the days of freewriting stories and the like, but now I need structure. And as I have only one child, and he is growing up fast, I know that this time is going to go so fast and I will be clutching after these days when he is young.

Jordan Rosenfeld is the author of Make a Scene: Crafting a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time (Writer's Digest Books), and with Rebecca Lawton, Write Free: Attracting the Creative Life (BeijaFlor Books). She teaches writing, edits manuscripts and hangs out with her own wild muse as often as possible when not mothering 3 year old Benjamin and talking about life with her psychologist husband, Erik. www.jordanrosenfeld.net.

Abigail Green of Abby Off the Record -

First of all: I make time to write; if I waited until I found time, it might be years before I wrote anything!

I take my toddler to a babysitter’s three mornings a week while my older son is in preschool. That’s my dedicated work time. If I have a labor-intensive writing project that takes lots of time and brainpower, that’s when I do it. Or, I sometimes write on weekends while my husband takes the kids since that’s the only time I have big blocks of time.

In the afternoon, I can maybe steal an hour or two to write or follow up on submissions during nap/quiet time. I don’t like to write in the evenings because that’s my only time to relax and hang out with my husband, but occasionally I’ll write a blog post or something that takes less concentration.

The hardest thing about writing while raising kids, in my opinion, is that you have small chunks of time in which to work and you have to accept that you’ll often get interrupted. It just goes with the territory.  

-          Abigail Green is a part-time freelance writer, writing instructor and blogger, and mom of 2 small boys. Her blog is AbbyOfftheRecord.com  

Ahhh! So that is how it is done :)  This really has been a big help for me, because (1) I feel better knowing that moms everywhere find it challenging to make time to write, and (2) I feel hopeful that I can do what these amazing women are doing! Thank you writer mamas for all of your advice and support you've given us here today on my blog!

Making Friends Through Blogging

Two posts today on Zook Book Nook! First, a guest post written by Tara Miller. Second, a Mama Kat Writers Workshop piece! Enjoy :)

Welcome Tara Miller!

Today we have a guest post written by Tara Miller. Two of her recent articles have been quite an eye-opener for me about online writing and boosting my mommy brain. It's a pleasure to have Tara on my blog today as she writes about writer-mamas connecting through blogging. Thank you Tara for contributing to Zook Book Nook!

Making Friends Through Blogging

The world has seemingly turned upside-down with the recent increase in blogging throughout the internet domain. This has become more relevant for new moms who search throughout the internet for mom groups to join in their area in order to find similar families. The internet has made this aspect of making friends easier than it ever was before, as more and more moms are blogging about their children and joining different groups online.


Moving to a new area entails losing a lot of friends from your previous city, and discovering new ways in which to meet people in your new community. When you have children, this becomes especially pertinent because you want them to have little playmates and you want the opportunity to relate with other moms who are going through the same thing you are. Without this closeness with other women, raising children becomes an arduous task that is difficult to go through alone. For many stay at home moms especially, the prospect of being alone all day with toddlers can seem daunting, which is why so many moms have opted to join online blog circles, thereby chronicling their everyday run ins with their toddlers.


Blogging has opened up an entire new arena through which to relate to other moms without jumping from activity to activity in your community. Making friends in any community is difficult, but it becomes even more vital when you are faced with companion-less children who need other kids in order to develop certain skills. The blogging world has opened up for moms everywhere, and this has allowed many groups to unite online within various communities. Never before was this easy availability of a community closeness in which moms can discover like-minded individuals who live down the street. Through these groups, moms can also be kept updated on community news and any activities that may be going on, and may even help organize various events. The capacity of the internet to transmit this much information is astounding, especially when related to the social media world and the impact this has had on the whole of society. What other way would we be able to share our news with our family and friends across the country? Blogs have helped us stay connected with many people who we no longer talk to on an everyday basis, thereby helping us to maintain these connections. Blogs do not require the user to be a proficient writer, just able enough to create a domain space and keep others in their circle informed of events and anything else that may be occurring. This internet realm has served to help many moms around the world share their stories and advice on parenting, especially related to infants and toddlers.


This post was contributed by Tara Miller, who writes about the online psychology degrees. She welcomes your feedback at TaraMillerr00 at yahoo.com

Welcome Ann Whitford Paul!

I am VERY excited to have Ann Whitford Paul, author of many fabulous books, on my blog today! I recently purchased her new book, Writing Picture Books, and before I was even half-way through reading it I knew I had to get her on my blog. This book is one of the BEST I've ever read on the subject of writing. I'm so excited about it that I wanted to share the book and Ann's thoughts on being a writer-mama with you!


Today Ann is sharing her insight with us about being a writer-mama as well as her two new books: Writing Picture Books and Word Builder. She is giving away a free copy of each, so all you have to do is leave a comment for a chance to win. Two winners will be chosen at random and announced on my blog tomorrow!


Welcome Ann! Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us today...


Me: As a mom of a toddler and newborn, I often wonder when the day will come when I will have more time to write. It seems to be far off and I think many other writer-mamas feel the same way. Ann, when you began writing with young children how did you stay positive and determined about writing even though you might have had little time to write? How did you prioritize?

Ann: I started writing when my third child was born. I went on to have one more and believe me I remember how much juggling it took. One of the things that helped was to remind me that living is a form of collecting material for later writing. Think of this as your gathering phase. Keep a note pad with you always for when ideas pop into your mind. If you don’t have a note pad, keep thinking story. How could I turn this into an article? A picture book? Part of a novel?

The other thing I did was never clean the house while the children were napping. That was my writing time. Then when the kids wakened, they would either help me clean or play alongside me while I did the vacuuming or whatever else needed to be done. Cooking? They pulled chairs up to the counter and helped me. Too often, I think moms feel they have to do the housework while the kids are sleeping. I felt my children needed to know what went on to keep a house going and also frankly, I would have gone stir-crazy down on the floor all day building block castles, attending tea parties and coloring pictures with them. I used to say I did that when I was your age, but not anymore.

Cruel? Mean?

Maybe. But to maintain my sanity, I had to carve out time for myself. It’s not that we never played together, but just not all the time. The benefits were enormous. First of all the kids grew up to be independent, and happily creating and spending time doing their own imaginative activities. Because I didn’t push them on the swings at the park, they were the first to learn how to pump.


Another thing we didn’t do was watch television. While we had one, we saved it for the kids for those evenings when we went out to a movie or dinner. I highly recommend doing this. First of all, they looked forward to our dates out and while they sometimes complained about it, only one of them has a TV today.

What I did do with them was read. Any time they wanted to hear a book, I dropped everything. It gave me an opportunity to have close time with them, but also gave me some work time too. I could think about what made a book work and what I needed to be doing in my own stories.

Another thing I didn’t do was volunteer too much. One has to jealously guard one’s time during those years of raising children. Planning homecoming events or school fairs wasn’t my idea of the kind of time I wanted to spend with my kids. It’s a great way to meet and get to know other parents, but isn’t quality time with the kids. Pick and choose your activities carefully. Saying no to a volunteer opportunity was especially difficult before I was published, but with practice it became easier.


Another thing I did was give myself the gift of four days every August to attend the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) Summer Conference. Having this to look forward to made summers with the children home all day every day easier—It was like a glorious light at the end of the tunnel that I could count on. In the beginning, I drove daily to the conference, sometimes bringing my nursing baby, with me. After they were grown, my husband would baby-sit while I stayed at the hotel. Usually one night of the conference he would hire a baby-sitter and join me at the hotel which made it a fun time for both of us.


Find a way to treat yourself. Raising children is hard work. You deserve a break sometimes. Make sure you get it.


Me: Writing Picture Books provides numerous titles of children's books that children and parents should read. Books written today are different than those written for children 30-50 years ago. Nevertheless, it is true that "we picture book writers hold something important in our hands. We hold the world's future," as you stated in your book. Where do you see children's books 30-50 years from now?

Ann: What a difficult question! I’m not sure . . . I hope we won’t be reading books from a computer screen to our young children. There’s something so tactile about sitting close together on a book or chair and turning the pages of a book. I would hate to lose that.

I would hope that in 30 to 50 years we would be more relaxed parents, not signing our youngsters up for every activity imaginable. I learned this late in my parenting. If you ask your child, do you want to take an art class, or play soccer or whatever, they too often say yes without understanding the full impact of that commitment. Finally with my third child, I decided to wait until they asked, not once, not twice, but three times to do something. Then I felt this was an activity they truly wanted to do and warranted my signing them up and driving them there.


Kids need empty unscheduled time. They need books and toys that are for pure enjoyment, not learning. And they need quiet books. I would hope that in the future we’d have not only books full of action, but also books that allow for more contemplation. Maybe that’s wishing for too much.

I see books constantly evolving and improving. Read picture books published 50 years ago and you will be stunned at the changes. Writers learn from what went before. They take that history in and then step out of the box and create unique forms and stories.


Me: On that note, technology comes to children at an earlier age than it did years before. Although the characteristics of children you describe in your book apply to children today as much as the children of yesterday, how does the influence of technology impact children's writers and your writing?


Ann: It impacts my writing a lot. I understand that if I don’t grab a reader immediately, my book may be closed before the plot even gets interesting. Today’s children have too many temptations pulling at them . . . television, computer games, etc. . . . to wait for the good parts. While I love Dicken’s Opening to A TALE OF TWO CITIES, spending so much time setting the scene would probably not pull in today’s readers.


Another thing is that kids are much more aware of the world’s problems from the internet, TV, movies, radio, etc. so these subjects can be dealt with in books more than before. They are also becoming active about issues like the environment which is a good thing. My children are constantly reminding me about my leaving the water on and overusing paper towels, etc. I’m very grateful.

Me: Your second new book, Word Builder, is directed at young children. How did this book and Writing Picture Books come about at the same time? Did you write them simultaneously with a common goal in mind?

Ann: It’s just serendipity. Word Builder was a poem published in a collection titled WONDERFUL WORDS edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins. An editor, Kevin Lewis, at S & S thought it would make a book. It only has about 80 words and I was dubious, but he was right. I hope kids in elementary school might be less afraid of writing if they think of it in terms of construction. It’s just pounding words into sentences, stacking sentences into paragraphs, etc. And I have to add that Kurt Cyrus did an incredible job with the illustrations. They are breathtaking and although my children don’t know it yet, I’ve purchased some for their Christmas presents this year.

WRITING PICTURE BOOKS was written at the prodding of one of my UCLA Extension students. I put it off for a long, long time, fearful of the daunting task of going from super-short picture books to a long book, but was surprised how easy it became when I was able to tell myself that each chapter is like a picture book (albeit a long one.) I also made a progress chart, crossing off each chapter when I finished so that gave me a sense of accomplishment along the way.

What is not serendipity is that I have written two books about writing . . . I actually have another one that I’ve never submitted for children titled PIECING TOGETHER A PICTURE BOOK based on a writing quilt I use when I speak to schools. If you’re interested I’m attaching a picture of the quilt with the explanations for each square. I am also working on another book about writing for adults. You hear that old adage of “write about what you know.” It couldn’t be truer than in the case of these books.

Me: When I came to the idea of a WOW! hook in your book, I knew by then that WOW! Women-on-Writing would love to have your book go on a blog tour. For writers, creating a WOW! idea to hook the reader may be challenging. How do your ideas for hooks come to you for your books?

Ann: Here’s another difficult question! And I’m not sure I’m up to the answer. Honestly sometimes you don’t know where the hook comes from, but I know it has to be there. Thousands of books are published every year and only unique books grab an editor, the bookstore owners and the readers. It’s not enough to write a good story. Something must make it stand out. Often the ways to do it are suggested from outside . . . For example I wrote a picture book about my son and his feet. It was a fine story, but it didn’t become special until a writing friend said, why don’t you have your character speak to his feet. That struck a bell with me and I couldn’t wait to make the changes.

Most often though the hooks have to come from you. As a writer you must be your hardest critique. If the story doesn’t feel special to you, it probably won’t to others. In my book WRITING PICTURE BOOKS I make several suggestions of ways to bring new life to a tired story. Generally, I would say the writer has to experiment. Play around with setting your story in a different time or local. Do the characters need to be people? What if they are animals? What if you write your book with a different main character? Be playful and try out new approaches. Even if they don’t work, you will at the very least learn more about your story and its characters.

Me: Becoming an objective critic of our own work is not easy for writer-mamas with little time on their hands. We're hard on ourselves in many aspects of our daily lives. Your system of highlighting is an excellent and practical plan. How do you keep self-critiquing at bay in the midst of writing an initial rough draft or do you write with the idea of the different colors of highlights in mind?

Ann: Being hard on one-self is human nature and it’s not all bad. It’s what keeps us striving to do better. However that being said, the first draft is not the time to criticize your work. It’s the time to get the words down so that you have something to criticize afterwards. In most rough drafts there’s lots to be tossed and lots to be saved. Knowing the difference comes with the wise eyes of other writers and with experience. Don’t throw anything your write away. You’ll be amazed how over the course of your career you’ll improve your skills and can come back to previous writings knowing much better how to make them write.

Me: Thank you Ann for taking the time to speak with us today about your two new books! Do you have any additional advice for mothers who write and dream of sharing their stories with children?

Ann: Enjoy as much as you can your time with your children. They grow up before you know it! Take notes about things they do to save for when you have more time to write. When the kids were young, I wrote a lot of poems because they were short and didn’t require long chunks of uninterrupted time and focus. Finishing a poem also gave me a sense of accomplishment which when you’re drowning in laundry and cooking and carpools is sadly lacking.



Thank you very much Ann for taking the time to provide such thoughtful, informative answers to my questions! Your knowledge and experience in being a writer and a mother has given me and the readers of my blog a lot to think about. I feel very inspired from reading your book and your responses to my questions!


If you are interested in learning more about Ann, her books (she has several published), and her writing tips, she has a beautiful website to check out!

To follow Ann on her book blog tour, please check out her schedule here.

Leave a comment for a chance to win one of Ann's two new books! Winners will be announced tomorrow on my blog!

Welcome Back Christina Katz

We are fortunate to have author Christina Katz back on Zook Book Nook again! Last time Christina spoke with us about her book Writer Mama during her two-year anniversary blog tour. Today she is here to give us an insight into her new book Get Known Before the Book Deal. The subject of her book and this interview is especially helpful for me since I am in the middle of writing my first young adult novel and haven't published a book yet. I hope you enjoy hearing what Christina has to say!

Welcome back Christina!

An Interview with Christina Katz
Author of Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform & Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids

Christina Katz is the author of Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform (Writer’s Digest Books). She started her platform “for fun” seven years ago and ended up on “Good Morning America.” Christina teaches e-courses on platform development and writing nonfiction for publication. Her students are published in national magazines and land agents and book deals. Christina has been encouraging reluctant platform builders via her e-zines for five years, has written hundreds of articles for national, regional, and online publications, and is a monthly columnist for the Willamette Writer. A popular speaker at writing conferences, writing programs, libraries, and bookstores, she hosts the Northwest Author Series in Wilsonville, Oregon. She is also the author of Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (Writer’s Digest Books).


Q: What is a platform?

CK: Long story short: Your platform communicates your expertise to others, and it works all the time so you don’t have to. Your platform includes your Web presence, any public speaking you do, the classes you teach, the media contacts you’ve established, the articles you’ve published, and any other means you currently have for making your name and your future books known to a viable readership. If others already recognize your expertise on a given topic or for a specific audience or both, then that is your platform.

A platform-strong writer is a writer with influence. Get Known explains in plain English, without buzzwords, how any writer can stand out from the crowd of other writers and get the book deal. The book clears an easy-to-follow path through a formerly confusing forest of ideas so any writer can do the necessary platform development they need to do.


Q: Why is platform development important for writers today?

CK: Learning about and working on a solid platform plan gives writers an edge. Agents and editors have known this for years and have been looking for platform-strong writers and getting them book deals. But from the writer’s point-of-view, there has not been enough information on platform development to help unprepared writers put their best platform forward.

Now suddenly, there is a flood of information on platform, not all necessarily comprehensive, useful or well organized for folks who don’t have a platform yet. Writers can promote themselves in a gradual, grounded manner without feeling like they are selling out. I do it, I teach other writers to do it, I write about it on an ongoing basis, and I encourage all writers to heed the trend. And hopefully, I communicate how in a practical, step-by-step manner that can serve any writer. Because ultimately, before you actively begin promoting yourself, platform development is an inside job requiring concentration, thoughtfulness and a consideration of personal values.


Q: How did you come to write Get Known Before the Book Deal?

CK: I already had a lot of momentum going when I got the deal for a very specific audience. I wrote a column on the topic for the Willamette Writer’s newsletter. Then I started speaking on platform. When I gave my presentation, “Get Known Before the Book Deal,” at the Writer’s Digest/BEA Writer’s Conference in May 2007, Phil Sexton, one of my publisher’s sales guys, saw it and suggested making the concept into a book. Coincidentally, I was trying to come up with an idea for my second book at that time and had just struck out with what I thought were my three best ideas. My editor, Jane Friedman agreed with Phil. That was two votes from people sitting on the pub board. They converted the others with the help of my proposal, and Get Known got the green light.

Q: Why was a book on platform development needed?

CK: Writers often underestimate how important platform is and they often don’t leverage the platform they already have enough. At every conference I presented, I took polls and found that about 50 percent of attendees expressed a desire for a clearer understanding of platform. Some were completely in the dark about it, even though they were attending a conference in hopes of landing a book deal. Since book deals are granted based largely on the impressiveness of a writer’s platform, I noticed a communication gap that needed to be addressed.

My intention was that Get Known would be the book every writer would want to read before attending a writer’s conference, and that it would increase any writer’s chances of landing a book deal whether they pitched in-person or by query. As I wrote the book, I saw online how this type of information was being offered as “insider secrets” at outrageous prices. No one should have to pay thousands of dollars for the information they can find in my book for the price of a paperback! Seriously. You can even ask your library to order it and read it for free.


Q: What is the key idea behind Get Known Before the Book Deal?

CK: Getting known doesn’t take a lot of money, but it does take an in-depth understanding of platform, and then the investment of time, skills and consistent effort to build one. Marketing experience and technological expertise are also not necessary. I show how to avoid the biggest time and money-waster, which is not understanding who your platform is for and why – and hopefully save writers from the confusion and inertia that can result from either information overload or not taking the big picture into account before they jump into writing for traditional publication.

Often writers with weak platforms are over-confident that they can impress agents and editors, while others with decent platforms are under-confident or aren’t stressing their platform-strength enough. Writers have to wear so many hats these days, we can use all the help we can get. Platform development is a muscle, and the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Anyone can do it, but most don’t or won’t because they either don’t understand what is being asked for, or they haven’t overcome their own resistance to the idea. Get Known offers a concrete plan that can help any writer make gains in the rapidly changing and increasingly competitive publishing landscape.


Q: What is the structure of the book and why did you choose it?

CK: Writer Mama was written in small, easy-to-digest chunks so busy new moms could stick it in a diaper bag and read it in the nooks and crannies of the day. Get Known is a bit more prosaic, especially in the early chapters. Most of the platform books already out there were only for authors, not writers or aspiring authors. To make platform evolution easy to comprehend, I had to dial the concepts back to the beginning and talk about what it’s like to try and find your place in the world as an author way before you’ve signed a contract, even before you’ve written a book proposal. No one had done that before in a book for writers. I felt writers needed a context in which to chart a course towards platform development that would not be completely overwhelming.

Introducing platform concepts to writers gives them the key information they need to succeed at pitching an agent either via query or in-person, making this a good book for a writer to read before writing a book proposal. Get Known has three sections: section one is mostly stories and cautionary tales, section two has a lot of to-do lists any writer should be able to use, and section three is how to articulate your platform clearly and concisely so you won’t waste a single minute wondering if you are on the right track.


Q: At the front of Get Known, you discuss four phases of the authoring process. What are they?

CK: First comes the platform development and building phase. Second comes the book proposal development phase (or if you are writing fiction, the book-writing phase). Third, comes the actual writing of the book (for fiction writers this is likely the re-writing of the book). And finally, once the book is published, comes the book marketing and promoting phase.

Many first-time authors scramble once they get a book deal if they haven’t done a thorough job on the platform development phase. Writers who already have a platform have influence with a fan base, and they can leverage that influence no matter what kind of book they write. Writing a book is a lot easier if you are not struggling to find readers for the book at the same time. Again, agents and editors have known this for a long time.


Q: What are some common platform mistakes writers make?

CK: Here are a few:

They don’t spend time clarifying who they are to others.
They don’t zoom in specifically on what they offer.
They confuse socializing with platform development.
They think about themselves too much and their audience not enough.
They don’t precisely articulate all they offer so others get it immediately.
They don’t create a plan before they jump online.
They undervalue the platform they already have.
They are overconfident and think they have a solid platform when they have only made a beginning.
They become exhausted from trying to figure out platform as they go.
They pay for “insider secrets” instead of trusting their own instincts.
They blog like crazy for six months and then look at their bank accounts and abandon the process as going nowhere.

I’ll stop there. Suffice it to say that many writers promise publishers they have the ability to make readers seek out and purchase their book. But when it comes time to demonstrate this ability, they can’t deliver.

My mission is to empower writers to be 100 percent responsible for their writing career success and stop looking to others to do their promotional work for them. Get Known shows writers of every stripe how to become the writer who can not only land a book deal, but also influence future readers to plunk down ten or twenty bucks to purchase their book. It all starts with a little preparation and planning. The rest unfolds from there.


Q: What are three things my readers can do today to get started building their platforms?

CK: Don't start building your platform until you have clarity and focus. Otherwise you will likely just waste your precious time spinning your wheels. Or worse, fritter away your time with online distractions (and trust me, there are plenty!).

But once you know what your expertise is and what you are doing with it and for whom, then consider these three steps:

Start an e-mail list: Who are the people who like to hear about your writing success? Why not start a list in your address book with them and keep adding to it as time goes by. You can start by sending out simple regular announcements of good things that happen—just be sure to get permission. One way to get permission is to send an announcement about your work out to everyone you know and tell them that they can unsubscribe if they don’t want to be receive future messages from you on the topic. I strongly recommend that all writers read Permission Marketing by Seth Godin.

Create a simple website: Although social networking is fun, a proper writer’s website is not a Facebook or a Myspace page; it’s not even a blog. So save the detailed descriptions of your quirks and faves for the social networking you will do after you’ve built yourself a solid website to publicize your genuine writing credentials (creds) across the ethers while you are sleeping. And if you don’t have any genuine writing creds yet, getting some is an important first step. The step-by-step instructions are in Get Known.

Blog when it makes sense: Blogging can be great for writers assuming three things: 1) You have ample material to draw on and time to blog regularly. 2) You take the time to determine your appropriate audience, topic and your specific slant (or take) on your topic for your specific audience. 3) You don’t plan on starting a blog, blogging like mad for six weeks, and then disappearing from the face of the blogosphere without a trace. Preparation can prevent this common pitfall from happening to you.

Don’t forget that platform development and building takes time. Once you are ready to get started, just do a little every day and you’ll be amazed what you can accomplish over time.

Welcome Blogging Mama!

Guten Tag from Germany! Today on my blog we have Blogging Mama Andrea, who is currently living in Germany and has not just one, but THREE, incredible blogs! In addition, she is a writer-mama to two adorable children. Her post has many insightful points for writer-mamas everywhere!

When I began blogging over a year ago I had a rough idea of what blogging meant, but I didn't give too much of my heart and time to it. I guess having a colicky newborn consumed my life for a year. But a few months ago I stumbled upon Andrea's blog, Blogging Mama, and it inspired me to put more heart and soul into my blog. Since then I've been blogging almost every day as a journal entry, and my writing and thinking have greatly improved.

To thank Andrea for her inspiration I asked her to be a guest blogger here today. I am so amazed by her ability to maintain her writing career, three blogs, two children, a hubby, and life in a foreign country! I hope you'll enjoy stopping by her three blogs (Blogging Mama, The Literary Side, and The Real World: Venus vs. Mars, which she co-authors with Shelle-BlokThoughts) after you read her post below!

From Blogging Mama Andrea...

When Kim asked me to guest post for her here at Zook Book Nook I was very excited. This blog has so many wonderful topics related to being a Writer Mama and topics for writers in general. I find myself giving a lot of thought to the questions at the end of her posts and I often walk away with something to ponder for the day.

Being a writer mama with a 7 year old and a 3 year old is challenging. Even though my oldest is at school all day I still have the little one to keep entertained while trying to fulfill my own goals and obligations at the same time. I, perhaps crazily, maintain three blogs. My personal (and main) blog Blogging Mama, my writing blog The Literary Side and a blog venture I co-created and manage with another blogger Shelle where we feature other bloggers and tackle topics related to adult relationships, In the Real World: Venus vs Mars. I enjoy each and every blog that I write for. I dedicate time to maintaining the relationships that I’ve built through each one. It has become a great platform for me to talk about a wide variety of subjects. Everyday I also seem to find another great blog with a unique or interesting voice and I enjoy reading what other people have to say.

It is hard finding time to continue to work on my own writing. Currently I am finishing my fifth novel manuscript and sometimes I can’t control when the ideas come to me so the kids have to watch an extra video every now and then. Primarily I write during my daughters nap time and then again after my kids are in bed. Once my daughter starts preschool I will have a lot more time to write during the day.

I wholeheartedly admit my housekeeping suffers sometimes when I am in the middle of writing. Once I start bringing in a bit more income the first thing on my list of ‘must do’s’ would be hiring a housekeeping service! I think that is the hardest part about working from home and not having a dedicated place and time to write as a person who works outside of the home does. The little things that need to be done as a stay at home mom are still there and have to be worked in the same as my writing. Ideally I would like to have a home office in a separate room as opposed to my desk just sitting in the living room. That way I could go in and close the door and set actual office hours and truly feel like if I am in my ‘office’ and have dedicated writing hours, then during those hours I am at work. That won’t be able to happen for a few years yet so I am just sort of juggling everything at once.

It is hardly easy to do but I find that I thrive on trying to figure it all out. The times I feel burnt out trying to keep everything going are the days that I step back and revaluate. I have a five-year goal plan for my work written up and looking at where I want to go also helps me to get back on track.

Every writer needs to pencil in some time to just relax too, which I think is hard when you are a writer because not all of us keep regular hours. I go for a run or practice yoga. I do something that helps me to step out of my writing mode and relax. It is a balancing act and I’m not always so sure I’m good at it but I do know what I want to do. I want to write, get my books into publication and possibly write for a newspaper or magazine as well.

If you’re dedicated to continuing to strive for your goals nothing is unattainable.

Thank you Andrea for writing such a wonderful post for my blog readers! Your experience as a writer-mama is admirable and I think we all have learned a lot today from you.

Welcome Author Danette Haworth

Today on my blog I am hosting Danette Haworth, author of Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning. Following last month's theme on my blog ("Earth Month"), I decided to ask Danette a few nature-related questions about her wonderful book.

I read Danette's book in two days, only putting it down when my toddler was practically begging me on her knees to play with her! Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning is an absolute gem! The voice is captivating, the characters melt your heart, and the plot is unique and cleverly written. Girls and boys of all ages (as well as adults) will be able to relate to the characters in this book, so I highly recommend it!

Danette is giving away a free copy of her book today to one random winner. All you have to do is leave a comment on my blog today and I will pick a winner at random. I will announce the winner on my blog tomorrow, so please check back to see if you won so I can get your snail mail address!

And here is what Danette has to say...

Hi Danette. Thank you for joining us today on my blog!

Thanks Kim! After reading your website, I saw we had much in common!

I read on your website that you grew up in an Air Force family. How did moving frequently and living in different places influence your childhood and your writing?

We did move constantly and I hated it! Because my dad was an Air Force recruiter, we lived in regular towns and my brothers, sister, and I went to public schools, always the new kids. The one time we lived on base was excellent—everyone was new, either moving in or moving out—all you had to do to make friends was step outside and join the kickball game on the playground.

On the plus side, adapting to my many new schools helped me become more sensitive than I might have been otherwise. My brother and I kid that we were trained sociologists before we ever left elementary school! As a new kid, I learned to pick up nuances in the crowd, read expressions, analyze social dynamics—all skills that help me now in my writing.

As a new mom, I'm reliving my childhood through my daughter; many forgotten memories surprise me and help me as a writer. With your book Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning, you took on the challenge of writing about a girl entering adolescence. How were you able to successfully write about such a trying, difficult time in a child's life? Did you use memories of your own childhood to help you relate to Violet, the main character?

Oh yes! I remember boys in fifth grade teasing me about my bra, and yet these boys were my friends. It was weird to be evolving in ways they could see! But the feelings Violet has are feelings we still have as adults: jealousy, guilt, anger, loss, love of family and home, joy. It’s just that in writing for middle grade, these feelings can be expressed in their raw (and more honest) quality.

With summer right around the corner we're all enjoying the outdoors, which ties in perfectly with your book. Violet is very fond of nature and exploring the outdoors as she struggles with her confusion about becoming an adolescent. How did you use concepts of nature to help and/or hinder Violet in her maturation process?

When Violet first came to me as a character, I saw her in my mind’s eye. One look at her and I knew she spent all her time outside; she was surrounded by the swampy woods of the Econlockhatchee River, which is not far from my house. I instantly had a vision of her dirt road neighborhood and the smallness of her world. I loved it.

I couldn’t tell Violet’s story without her environment.

Because Violet practically lives outdoors, I wanted to convey the experience of living in Florida—especially in the summer. Florida’s landscape is different from the rest of the continental United States; look in gardening books, and you’ll see that we’re classified as a tropical zone. I want readers to feel the heat pressing down on them; I want them to dart for shelter with Violet when the storms roll in, charging the air with electricity you can feel.

Since Florida is the lightning capital of the United States, lightning took a big role in the book. Anyone living in Central Florida can tell you how frightening it is to be caught outside during a storm in the summer. And dangerous. A few years ago, four houses got struck by lightning in my neighborhood in the same summer, with one house getting struck twice!

Lightning is a formidable, violent force that cannot be ignored. It’s so powerful that it shapes the events of Violet’s life this one particular summer. Lightning storms draw Eddie and Violet together (and provides electricity between them) and at other times, lightning drives the friends apart, including Lottie.

What’s the worst thing that can happen to best friends? Getting separated. What’s even worse than that? Your best friend goes to live with your worst enemy! Lightning struck Violet and Lottie’s friendship and served as the perfect vehicle to throw Violet’s life out of whack.

Thanks for sharing the first chapter of your book with us on your website! It's extremely well-focused and grabs the reader. I love it! You've successfully included in the first chapter a few different characters, the initial ideas of the plot, and great dialogue. One aspect of your writing style that ties it all together so well is the way you've used the five senses (touch, taste, sight, sound, and smell). As a preview to the rest of the book, can you tell us what role the use of senses in your writing had when showing Violet's coming of age? Did her own sensory awareness of her body and others around her help her with her struggle to become an adolescent?

Thank you for the high compliments!

I love this question because it allows me to elaborate on Violet’s relationship with nature. When the woodpecker tree gets struck by lightning, Violet’s first reaction is delight—she can’t wait to see what it looks like now! But when she gets there, she realizes the tree could have been killed. Her heart is full of gladness when she sees it’s still green, and when she touches the scar left by lightning, she’s moved that the tree would hold onto life against such cruel circumstances.

I think this scene displays a subtle shift in Violet, the shift from thinking about one’s own gratification to thinking about others. The “other” in this case is a tree, but that’s valid for Violet because of her close relationship with the outdoors.

Children today are surrounded by technological advancements (e.g., TV, iPODs, computers, cell phones, video games, etc). Consequently, many of them don't spend as much time outdoors and may harbor a fear or dislike of being in nature. How does your book overcome this possible roadblock for some of its readers who may not be in touch with nature as well as Violet is?

When my brothers, sister and I were kids, we’d shout, “Bye, Mom,” race out the back door, and disappear into the woods for hours. That’s freedom! What adventures we had, building forts, climbing mountains, discovering caves, going down to the creek and balancing across rocks. I wanted to deliver some of that experience to readers.

Violet can’t stand being stuck inside. To her, the woods are a friendly place. Readers will be standing right by Violet’s side when she spots an alligator, and they’ll sit with her on the porch swing as she watches lightning crackle the sky. They’ll feel the blasting heat of the sun and the coolness of the shade when Violet slips under the canopy of oaks and palmettos near the river.

You’re right in saying technology keeps our kids inside. Even the structures of planned communities physically discourage outdoor play—unless you go to the community park. Even though we moved a lot, my parents always bought houses right off the woods. I pointed this out to my mom recently, and she was surprised to realize it! She grew up in farm country in Michigan, and I think she has an inherent need for the outdoors, as do I. The woods are at the core of Violet’s being, and I hope readers will gain the sense of how wonderful nature is.

As a final question, do you have any advice for writers who don't place a big emphasis on nature in their writing but still wish to include important aspects of it in their writing?

That’s a good question! The important thing, especially if nature isn’t a big character in the story, is to not throw it in there just to make sure it’s there. You must be true to your protagonist and the story events.

That said, nature touches us even when we aren’t doing outdoorsy things; using little touches of the natural world can not only make a story more real, but it can enhance the emotion or conflict in a scene.

For example, I always get gnats in the house when I have bananas sitting on the counter. So let’s make up a woman who’s sipping coffee at her kitchen table, thinking about the heated conversation she had with her husband yesterday. A gnat flits by a couple of times, and she absentmindedly waves it away. But as she sits there thinking, her anger escalates and so does her annoyance with the gnat. Just as she remembers the worst thing her husband said, the gnat flies into perfect range and BAM! she smashes the bug flat. If only her husband could be taken care of that easily.

Thank you Danette for answering these questions!

Kim, thank you for the great questions! I really enjoyed being able to present a different take on Violet. I loved talking about the nature in the book because the setting, as I mentioned earlier, is based on a real river, a place I’ve hiked and canoed in, and I love it.

Thank you for hosting me!

Danette is giving away a free copy of her book today, so readers please leave a comment on this post and I will choose a winner using random numbers! I will announce the winner on my blog tomorrow!

To follow Danette on her blog tour, please stop by her blog Summer Friend to see the schedule!

Thanks again Danette!