I have an exciting announcement this morning. I am opening up my own dot com web site. It is currently under construction and will be up when I get that all figured out.
Wordsprings will continue for interviews of other authors. The interviews are a labor of love and interest in my fellow authors. I will continue to strive to put the writer up front and their books as a product of who they are.
Please continue to enjoy Wordsprings. A link to my dot com will be added when I have it up and running.
Thank you dear readers.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Interview with Author G. K. Fralin by G. M. Stevens
Interview With Author G. K. Fralin
A rich, red background greets you when you visit G. K. (Glenda) Fralin’s blog at wordspring.blogspot.com. The background is as warm and inviting as her passion for writing. Her site includes short film clips about her book THE SEARCH: LUNIS FLOWER OF HIDDEN, as well as videos of a poem she’s written, The Monster’s Dinner. Since 2006, Glenda has been sharing her poetry, thoughts and writing adventure with those who drop by, but her love for writing began as a child.
Glenda is a member of the Nebraska Writers Guild and is a fine interviewer in her own right. Originally from Kansas, which I’ve learned gives her the right to say “ain’t”, Glenda is a Nebraska writer who pays it forward – an important thing to do in any endeavor we take. It is most obvious to me by her work and her blog, that Glenda is a Christian, which you’ll see by the first paragraph on her blog or in her full profile. I admire her faith and zest for life.
* * *
Gina: I was intrigued when Kristopher Miller’s review of your book, Book Review THE SEARCH: LUNIS FLOWER OF HIDDEN, compared your book to C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. Did Lewis’s novel influence your work at all, and do you agree with Miller?
G. K. Fralin: How do I respond to this question? I’m glad he compared it to the spirit of C. S. Lewis. I don’t know that I will ever reach the level of skill C. S. Lewis possessed to grasp the imagination in fantasy. Lewis was like an architect with a story. The lands of Narnia and its character’s make for his epic chronicles.
I wish I could say I studied his writing, but I have only read a portion. I do love his style. Reading the full series of chronicles is a goal of mine.
My parents subscribed to Reader’s Digest Condensed Books. Their condensed version of GREEN MANSIONS by William H. Hudson introduced me to the world of grown up fantasy. GULLIVER’S TRAVELS by Jonathan Swift with the Lilliputians also helped me move beyond the childhood fantasies of Mother Goose.
I can agree with Kristopher that like C. S. Lewis, I try to set out Biblical teachings in fantasy to engage the mind of the reader instead of preaching.
Gina: I read the first chapter and loved the setting, which seemed almost heaven-like to me. Was this your intent?
G. K. Fralin: Hidden is deceptively peaceful. There is that initial impression of finding a jewel of a town buried on the back road off Nebraska’s I-80. Be careful of what you trust. Have you ever visited a resort whose brochure promised luxurious lodging, and tours of historic sites including photos of how they deliver on their promise? Then when you’ve been there more than five minutes, you get a big let down. That is the first chapter of Hidden.
Would heaven have one old street? Will Catch and his barbed remarks be as cute when Sheridan catches him off guard? Oh, ho ho be ye careful of that one.
Gina: How did you come up with the name of the town, Hidden?
G. K. Fralin: I was trying to figure out a place forSheridan to be trapped. The idea of a town tucked away from the eyes and knowledge of the world implies Hidden. It fit my ‘what if’ premise. I simply could not think of a more appropriate name than Hidden. The citizen’s of Hidden prefer similarly direct names. They seem obsessed with name meanings.
Gina: How long did it take you to write the book and when did you start writing it?
G. K. Fralin: Now that is a story in itself. THE SEARCH: LUNIS FLOWER OF HIDDEN began years ago as an interactive story with my daughter Nina at bedtime. It bears many of the same elements. The name of that story was The Lunis Flower and the main character was Lucinda.
I rewrote it as an 8000 word grown up version and it turned in a different direction. Nina is now in her late twenties, but the story still contains elements of her influence.
I was having trouble in the new version connecting with my main character in a way that my readers could relate to her.
What I ended up doing was writing a life for Sheridan that became an unpublished novel length story of its own. That set a background for her and developed her personality and life events. THE SEARCH: LIVING BEDOUIN is mentioned in THE SEARCH: LUNIS FLOWER OF HIDDEN. I haven’t published THE SEARCH: LIVING BEDOUIN.
Gina: What genre would you say THE SEARCH: LUNIS FLOWER OF HIDDEN, is?
G. K. Fralin: THE SEARCH: LUNIS FLOWER OF HIDDEN is a Christian fantasy full of adventure, suspense, and mystery.
Gina: Tell me about the sketch for the poem The Monster’s Dinner (which is adorable. I’m thinking I’d entertain more if I could lay out dust and decorate with cobwebs!)
G. K. Fralin: I’ll warn you, this story is not for the faint of heart.
I wrote The Monster’s Dinner several years ago. When I wanted to publish it, I wanted a picture to go with it.
When I decided on a sketch, I asked my daughter Angie to draw it. She thought I was nuts. Angela’s talent for painting, design and photography took a huge hit when she was cutting the zip tie off of a toy for her son. The knife she was using slipped and her left eye permanently injured. The doctors did surgery, but the cornea is still scared. The accident would have knocked me off my feet. She is one resilient woman. I can’t help but be in awe of her ability to bounce back and take life on.
She learned how to drive by using intuition and memory to gauge depth and distance. She started working on clothing for her doll collection again. However, she resolved that she was not going to have the chance to draw or paint again. She covers the bad eye just to read.
I didn’t ask her as a therapeutic exercise, I hoped it would be, but I really wanted her to do it. Questions hit me like, am I pushing too hard for something she has accepted is gone? Was I going to ask her to break her heart all over again?
Her husband James, bless him, is the perfect match for her. He took the time to stand by and let her know when something wasn’t looking right, and he encouraged her. I’d asked for it to be childlike because of the poem. The detail and elements she put in that sketch made it the perfect search and find for kids and adults.
She has since done other projects including the drawing of the Lunis Flower on the cover of my book The Search: Lunis Flower of Hidden.
* * *
In closing, I hope you will all stop by Glenda's rich red blogsite. From that point, you can find out where to buy her book and even read the first chapter of her novel, THE SEARCH: LUNIS FLOWER OF HIDDEN. Thank you Glenda for the great responses.
A rich, red background greets you when you visit G. K. (Glenda) Fralin’s blog at wordspring.blogspot.com. The background is as warm and inviting as her passion for writing. Her site includes short film clips about her book THE SEARCH: LUNIS FLOWER OF HIDDEN, as well as videos of a poem she’s written, The Monster’s Dinner. Since 2006, Glenda has been sharing her poetry, thoughts and writing adventure with those who drop by, but her love for writing began as a child.
Glenda is a member of the Nebraska Writers Guild and is a fine interviewer in her own right. Originally from Kansas, which I’ve learned gives her the right to say “ain’t”, Glenda is a Nebraska writer who pays it forward – an important thing to do in any endeavor we take. It is most obvious to me by her work and her blog, that Glenda is a Christian, which you’ll see by the first paragraph on her blog or in her full profile. I admire her faith and zest for life.
* * *
Gina: I was intrigued when Kristopher Miller’s review of your book, Book Review THE SEARCH: LUNIS FLOWER OF HIDDEN, compared your book to C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. Did Lewis’s novel influence your work at all, and do you agree with Miller?
G. K. Fralin: How do I respond to this question? I’m glad he compared it to the spirit of C. S. Lewis. I don’t know that I will ever reach the level of skill C. S. Lewis possessed to grasp the imagination in fantasy. Lewis was like an architect with a story. The lands of Narnia and its character’s make for his epic chronicles.
I wish I could say I studied his writing, but I have only read a portion. I do love his style. Reading the full series of chronicles is a goal of mine.
My parents subscribed to Reader’s Digest Condensed Books. Their condensed version of GREEN MANSIONS by William H. Hudson introduced me to the world of grown up fantasy. GULLIVER’S TRAVELS by Jonathan Swift with the Lilliputians also helped me move beyond the childhood fantasies of Mother Goose.
I can agree with Kristopher that like C. S. Lewis, I try to set out Biblical teachings in fantasy to engage the mind of the reader instead of preaching.
Gina: I read the first chapter and loved the setting, which seemed almost heaven-like to me. Was this your intent?
G. K. Fralin: Hidden is deceptively peaceful. There is that initial impression of finding a jewel of a town buried on the back road off Nebraska’s I-80. Be careful of what you trust. Have you ever visited a resort whose brochure promised luxurious lodging, and tours of historic sites including photos of how they deliver on their promise? Then when you’ve been there more than five minutes, you get a big let down. That is the first chapter of Hidden.
Would heaven have one old street? Will Catch and his barbed remarks be as cute when Sheridan catches him off guard? Oh, ho ho be ye careful of that one.
Gina: How did you come up with the name of the town, Hidden?
G. K. Fralin: I was trying to figure out a place forSheridan to be trapped. The idea of a town tucked away from the eyes and knowledge of the world implies Hidden. It fit my ‘what if’ premise. I simply could not think of a more appropriate name than Hidden. The citizen’s of Hidden prefer similarly direct names. They seem obsessed with name meanings.
Gina: How long did it take you to write the book and when did you start writing it?
G. K. Fralin: Now that is a story in itself. THE SEARCH: LUNIS FLOWER OF HIDDEN began years ago as an interactive story with my daughter Nina at bedtime. It bears many of the same elements. The name of that story was The Lunis Flower and the main character was Lucinda.
I rewrote it as an 8000 word grown up version and it turned in a different direction. Nina is now in her late twenties, but the story still contains elements of her influence.
I was having trouble in the new version connecting with my main character in a way that my readers could relate to her.
What I ended up doing was writing a life for Sheridan that became an unpublished novel length story of its own. That set a background for her and developed her personality and life events. THE SEARCH: LIVING BEDOUIN is mentioned in THE SEARCH: LUNIS FLOWER OF HIDDEN. I haven’t published THE SEARCH: LIVING BEDOUIN.
Gina: What genre would you say THE SEARCH: LUNIS FLOWER OF HIDDEN, is?
G. K. Fralin: THE SEARCH: LUNIS FLOWER OF HIDDEN is a Christian fantasy full of adventure, suspense, and mystery.
Gina: Tell me about the sketch for the poem The Monster’s Dinner (which is adorable. I’m thinking I’d entertain more if I could lay out dust and decorate with cobwebs!)
G. K. Fralin: I’ll warn you, this story is not for the faint of heart.
I wrote The Monster’s Dinner several years ago. When I wanted to publish it, I wanted a picture to go with it.
When I decided on a sketch, I asked my daughter Angie to draw it. She thought I was nuts. Angela’s talent for painting, design and photography took a huge hit when she was cutting the zip tie off of a toy for her son. The knife she was using slipped and her left eye permanently injured. The doctors did surgery, but the cornea is still scared. The accident would have knocked me off my feet. She is one resilient woman. I can’t help but be in awe of her ability to bounce back and take life on.
She learned how to drive by using intuition and memory to gauge depth and distance. She started working on clothing for her doll collection again. However, she resolved that she was not going to have the chance to draw or paint again. She covers the bad eye just to read.
I didn’t ask her as a therapeutic exercise, I hoped it would be, but I really wanted her to do it. Questions hit me like, am I pushing too hard for something she has accepted is gone? Was I going to ask her to break her heart all over again?
Her husband James, bless him, is the perfect match for her. He took the time to stand by and let her know when something wasn’t looking right, and he encouraged her. I’d asked for it to be childlike because of the poem. The detail and elements she put in that sketch made it the perfect search and find for kids and adults.
She has since done other projects including the drawing of the Lunis Flower on the cover of my book The Search: Lunis Flower of Hidden.
* * *
In closing, I hope you will all stop by Glenda's rich red blogsite. From that point, you can find out where to buy her book and even read the first chapter of her novel, THE SEARCH: LUNIS FLOWER OF HIDDEN. Thank you Glenda for the great responses.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Interview with author G. M. Stevens.
Interview with Gina Barlean AKA G. M. Stevens
By G. K. Fralin
G. M. Stevens is a shocking double personality. What, did I just accuse the writer I am interviewing of being psychotic? No, I do not think so. Authors have the ability to have multiple personalities they can portray on paper. G. M. Stevens the author eclipses Gina’s sweet nature in her stories. However, on her blog Gina Barlean opens up unashamedly portraying her love of cooking, travel, being a farm wife, and having a family.
Gina may well be that sweet innocent woman of the plains. However, G. M. Stevens breaks free from the bonds of a simple life and into a world of crime, the darkness of an overbearing religious family patron, then breaking back into the humorous side of life with a story about a man named Barney Pfeiffer.
Q. Gina from what I have related to the reader so far, do you feel I have portrayed you with any accuracy?
A. You are very close, I think. I do live a simple life on a farm, near a small, rural community. I'm fairly typical and blend in quite nicely with the locals - but little do they know.... mwahahahaha.
Although I love teaching Bible stories to a Confirmation class at my church, and I always volunteer to work the canteen at the blood drives, I also love to read Stephen King and watch horror movies. Like the characters I try to create, I like most people have layers of personality that make me who I am. One can't run around acting out the horror movies we watch now, can we? I don't though, write what I consider horror. I like a deep topic and a good moral at the end with some of my writing and I enjoy using dramatic situations to achieve that. The book I hope to publish within the next six months is such a story. The tentative title is CASTING STONES: SAVING JAMES RAVEN. This dramatic, single title work should leave the reader pondering things for a day or two, if not longer.
Q. G. M. Stevens sent me a chapter of a story in progress about a man who sees himself as the hand of God over a family cringing in fear of his violent teachings. I must say, I wanted to shoot the guy from the beginning, and I am not violent. How did you come up with this character?
A. Something that has been in the news for a while is the picketing by the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka Kansas. Their leader Fred Phelps is certainly the type of person who looms heavily in my concerns for how people can negatively perceive Christians. The character in the book I am working on is the epitome of how not to see all Christians. I've also had family members who have border-lined on this type of zealous, judgmental example. Hypocrisy is at the heart of the "moral to the story" that I am trying to achieve. I want the reader to hate that character. He is one of the stories villains.
Q. I want to ask one more question about the voices of THE BARTON FAMILY. You give a voice to each character in the book. Each character intrigued me. As an author myself, I must ask how you keep these voices separated?
A. I am an aspiring author. I started seriously writing in 2009 and I'm on a mission to learn the craft. I'm still in the process. Of course, I don't think I'll ever be done learning, but I make huge strides every day. There is so much more to writing than I would have ever expected. Writing the story is the easy part by far. Marketing, creating a platform, learning how to submit, being involved with writing groups and critique groups... the list goes on and on. Yet, the most important thing to me at this point, is learning the proper skills to honor the art of writing itself. One thing I'm learning through a critique partner I've found, is how to avoid "head hopping". I so love to be the omniscient observer and slide in and out of every character's thoughts. I'm doing my level best to resolve this bad writing habit. I am hoping by the time I publish any of my books, I will have them fine tuned and easy to read. I love to read old books, not necessarily classics, but more just things written in the past. I was just reading some short stories by Flannery O'Connor. I love her wording and style. I also love that narrative style and yes, her work kind of head-hops. I suppose it's all of these things that lead me to write this way, yet, I realize today's readers, particularly genre readers, prefer point of view to be clearer.
Q. Your crime novel DEAD BLOW meets sledgehammer to head. My minds eye immediately saw a shed with walls splattered with blood and a menacing figure standing in the darkest corner with a giant sledgehammer. I felt chills and that was from the synopsis. Do you have a shed on your farm that inspired this story? Where does the peaceful Gina go when G. M. Stevens crawls into your mind to relate to these violent fiends?
A. Ha. Well, maybe the fiend-creating GM Stevens keeps Gina so peaceful. Yes, I have this exact shed on our farm. It's funny because when I was writing this murder scene I wasn't sure what farm tool I wanted to use as the murder weapon. I wandered out to my husband's machine shed in which he also has a machine shop. It didn't take me long to find a Dead Blow sledge hammer leaning beside a table, just begging to be written about. I'll enclose the picture I took of it. Then I proceeded to handle the hammer and feel what it would be like to swing it. It was a good experiment and helped me write the murder scene and ultimately title the book. I also spent time talking to my husband about how the hammer is made and used and why it's different than a regular hammer.
Q. Your biography lists other accomplishments from you life. Careers, family, and many other factors influence many authors. You have owned and run a photography studio, been the Director of the David City Chamber of Commerce, and most recently you joined and participated in the events of the Nebraska Writer’s Guild. What drives you as a person and a writer?
A. I think above all else, I'm a curious person. I am a creative soul I suppose. I've been a painter, a singer, a jewelry maker. I sew, crochet, cook, garden... and who knows what will drive me next. I pursue the things that interest me, and let's face it... the world is a very interesting place!
I hope you'll all be watching for me. You can follow me on twitter. Look for @thegmstevens. I have a blog called thegmstevens.wordpress.com, and website, gmstevens.com. I have an author page on Face Book too. I currently belong to the Nebraska Writers Guild and a new founded group in Seward, Nebraska called The Local Muse. I hope to publish both DEAD BLOW and CASTING STONES: SAVING JAMES RAVEN, by the spring of 2012. CASTING STONES may very well end up becoming a series.
I'm also working on a mother/daughter mystery series, which I think will prove I can let my silly side out. This will be a quirky jaunt with fun characters. The main character is Cyd Cherise DeGraffe, the bumbling middle-aged gal whose daughter has to get her out of all the trouble she finds. (Maybe that's the real me after all!)
Welcome readers, to the school of writing that all authors join from the first snippet of a poem or story. Gina, aka G. M. Stevens chose to add a new career to her repertoire of successes. She chose to write. I look forward to reading her books and encourage you to be looking for them soon.
I found it refreshing to interview an individual coming into the world of words from a fresh point of view. The mistakes we make in the beginning can become the builders that help our characters evolve. Constructive criticism will always help a writer grow.
G. M. Stevens is breaking out in a big way. She seems to be unafraid of a challenge. She encourages me, as an author, to jump into the deep water of ‘what if’ without reservation.
By G. K. Fralin
G. M. Stevens is a shocking double personality. What, did I just accuse the writer I am interviewing of being psychotic? No, I do not think so. Authors have the ability to have multiple personalities they can portray on paper. G. M. Stevens the author eclipses Gina’s sweet nature in her stories. However, on her blog Gina Barlean opens up unashamedly portraying her love of cooking, travel, being a farm wife, and having a family.
Gina may well be that sweet innocent woman of the plains. However, G. M. Stevens breaks free from the bonds of a simple life and into a world of crime, the darkness of an overbearing religious family patron, then breaking back into the humorous side of life with a story about a man named Barney Pfeiffer.
Q. Gina from what I have related to the reader so far, do you feel I have portrayed you with any accuracy?
A. You are very close, I think. I do live a simple life on a farm, near a small, rural community. I'm fairly typical and blend in quite nicely with the locals - but little do they know.... mwahahahaha.
Although I love teaching Bible stories to a Confirmation class at my church, and I always volunteer to work the canteen at the blood drives, I also love to read Stephen King and watch horror movies. Like the characters I try to create, I like most people have layers of personality that make me who I am. One can't run around acting out the horror movies we watch now, can we? I don't though, write what I consider horror. I like a deep topic and a good moral at the end with some of my writing and I enjoy using dramatic situations to achieve that. The book I hope to publish within the next six months is such a story. The tentative title is CASTING STONES: SAVING JAMES RAVEN. This dramatic, single title work should leave the reader pondering things for a day or two, if not longer.
Q. G. M. Stevens sent me a chapter of a story in progress about a man who sees himself as the hand of God over a family cringing in fear of his violent teachings. I must say, I wanted to shoot the guy from the beginning, and I am not violent. How did you come up with this character?
A. Something that has been in the news for a while is the picketing by the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka Kansas. Their leader Fred Phelps is certainly the type of person who looms heavily in my concerns for how people can negatively perceive Christians. The character in the book I am working on is the epitome of how not to see all Christians. I've also had family members who have border-lined on this type of zealous, judgmental example. Hypocrisy is at the heart of the "moral to the story" that I am trying to achieve. I want the reader to hate that character. He is one of the stories villains.
Q. I want to ask one more question about the voices of THE BARTON FAMILY. You give a voice to each character in the book. Each character intrigued me. As an author myself, I must ask how you keep these voices separated?
A. I am an aspiring author. I started seriously writing in 2009 and I'm on a mission to learn the craft. I'm still in the process. Of course, I don't think I'll ever be done learning, but I make huge strides every day. There is so much more to writing than I would have ever expected. Writing the story is the easy part by far. Marketing, creating a platform, learning how to submit, being involved with writing groups and critique groups... the list goes on and on. Yet, the most important thing to me at this point, is learning the proper skills to honor the art of writing itself. One thing I'm learning through a critique partner I've found, is how to avoid "head hopping". I so love to be the omniscient observer and slide in and out of every character's thoughts. I'm doing my level best to resolve this bad writing habit. I am hoping by the time I publish any of my books, I will have them fine tuned and easy to read. I love to read old books, not necessarily classics, but more just things written in the past. I was just reading some short stories by Flannery O'Connor. I love her wording and style. I also love that narrative style and yes, her work kind of head-hops. I suppose it's all of these things that lead me to write this way, yet, I realize today's readers, particularly genre readers, prefer point of view to be clearer.
Q. Your crime novel DEAD BLOW meets sledgehammer to head. My minds eye immediately saw a shed with walls splattered with blood and a menacing figure standing in the darkest corner with a giant sledgehammer. I felt chills and that was from the synopsis. Do you have a shed on your farm that inspired this story? Where does the peaceful Gina go when G. M. Stevens crawls into your mind to relate to these violent fiends?
A. Ha. Well, maybe the fiend-creating GM Stevens keeps Gina so peaceful. Yes, I have this exact shed on our farm. It's funny because when I was writing this murder scene I wasn't sure what farm tool I wanted to use as the murder weapon. I wandered out to my husband's machine shed in which he also has a machine shop. It didn't take me long to find a Dead Blow sledge hammer leaning beside a table, just begging to be written about. I'll enclose the picture I took of it. Then I proceeded to handle the hammer and feel what it would be like to swing it. It was a good experiment and helped me write the murder scene and ultimately title the book. I also spent time talking to my husband about how the hammer is made and used and why it's different than a regular hammer.
Q. Your biography lists other accomplishments from you life. Careers, family, and many other factors influence many authors. You have owned and run a photography studio, been the Director of the David City Chamber of Commerce, and most recently you joined and participated in the events of the Nebraska Writer’s Guild. What drives you as a person and a writer?
A. I think above all else, I'm a curious person. I am a creative soul I suppose. I've been a painter, a singer, a jewelry maker. I sew, crochet, cook, garden... and who knows what will drive me next. I pursue the things that interest me, and let's face it... the world is a very interesting place!
I hope you'll all be watching for me. You can follow me on twitter. Look for @thegmstevens. I have a blog called thegmstevens.wordpress.com, and website, gmstevens.com. I have an author page on Face Book too. I currently belong to the Nebraska Writers Guild and a new founded group in Seward, Nebraska called The Local Muse. I hope to publish both DEAD BLOW and CASTING STONES: SAVING JAMES RAVEN, by the spring of 2012. CASTING STONES may very well end up becoming a series.
I'm also working on a mother/daughter mystery series, which I think will prove I can let my silly side out. This will be a quirky jaunt with fun characters. The main character is Cyd Cherise DeGraffe, the bumbling middle-aged gal whose daughter has to get her out of all the trouble she finds. (Maybe that's the real me after all!)
Welcome readers, to the school of writing that all authors join from the first snippet of a poem or story. Gina, aka G. M. Stevens chose to add a new career to her repertoire of successes. She chose to write. I look forward to reading her books and encourage you to be looking for them soon.
I found it refreshing to interview an individual coming into the world of words from a fresh point of view. The mistakes we make in the beginning can become the builders that help our characters evolve. Constructive criticism will always help a writer grow.
G. M. Stevens is breaking out in a big way. She seems to be unafraid of a challenge. She encourages me, as an author, to jump into the deep water of ‘what if’ without reservation.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Print version of The Monster's Dinner
The Monster’s Dinner
All monsters and ghouls
had RSVP’d they would
all be to dinner
on All Hallows Eve.
In formal attire they would
attend this affair. The ghosts
in fresh linens of ghastly repair,
the goblins with grandiose garb
would appear and vampires
in new tatters and tales
topped off the list of regales .
The children excited to meet
their new friends, in the old
haunted house at the end
of the bend. What fanciful
fun this fantastical night,
all would be honored with
harrowing fright.
So, the cobwebs were spun
the dust newly lain
Skeleton Catering served
spider egg salad with
bat wing entrees.
With appalling appetite
the blood pudding was slurped.
Then all jumped to their toes
for a dizzying twirl
of the wing-a-ding whirl.
The monsters and ghouls
voted to add their young hosts
to their hideous guild
of gruesome goblins and ghosts.
The children now live
in the old haunted house
at the end of the bend,
prefer tricks with their treats
and their ghastly new friends.
All monsters and ghouls
had RSVP’d they would
all be to dinner
on All Hallows Eve.
In formal attire they would
attend this affair. The ghosts
in fresh linens of ghastly repair,
the goblins with grandiose garb
would appear and vampires
in new tatters and tales
topped off the list of regales .
The children excited to meet
their new friends, in the old
haunted house at the end
of the bend. What fanciful
fun this fantastical night,
all would be honored with
harrowing fright.
So, the cobwebs were spun
the dust newly lain
Skeleton Catering served
spider egg salad with
bat wing entrees.
With appalling appetite
the blood pudding was slurped.
Then all jumped to their toes
for a dizzying twirl
of the wing-a-ding whirl.
The monsters and ghouls
voted to add their young hosts
to their hideous guild
of gruesome goblins and ghosts.
The children now live
in the old haunted house
at the end of the bend,
prefer tricks with their treats
and their ghastly new friends.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Interview with Children's Author Mary Anderson
Mary Anderson has awards and recognitions from Nebraska schools and organizations including the 2003 Literary Award from Moonshell Arts and Humanities of Hall County, Nebraska. She has written articles for upwards of 80 periodicals over the past 15 years. She writes children’s books that deal with issues that kids deal with on a daily basis.
Her book GRACIE GANNON MIDDLE SCHOOL ZERO focuses on a girl who experiences family loss of income and reduction of lifestyle and loss of status at school leading to bullying by her former best friends.
Other books in Mary Anderson’s portfolio include:
LINK ACROSS NEBRASKA A STORY OF THE HISTORIC LINCOLN HIGHWAY
TAKING CEREBRAL PALSY TO SCHOOL
IT’S ME AGAIN, GOD
EVER WONDER WHAT TO DO? ALL ABOUT MANNERS
WHY DID THEY BUILD A FENCE
Mary Anderson’s educational history includes a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education, 30 Plus Graduate hours in the education field and a list of conferences and workshops for writing
http://www.meanderson.com/
Q. Mary, I’m impressed that your children’s books deal with issues children face today. As an educator, what can you tell us about your own experiences that led you to focus on these topics?
A. Yes, many of my books and stories deal with issues children face today. That's really, where my passion lies, in the hope of helping some of these children through the bumps in the road of life. I always wanted to write a book about the subject of school bullying, because of one classmate I went through all the school years with. This child was verbally teased (we called it teasing, but he was verbally abused), throughout his twelve years of school. My classmates weren't actually mean, but they could see this child was an easy target. Fortunately, I didn't enter into a lot of this, because his mother was a friend of my mother. However, I don't think I ever helped him out of any of the situations. I was a so-called "innocent" bystander. My classmates and I have talked about this in later years, feel badly about the situation, and wish it had never happened. I vowed a long time ago to try to write books that would speak to schoolchildren about the long-term results of treating someone in this manner. So that is how the book "Gracie Gannon: Middle School Zero" evolved.
Q. Personally, I have worked with people with special needs. Do you believe in mainstreaming students with special needs such as cerebral palsy, autism and other openly apparent differences?
A. My granddaughter's class has a child with severe CP problems. He has a wonderful aid who accompanies him every minute of the day. If aids like this are available to help in the classrooms, I think it is a win-win situation. If the school budget doesn't cover this, I am not in favor of mainstreaming the children with severe handicaps. The teacher has to spend too much time focusing on the child with the disability. Many times the other children don't receive the attention they deserve.
Q. What do you want teachers to take away from your handling of often delicate but very real issues with children?
A. I want not only teachers, but parents as well to take time to listen to children who obviously and sometimes not so obviously are unhappy, sad and depressed due to problems. I am a mentor in Tom Osborne's Teammate Mentoring Service. I have a sixth grade child who benefits so much from just talking to me. All I basically do is listen. Neither her mother nor her father takes enough time to listen to her many problems. She gets lost in the shuffle. All children will usually open up and talk about their problems on a one-to-one basis.
Q. You've written about other topics in your articles and magazines that don't particularly deal with education. What drew you to these other subjects?
A. I first started writing greeting card sentiments for Blue Mountain Arts greeting cards. That was fun. I then got interested in interviewing people with unusual and unique hobbies, etc. That, too, was fun. I had lots of material with my three children and their friends, so tried my hand at writing personal experience articles about them. (Never revealing their names, of course) They didn't care, and I don't believe they even read many of the articles.
I wrote "Ever Wonder What to Do: All About Manners," because I couldn't find a good manners book for my first grandchild. She's now 18, in college and has good manners!
"It's Me Again, God" evolved due to writing stories for "My Friend" magazine. I wrote according to what the magazine requested and then realized I had almost enough stories for a book. I delved into some other topics of interest to children, and then wrote enough stories to fill this story devotional book. Each story is prefaced by questions kids wonder about. The story answers the questions and then ends with a Bible verse and a prayer.
Q. What drove me to write about the Lincoln Highway?
A. Our good friends in Iowa were president and vice-president of the Lincoln Highway Association in the early 1990s. That subject is all they seemed interested in discussing. Pretty soon, I became interested in the subject, too. My husband and I traveled the complete route of the highway from Times Square to Lincoln Park in San Francisco. We took many photos for the book, which came out in 1997. There seems to be additional interest in the Lincoln Highway all the time. I recently placed another book order with my publishers this past week.
Q. What subjects do you suggest young writers start to write?
A. I suggest young writers start writing about whatever interests them the most. I ask questions such as: What are their favorite things to do? What hobbies do they have? Do they have any animals? If they could go anywhere in the world, where would they choose to visit? Usually they like to start writing short stories based on their own experiences.
Q. What are you most proud of in my career as a writer?
A. I am proud when I go into a library and see my book on the shelf. What a thrill. It's fun to see it on the shelf in bookstores, too. Nevertheless, what sometimes brings a tear to my eye is when a child comes up to me to say they have read my book and really liked it. Then ask me to tell them about the next books I'm planning to write. Sometimes I receive letters from children. That totally makes me proud.
Dear Readers, It is apparent that Mary Anderson writes with a purpose. From this interview, I have learned her books are not only important for children to read, but for parents, teachers, and even grandparents. We affect the world of our children, as do their peers.
Mary Anderson is one of our Nebraska authors and we are proud to count her in our ranks. Her strength of character and expertise make her a writer who walks it as well as writes it. I’m honored that she took time from her busy schedule for this interview.
Please read this interview on my blog at http://www.wordsprings.blogspot.com and on Mary’s blog/site at
Her book GRACIE GANNON MIDDLE SCHOOL ZERO focuses on a girl who experiences family loss of income and reduction of lifestyle and loss of status at school leading to bullying by her former best friends.
Other books in Mary Anderson’s portfolio include:
LINK ACROSS NEBRASKA A STORY OF THE HISTORIC LINCOLN HIGHWAY
TAKING CEREBRAL PALSY TO SCHOOL
IT’S ME AGAIN, GOD
EVER WONDER WHAT TO DO? ALL ABOUT MANNERS
WHY DID THEY BUILD A FENCE
Mary Anderson’s educational history includes a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education, 30 Plus Graduate hours in the education field and a list of conferences and workshops for writing
http://www.meanderson.com/
Q. Mary, I’m impressed that your children’s books deal with issues children face today. As an educator, what can you tell us about your own experiences that led you to focus on these topics?
A. Yes, many of my books and stories deal with issues children face today. That's really, where my passion lies, in the hope of helping some of these children through the bumps in the road of life. I always wanted to write a book about the subject of school bullying, because of one classmate I went through all the school years with. This child was verbally teased (we called it teasing, but he was verbally abused), throughout his twelve years of school. My classmates weren't actually mean, but they could see this child was an easy target. Fortunately, I didn't enter into a lot of this, because his mother was a friend of my mother. However, I don't think I ever helped him out of any of the situations. I was a so-called "innocent" bystander. My classmates and I have talked about this in later years, feel badly about the situation, and wish it had never happened. I vowed a long time ago to try to write books that would speak to schoolchildren about the long-term results of treating someone in this manner. So that is how the book "Gracie Gannon: Middle School Zero" evolved.
Q. Personally, I have worked with people with special needs. Do you believe in mainstreaming students with special needs such as cerebral palsy, autism and other openly apparent differences?
A. My granddaughter's class has a child with severe CP problems. He has a wonderful aid who accompanies him every minute of the day. If aids like this are available to help in the classrooms, I think it is a win-win situation. If the school budget doesn't cover this, I am not in favor of mainstreaming the children with severe handicaps. The teacher has to spend too much time focusing on the child with the disability. Many times the other children don't receive the attention they deserve.
Q. What do you want teachers to take away from your handling of often delicate but very real issues with children?
A. I want not only teachers, but parents as well to take time to listen to children who obviously and sometimes not so obviously are unhappy, sad and depressed due to problems. I am a mentor in Tom Osborne's Teammate Mentoring Service. I have a sixth grade child who benefits so much from just talking to me. All I basically do is listen. Neither her mother nor her father takes enough time to listen to her many problems. She gets lost in the shuffle. All children will usually open up and talk about their problems on a one-to-one basis.
Q. You've written about other topics in your articles and magazines that don't particularly deal with education. What drew you to these other subjects?
A. I first started writing greeting card sentiments for Blue Mountain Arts greeting cards. That was fun. I then got interested in interviewing people with unusual and unique hobbies, etc. That, too, was fun. I had lots of material with my three children and their friends, so tried my hand at writing personal experience articles about them. (Never revealing their names, of course) They didn't care, and I don't believe they even read many of the articles.
I wrote "Ever Wonder What to Do: All About Manners," because I couldn't find a good manners book for my first grandchild. She's now 18, in college and has good manners!
"It's Me Again, God" evolved due to writing stories for "My Friend" magazine. I wrote according to what the magazine requested and then realized I had almost enough stories for a book. I delved into some other topics of interest to children, and then wrote enough stories to fill this story devotional book. Each story is prefaced by questions kids wonder about. The story answers the questions and then ends with a Bible verse and a prayer.
Q. What drove me to write about the Lincoln Highway?
A. Our good friends in Iowa were president and vice-president of the Lincoln Highway Association in the early 1990s. That subject is all they seemed interested in discussing. Pretty soon, I became interested in the subject, too. My husband and I traveled the complete route of the highway from Times Square to Lincoln Park in San Francisco. We took many photos for the book, which came out in 1997. There seems to be additional interest in the Lincoln Highway all the time. I recently placed another book order with my publishers this past week.
Q. What subjects do you suggest young writers start to write?
A. I suggest young writers start writing about whatever interests them the most. I ask questions such as: What are their favorite things to do? What hobbies do they have? Do they have any animals? If they could go anywhere in the world, where would they choose to visit? Usually they like to start writing short stories based on their own experiences.
Q. What are you most proud of in my career as a writer?
A. I am proud when I go into a library and see my book on the shelf. What a thrill. It's fun to see it on the shelf in bookstores, too. Nevertheless, what sometimes brings a tear to my eye is when a child comes up to me to say they have read my book and really liked it. Then ask me to tell them about the next books I'm planning to write. Sometimes I receive letters from children. That totally makes me proud.
Dear Readers, It is apparent that Mary Anderson writes with a purpose. From this interview, I have learned her books are not only important for children to read, but for parents, teachers, and even grandparents. We affect the world of our children, as do their peers.
Mary Anderson is one of our Nebraska authors and we are proud to count her in our ranks. Her strength of character and expertise make her a writer who walks it as well as writes it. I’m honored that she took time from her busy schedule for this interview.
Please read this interview on my blog at http://www.wordsprings.blogspot.com and on Mary’s blog/site at
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