Author Wolfgang Parker on his Award-Winning Book

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME A WRITER? Playing Dungeons & Dragons.

WAS THERE A TEACHER OR OTHER MENTOR WHO INFLUENCED YOUR WRITING? I was fortunate that Steve Niles, author of 30 Days of Night, was generous with his insight and encouragement.

HOW DID YOU GET THE IDEA FOR YOUR AWARD WINNING BOOK? The Crime Cats books were originally Christmas gifts for my 19 nieces and nephews. I never had intention of writing for kids. I was just looking for a way to stay in their lives and pass along some wisdom.

WHICH OF YOUR CHARACTERS FROM YOUR AWARD WINNING TITLE DO YOU BELIEVE ARE MOST LIKE YOU AND WHY? I see a lot of myself in Orville Dusenbury. He's the neighborhood recluse, who lives in a dilapidated house, and often relates to kids more than adults. He's a bit lost in life.

WHAT MESSAGE DO YOU HOPE READERS WILL GLEAN FROM YOUR AWARD WINNING BOOK? That we must let go of anger. It becomes poison to our bodies and souls if we hold onto it.

TELL US SOMETHING FUN ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A WRITER: More than a few of my readers believe I am actually a werewolf. So far, I've had nothing to do with the perpetuation of this myth.

IF YOU COULD BE COMPARED TO A WELL-KNOWN AUTHOR WHO WOULD YOU MOST WANT THIS TO BE AND WHY? John Bellairs. His work was a major influence on my own writing.

WHAT HAS HAD THE GREATEST IMPACT ON YOUR LIFE? My own self-discovery. The more I work through the process of figuring out who I am—and who I've been—the more I'm able to take part in life. I have a long history of dysfunction that stems from childhood trauma.

HOW DID YOU GET PUBLISHED? I self-publish.

IF A CLOSE FRIEND OR LOVED ONE WANTED TO WRITE A BOOK, WHAT GREATEST PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE THEM? Write for the love of writing. The fewer expectations you place on yourself and the book, the more you'll enjoy it.

CAN YOU OFFER ANY ADVICE FOR WRITERS ON HOW BEST TO PROMOTE THEIR BOOK? Do it in person and often.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR GREATEST LITERARY ACCOMPLISHMENT? Writing three novels. And by that, I mean I actually finished them.

WHAT ARE YOUR GREATEST LITERARY ASPIRATIONS? I would like to make my living as a creative writer.

TELL US SOMETHING PEOPLE MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU THAT THEY MIGHT FIND INTERESTING: I was a punk rock recording artist once upon a time. I toured and still have fans all over.

WHAT (IF ANY) OTHER BOOKS HAVE YOU PUBLISHED?

Crime Cats: Missing (which won the Silver Medal in the Literary Classics Awards in 2016)

Crime Cats: The Deadly Scarab

DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW BOOKS IN THE WORKS? I will be working on the fourth Crime Cats novel later this year

LITERARY CLASSICS Book Awards & Reviews International Book Awards • Top Honors Youth Book Awards • Seal of Approval http://www.clcawards.org

Author Spotlight

Award winning author, Suzanne Slade 

on her award winning title...

The Great Divide

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WRITING?
I've been a full-time writer for 17 years

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BEGIN WRITING?
When my children were very young I began reading them stacks of picture books every day and fell back in love with picture books. Those special reading times with my children led me to begin writing children's books.

WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND YOUR AWARD WINNING TITLE, The Great Divide?
My other math titles with animal themes had been very popular with schools and parents, and had won a few awards, so I decided to write a division book which became THE GREAT DIVIDE. I got the idea to include cool animal group names (such as a bale of turtles, a charm of hummingbirds, a smack of jellyfish, and a crash of rhinos) when the librarian of a school I was visiting gave me a bookmark with animal group names.

WHAT OTHER BOOKS HAVE YOU PUBLISHED?
I've written over 90 books for children with nine different publishers (all published since 2006.) You can find a list of the titles on my website "Book Page".

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR NEXT BOOK:
My newest picture book, THE HOUSE THAT GEORGE BUILT, released this past summer and is a 2012 Junior Library Guild Selection. My next picture book, SUSAN & FREDERICK, comes out in 2014. The illustrator for that title was just selected last week, so I'm very excited!

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF:
I grew up in the small town of Goshen, IN (which is surrounded by the third largest Amish community in the country.)  In school, math and science were my favorite classes. Now I live in a suburb outside Chicago with my husband of 25 years, Mike. My daughter started college this year and my son leaves for college next year, so we are soon to be "empty-nesters."

TELL US SOMETHING FUN/INTERESTING THAT OUR READERS MIGHT FIND FASCINATING ABOUT YOU:
Readers are often surprised when I tell them I have a mechanical engineering degree and used to test Delta IV rockets and design brake components in my engineering days. I think I'll always be a nerd at heart!

WHAT DO YOU MOST ENJOY DOING IN YOUR SPARE TIME?
I enjoy rollerblading at a large park near my home and admiring its beautiful ponds and wildlife. I also walk my tiny dog, Corduroy, every day.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW/MOVIE?
Quite honestly, I don't watch a whole lot of TV. Lately, my husband and I have been watching documentaries about past presidents on DVDs I check out from the library.

WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU FACE AS AN AUTHOR?
One of my biggest challenges is to decide which story idea to work on next. I have many ideas, but only so many writing hours each week. The trick is to determine which ideas have the most potential and will interest readers and publishers.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR OTHER ASPIRING AUTHORS?
I definitely recommend joining SCBWI (Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators.) It's the best place for people who want to write children’s books. I also recommend taking writing classes and attending writing conferences. It’s extremely helpful for aspiring authors to find other writers who are interested in the same genre, so they can read each others’ work and provide helpful feedback. My writer friends are invaluable to me, not only for manuscript critiques, but also for encouragement when rejection letters arrive. I’ve heard that most children’s book publishers will publish less than one percent of the manuscripts they receive. So it’s easy to see why good writing friends are essential when the going gets tough, and it’s fun to celebrate a new book contract with your writing friends too!

CAN YOU OFFER ANY TIPS ON GETTING PUBLISHED?
My main advice for getting published is to keep working on your writing. I see many writers who focus so much time and energy on researching and submitting to editors and agents, that they end up spending too little time on the craft of writing. From what I've seen, exceptionally written stories find their way out of editor slush piles and get published.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH OUR READERS?
Readers can learn about more about me, my other math titles (WHAT'S NEW AT THE ZOO?, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?, AND MULTIPLY ON THE FLY), and find more tips for aspiring writers on my website at www.suzanneslade.com. 

LITERARY CLASSICS Book Reviews & Awards http://literaryclassicsreviews.com

Author Barbara Bockman, on her Award Winning Title - Fantastic Flight

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WRITING? I began taking courses in children's writing over twenty years ago. It took me a few years to get up the courage to start submitting [my work to publishers].

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BEGIN WRITING? I was inspired to write by my love of reading and also by my love of the English language. In school, I was one of the few students who enjoyed parsing sentences and diagramming them. From Dick and Jane onward, I became an avid reader. One of my greatest joys in life is reading a well-written passage. After obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Library Science (my first was in English), I realized as much as I love physical books and handling them, I love the stories even more.

WHAT INSPIRED YOUR AWARD WINNING TITLE, Fantastic Flight ? Fantastic Flight was inspired by an incident involving my husband and our granddaughter. He was kidding around with her and pretended her balloon was carrying him away. They were having such fun; and it became the germ for my story.

WE'D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR OTHER PUBLISHED WORKS
My first published book is a middle grade e-novel, Wounds, published by MuseItUp Publishing.

DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW BOOKS IN THE WORKS? My work in progress is another middle grade novel, with the working title of RANIL AND THE BABY ELEPHANT, set in Sri Lanka. I can’t say when it will be available; it’s requiring a lot of research. I also have three other books under contract with Guardian Angel Publishing.

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF: I grew up in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina and I still love to visit there from my home in Florida. I married an Army Officer and we lived in various places in the US, Europe, and Japan. I have four children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. After my husband retired from the Army and we moved to Florida, I obtained my Masters Degree in English and taught at Pensacola Junior College.  I love to travel with my grandchildren. I took four of them to Alaska, three of them to Europe, two others to the UK and Ireland. When my granddaughter was an undergraduate, I went with her and her class to China one year and to Italy and Greece the next year. My head is still spinning.

WHAT DO YOU MOST ENJOY DOING IN YOUR SPARE TIME? My favorite hobby is raising butterflies. I grow the flowers that attract the females. The caterpillars eat those plants, so I supply other nectar flowers for the adult butterflies. The green chrysalis of the monarch, with its flecks of gold, is one of the most beautiful sights in nature. The butterflies most common in this part of Florida are monarchs, gulf fritillaries, zebra longwings, and various swallowtails.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SHOW? I like both Masterpiece Classics and Masterpiece Mystery and also dramas that do not involve forensics, such as White Collar. I suppose I’m a bit squeamish.

WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU FACE AS AN AUTHOR? My biggest challenge is procrastination. With so many projects to choose from, sometimes it’s hard to decide which to work on, so I put it off.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR OTHER ASPIRING AUTHORS? My advice to other aspiring authors is to write the kind of books you like to read, learn the craft, get to know your genre, join a critique group, and have faith in yourself.

CAN YOU OFFER ANY TIPS ON GETTING PUBLISHED? An author should study the market and make sure she is submitting her finest work to the right publishers.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH OUR READERS? I feel that writing for children is a moral responsibility [for me]. My hope is that all of my writing will be uplifting to my readers.

LITERARY CLASSICS Book Reviews & Awards http://literaryclassicsreviews.com