Are you a pantser or a plotter? Can you share a little about your writing process? I, honestly, did not even know of those terms till this past year, so I'll do my best to answer. I think I fall somewhere in the middle. When I set out to write the book, I know how it will begin and usually know how I want it to end. It's the middle that I improvise along the way. I often write scenes as they come to me, as though I am watching them on a movie screen. I write them and then I figure out where they go in sequence and polish them up in editing later. Some things do get scrapped, but not a lot, and those are saved, because you never know if that scene could work in another book. I really enjoyed the different pop culture references in Squeak. Did you grow up in the 80’s and was it a blast from the past to write in this decade or did it take some research? Yes, I was an '80's kid! I like to say I had the best of three worlds as in my childhood. I was born right in the mid 1970's-1974--so a small part of my childhood was the '70's, the majority of it being the '80's, and the last three years(16-19)was early '90's. The only thing I DID have to research was the actual release dates of the movies and songs I cited because I wanted to be sure those things were already in existence at the time this story was set. I knew they were, but couldn't remember specific dates. Also, little things like whether or not the boys would still be drinking Coke out of glass bottles, in that slingshot demo chapter. You mention other books about talking mice in Squeak. Were some of those titles your favorites and, if so, why? Did you draw any inspiration from them? Oh yeah! I loved Beverly Cleary's Mouse and the Motorcycle series! I think that was way ahead of its time in a lot of ways. I also loved The Chronicles of Narnia. Oddly, I hadn't read Miss Bianca, but saw the movie on which it was based, The Rescuers, but I knew it was about a mouse who rescued a little girl. So I got this idea that Celeste was now a member of this strange, secret society of people like these authors who, for whatever reason, can speak to animals, particularly mice. So I thought "What a fun idea. Why not? If a sci-fi author can claim Michael Phelps is half- merman, then I can surely write that thing with Celeste is real." What inspired you to include illustrations? For other authors who are thinking of working with an illustrator, can you discuss that process a bit and any advice? Growing up reading books, I always loved the ones that had illustrations. My Wizard of Oz books that were lent to me by my mother, had gorgeous illustrations, and I always loved the ones in Alice in Wonderland. As for my illustrator, I found her purely because of association. Sydni Levi-Nasada was a student of my husband, who taught middle school and high school band many years ago. We've known her since she was in sixth-grade, but even then she was always drawing and painting, and we knew she was going places with her art. Though young, she was very ambitious and focused on what she wanted to do. Which at the time, I didn't know she wanted to illustrate children's books. So flash forward many years later, I mused to my husband that I needed to find an illustrator, and he gave me this "Duh" look and reminded me of her. I must admit, I didn't think she'd accept, but she surprised me. She even read the book front to back and loved it, which I think it's important. Just my opinion, but I'd advise when looking for an illustrator: Find one who also likes to read and will read your book. Believe me, it helps, and I think this is one of the things that helped her in her interpretations of my characters. Another thing I did: Even though she had read the book, she asked me for a detailed description of each character, physical as well as any personality traits, to capture. So, I did that. I, also, knew that I wanted the cover to be eye-catching and beautiful, but entice the reader and draw the eyes, making them ask questions, which I think we succeeded. The cover art you see was my conception, but she literally gave life to it. Celeste, the main character, lives with a medical condition that sometimes makes playing with her peers difficult. Why is representation like this, as well as other representation you have, important? To a child, especially, it's anything that makes you different from your peers. In Celeste's case, it's that she can't play normally like her peers. I have that same problem and it still can be a pain in the behind. And I know that there are probably others with that, but it's never talked about. So, I hope the things I describe that she goes through, someone-- young or old-- that has this also, will point at the book and say "Oh my god! This is me! She gets it" I think it would have been odd and unrealistic if there were only white kids in the whole class. A lot of the characters, you may be interested to know, are loosely based on real kids I knew. I changed last names and made them more fictional than not. Can you share a little about what you’re currently working on? What’s next for you? I am currently working on book 2 of this series. The title is "Cowboys & Queens." I have finished the first draft and am currently editing and revising. My illustrator is set to read it as soon as I am done with the final draft and then we will begin the collaboration for that. I will be releasing the synopsis for it on March 17th this year! Follow D.A. Power of social media! 10 year-old Celeste is as shy, quirky, and awkward as they come. After her mother remarries and moves her away from her few friends, she finds herself alone, and targeted by the local bullies. If that wasn't bad enough, her new stepfather happens to be her 5th grade teacher! One day, at the Lincoln Elementary School playground, using courage she didn't know she had, Celeste saves a mouse from the same bullies that torment her. Her bravery is the spark that shows her fellow 5th graders that she deserves a second look. Her weirdness is multiplied by an unusual new friend she has no choice but to keep to herself. The story takes place in Baxter Springs, a small Southeast Kansas town. It's a place where events become increasingly odd and bizarre in this first installment of D.A. Power's The Asher Chronicles.
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Originally posted on Goodreads! As a side job to support my writing career, I work as a yard supervisor at an elementary school. Part of this job includes assisting children in the lunchroom. That was what I was doing when some students noticed a cloud of smoke in the distance beyond the fence on the other side of the playground. A group of the students began speculating as to what might be the cause of the smoke. A fire seemed to be the most likely culprit, according to them. A house fire. Another little boy raised his hand to get my attention and informed me that he not only did not appreciate the type of conversation but that it was putting him off his lunch. I suggested to the group of students that they needed to respect the fact this other kid asked them to please stop and maybe speak quieter so the other student did not have to hear and could finish his food. Understandably, a conversation of that nature is rather frightening and even unsettling to think about. And, all in all, it is lunch time and the boy needed to be able to eat his food. As I walked away from the table, something about how I handled the situation did not sit right. What happened kept replaying in my head and upon a minute or so of more thought led me to another way of looking at it. Why shouldn't that group of students still be allowed to talk and speculate? Yes, it was an unsettling conversation, but what did it teach to them and that boy about when unsettling conversations are brought up? Just as that boy has a right to eat his lunch in peace, that group of students had a right to talk it out. Talking is a way of coping. And smoke, like a car accident, is hard to ignore. Human nature lends itself to curiosity and often talking it out is a way to reach an understanding. I went back to the table and told that boy, "You know what? Just as they need to respect that you don't like this conversation, you need to respect that they might need this conversation. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you don't like what is being talked about, you don't like what show just came on television, you don't like a certain book, you can remove yourself from the conversation. I understand that it is frightening or unsettling, but if they keep talking about it and you can still hear it, you can take your lunch and move to a different seat." Big concept in a seemingly little moment, self censorship. It reminded me of banning books. Amazing books that bring up some incredible conversation, but because one person objects, suddenly they try to silence it, ban it. More often than not, these are conversations we need to have, too. That people do more harm than good in trying to censor others, rather than simply censoring for themselves. |
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Ellie Lieberman |