-- World of Writing --
Rochelle Campbell (author of Leaping Out on Faith, blogger and short
story artist) and her son, Teraab (now 12 years old), join us today for another World of Writing Interview on our blog to explain the experience they had in co – writing The Magic Seeds (written for readers
ranging from 7-9 years). Rochelle tells us: “We worked on this book for about a year before we had it
published. The story is about a little boy named Johnny who does a good
deed for an elderly woman in the park. The kindly old woman offers him a
reward for his good deed but there's a bit of surprise.” I loved what she had to say about how this
book project affected her son “…My son
was reluctant reader and because of this book his enthusiasm for reading
increased tremendously.”
Check out Rochelle’s blog - The
Notebook Blogairy - @: http://notebookblogairy.blogspot.com
Q: What have you learned
about working with your co-writer, who happens to be your mother?
Teraab: I learned never to give
up no matter what happens because sometimes if things don't come easily, I just
gave up and quit. But she taught me how
not to give up on everything, give it a chance and they'll get better. And then, if they don't get better then when
you're sure, then you can try something else.
Rochelle: I've learned to have way more patience! There were things that are just par for the
course for an adult, but a child just does not understand.
Q: What were some of the challenges you faced in writing
your book?
Teraab: I hated the waiting to
see what the publishers would say about my book. And I didn't like the anxiety of waiting for
the sketches to come back from Mary Fragapane, our illustrator. When Mary told me that she would have the
sketches in two weeks, I said, "Two weeks!
I can't wait that long!" But
I had to. Sometimes kids would question
me as to why I did it this way and not that way and I had to tell them I wanted
it that way and you just get over them questioning you.
Q: What is your proudest
writer moment?
Teraab: I have actually two
moments. My first one was in March 2010
at Citibank where they were doing a Kid's Day.
Like a week or two earlier, we went into the bank -- we're normal
customers there -- and we had a conversation with a banker and they suggested
we come and show the book off. So there
at the actual event I got to read my book in front of a whole lot of people and
they all liked it and commented and bought books on the spot! My second one was at a nonprofit benefit
event where the CEO of the nonprofit told everyone about my book and a few
people bought it and they were very satisfied and one man said he read it to
his daughter every night. And it's just
nice to be able to say that you're an author at such a young age.
Q: What are some of your favorite writers’ resources?
Rochelle: Well, for writing
resources I tend to enjoy participating in online writing communities such as
Book Blogs and Zoetrope: All Story.
Being a single mother with two boys who both have busy school and
extracurricular activities, it's a bit hard for me to get out to local writing
groups.
Q: Tell us about your
journey to publication… (How long have you been writing? Why did you decide to
pursue writing?)
Teraab: The game of What
If… got us started! (...he laughs)
Rochelle: Yes! That was the start for him. For me, I wanted to
interest him in writing. He was a very
physically active child (he was 7 at the time; he's now 12) and did not care to
read. He was a reluctant reader. Imagine my
"horror" that my son didn't like to read! So, I began to think of
ways that may interest him in the topic.
When his 2nd grade teacher took a vending machine gemstone from him and
hesitantly gave it back many weeks later.
While traveling home after school each day we would ask each other, What if the gemstone was real? What then?
And then? Over the course of
several weeks, and over a dozen bus rides, we had the first draft of The Magic Seeds. After that, we sent queries to children's
publishers and no one was interested because it was a picture book for older
children; it didn't fit the traditional parameters. So, after over 14 months of searching, we
decided to self-publish which included finding our own illustrator. Looking back, it was a blast! The journey to publication was a very positive
and powerful experience for both of us.
Needless to say, Teraab really likes
to read now!
Find Dave and Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, information about their radio program, newsletter, blog, and more at: www.brummet.ca
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