Katharine Holabird – Will Write for Cookies

Posted on December 13, 2014 by viviankirkfield

WILL WRITE FOR COOKIES

INSIGHT – INFORMATION – INSPIRATION

FOR WRITERS

TODAY’S GUEST

KATHARINE HOLABIRD

I connected with today’s Will Write for Cookies guest of honor back in 2010. I had contacted Katharine to ask if she would be willing to read my soon-to-be-published book, since one of the picture book stories I recommended in it was Angelina Ballerina. Her answer was an immediate, YES! I was THRILLED when I received her endorsement…what an honor to have the author of over thirty-five children’s books say nice things about my work. And when I invited Katharine to participate in Will Write for Cookies, again she said YES! Hurray!

With experience as an editor, freelance journalist and nursery school teacher, Katharine definitely knew what she was doing when she created the much beloved character of Angelina Ballerina. Angelina recently ‘celebrated’ her 30^th birthday – and the books have been translated into over fifteen languages!

I’m so happy to have her here to share her thoughts with us.

Welcome, Katharine! I know that so many writers were avid readers when they were young. From what I read on your website, you were a lover of books also.

ME: Who were your favorite authors/illustrators when you were a child?

Katharine: My grandmother had a beautiful collection of fairy tales illustrated by Arthur Rackman and Kay Nielson, and I still remember the romance and power of those fantastic stories and illustrations. Later on I read everything by E.B.White and Frank Baum, and adored Laura Ingalls Wilder’s ‘Little House On The Prairie’ series. Not surprisingly, most of the books I loved had strong female heroines!

ME: What do you know now that you wish you had known when you first started writing for children?

Katharine: I wish I’d known more about how the publishing world works and been a little cannier about my choices. When you first get published it’s such a thrill, and it’s easy to be naïve about contracts and fine print. A good agent should advise and encourage, and also keep an eye on all the contract details.

ME: Where do you like to write/draw – inside, outside, a special area in your home, on the computer, in a notebook?

Katharine: Recently my husband and I moved back to the USA after thirty-five years in London, and that’s changed my writing habits in many ways. I used to write in a quiet upstairs room in London, but we travel a lot more now, and luckily laptops have made writing on the go very easy. I sometimes write ideas and thoughts in notebooks, but most of my writing is now on my laptop computer. I do a lot of revisions, and for each story I keep a file with dated changes and rewrites in the computer – it really helps keep me organized! I find all I need is a quiet space where I can sit down and concentrate with the laptop. The location doesn’t matter so much now – if you’re engrossed in a story an airplane can be surprisingly good place to write.

ME: When during the day (or night) are you most productive? Do you set a schedule for working or do you write/draw when the muse speaks?

Katharine: I love the idea of a muse, because there’s always a touch of magic about writing, as with all creative work (Elizabeth Gilbert has a wonderful TED Talk about working with her muse). So yes, I write when the muse inspires me, though deadlines are also inspiring! When I have a story due I become a binge writer and go at it for a entire days at a time, but then there are periods when I’m just humming along, waiting for the next spark of an idea to arise. I’m now writing a new series about ‘TWINKLE,’ a little fairy who lives in a magical fairy world and goes to the Fairy School of Music and Magic – it’s a big change from Mouseland, and I’m enjoying the challenge. (TWINKLE is a Barnes & Noble exclusive, available from B&N and Amazon)

ME: Why do you write for children?

Katharine: I started writing for children when I was in my thirties, at home with two young daughters (and then a son). My daughters loved to dress up and dance, just the way I’d danced with my sisters growing up in Chicago. My oldest daughter was a very determined character, and all she wanted for her fourth birthday was a pink tutu. As soon as Tara put on her pink tutu she magically became a great ballerina, and wore it everywhere. I was doing free lance writing for my husband’s publishing company, Aurum Press, and worked on Helen Craig’s first mouse counting and ABC books. When Aurum proposed doing a storybook with Helen I knew it was my chance to write something special for my daughters. I sat down at the kitchen table and wrote a first draft about a little dancing character I called Primrose, and this became Angelina Ballerina. It’s now been 35 years since Angelina Ballerina was published, and recently Helen Craig and I donated all our Angelina archive to the Seven Stories Children’s Museum in Newcastle, England. I was there in September to see ”Twists and Tails – the story of Angelina Ballerina,” a show created from our archive materials, and it was amazing to discover my first hand written draft proudly displayed in a glass case in the center of the room!

There’s more information regarding the Seven Stories Children’s Museum on my Facebook page.

Thank you so very much, Katharine! I’m excited about your new Twinkle series. My little granddaughter will be two years old in April…and she and her parents love fairies.

I know you have grandchildren and we are so happy to have this special smoothy recipe that you make for them.

Katharine: I have two adorable grandsons (still waiting for a little girl who loves pink!)

I’m not much of a baker, but the boys and I like to make smoothies together – they’re so delicious, and I add some Green Superfood flavoured with chocolate!

NANA’S SMOOTHIE:

2 Cups milk or almond milk

1 banana

1 cup cleaned strawberries, blueberries or raspberries (or combination)

1 peeled Kiwi

1 tablespoon Green Superfood – Chocolate flavour

Blend until smooth and yummy!

Wow! Thank you for your candid and helpful answers, Katharine. And I can’t wait to try your smoothy recipe.

With the holiday just around the corner, I know that parents and grandparents are looking for great gifts for kids – I can’t think of a better one than a BOOK. I noticed there are two different Christmas titles for Angelina Ballerina books, and of course, board books, paper backs, Kindle versions, audio tapes and many other ways people can share the beloved Angelina Ballerina. These are available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, indie bookshops and from the Penguin Website, Angelinaballerina.com, Hitshopusa.com and HITEntertainment.com.

If you want to connect with Katharine, you can visit her amazing website: http://katharineholabird.com/

And if you are interested in viewing the Elizabeth Gilbert TED talks she mentioned, here they are:

https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius

https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_success_failure_and_the_drive_to_keep_creating

What a way to end Will Write for Cookies for the year. I started this series in January. Have you read all twelve posts? Here is a list with links so you can catch up on any you might have missed:

Iza Trapani

Susanna Leonard Hill

Susanne Gervay

David Seow

Emily Lim

Emma Walton Hamilton

Christopher Cheng

Dianne de las Casas

Laura Purdie Salas

Katharine Holabird

And 2015 will be another exciting year – Katie Davis, Laura Gehl, Julie Rowan-Zoch, Donna McDine, Marty Banks, Suzanne Williams, Artie Bennett, Miranda Paul, Becky Gomez, and more authors and illustrators will be stepping into the Will Write for Cookies spotlight…I hope you won’t miss a post.

And, if you still have any vision left after this ultra-long post, head over to Susanna Hill’s blog and read some of the incredible stories that have been entered in her 4th Annual Holiday Contest: http://www.susannahill.blogspot.com

Laura Purdie Salas: Will Write for Cookies

Posted on November 15, 2014 by viviankirkfield

WILL WRITE FOR COOKIES

INSIGHT – INFORMATION – INSPIRATION

FOR WRITERS

TODAY’S GUEST

LAURA PURDIE SALAS

Photo courtesy: Katherine Warde

I’m really excited about today’s Will Write for Cookies guest because she is not only a multi-published author, but also a great resource for those of us who want to get our foot in the publishing house door and for parents and teachers as well.

According to Laura, she is terrible at small talk, great at reading, and pretty good at word games. She is also the author of more than 120 books for kids and teens, including WATER CAN BE…, A LEAF CAN BE… (Bank Street Best Books, IRA Teachers’ Choice, Minnesota Book Award Finalist, Riverby Award for Nature Books for Young Readers, and more), and BOOKSPEAK! POEMS ABOUT BOOKS (Minnesota Book Award, NCTE Notable, Bank Street Best Book, Eureka! Gold Medal, and more). She loves to introduce kids to poetry and help them find poems they can relate to, no matter what their age, mood, and personality. She has also written numerous nonfiction books.

I’m thrilled to welcome you here, Laura…thank you so much for participating. I know everyone is excited to find out more about you!

ME: Who were your favorite authors/illustrators when you were a child?

LAURA: I don’t remember the specific books I read when I was the age that most of my readers are now (1st-3rd grade). I inhaled books so quickly that they just flowed right through my life. And I definitely wasn’t aware of authors and illustrators until I was older–upper elementary or even junior high. I loved Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, some Raggedy Ann and Andy chapter books, Nancy Drew mysteries, riddle books, the John Bellairs suspense books, and some books about a brother and sister who traveled around the world and through time. But as the youngest of four kids, I just read whatever was in the house and on the library shelves. I was not a discriminating reader. I just wanted to devour books. Continue reading →

Julie Hedlund – Will Write for Cookies

Posted on August 15, 2014 by viviankirkfield

WILL WRITE FOR COOKIES

INSIGHT – INFORMATION – INSPIRATION

FOR WRITERS

TODAY’S GUEST

JULIE HEDLUND

I connected with today’s Will Write for Cookies guest of honor several years ago when I hesitantly wriggled my writing toes in the waters of kid lit. There was a strong community that was building around Julie’s 12×12 Picture Book Writing Challenge – write a picture book draft every month for a year – what a novel idea! I took a deep breath, pinched my nose, and jumped in – and the rest is history. Julie Hedlund is a trailblazer…from an app of her first picture book, A Troop is a Group of Monkeys to a Kickstarter Campaign for her latest one, My Love for You is the Sun. Her Renaissance Writer’s Retreat in Florence, Italy is an opportunity of a life time that I hope one day to attend. Best of all, she is a friend to all writers and illustrators. She speaks at SCBWI and other conferences and generously shares her knowledge and expertise. I finally got to meet her at a Peter Brown book event in Denver, right before I moved from Colorado. I’m thrilled she agreed to participate today – so, without further ado…here’s JULIE!

Welcome, Julie! Thanks again for being here. I know you’ve got a lot to say, so I’ll start with the first question.

ME: Who were your favorite authors/illustrators when you were a child?

Julie: Well that’s an easy one – Dr. Seuss, Dr. Seuss, Dr. Seuss. It’s funny because I don’t remember reading very many picture books as a child. I lived in a small town in Northern Michigan, and when I was little, we just had a tiny library with an even tinier children’s book session. But somehow I read (devoured more like) every Dr. Seuss book.

The first illustrations I remember loving were Hilary Knight’s in ELOISE, which is also one of the first books I owned. Oh how I pored over them for hours and hours. And you know what? I still do!

ME: What do you know now that you wish you had known when you first started writing for children?

Julie: I don’t mean to sound discouraging, but I wish I had known that the writing never gets easier. Other things about the business get easier, but not the writing. Every book is its own being, comes about in a unique way, and uses pieces of your heart and brain that haven’t been used before. I spent a lot of time worrying that I just wasn’t “getting it” because I found each manuscript as challenging as the next. I hope by sharing this, others can be spared some frustration and self-doubt.

ME: Where do you like to write/draw – inside, outside, a special area in your home, on the computer, in a notebook?

Julie: I have a desk that faces out to my yard and the Rocky Mountains beyond, so I can’t complain. I do most of my physical writing on a computer, but the truth is I do the vast majority of my writing in my head. I know that sounds like a copout, but because I ruminate over stories for so long, many times by the time I sit down to write I’m usually able to knock out a complete draft or a full revision. Not that the first drafts (or revisions) are always good mind you, but they’re usually fully-formed.

ME: When during the day (or night) are you most productive? Do you set a schedule for working or do you write/draw when the muse speaks?

Julie: No official schedule here. I WISH I could be that type of writer, and believe me I’ve tried. What works for me is deadlines. Imposing deadlines on myself was the primary motivation for creating 12 x 12. It’s also why I attend as many workshops and courses as I can. For example, this winter I was preparing for Jane Yolen’s picture book boot camp. You can bet your booty I was writing up a storm to get ready for that one!

ME: Why do you write for children?

Julie: Because once I had children of my own, I fell 100% in love with picture books. To end with the beginning, I think it’s because I don’t remember reading many of them as a child that I was so overjoyed to discover their beauty and sophistication. Also, I truly believe books change children’s lives for the better. The idea that one of my books might mean the world to a child is all the motivation I need. Plus, writing for children is just plain FUN! Right now I have a dragon, a talking stick, a cowgirl in medieval times, and dancing dogs as just a few of my main characters. Lucky me!

ME: Please share any tips that will help aspiring writers/illustrators or anything else you feel would be of interest.

Julie: Advice for aspiring writers…it’s not very sexy – but my advice is to be patient. The most common trait I see in newer writers is a huge sense of urgency to be published, to “make it,” to grab the brass ring. Even worse is when that desire turns to entitlement — that they deserve to be published NOW and WHY is it taking so long?

I think this mindset comes from a mistaken view that once they get that publishing contract, or the agent, or the first foot in the door, the world will open up to them and the struggle will be over. I understand that deep desire, I do. I’ve been there. But now that I’m on what other people perceive to be the “other side,” I can tell you there is no brass ring. The second book isn’t easier than the first. Your agent won’t like everything you write and his or her submissions on your behalf will still get rejected. There will be bad reviews. Days when the writing just won’t come. The only people who make it in this business are the ones who are in it for the long haul. You have to love the writing for itself and trust that the rest will come. I HIGHLY recommend all your readers go out and pick up a copy of TAKE JOY by Jane Yolen. She says this all far better than I ever could. 🙂

Now, after all that I think we deserve a treat. For me, digging up a recipe was the most challenging part of writing this post. While I love cooking, I’ve never been a baker, and especially not now that I have the added challenge of high altitude in Colorado. But I do love these Bourbon Balls. AND, they don’t require baking. 🙂

Bourbon Balls – Makes about 25

6 oz vanilla wafers

1 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts if you prefer)

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted

2 tbsp honey

1/2 cup bourbon

1. Put cookies in a plastic bag and crush them finely with a rolling pin. Put the crumbs in a large bowl and add the nuts, cocoa powder and half the confectioner’s sugar. Add the honey and bourbon. Stir until mixture forms a stiff paste. Add a little more bourbon if needed.

2. Shape the mixture into small balls. Place on a platter and chill until firm.

3. Roll the balls in the remaining confectioner’s sugar, then chill for 15 minutes. Then roll again in the sugar.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, JULIE! I know everyone joins me in a rousing cheer for all the golden nuggets you shared. In fact, I’m on my way to see if I can grab of copy of Jane Yolen’s TAKE JOY. And the Bourbon Balls remind me so much of the rum balls I used to make – yum!

If you would like to find out more about Julie, her picture books and apps, 12×12, the Renaissance for Writers or any of the other fabulous things she is involved with, please click on the links below.