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Author Interview: Crystal Marcos

3/27/2013

Meet Crystal Marcos, Author of BELLYACHE: A Delicious Tale and HEADACHE: The Hair-Raising Sequel

Award-winning author Crystal Marcos has been a storyteller her entire life. Being the oldest of five children, she had a lot of entertaining to do. She is a member of SCBWI. Crystal lives on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington State with her husband and their daughter, Kaylee. Author of BELLYACHE: A Delicious Tale and HEADACHE: The Hair-Raising Sequel to BELLYACHE.

Visit her at www.CrystalMarcos.com
(via Amazon Author Pages)

BBB: What inspired you to become a children's author?

CM: My love for books and children inspired me to become a children’s author. When I was little, my mother would draw pictures for me and I would write stories about them. She played a part in my wanting to become a writer.

BBB: How did you come up with the idea for your book BELLYACHE?

CM: I knew I wanted to write a book that featured sweets. I have always been fond of books that feature food. I wanted to create a book that transported the reader into a new and exciting fantasy world. I sat down and just started writing and BELLYACHE was born.

BBB: BELLYACHE won the 2011 Readers Favorite Silver Award. What does that mean to you as an author?

It is amazing! It is such an honor to be recognized among the millions of authors out there. It means a great deal that people are reading and enjoying my very first book. I feel I can’t go anywhere other than up from here and it puts a fire in my pen to put out work that is that much better.

BBB: Can you tell us about your second book, HEADACHE The Hair-Raising Sequel to BELLYACHE.

CM: I’m going to answer this with my book description.

Description:
The magical adventure continues in the spine-tingling fantasy-adventure, HEADACHE: The Hair-Raising Sequel to BELLYACHE! Crystal Marcos delivers another whimsically entertaining escapade for ages seven and up. Readers will delight in more sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat, non-stop action adventures of Peter and his best friend, Lina.

When Peter Fisher sets out for school one morning, he has no idea that trouble is stirring in his hometown. With the unexpected arrival of his new Candonite friends from Maple Town, Peter and Lina have extra help saving their beloved town and loved ones from the clutches of the one villain they had hoped they would never see again. Humorous and thought provoking, this unforgettably entertaining story teaches a valuable lesson about standing up and facing one’s fears.

BBB: What do you hope children will learn from your books?

CM: I hope children learn and have fun with my books. I do have a major lesson in each book with smaller lessons sprinkled in between. I hope when children are done reading them they don’t ever forget them and that they find a special place in their hearts.

BBB: Are you currently working on other books?

CM: I am currently working on a YA novel and I have picture books I hope to complete soon. The picture books involve illustrations and seeing as how I didn’t get a gene for drawing, they may take longer than expected.

You can find out more about Crystal Marcos and her books by visiting www.crystalmarcos.com.

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Author Interview: Hazel Nutt

3/23/2013

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Meet Hazel Nutt, author of the What Squirrels Do Trilogy

Hazel Nutt is a baby who is nutty about nature, especially squirrels, whom she often has a good natter with. They tell her their secrets and her parents help her write them down to share with the world, as picture books.

Loving nature is really important to her and Hazel Nutt hopes to make sure that lots of other kids get nutty about nature as well.

BBB: You are the youngest author I have ever interviewed. Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself?

HN: Hi, my name is Hazel Nutt and I am a two year old toddler who is nutty about the outdoors and nature, especially squirrels. I like to chat to squirrels and they tell me their secrets.

What the squirrels don't know is that with my parents' help, I have created 3 picture books exposing their best kept secrets! I am both the author and the narrator of these books. I hope that my enthusiasm and love of nature is catching, and that I can encourage other young children to get nutty about nature as well.

I also like to blog about my observations on life so far and teach other toddlers how to train their parents. My parents are willing and sometimes unwittingly my guinea pigs!

Other than that I'm a normal toddler, throwing terrible two's tantrums, trying and succeeding in wreaking havoc wherever I go.

BBB: How many books have you written?

HN: I have written (well inspired and my parents have written in my name) the What Squirrels Do Trilogy of Picture Books:

·         What Squirrels Do When You're Not Looking (Book 1)

·         What Squirrels Do: The Squirrel Olympics (Book 2)

·         What Squirrels Do: Just For Fun (Book 3)

And also available on Kindle are Groovy Owls and Awesome Owls, which essentially are the same book except with different illustrations.  Groovy Owls has bright colorful cartoon owls and Awesome Owls has oil paintings created from real photos of owls.

BBB: What made you decide to write about squirrels?

HN: Squirrels are the first wild animals that I really took notice of. Whilst being pushed in my buggy, I'd look up into the trees and see these little fuzzy balls of fur jumping from tree to tree, with cheeky little faces, I just had to know what they were up to. My parents were looking ahead of them and missed all of the antics I saw (what I now know are called) squirrels get up to! That was the initial acorn that these picture books came from.

BBB: What do you like to do when you're not writing stories?

HN: Well whatever I do, I'm always inspiring Mom and Dad with different stories and books they could create about me! I'm a busy toddler who loves running around, screaming, emptying cupboards, feeding the ducks, and going for walks. But, best of all I like getting into situations where my Mom and Dad's hearts are in their mouth, as I practice stunts like head over heels, climbing up the back of the bed, or bouncing to close to the edge!

BBB: Do you have a favorite story?

HN: Yes, I like A Bit Lost by Chris Haughton, because its two main characters are an owl and a squirrel. I like the story, because it is about finding Mommy and I love Mommy being mentioned in books, because it gives me the opportunity to point at my mommy and give her a hug or a kiss.

BBB: Are you writing anything right now?

HN: At the moment, I am turning my hand to painting pictures. In some of these pictures my parents can see different animals and mythical creatures. My Mom hopes to write short poems and stories to accompany these pictures, so we can have a real Mom and daughter picture book, where we have both done equal amounts of work!

There are also more What Squirrels Do books in the pipeline, some are already half written and illustrated, but it might be slow progress as I will have a little sister very soon and she might take up some of my writing and inspiration time!

More About Hazel Nutt's Books

In Hazel Nutt's début trilogy of fun rhyming picture books, children are emerged into the imaginative secret life of squirrels.

The books: What Squirrels Do When You Are Not Looking; What Squirrels Do: The Squirrel Olympics; and What Squirrels Do: Just For Fun are full of beautiful illustrations and ideas that could just be true. Who really knows what squirrels get up to while people are looking the other way?

Ideal for an adult and child to read together the What Squirrels Do series combines imaginative and funny rhyme with delightful illustrations. The books inspire little imaginations and instill the seeds of a lifelong love for reading and nature.

Hazel Nutt's book are available on Amazon.com.
(Click on the titles below to be redirected to Amazon.com)

What Squirrels Do When You Are Not Looking

What Squirrels Do: The Squirrel Olympics

What Squirrels Do: Just for Fun

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Author Interview: Adinda

3/21/2013

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Meet Adinda, Author of The Enchanted Sixth Road

BBB: What inspired you to become a children's author?

A: Well, a lot of things actually. At first I just wanted to check my German skills. I have learned this interesting and tongue breaking language two years ago. I already planed to write children's fairy tales before I started to learn a foreign language. Then I was inspired during a walk near a swamp with a great fairy atmosphere around it. I have always loved children's books and films. I feel attracted by the free and creative thinking aspect children usually have.

BBB: How long did it take you to write The Enchanted Sixth Road?

A: Just the writing took only two hours, but the spelling correction took eight hours. I, fortunately, had some help from a very kind German teacher. The writing and the correction of the English version was easier. I found a French, great gifted illustrator, who needed the story in English. So I rewrote the fairy tale in English as I am Dutch originally.

BBB: Was The Enchanted Sixth Road the first book you ever wrote?

A: Yes, it is my first book, but I have written for magazines and branch related literature for several projects, also with the purpose to find some free publicity.

BBB: Your book has been published on the iTunes and Android market. What was that experience like? Would you recommend this publishing option to others?

A: Well, with an eBook, you turn your story into a large project. In my opinion the eBook has to have an interactive function. The function of my bedtime fairy tale storybook, turned into a language educative fairy tale. The reader can look at both languages at the same time and listen to the pronunciation and compare, just by touching the screen with his finger. To make it even more interactive, I have thought up some games, like memory, slide puzzle, word-button sliding and so on. To create an eBook, you certainly need help. I was fortuned enough to work with an illustrator, a composer and a software developer.

With an eBook, you as an author are in control over everything, with every opportunity open, you can use all your creativity. This part I enjoined extremely, but the project expands, and afterwards you have to find a way to arrange marketing activities. It doesn't sell on its own. So on your question, do I recommend this option to others, I have to say, that depends on the demands and expectations of the author.

BBB: Do you have a favorite topic to write about?

A: Sweet fairy tales with humor and a moral. In The Enchanted Sixth Road the moral is, not everything is the way it seems to be. For instance, the teacher, who is not very clever, is the one that solves the problem.

BBB: What do you hope children will learn from your book?

A: I hope they will be motivated to start things they would like to do, just by trying it out. I hope they just speak and read the other language, they would like to know, even if they think they make mistakes. Practice makes perfect.

BBB: How were your illustrations created?

A: Kevan, the illustrator works with clay. He creates miniature characters, photographs them and then he edits the whole image by computer. He works with a great feeling for drama and humor, and puts his own little story into the illustration. For instance, just a figurant child runs after a lost balloon and you as an author just thought of a happy end illustration.

BBB: Are you working on any other books?

A: Yes, of course, I have written part two and I am working on Onno and Limei. Onno is a boy from Zürich, who hates school and loves to play in is own fantasy. He travels with his toy train to the Yangtze river in China, where he meets a girl who desires to go to school. He helps her to make that possible, he stays with her for five days. And now within 3 pages I must have find my happy end.

The Enchanted Sixth Road is available for iTunes and the Android Market. You can find out more by following the links below:

iTunes: The Enchanted Sixth Road
Andriod Market: The Enchanted Sixth Road

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