Meet Deirdre Tolhurst, Author of A Christmas I Remember
What inspired you to become a children's author?
It's still a little hard to acknowledge to myself that I AM a children's author! My book started out as a poem for a dear friend (I dedicated the book to her) in response to her request for me to write something for her for Christmas, her favorite time of year. She didn't care if it was about the lights, the snow, the magic of the season, just that I would write something. I only had 26 days until Christmas Eve. When I read it to a friend at work she said, "It's a book!" I replied, "No, it's a poem for Kindra." After the third go around of this I saw the possibility. I prayed about a Christian publisher and asked God to direct me, and that is how I found Tate Publishing.
How did you come up with the idea for A Christmas I Remember?
Well, when Kindra asked me to write something, she said she would frame it. I thought that was sweet. I said yes immediately. The next day I sat in my office and wrote, “To Kindra With Love.” That was as far as I got…for awhile! So I started writing prayers and asking God to bless me with memories or something that I could make a story out of. Nothing came for 17 days. Then I started getting memories back. Once they came, they came like a flood! So I started to put some rhymes together, and it went so quickly after that. So the story is true, it's about me when I was 7 years old waiting for my Dad to shovel the snow and go to sleep so Santa could come. The pictures in the book are drawn from pictures of my house, my dad, myself, and my mother and baby brother.
What do you think children will enjoy most about your books?
They like the story. They get a sense of anticipation as the story is being told or read (the book comes with a download of me reading the book, so even children who can't read can listen and turn the pages when prompted by Christmas bells). There is something so innocent about the story that makes children of all ages like it. It is nostalgic to grandparents and adults, and the children like the pictures and the prose.
What advice would you give to a new author trying to get their book published?
Pray, be patient, and don't expect miracles. It's more work than I imagined. Writing the book was the easy part. My illustrator and design layout people were fantastic, and my marketing rep is wonderful. But I had to become a business and charge sales tax, and I wasn't expecting that. I thought my book would be on bookshelves everywhere, but that's not the way it goes. So Tate sells it, and they take care of distributing it to Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other retailers around the world.
Are you currently working on other books?
Yes, as a matter of fact I was working on one before this came up. I am writing a book about trusting God. Many people have a problem with trust, although are afraid to admit it, thinking it’s a lack of faith. That’s not necessarily the case. God teaches us trust through many ordinary things. He used a stray dog to teach me some valuable lessons, so I would like to share them. Also, I have a blog, An Encouraging Word (www.deirdretolhurst.com Thoughts and Prayers page) that I hope encourages others, and I hope to combine it all together in a book titled, Finding God in Everyday Places.
It's still a little hard to acknowledge to myself that I AM a children's author! My book started out as a poem for a dear friend (I dedicated the book to her) in response to her request for me to write something for her for Christmas, her favorite time of year. She didn't care if it was about the lights, the snow, the magic of the season, just that I would write something. I only had 26 days until Christmas Eve. When I read it to a friend at work she said, "It's a book!" I replied, "No, it's a poem for Kindra." After the third go around of this I saw the possibility. I prayed about a Christian publisher and asked God to direct me, and that is how I found Tate Publishing.
How did you come up with the idea for A Christmas I Remember?
Well, when Kindra asked me to write something, she said she would frame it. I thought that was sweet. I said yes immediately. The next day I sat in my office and wrote, “To Kindra With Love.” That was as far as I got…for awhile! So I started writing prayers and asking God to bless me with memories or something that I could make a story out of. Nothing came for 17 days. Then I started getting memories back. Once they came, they came like a flood! So I started to put some rhymes together, and it went so quickly after that. So the story is true, it's about me when I was 7 years old waiting for my Dad to shovel the snow and go to sleep so Santa could come. The pictures in the book are drawn from pictures of my house, my dad, myself, and my mother and baby brother.
What do you think children will enjoy most about your books?
They like the story. They get a sense of anticipation as the story is being told or read (the book comes with a download of me reading the book, so even children who can't read can listen and turn the pages when prompted by Christmas bells). There is something so innocent about the story that makes children of all ages like it. It is nostalgic to grandparents and adults, and the children like the pictures and the prose.
What advice would you give to a new author trying to get their book published?
Pray, be patient, and don't expect miracles. It's more work than I imagined. Writing the book was the easy part. My illustrator and design layout people were fantastic, and my marketing rep is wonderful. But I had to become a business and charge sales tax, and I wasn't expecting that. I thought my book would be on bookshelves everywhere, but that's not the way it goes. So Tate sells it, and they take care of distributing it to Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other retailers around the world.
Are you currently working on other books?
Yes, as a matter of fact I was working on one before this came up. I am writing a book about trusting God. Many people have a problem with trust, although are afraid to admit it, thinking it’s a lack of faith. That’s not necessarily the case. God teaches us trust through many ordinary things. He used a stray dog to teach me some valuable lessons, so I would like to share them. Also, I have a blog, An Encouraging Word (www.deirdretolhurst.com Thoughts and Prayers page) that I hope encourages others, and I hope to combine it all together in a book titled, Finding God in Everyday Places.
Stacie Theis / beachboundbooks@yahoo.com / copyright 2012