An Interview with Jo Marshall

I am absolutely thrilled today, to welcome another guest to Trees Are Not Lollipops. Jo Marshall's lovely children's books would appeal to any child and I've often wondered where she gets her ideas and the lovely illustrations. Her environmental theme is also dear to my heart, as readers of Treespeaker would know. I should mention, too, that the royalties from Jo's books are shared with environmental nonprofit organisations involved with climate change research, protection of endangered wildlife and nature conservancy. 

So who is Jo Marshall? 

She’s a fairly obscure writer of children’s books about tiny, stick creatures called Twigs.  Her stories are like her hobbies – puzzles and mysteries to be solved and enjoyed each step of the way.  She hopes her stories are good enough to be worked, or read, again and again.  Jo is a person fascinated with how all things work – the universe, nature, weather, and climate change impacts on her world.  Other than that, she’s a non-descript mom of two great kids, a wife of a husband deeply involved in cyber-security (a puzzle all its own), and a fan of NPR, BBC, and PBS programs.

What made you decide to become a writer?

My daughter Ali Jo and I made up wild stories about stick creatures that lived in the forest behind our house.  I wanted to capture this special time with her, so it wasn’t a great leap to write the books.  It was a shared experience for us – setting up the website and creating its content, publishing the books as an indie, interacting with environmental nonprofits, researching climate change in our region, and just running the business part of it.  The process has helped us understand more about why a changing climate matters.  It is a fantastic educational experience for Ali Jo, and we’re both grateful Twig Stories received such an enthusiastic reception.

 Has there been any one person/writer who has influenced you more than any other?

Yes.  Both are writers of stories I read again and again.  I never tire of their characters’ adventures or qualities.  Mary Norton, author of The Borrowers series and A.A. Milne, author of Winnie the Pooh.

Can you tell us a little about where you live and how it has influenced what you write?

Well, I always hesitate to describe Washington and the Northwest Pacific coast of the U.S.  It sounds like I’m exaggerating.  But I’m not.  I live near rainforests, volcanoes, glaciers, alluring Pacific beaches, breathtaking mountains, vast forests of towering trees, enormous rivers, clear blue lakes, serene, magnificent wetlands, and a huge variety of wildlife that inhabit these places.  This is the setting for Twig Stories, and is completely inseparable from the stories.  It’s difficult to write a novel about this region without creating a huge landscape, too.

Why children's books?

I joke that it’s the extent of my vocabulary.  But actually, my stories are fantasy novels for 8+ readers, not picture books.  For years, I read books with children from 1^st grade to 6^th, one on one and in groups.  Right around 5^th & 6^th grade, I found a gap between childish novels that became too easy to read and YA novels.  I don’t know about other children, but my daughter was not ready for YA novels at 10.  So I wrote a more complex novel that was a fun adventure with a topical subject to fill that gap.  It’s a narrow, miniscule niche for kids that enjoy fantasy intertwined into a natural world.

What made you decide to publish an ebook?

Actually, it was just part of the design team package - a paperback and Kindle version - that Createspace offered when I enlisted their help for indie publishing.  I hadn’t given it much thought until then, but I’m very happy now it is an ebook.  It’s great that kids have a choice of how they read the books, especially during vacations. A Kindle is much easier to carry when travelling than paperbacks, I think.  I worried about the quality of the illustrations on the Kindle, and there is a difference in the quality, but not much of one.

What, in your opinion, makes a good book?

Well, the story of course primarily.  A story that will bring a reader back to read it again and again – a book you want to keep on your shelf, and give to your child to read when they’re old enough.  Second, it needs to be formatted well. That would include, of course the look of it, for example age appropriate line spacing, interesting layout, and, if it works, illustrations.  And it should be edited well so that kids are learning language skills, albeit subconsciously!  It’s nice to have a cover that captures the imagination of a child, too.

The illustrations in your books are beautiful. Can you tell us a little about the illustrator?

Yes, his name is David Murray.  He’s been very kind and patient with my weird requests over the last two years that I’ve know him.  David is an animation artist for Disney and Universal Pictures.  His screen credits include Mulan, Tarzan, Lilo & Stitch, Brother Bear, Curious George, and many others.  He heard about my stories, and offered to help me out.  David tells me he enjoys illustrating Twig Stories, although he’s always really busy professionally, so I think these books are sort of a diversion and a hobby for him.  He never flinches at my wild ideas for an “action” scene.  Fortunately, his wild ideas are even better than mine!  He’s also an author of three books, the Majesty series, which are complex fantasy novels similar to The Narnia Chronicles.  He also wrote an e-book, Retroshock, which is more science fiction.  David lives in Ocoee, Florida with his family – right next to Disneyworld, of course.

What other writing projects do you have underway?

Leaf & the Long Ice will be out this fall, so all the editing and publishing prep for that keeps me really busy right now.  This story is about Leaf’s younger twin brothers, who are lost on a shrinking glacier, and Leaf must go rescue them.  The next release is Leaf & Echo Peak, which should be out next year, by summer, I hope.  In Echo Peak the Twigs must decide what to do when a volcano threatens to erupt, and destroy their forest.  It actually finishes up the ‘Leaf series’ nicely, because it’s all about rebirth and adaptation to change – very similar to the events of Mount St. Helens, which I witnessed.  I’m always taking notes and outlining the next ‘Fern series’ of Twig Stories. (That’s Leaf’s little sister.  I think she’ll grow up a little, and have a Twigfriend.)

What do you most like to do when you’re not writing?

Talk to my kids.  Seriously.  I love hearing about what they are interested in, how their minds work, and listening to all their advice about what I should do with my books, website, and facebook pages.  (I usually take their advice, by the way.)  Next, I like to sit on the back deck with my husband and stare at the beautiful forest in our back yard, watch the wildlife, and talk to him about the kids.

Where can we buy your books and find out more?

Nearly any online store has my books, such as Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. They are available in paperback and Kindle versions, worldwide. 

On my website, if you go to the ‘Twig Store’ page, there are discount codes and direct links to the publisher for books via their E-store. That’s a less expensive, quick, and easy way to get them, too.

My books have a ‘look inside’ feature on Amazon.com, so you can get a better idea of the writing style, and if your child might enjoy reading the book.  

Here’s some links:

Leaf & the Rushing Waters.

Leaf & the Sky of Fire.

The Twig Stories website is www.twigstories.com

My facebook author page is: http://facebook.com/twigstories

My book/fan page is:  http://facebook.com/twigstoriesbooks

Many thanks to Jo for her interesting answers and for providing so many beautiful illustrations to go with her interview. 

Some Days Are Diamonds

Have you ever had one of those days when everything seems to be going along very steadily and then suddenly something happens, out of the blue, and you find yourself floating on air? Well, that happened to me today. Today was a holiday for me, though not for most - something to do with working in a Catholic school - and I'd been doing a great job of doing nothing much all day. As part of my doing nothing much, I went onto the greatest time-waster in the world, Facebook, and found that I'd been awarded this...

Not only did I get the certificate, I also got the fancy badge I've added to the side bar of my blog.  

I've no idea who nominated the book. This group is new (at least, I presume so as I'm only the fourth recipient), but it was a lovely surprise and I'm feeling very proud and honoured. I'm going to print the certificate out and put it up somewhere where I can look at it on those not-so-bright days. Yes, some days are definitely diamonds.

To see more about the award, here's the link: http://indiebookoftheday.com/treespeaker-by-katie-w-stewart/

An Interview with Lynda Wilcox

You may remember, a while ago, I mentioned a couple of sites for finding children's ebooks. One of them was KindleForKids run by British author, Lynda Wilcox. I'm delighted to welcome Lynda here today to talk about her new adult novel 'Strictly Murder' which was published today on Amazon. I've only read the first chapter so far, but it's promising to be an amusing and interesting read!

 Hi Lynda, 

Please, tell us a little about yourself.

Well, you know my name is Lynda, and I'm a perfectly ordinary English housewife. If you promise not to tell anyone, I'll admit to being nearly sixty, though I have no idea how that happened. I swear that one minute I was an auburn haired, long-legged, shapely-figured twenty-something - and the next minute ... erm ... I wasn't. Although married, we are childless by choice, something that surprises a lot of people, but it is not a decision I have ever regretted. Anyway, I worked with children for nearly twenty years - I was a Guide Leader in the Girl Guide movement - and thoroughly enjoyed it. I've always got on well with older children and I keep the memory of working with the 10-14 age range in mind when I'm writing about Kel and Heller in the Chamaeleon books.

I'm not sure what else to tell you. I don't consider myself to be interesting and don't much enjoy talking about myself. Oh, yes! Here's something. I like red wine and chocolate and ancient history. There, that should do.

What is your new book about?

Strictly Murder tells the story of Verity Long, a PA and researcher for a famous writer of crime fiction, and what happens when she discovers the body of a television celebrity and decides to do some amateur sleuthing.

I hope I've written a typical old-fashioned whodunit with some very British humour and more than a dash of romance. I like to describe it as Agatha Christie meets chick lit, not that I would dream of comparing my writing to that of (in my opinion) the greatest exponent of  the whodunit genre. Her superb command of plot and character is something I can only aspire to.

Your first book was for children. Now you’re publishing an adult book. Do you have a preference?

Oh yes. When I'm writing for children I prefer writing crime stories for adults and when I'm writing Verity's adventures I long for the freedom that fantasy gives me. There's a perverse part of me that always wants to be doing something different. I find writing in first person, as I do in the Verity Long stories, far easier than writing in third. I have a strong tendency to 'head-hop' and lose point of view in a third person narrative. I think I managed to remove all traces of it in Chamaeleon - at least, no one's ever complained - but it took a lot of self-editing to do it. It doesn't happen so often these days - practice makes perfect, perhaps? - but I still have to be on my guard. The problem is, I find it far easier to come up with ideas for fantasy than plotting a crime novel where I tend to write myself into corners with inexplicable deaths and impossible situations.

What was the inspiration behind this book?

Well, I suppose it's a rant, really. The rant of an ageing woman looking around her and not much liking the world she finds herself in. A world dominated by reality TV and poor education. A world where any talentless twerp - or his wife - can be classed as a celebrity. I've given Verity a lot of my own prejudices and opinions, even though she is little more than half my age, and used her - I hope in a humorous way - to express my feelings of this modern age and its shortcomings. Without realising it, I've turned into my own grandmother, an old woman bemoaning the state of things - as old people have always done!  :)

Do you have any experience with ballroom dancing?

Dear me, no! None whatsoever, although my father did teach me to waltz when I was about ten years old. My parents met at a ballroom dancing class, but I'm a child of the 60s and the early disco age. We did our own thing, the girls dancing in a circle round a pile of our handbags like some coven of jerky witches, while the boys watched from the edges of the room. I still enjoy dancing, but these days I try to protect the public - and only dance at home. A gyrating geriatric is not a pretty sight.

What, in your opinion, makes a good book?

At its simplest - a good story, well told. The plot needs to be plausible, even in fantasy, and I prefer it to be fast-paced and intriguing so that I keep turning the pages to know what happens next.

Who is your favourite author and why?

Ooh, that's a hard one. If I have to choose just one, then it has to be Terry Pratchett. His books are laugh-out-loud funny, he's a sharp observer of humans and the human condition, and his use of language often borders on the sublime. I think my whole philosophy of life can be summed up by paraphrasing a single line in one of his childrens books, Nation: 'There are no gods; there is only hard work'. I've been lucky to meet the man several times - I served him with coffee on one occasion and he even offered me a chocolate on another. A nice man and a clever one.

What other writing projects do you have underway? 

I'm currently revising the sequel to Chamaeleon - Chamaeleon 2: The Dragon Key and writing the second in the Verity Long series, Organized Murder. After that, there's a third in each series (a threquel?). I also have a short story to write for a summer anthology - I really must get on with that - and I have a Christmas ghost story that I'd like to get published this year. So, I have enough to keep me busy for some time to come.

Thanks for visiting, Lynda. I hope your book is a great success!

If you'd like to read Lynda's books or find out more about them, you might find these links useful...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0084MZWPO

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0084MZWPO

Lynda's Facebook Author Page
About Lynda and her children's book

Apologies for the strange colour behind the writing on this post. Blogger doesn't seem to like me tonight.

Guest interview: Raelke Grimmer & Adil Soh-Lim

It's ANZAC Day today. What better day to feature a couple of young Australians who are making their mark in the world? Raelke Grimmer and Adil Soh-Lim are both from South Australia and recently launched their informative ebook for children, What In the World.


Welcome, Raelke and Adil!

Please, tell us a little about yourselves.

Adil: I'm currently a 20-year-old student at the University of Adelaide, in my final year of a Bachelor of Arts/Science. After that, I might become a conservator (of the art/cultural artefact variety). I have parents, an older brother and a younger cat. I've always loved art and drawing. Music and literature and science and politics are also wonderful, but art is home. At least, that's what I like to tell myself. Because something has to be home, really.

Raelke: I’m 21 and last year I graduated from a Bachelor of Creative Arts in Creative Writing at Flinders University. Now I’m studying a Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics at the University of Adelaide. I’ve wanted to be a writer since I learned how to write and am fascinated by language and languages. I speak German and have also studied French and Spanish in the past.

How did you come to create your book?
Raelke: When we were in Year 10 at high school, we had to complete a long-term project which could basically be anything we wanted. They encouraged us to choose something we were interested in, so immediately I considered a writing project. The idea for the picture book came to me in an instant one night, and I decided to ask Adil if she’d be willing to illustrate my work for her project.

Adil: Raelke and I were friends in high school, and we had to do a self-directed project in Year 10. Raelke, already a pretty impressive writer, decided she wanted to do a picture book. But she wasn't so sure about illustrating it. I didn't have a project yet. So she asked me, I said yes, and, despite a few frustrations over difficult rhymes and silly-looking illustrations (and because of a great deal of parental guidance), everything went fine and the book was finished on time and finished properly.

Raelke: I should add that to present our work, we got five copies printed at a printers, and from there our high school project slowly became a publishing project.

Researching can be tricky. How did you go about it?
Adil: For both the website and my illustrations, I used my Wildlife Fact Files (inherited from my brother), Wikipedia (:D), a lovely site called  ARKive, the IUCN Red List online, Atlas Obscura and the UNESCO World Heritage List. This isn't an exhaustive list, either. There are a few more here. Personally, I think they're all great.

Raelke: I used many of the same resources Adil used, but I also tried to cross-check my information with books. I was really paranoid about my teachers thinking that writing a picture book was an ‘easy’ project (when any children’s author certainly knows it isn’t!) so I searched for facts about each animal and each country and ended up with a thick folder of notes to hand in with my project.

You have a lovely website. What (or who) made you decide to add all that extra information to complement the book?
Adil: I have an old family friend in Hong Kong who helped us organise printing for our book. He thought it was great, but had the idea of a companion encyclopaedic website. It took a while to bring me around, but I'm glad he did. Although it's similar, the website is not exactly what he had in mind - which is good, because it's now ours as well. Also, my brother made it. He's a very good brother.

Raelke: I loved the idea of the website from the very start. It gave us the opportunity to widen the educational scope of our book and make it appropriate for a wider age group.


Has it helped the sales of your paper books?

Raelke: From the perspective of being able to reach a wider audience than people in Adelaide, yes, it has helped.

Adil: Maybe! I like to think so, and it would make sense if it had. At the same time, we have no exact way of knowing. We've had a few sales through the website, which we can track, and possibly some interest and recommendations generated by the website, which we can't track.

Do either of you have a favourite animal?

Raelke: Lions! I’ve loved them ever since I saw the movie The Lion King (that’s my favourite movie). They’re gorgeous creatures. I have my very own Simba toy which I’ve had since I was three. He’s still going strong!

Adil: I have many favourite animals! Red pandas are really cute. Parrotfish have an interesting life cycle. African Grey Parrots (like Alex) are cute and really, really clever.

Raelke, you’re studying creative writing? What sort of books do you plan to write?
I graduated last year and I plan on writing YA fiction and children’s books. I love the versatility which comes with writing for a YA audience, and the challenges which come with writing children’s books. I can’t imagine writing for any other audience.

Have you had anything else published?
I write articles for the magazine Lip Mag  and I have had a couple of short stories published online after placing in writing competitions (‘Twisted’ at and ‘Forget Me Not’). Keep in mind these stories are both for a YA audience).

My short story ‘The Marmalade Cat’ is set to be published for ebook download by Alfie Dog Limited, and I have a couple of other projects coming up later in the year.  

Adil, your illustrations are beautiful -so simple but so attractive. Your study doesn’t include any art. Are you not tempted to become an illustrator?

Adil: Of course! Who wouldn't be tempted to become an illustrator? It's also the perfect kind of art study for me, because I don't have a lot of initiative or creativity when it comes to making art or thinking of ideas (which is a little embarrassing. I plan to work on it). I actually really respect people like Raelke who have the conviction to study their passion, even if it may mean low or insecure income for most of their lives. I was also discouraged from studying art at university because    1) it's not really necessary to become a competent artist and 2) I really like all the other stuff I'm studying too. I honestly believe that having knowledge and experience from other areas like science and politics enriches the mind and hence the art it produces as well.


Has your work appeared anywhere else?

Yes! I recently did some illustrations for the Home and Community Care Service Principles into Practice Project. My illustrations aren't online, but I think they do good work anyway. I've also done a few concert posters for the Adelaide University Choral Society. Raelke has also sent me two new manuscripts, and our brainstorming looks pretty promising.

Your book was winner of the Best New Project by a Young Person in South Australia in the Express Media Awards 2010. Can you tell us a little about the awards?
Raelke: Express Media is an organisation for young writers 25 and under. They publish a quarterly literary journal called Voiceworks, and each year they run The John Marsden Prize for Young Writers. In 2010, they decided to extend their awards and offer recognition to young writers in different areas too. They offered an award for Best New Project by a Young Person in each state in Australia and chose our project as the winner. It was great to gain recognition after all the hard work Adil and I have put into our project. We started this book way back in 2006 and we’ve been working hard on the book ever since, slowly building it up from our initial school project to publication, to the website, to our ebook on Amazon. It’s encouraging to have support such as the Express Media award along the way.

Your book is now out on Kindle. I notice it's very small on the Kindle 3. Is there an optimum e-reader that you think would best showcase your work?

Raelke: At this stage, I think the iPad and tablets are the optimum devices for the book, although also PC reading apps. One of the deciding factors in choosing to create an ebook was the potential for the book to be used in classrooms on interactive whiteboards. We hope to offer the ebook in ePub format through our website soon.

Adil: It might be an idea to reformat the pages to fit on a little eReader, but even so, it's best to read it on a big screen with good colour. Although, I'm thinking of Little Little Golden Books and the idea of a teeny tiny book is sounding better...

Links

Book website: www.what-in-the-world.net

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/What-in-the-World-ebook/dp/B007RHTWRQ/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/What-in-the-World-ebook/dp/B007RHTWRQ/

Raelke’s blog: http://littleswagofbooks.wordpress.com



Thank you both for agreeing to be guests. I highly recommend your book to anyone with young children, or anyone who just loves animals and/or words! Don't forget, everyone, if you don't have a Kindle, it's possible to get a free Kindle app for your computer or your iPad.

Websites for Children's Books

This month I am the 'Emerging Author of the Month' at a great new site for Australian authors - Creative Kids Tales . Started by Georgie Donaghey to showcase new and emerging authors and to bring them together with established authors and publishers, it's well worth a visit if you're wondering what's happening in the Australian children's writing scene.

Another website I'm involved in is Kindle For Kids , run by a new British author, Lynda Wilcox. Besides writing great books, Lynda has spent a lot of time and effort in getting this showcase of ebook children's authors up and running. The list of authors involved grows every day, so there's a wide range of ages and genres covered, plus stories and blog posts for children to read while they're there.

So if you're looking for books for your children, I recommend you pay these sites a visit.

E-book Cover Design

Original cover idea -rejected

Breaking news: I have a new book coming out on Kindle. That’s the cover for it there, underneath my other books. I finished writing it last year and have toyed with the idea of trying to get it published the traditional way, but if truth be told, I’ve lost all confidence in traditional publishers. Penguin’s recent move to e-publish unaccepted authors at an exorbitant cost confirmed to me that traditional publishing is on its way out and being able to do it yourself is the best option. How long that will last before the Big Six take over the e-shelves, I don’t know. But for now, I’ll publish my own.

Anyway, I spent a lovely two days designing the cover. I’d come up with something a few weeks ago, but when I put it up on my favourite Goodreads group for opinions, it was met with a lukewarm response. So I started again. My first idea was to go with a simple dragon’s eye. But I decided that it really didn’t say much about the story and had probably been done before.

So I went back to the original and started playing about. The girl, it seemed, was seen as ‘sneering’. I didn’t see her that way, but if that was the response, she had to go. But I liked the castle (or prison as it is in the story) so I kept that. Then I had an old leatherbound account book that my mother had given me a long time ago.  The main character’s father is an academic who has spent his life filling books with sketches and research, so it seemed relevant. I had sketches of a hawk and a chameleon (which I warped into a dragon-like creature) for the pages of the book. Add in a locket given to me by a teacher long ago and a dragon in the sky, colour it in vibrant colours and voila! I’m pretty pleased with the result and glad I asked the group's opinion before I published.

A discarded idea.

Another discarded idea

It’s quite an art, getting an ebook cover right. Not only do you have to have a design and colours that draw the eye, the title and author have to be legible in quite tiny versions of the jpeg.  It’s definitely not a matter of slapping a picture and title onto a page. It’s something I absolutely love doing, though. It distracts me from writing, yes, but once I have that cover done, I’m so keen to get the book out that my enthusiasm for writing is revived. I think I could quite happily become a full-time author and cover designer.

If wishes were fishes…

An interview with Ben White

I'm delighted to be able to have another interview on my blog today, this time with New Zealand author, Ben White. I met Ben on the Kindleboards when I first started looking at epublishing. One of his books, 'Resonance:Birds of Passage', was the first Indie book I ever bought and I was very impressed. I'm still waiting for the sequel! (Did you hear that, Ben?)

Hi Ben,

So who is Ben White?

        

        He's just this guy, you know? I have a fantastic wife and two adorably splendid young daughters, I live quite near the centre of New Zealand, and I like chips.

Also, sometimes I write a bit.

        When did you decide that you wanted to become a writer?

        I'm not sure, actually. I wrote little silly stories when I was around eight-nine-ten and was praised for my imagination, but I always wanted to make games, not write books. Then when I was around sixteen or so I got a lot of positive comments about the reports I wrote while on an IT course--all of the teachers mentioned how clearly I expressed myself and how they often got caught up just reading what I'd written, rather than objectively marking it. I took this as a good sign and started writing fiction, a lot of half-baked stuff that never got finished, but it led me to joining an online young writers' group which was really just fantastic. Lots of positive, encouraging, supportive people, some of whom I'm still friends with. The honest criticism and feedback I received also helped me a lot, I think the single most important thing a beginning writer can do is to expose their work to good criticism.

        Getting back to the question, I don't think I ever made a firm decision, "That's it, I'm going to be a writer!". I just pottered around doing a lot of different things, almost all of which involved writing in one way or another, and as time went by I focused less on the things I couldn't control--many of my projects were games or movies or TV shows--and more on what I could control, which were the words. Books are great because it's just the writer and the reader, nothing else in-between, no budgets to worry about, no special effects or programming issues or anything, just the best words to tell a story.

        What, in your opinion, makes a good book?

        For me, three things: good writing, a compelling story, and engaging characters. That last one is the most important to me. I'll forgive almost anything if I like the characters enough.

        What do you most like to do when you’re not writing?

        Generally speaking, anything that can be prefaced with 'sitting quietly and ...' is likely to be a favoured activity: 'sitting quietly and reading', 'sitting quietly and playing a game', 'sitting quietly and eating chips', these are all activities I enjoy. Of course, I also love spending time with my family, whether sitting quietly or not (usually 'not', actually, with two young daughters both 'sitting' and 'quietly' are rare enough).

        I also like media of all kinds, books, comics, games, cartoons, movies, TV shows--I love good stories and great characters, and I'm not fussy about how they're delivered to me.

        Where do your ideas come from?

        I've actually been thinking about this recently, and it could be that the main source of my inspiration is 'dissatisfaction'--either along the lines of "Why hasn't anyone written THIS book? Am I going to have to do it? Oh very well then" or seeing something that's less than it should be and thinking, "Right, we'll just see about that". As an example I'm working on a twisty-turny timey-wimey sort of thing partially influenced by Doctor Who--I love the show but the latest season has left me a little cold, so in a way this book is me saying "THIS is how it's done!"

        Other than that, and aside from the usual 'everything I've read, played, listened to, watched, or otherwise experienced', usually just odd little thoughts--often questions--that refuse to go away.

        You’ve said that your books tend to be about the empowerment of girls. Why that theme?

        I think about this one quite a bit. Part of it is that this is still a question that has to be asked--as long as we still have to think about prejudice, inequality, gender imbalance and so forth these issues are worth thinking (and writing) about. I also find it easier to write more subtle, interesting characters when they're female, and presenting female characters with traditionally male challenges can produce some interesting results. Then there's the rarity value----if you give me a character who's, for example, a basic fighter-type, making that character female will instantly double my interest simply because a lot of writers don't let girls be fighters. That's changing now and I'm glad of it, but there's still an imbalance between male and female characters and the roles they're 'allowed' to fill. It may also be influence from Japanese media--in anime and manga especially there tend to be just as many female characters as male, if not more, fulfilling all kinds of roles. In the kinds of stories I like (ie good ones) character gender (and to a certain extent sexuality) is less important than other attributes, but at the same time a vital part of who that particular character is.

        So I guess the simple answer is 'because when I'm figuring out who a character is most of the time they're a girl, and I don't have much interest in writing weak characters regardless of their sex'. Also I have daughters, and there just aren't enough good books about strong, independent, determined girls out there. I figure that every book I write is one more out there with strong female characters, and that can't be a bad thing.

        Finally (phew), it's just a matter of personal interest. I like writing about things that other people aren't writing about, and there just aren't that many people writing about girls kicking arse. It's still very much a minority thing. I'm not sure why, girls are loads of fun to write about, but it may be that--thinking of Middle Grade and Young Adult fiction now and very generally speaking--boys often only want to read about boys, while girls are more flexible. I can remember being this way myself when I was younger, ashamed to be reading Pippi Longstocking and hiding the cover between Hardy Boys novels--which I always thought were okay, but Pippi could have kicked their arses.

        Did you try the traditional publishers before you went Indie? If so, what sort of feedback did you get? If not, why not?

        Waaaay back when I submitted a single sci-fi short story to an anthology and received a very nice rejection letter--much nicer than I deserved--but that's the extent of my attempts to be traditionally published. I did look at agents and so forth but the whole thing just seemed like a huge hassle, and being located in New Zealand didn't help. Living in the most geographically isolated country in the world does have some disadvantages--that extra layer of 'disconnect' from the world of traditional publishing just made it seem impossible that I'd ever get noticed. Also, I've heard so many horror stories from so many people about losing control of their work, not having any input on the cover, being forced to make changes ... traditional publishing doesn't have much appeal to me. Aside from the great community, my favourite thing about being an indie author is the control it gives me over my books.

        If you couldn’t write for a whole year, what would happen?

        Some kind of localised explosion, possibly.

        Has there been a highlight to your writing career so far?

        Getting my first reviews, this affected me more powerfully than I had expected. Even when a reader didn't like one of my books I really appreciate that they not only gave it a chance but also took the time to share their thoughts with others. Of course, it's when a reader really gets what I was trying to do that I feel the happiest, and I've been both impressed and moved by the insight displayed by many of my reviewers. I think it was Neil Gaiman who said that good reviews are like keys; they unlock deeper understanding and appreciation. Until recently, I didn't realise that this applies to your own work as well.

        Tell us a little about your love of tea.

        It's just great stuff, is all. One of the things I love about tea--I'm talking mostly English Breakfast, the classic--is that there's nothing else like it, you'd never describe anything as 'a bit tea-ish'. Although English Breakfast is and always will be my One True Tea, recently I've started branching out a little. Rooibos is very nice, and peppermint tea with milk is delightfully refreshing.

        What would be your idea of an ideal world?

        Basically, kind of, sort of, this one. I love the idea that this is the best of all possible worlds. I know there's a lot wrong with the world right now, a lot of problems and suffering and hardship, but I can't help the fact that I am, at heart, an optimist. I feel that things are getting better, slowly but surely, every day, that the future is an intrinsically good thing, and that if we just all do our best and pull together then everything's going to be all right. Having said that it's difficult to stave off cynicism completely, and this is one of the themes that I find myself exploring in my books--there are times when idealism is best, but also times when cynicism is necessary. Figuring out a good balance between the two is a big part of growing up. I do lean towards idealism most of the time, though--for example, in The Undying Apathy Of Imogen Shroud, although it mostly takes place during a zombie apocalypse, the characters tend to help and support each other rather than bicker and fight. I suppose my feeling is that most people are pretty decent when you get right down to it, and will band together against adversity rather than let it drive them apart.

        If I could change one thing about the world, though, make one 'push' towards a more ideal state of existence, it would be to encourage a greater understanding of and love for diversity. There are times when I feel like this is what's holding the world back, that if more people would just try that tiny bit harder to understand others then we'd all be happier. Not just tolerance, not just acceptance, but celebration of diversity. That's what I'd like to see more of.

Katie: Amen to that! 

Thanks for the very interesting talk, Ben. If anyone would like to know more about Ben and his books - here are some links. I highly recommend Birds of Passage and I'm just about to start 'The Boy and Little Witch' with my daughter.

http://cloverisland.co.nz/
http://www.facebook.com/TheAuthorPerson
http://www.amazon.com/Charlotte-Powers-Power-Down-ebook/dp/B004NIFW30/
http://www.amazon.com/Undying-Apathy-Imogen-Shroud-ebook/dp/B004WP56O4/

Guest interview: Marti Norton

Today I’d like to welcome a guest on Trees Are Not Lollipops: Marti Norton, author of “Unchosen Mage”. I first ‘met’ Marti back in 2006 when I joined Critique Circle to have Treespeaker critiqued. She critiqued my first chapter, noticed I came from Australia and wrote to ask where exactly I was from. I was very coy with my answer, wary of giving away too much information to a stranger (especially one I thought was a man – how embarrassing). It turned out though, that she had spent eighteen months at the same school as I attended for my final two years. Unfortunately she had left the year before I got there, but the coincidence was incredible all the same. It’s not every day you meet someone on the other side of the world who’s been to the same small country school you did. Since then she has been a faithful critic of all my books, in all their drafts. So it’s an honour to have her here today to talk about her new book, Unchosen Mage, which I have read and critiqued in its various drafts. I have never known anyone so dedicated to getting her book perfect as Marti and I’m delighted that it is finally out there where it should be, for people to read…

Hi Marti. So tell us, who is Marti Norton?

I'm a native Texan and live in the Piney woods of East. I've traveled the world, visiting twelve countries outside the US, and lived in Western Australia for a year and a half. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Communications-Media from California University of Pennsylvania, and a Masters of Education from Stephen F. Austin State University. I taught science in the public schools for nine years.

In college, I was a member of Army ROTC Ranger and Orienteering units and have always enjoyed the outdoors: camping, hiking, rappelling, spelunking (caving), and fishing.

I'm married to a wonderful man, named Rudy, and have three children and five fabulous grandchildren. I also have three dogs, a cockatiel and two turtles.

When did you decide that you wanted to become a writer?

About fifteen years ago. I enjoyed reading at a young age, but not what they wanted me to read in school. After high school, I really began enjoying reading much more because I could read exactly what I wanted. Even though I enjoy thrillers and action novels, my greatest loves are science fiction and fantasy. In the process of reading so many novels, I found that I wanted to try writing. I knew I could put together a story that would be just as good as the novels I had been reading all along.

I wrote my first novel many years ago, a science fiction piece, but after I decided to try my hand at writing fantasy, I was hooked.

What, in your opinion, makes a good book?

Multi-dimensional, believable characters; a great story that's unpredictable; action, lots of action; and a story readers can relate to in some way. 

What do you most like to do when you’re not writing?

I enjoy gardening, mostly vegetables; I'm hooked on home canning, and I really enjoy going to Renaissance Faires. I sew, draw, and sing karaoke (although not very well).

Where do your ideas come from?

Nowhere in particular. They just come to me. And when I think of a possible storyline, I let it hang out in my head for a while and grow. I allow my ideas to take on an uninterrupted life of their own before I start fleshing them out.

You’ve put a lot of work into this book, writing and rewriting numerous times. Why was that important? How much do you think your book has improved from the original?

Writing the first draft of a novel is easy, at least for me it is. The hard part starts when it reaches the revision stage. Only by revising can the story grow.

How much has it improved? A LOT! The first draft, for me, is more like an outline where I work on basic storyline and fairly developed characters. In revisions the difficult job of flow, continuity, and deep character development takes place. Through all my revisions, my stories grow more complex and the characters become real. The plot of "Unchosen Mage" remained basically the same throughout my revisions, but there were major changes made in parts and the beginning of the story changed a number of times. In addition, the title changed three times before it was definitely decided. So I would say the changes in the story, from conception through final version, were like night and day. I would like to add that the revisions would have been MUCH harder had I not had an awesome critiquing team that always let me know what wasn't working. If you are a beginner writer, the BEST thing you can do for your writing is to have a solid writing circle that you trust. Having extra eyes on a project is paramount to its success. There are always things the writer misses after reading their own work over and over again. 

Did you try the traditional publishers before you went Indie? If so, what sort of feedback did you get?

Yes, I tried the traditional publishers and literary agents before I decided to self publish online. Generally, I got good feedback from the experts in the industry, but, being a previously unpublished author, I had no track record. Either that, or a particular publisher or agent was not looking for mid-grade fantasy at the time.

On the subject, I would like to add that I believe publishing for ereaders is going to grow in popularity quickly. With the increase in technology, I think readers will begin to prefer ereading more and more due to the amount of very good stories now available online for instant download at a reasonable price. Most of the more popular ereaders can hold thousands of full-length novels making it possible to carry an entire library with you.

What other writing projects do you have underway?

"Unchosen Mage" is the first book in a series entitled "The Legend of Ravenwood". The second book in the series is currently in revisions and the rest of the series is written in first draft version. I'm also working on an adult action novel, which is currently about half-way complete. There are also three other stories I have milling around in my head, growing and forming.  

  

Do you have any interesting hobbies?

Designing and sewing Renaissance/medieval costumes, bags, and shoes; home canning everything in sight; and experimenting with different ways to garden in a drought-stricken area. I also enjoy researching things online for my stories. 

Where can readers find your latest novel?

"Unchosen Mage" is currently available for download at Smashwords and will soon be available on Amazon Kindle, Apple ipad, Barnes and Noble Nook, and the other major ereaders.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/90323

http://unchosenmage.weebly.com/

 Short blurb for "Unchosen Mage" : Fourteen year old Krys Anderwood lives in a small village in Lanterra. His world changes in one terrible day, right before a centuries-old prophecy and an ancient tome reveal that he must leave home and find a cursed wizard lost 200 years earlier. Barely able to perform basic magic, Krys fears he will fail, and his beloved homeland will fall victim to evil magic.