Building Scenes with Renee Hand

Renee Hand is an award-winning author, educator, tennis coach and various other things. Hand has been writing for over twenty years and has six publications. She also writes for various chronicles and newsletters, as well as reviews for various authors of children´s books on her blog, http://thecryptocapersseries.blogspot.com.

Renee Hand's love for reading and writing started when she was a child. Renee always had a passion for it and remembers frequently wearing out the stone steps to the local library. When in a bookstore, she would sit in the middle of an aisle perusing a novel that she was eagerly going to purchase, but couldn’t wait to read. Often, when Renee has extra time, she will write stories that pop into her head...locking herself in her room for hours. Now that Renee is older, her love for reading and writing has not diminished. In fact, it has only become a bigger part of her. It is because of this that Renee chose to share her interests with other readers who love books as much as she does.

Building Scenes

I build scenes for all my books in similar ways— yet differently. My Crypto-Capers Series is more in depth, with much more history and suspense for the older readers, so I develop the scenes differently, keeping the readers interest well throughout the book to the very end, adding in more detail. Characters are more dynamic, problems more complicated, with various scenes, and so on. 

But for my Joe-Joe Nut series, because the audience is younger, I make things just as interesting and suspenseful, but much simpler. My chapters/scenes are separated by suspects, making it easier for the reader or teacher to stop and make predictions about what is going to happen next, or to discuss what has already happened.   

The beginning, of course, sets the stage for what the story is about, relaying the problem of the story to the reader. When I create a scene, I think about where I want the characters to go and what sends them there, or what I need them to do, or in this case—collect. 

In Mineral Mischief, someone steals Maple Moo’s rare mineral. All of the suspects collect a specific type of rock and mineral, plus they were all over at Maple Moo’s house before the crime was committed. It is Joe-Joe and Biscuits turn from there to talk to each suspect to determine who committed the crime and discover why they did it. Looking for clues, analyzing evidence, and so on.   

I throw in some misleads here and there. At the end, of course, the problem is solved, but never the way you think it might be. I like to throw a wrench in there to make things more exciting for my readers. All and all, though not entirely, this is how I build my scenes.

Stories for Children Publishing will be touring Renee Hand’s latest children’s book, “The Adventures of Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill Case #2 Mineral Mischief” all month long in April 2011. 

In Case #2 Mineral Mischief, Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill find themselves in a dark and dreary cave, and in front of them, sitting on an ornately carved stone pedestal, was Maple’s mineral. To reach out and take it would be so easy. It glistened like stars in a midnight sky, attracting their attention, luring them. However, there had to be a catch somewhere. Something didn’t feel right. Then he saw it. 

The Back Story to Monkey Made Dream

I don’t know about you, but I love learning the back story to why a book was written or published. I always feel the story behind the story is just as important as the book itself. I’ve been lucky enough to work with many authors and learn these stories and this month, I was inspired by an author team. What makes this author partnership so unique is the fact it is a father and daughter who wrote the book together. However, the story doesn’t just stop there and it’s one that I hope inspires other parents with young or older children.

The Back Story to Monkey Made Dream. What Inspired The Book.

When my daughter was around 7 or 8 years old, we decided to make up a song one afternoon.  I picked up my guitar and together we wrote a song entitled Monkey Made Dream. 

Monkey Made Dream is a children’s song I have sang at coffee houses for years.  I knew  the words to this song would work for a children’s book and we had talked about turning it into a book for a long time. Last year, I found an illustrator and we spent a year working together on making this story come to life in book form. 

One of the reasons I decided to turn the song into a book was because my daughter Heather got married this summer.  It seemed like a good time to work on the project. So last Christmas, I surprised her with the first copy of the book Monkey Made Dream that she helped me write years ago.

I want to thank you Tom and Heather for being my guest and sharing the back story to your debut children’s book, Monkey Made Dream. Can you also share with us what inspired you both to start writing?

Tom: I started writing just as an outlet to express myself through story telling.  Song writing is the same way for me. I enjoy telling a story that takes a person somewhere that they can relate to.

Heather: I enjoy writing as a way to escape to a different place and look at ideas in different ways. It is fun to see where a story can go.

Can you share with us a little about your current book, Monkey Made Dream?

Tom: This is a story about a little girl who wakes up for school one morning and finds that her little brother has been replaced by a monkey in his bed.  The story takes you through their day as the little girl tries to explain to everyone about the monkey wearing her brother’s clothes. There is a twist at the end of the story when the truth of the story is revealed.

We are a book marketing group here at VBT. Can you share with us what type of book promotion has worked for you and any special strategies you’d like to share?

Tom & Heather: Well, this is our first children’s book that we have written, so we are just enjoying the whole process.  We self published this book ourselves and our publishing company has been helpful.  The book is on several web sites – Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Book World and others.  We are looking into a marketing plan that will feature this book in many avenues.  On the local side, we are having a book signing day in two local communities near us.  We will also use Facebook to get our children’s book out to the public.

How do you see the future of book publishing, both traditional, electronic, and print on demand?

Heather: It seems that self-publishing will grow, because there is an outlet for new writers through the Internet.  Electronic books seem to be growing if looking around at an airport is any indication.

Tom: But there is still something about holding a hard cover book and a cup of coffee.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

Tom: Just keep writing every day.

Heather: Enjoy the process!

I thank you for taking the time to share with us the back story of Monkey Made Dream and answering a few questions. We wish you much success.

About the Authors:

Tom Listul wrote Monkey Made Dream with his daughter, Heather Listul Hewitt, when she was eight years old. A farmer from southwest Minnesota, he is also a singer/songwriter. Listul made Monkey Made Dream into a children’s song and has sang it at numerous coffee houses and children’s classrooms. Hewitt is now a speech-language pathologist, who works for a school district with students of all ages. She enjoys helping children develop literacy skills and a love for reading. 

Rewriting a Folktale

When a writer’s muse seems to be on vacation, she may be at a loss for story ideas. While there are a number of sites and tools online to help get the creative juices flowing, one tool that writers might overlook is studying folktales.

Reading folktales is a great way to spin a new yarn, especially for children’s writing. I recently did a review of a children’s picture book published by Sylvan Dell that was based on an American Indian folktale. This shows they are publishable.

Folktales, also known as tall tales, and folklore, are stories specific to a country or region. They are usually short stories dealing with everyday life that come from oral tradition that is passed from generation to generation. Most often these tales involve animals, heavenly objects, and other non-human entities that possess human characteristics.

There is Mexican folklore, Irish folklore, Chinese folklore, as well as folklore from many other countries that have tales unique to their area. There is also American folklore that encompasses stories from each of the 50 states. There is a huge supply of stories to spin and weave.

In addition to reviewing a couple of published children’s books that were based on folktales, I wrote a children’s fantasy story based on an ancient Chinese tale.

Interestingly, prior to receiving an outline of the tale from a Chinese nonfiction writer acquaintance, I never thought of rewriting folktales. But, once given the outline I loved the story and the message it presented. The outline itself was very rough and written with an adult as the main character (MC), which is often the case with ancient folktales.

After reading the story I knew the MC would need to become a child. Every children’s writer is aware that children want to read about children, not adults. And, the MC needs to be a couple of years older than the target audience the author is writing for.

Based on this, the MC became a 12-year-old boy. And, since the ancient Chinese flavor of the story seemed perfect, I kept it and made the story take place in the 16th century China. After this was set, a title and the MC’s name needed to be created.

When choosing a title for your book, it’s important to keep it in line with the story and make it something that will be marketable to the age group you’re targeting. I chose Walking Through Walls.

As far as the character’s name, you will need to base it on the time period and geographic location of the story, unless the character is out of his element. Since my story takes place in China, the MC needed a Chinese name.

To keep the flavor of your story consistent, you will also need to give it a feeling of authenticity. This will involve some research:

How did the people dress during the time of your story? What names were used? What did they eat? What type of work or schooling was available? What locations might you mention? What type of crops and vegetation would be present? What types of homes did they live in?

There are many aspects of the story that you will want to make as authentic as possible. And, it does matter, even in fiction stories; it will add richness to your story.

The next time you’re in the library, ask the librarian to show you a few folktales. Then imagine how you might rewrite one or more of them for today’s children’s book market.

Get Your Copy of Walking Through Walls: 
AMAZON

OR, the better choice is to get it directly it directly from the publisher:
 http://www.4rvpublishingcatalog.com/calderwood---cioffi.php


Need a children's ghostwriter / Rewriter? Check out
Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi

What Makes a Good Children’s Book?

What Makes a Good Children’s Book?

By Sherry Ellis

There are many factors that go into the making of a good children’s book.

The first is the story itself.  It must have a plot that appeals to the age of the child it is written for.  It has to be something a child can understand.  It has to be told in such a way that the child falls in love with it.  The best stories are ones that are timeless; where the plot is something that could appeal to a child fifty years from now.

Illustrations are another important factor in the making of a good children’s book.  Brightly-colored illustrations really grab a child’s attention.  The illustrations should accurately portray what is going on in the story.  Really well-done illustrations may even tell a story of their own.  Kids should want to sit down with a book and pour over the pictures.

A book’s cover should be attractive.  There’s an old mantra, “don’t judge a book by its cover,” but the truth is, we do judge a book by its cover.  If the cover looks appealing, we are more likely to want to read what’s inside.  The same holds true with children’s books.  Children are naturally attracted to books with interesting covers. 

Finally, there’s the language itself.  Descriptive words are important in painting a picture of what’s going on in the story.  Care must be taken to use words that can be understood by the age of the children the story is written for.

Good children’s book writers have the ability to view the world through the eyes of a child.  They are able to remember the feelings and emotions they had as a child.  All of these factors put together help an author create a book that is not only enchanting to children, but also to the adults who read it. 

About Sherry Ellis: Sherry Ellis is a freelance writer who writes articles for parenting magazines and children’s publications.  Her first book, That Baby Woke Me Up, AGAIN, was published in 2005.  Her second, That Mama is a Grouch, was published in May of 2010.  It was honored as a finalist in the Parenting/Family category of the 2010 USA Book News Awards. 

Sherry is also a professional musician who plays and teaches violin, viola, and piano.  Ms. Ellis lives in Loveland, Ohio with her husband and two children.

Author Website: www.sherryellis.org

Blog Address: www.sherryellis.blogspot.com

The Ten Commandments of Book Reviewing with Mayra Calvani

Award-winning author Mayra Calvani, who is currently doing a virtual author tour, was asked to share some tips with us today on doing book reviews as part of her World of Ink Tour. Mayra not only writes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. She’s a reviewer for The New York Journal of Books, co-editor of Voice in the Dark ezine and a...Mother. I couldn’t think of a better person to motivate and inspire us today. 

1.     Thou shall have no other gods before the reader.

The review is not about the author, nor the publisher, and especially, not about you, the reviewer. Reviews are all about the reader. Don’t try to impress with pompous words in an attempt to glorify yourself or appear scholarly. Give readers simplicity and clarity. They’ll appreciate it. If they want verbose and fancy, they can read Shakespeare.

2.     Thou shall not lie.

Honesty is what defines your trade. Without it, you’re nothing but sell copy. When you give facile praise or sugarcoat a book, sooner or later readers will take you for what you are: a phony. Furthermore, if you give facile praise to a poorly written book, you are perpetuating a bad writer's career, lowering the chances that a good writer may be published instead.

3.     Thou shall not offend the author.

Just as honesty is important, so is tact. There’s no need to be harsh or mean. A tactfully written, well-meant negative review should offer the author insight into what is wrong with the book. Instead of saying, “This is a terrible novel!” say, “This book didn’t work for me for the following reasons…”

4.     Thou shall not eat the evaluation.

Some fledgling reviewers write a long blurb of the book and leave out the evaluation. The evaluation is the most important part of a review. A summary of the plot is not an evaluation. Saying, “I really liked this book” is not an evaluation. The evaluation tells the reader what is good and bad about the book, and whether or not it is worth buying. 

5.     Thou shall not reveal spoilers.

Nobody likes to be told the ending of a movie before having watched it. The same thing is valid for a book. If you give spoilers in your review, not only do you lessen the reader’s reading experience but you also risk being sued by the publisher or author. 

6.     Thou shall honor grammar, syntax and punctuation.

Don’t be one of those reviewers who are more in love with the idea of seeing their name online than making sure their reviews are well written and thorough. Your reviews may hang around on the internet for years to come and will reflect on your level as a writer. Run a spell check, edit, revise and polish your review as if you were posting a short story. Get a good book on grammar and punctuation, take an online course or listen regularly to podcasts such as The Grammar Girl. 

7.     Thou shall honor deadlines.

If you join a review site where the turnaround for reviews is 3 weeks, then you should respect that agreement. If you promise the author to have the review ready in two months, you should honor this too. Be honest and straightforward from the beginning. If you’re so busy your turnaround is six months, make sure to let the person know. If for any reasons you cannot meet the deadline, contact the person and let him know. It’s your responsibility to maintain a doable schedule. 

8.     Thou shall not be prejudiced against thy neighbor.

Don't assume that a self-published or small press book is poorly written. Give it a fair chance and let it speak for itself. Likewise, never assume a book published by a major NY house has to be good. You'd be surprised by the high quality of some small press books by unknown authors as opposed to those written by big name authors whose titles are often in the bestseller lists. In general, most subsidy books are mediocre, but there are always exceptions. If you've had bad experiences with subsidy books, then don't request them nor accept them for review. If you decide to review one, though, don't be biased and give it a fair chance.

9.      Thou shall not become an RC addict

RC stands for Review Copy. Requesting RCs can get out of control. In fact, it can become addictive. You should be realistic about how many books you can review. If you don’t, pretty soon you’ll be drowning in more RCs that you can handle. When this happens, reading and reviewing can change from a fun, pleasurable experience into a stressful one. If you’re feeling frazzled because you have a tower of books waiting to be reviewed, learn to say NO when someone approaches you for a review and stop requesting RCs for a while. Unless you’re being paid as a staff reviewer for a newspaper or magazine, reviewing shouldn’t get in the way of your daily life. 

10.              Thou shall not steal.

Remember that the books you request are being sent to you in exchange for a review. Requesting review copies and not writing the reviews is, in one word: stealing. You'd be surprised at the number of 'reviewers' who, after having requested several books, suddenly 'disappear.' These people are not legitimate; they're crooks, plain and simple. If you have a valid reason for not reviewing a book, let the review site editor, author, publisher or publicist know. 

The same goes for piracy. Do not risk being fined for posting a full eBook you have received on any site whether for free downloads or resale.  This is theft and the law is quite specific.  When you receive an eBook it is meant to give you the right to read it only, but it does not imply that you have the right to rob the author of future sales by your actions.  This labels you as a thief.  Using electronic transmission is only another way to send a book, like getting one in the mail, which would not give you the right to reprint it for sale or distribution. 

Integrity is part of the code of honor of a legitimate reviewer.

About Mayra Calvani: The author of 12 books, Mayra Calvani writes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults.  Her nonfiction work, The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, co-authored with Anne K. Edwards, was a ForeWord Best Book of the Year Award winner. She’s had over 300 stories, articles, interviews and reviews published. She reviews for The New York Journal of Books and SimplySharly.com. Visit her website at www.MayraCalvani.com. For her children’s books, visit www.MayrasSecretBookcase.com. 

Frederico the Mouse Violinist Blurb:

Learn the parts of the violin with Frederico, the Mouse Violinist!

Frederico is a tiny mouse with a big dream: he wants to become a violinist. Each day he watches as Stradivari makes his famous violins. Each night, he sneaks into the workshop to play. But the violins are too big! Then, unbeknown to Frederico, Stradivari sees him playing and begins carving a tiny device. Could it be a famous Strad especially for Frederico?

ISBN Number: paperback 9781616331146, hardcover 9781616331139

Publication Date: December 2010

Publisher: Guardian Angel Publishing

Publisher Website: www.guardianangelpublishing.com