Sinner to Saint

Today is the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom Jesus expelled seven demons, the woman caught in adultery to whom He says, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more." Mary Magdalene is penitent, who anoints Jesus, the woman who washes His Feet with her tears and dries them with her hair, the first person who sees the Risen Lord. "He is Risen!" An apostle to the Apostles. Mary Magdalene is completely transformed by Christ. Sinner to Saint. I feel this transformation in myself--I am no longer the same person after knowing Jesus. I am still a sinner but with His Grace a saint-in-making. 

I was thinking in the context of stories, when that shift occurs in characters and how best to show that internal illumination. I'm not sure I succeeded in BOUND, that mirror moment when there's the tiniest shift in Rebecca's heart but it changes everything and she knows it too. I didn't realize until now that it's a sheer act of grace. And Rebecca would never put it in those terms. It is my wonderful instructor, Nancy Butts, who gave me the gift of "titanic echoes." God rest her soul. She died in a tragic accident involving a train. Please pray for her and her family. She loved taking long walks with her dogs, decorating for Christmas, and writing stories. I have all her letters and a couple of her books too, my favorite being Spontaneous Combustion. They are a treasure. But I am sad there will be no more. Requiescat in pace, dear Nancy. May we meet again in heaven and share our love of the Greatest Story!

Journey of Little Thief! Chota Chor!

I'm so excited to share my newest picture book with you all. It's Little Thief! or Chota Chor! in Hindi. Based on a real experience when I was a child in India, I wrote about it 18 years ago for my ICL Assignment 3, a description of a place we remember using all five senses. More on this later. 

So I wrote about the time I awoke in the middle of the night to my mother screaming, "Chor! Chor!" The door to our home was thrown wide open; we were terrified. The thief got away with a few things--my mother's watch, money, and a box of river rocks that my sister and I had collected. The thief also dragged a suitcase of our clothes outside and we were most worried he might've taken our American panties. Priorities! We had returned to India just a few months prior after living in the US for a year and loved our ultra-thin, ultra-comfortable, elasticized American underwear. My sister and I laughed in relief to find our precious panties, then laughed about those rocks; we imagined the thief opening the cardboard box and getting mad. Serves him right, we thought. 

Fast forward to 2017. There was a call for diverse stories on the SCBWI Blueboard from Benchmark Education. They were starting a trade imprint, Reycraft Books, with a focus on #ownvoices stories. I sent them a couple. No cigar. So I revised this memory with an outcome I've always dreamed of...and it was accepted! We went through several rounds of revision. One day I hope to do a revision workshop with Eileen Robinson, my editor. She is phenomenal. If she's ever teaching near you, sign up. You will learn so much. She asks the best questions and of course, it is in the answering that one finds the better path. My new Charleston critique partners gave me valuable suggestions too--Andrew Barton, Muffet Frische, Rebecca Ivester, and Mo Morris. Thank you! I hope we can meet soon. I miss you.

I received e-galleys earlier this year and was I blown away by the art! The colors are so vibrant. Although the story takes place at night, it's not a dark book. It's filled with light and shadows--and just look at those shadows--how menacing they can be! Now my husband finally understands why I still sleep-walk and talk. I love how the artist Nayantara Surendranath, captured the imagination of my child-self.

So about that ICL assignment 3: Memories are great but I discovered that adapting this to the present moment is a very easy way to work yourself out of writer's block, if it happens. Focus on the concrete without any judgments. Allow the words to flow and in a little while, you'll make connections with other things swirling in your head. I find that my blocks almost always occur because I have too many things on my mind and if I can tease out one thread, I can be very focused. I know that every writer is different but it's something to try. 

And now, I just have to share my wonderful instructor's response: I must confess that I was quite dazzled by this piece of work--which is more a description of an event than a place, but I'm certainly not about to quibble about that. What makes this piece especially fine is the quality and quantity of specific, concrete sensory impressions that you've woven into it; pots aren't merely stacked in a corner, they are "nested inside each other"; cockroaches aren't simply big, but are "the size of baby mice" (eeek!); Mother's purse isn't soft, but "soft as a moss growing on tree bark"--all of which provoke images in a reader's mind that stick there. 

She went on to make minor suggestions with big impact--word choice--with instructions for the next assignment, and ended with: Marvelous! I loved every word...  Such wonderful encouragement. I have learned to teach writing from one of the BEST. Pat Calvert, thank you! 

A Biography in Books

 

This weekend I did a little writing workshop with a mom's group. It was so lovely; gosh, I miss teaching on a regular basis and I'm thinking I will start offering these again when Dagny too, flies the nest. We spoke about mining our own lives and the books that impacted us. When I took the Magazine course (2002-2004) at the Institute of Children's Literature, I was asked to write a biography. This is what came out. I remember my life through the books I was reading at the time. When I took the Book course (2009-2011), I used the same biography, slightly amended regarding goals and such. Here is the biographical portion:

I am the youngest of four children, born and raised in India. My oldest brother died before I was born but lives on through stories that my mother told me about him. I’ve always thought of him as my guardian angel. My father went to Germany and then to the US for graduate studies. When I was six, we all moved to Cincinnati, OH. But my parents didn’t get along and my mother wanted to return to India, so she brought my sister and me back with her. My brother was fourteen at the time and he wanted to stay in the US. So we were a divided family, a family of letter-writers from a very young age. 

Our life in India was hard, especially for my mother. We were poor. My mother insisted on us girls having a good education, especially since she herself had been denied one. I did well. I enjoyed it. And I knew it was a privilege. I had a few chores at home. Then I was free to play.

My mother had a small collection of books and we went to the library regularly. I loved reading and books opened up the world for me. My favorite children’s author was Enid Blyton. Dickens was a close second. I read my first adult novel when I was twelve –  Magnificent Obsession by Lloyd C. Douglas. It is based upon the sentence in the Bible – let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth. And I understood my mother’s charity, in spite of our own poverty. The physician-turned-writer, A. J. Cronin, was also a favorite. I dreamed that I would be like him one day. But it was not to be.

We moved to the US again when I was fourteen. This time to Pullman, WA, a small college town. My father was a professor there in the engineering department. But my parents’ marriage dissolved within a year. They had grown apart. My mother got a divorce and set up a babysitting business. My sister and I did odd jobs and helped out. We lived simply. When I was sixteen I started taking piano lessons and we saved enough money in a year to buy a used piano. I still have it! I quit taking lessons when I started college – I went full-time on scholarships and worked half-time and there just wasn’t time for serious study of the piano. Science became more important. I was focused on becoming a doctor. I graduated from college in 1987.

Alone.

Devastated.

Free.

My mother died after suffering from stomach cancer for six months. My sister got married and had a baby and moved to Greece with her new family. It was the loneliest time for me. I never knew that I would miss them so much. And when the acceptance for medical school came, I was terrified. My faith eroded. There was no buffer. How could I borrow such a huge amount of money just to go to school? So I did the most practical thing I knew. I got a job.

In college I met the love of my life and after ten years, we married. Michael and I had a long-distance relationship. Both of us were independent and selfish and it took us that long to actually become ready for the commitment of marriage. After my mother died, I moved to California because that’s where Michael was. I lived there for two years, working as a microbiologist in a research laboratory. I did a bit of cancer research too and decided that I had to get an advanced degree. I didn’t like living there – I am a small town girl and I disliked the hustle and bustle and the bad air. But I did enjoy going fishing with Michael and reading tons of books. One book stands out in particular – Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Powerful book. It gave me a moral compass at a time when I had turned my back on God. Our daughter, Dagny, is named after the heroine in that book!

I went back to Pullman for my PhD. It was rich time for me. I missed Michael terribly but thoroughly enjoyed my intellectual growth. I had a terrific mentor (this is one dept. where I’ve always been blessed). I didn’t just learn science. I learned to think, design experiments, critically evaluate data. It was a heady time, solving puzzles about the nature of life, of battles fought at the molecular level. And I got introduced to fine dining and dance.

Michael and I got married the last year I was in graduate school (after a rough patch – another long story :). He was working for a Belgian machine tool company and had to write some technical manuals. So he worked from home in Pullman. I got my PhD in Biochemistry and Biophysics, studying protein folding and protein export in the lowly bacterium, Escherichia coli. But I decided that last year that I would prefer to work on plant-microbe interactions at the molecular level in the future. Plants don’t scream and they make a wonderful addition to the bench.

Michael and I moved to Belgium for two years. He worked for the same Belgian company and I worked at the Max Planck Institute in Cologne, Germany. I examined the very early events in plant-fungus interactions and how a plant resists infections. And I learned a bit of French and German. We traveled and ate wonderful food and drank cheap French wine and enjoyed our pan-European stay. Three outstanding books that I read during that time are  Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth and Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose.

Michael and I made a trip to India at the end of our European stay. When we got out of customs and made our way outside, I smelled the humid air, touched the soil and I wept. It had been 18 years since I’d left. We never had the money to go back and once I started working, never had the time. How I long to take my children there, to show them a piece of their history. Soon, soon …

I started a new job at Purdue University in Indiana. This time I examined wheat-virus interactions. And I put off reading a book – A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry – because it dredged up so many memories. Especially since I had just returned from India. But I read it eventually. Nancy, I now realize that this is the book that propelled me to write later. I bought Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott on a lark. My first writing book J   I was in Indiana only six months – Michael didn’t find any suitable work in the Midwest. He did get two good offers in Seattle and so we moved. All of his family is around here. On our long drive to the beautiful Northwest, I found out I was pregnant!  So I never bothered looking for a new job. I stayed home with my baby.

And how these babies grow! I will never regret staying at home. Max is almost ten now. And Dagny almost eight. I wish I could slow down time. I’m very aware of how little time we actually do have together, so I try to make the most of it by including the children in everything I do. In fact, when I said that I will need more help since I’m taking this book course, everybody chimed in and said that they’ll write a chapter for me! What a hoot! They’re terrific! All of them, including the pets. Wouldn’t know what I would do without them. Katherine Paterson in Gates of Excellence says, “For as I look back on what I have written, I can see that the very persons who have taken away my time and space are those who have given me something to say.” This resonates deeply for me. Because if it weren’t for my kids, I’d still be a lab rat. And if I hadn’t stayed home, I wouldn’t have found my second calling – to be a writer.

It’s strange to write an *all about me* letter after I’ve already met you. Feels terribly self-centered. But it is a good exercise. Looking back at this letter, I see that I define my growth through the books I’ve read. I have been transformed, Nancy, by some of these books. And that’s what I hope for my books, that they are that powerful, compelling. I know, too lofty, but I’ve always dreamed big. Jesse Winchester said, “If you’re skating on thin ice, you might as well dance.” Yeah!

A most recent development is my return to God and the Catholic Church. It has changed everything for me, including my writing. I won’t say more right now because this letter is already too long …  Your turn: tell me the books that shaped you.

My babies! Wouldn't have started writing without them

Easter Vigil, Apr. 11, 2009

 

A Conversation with Gretchen Everin

Laundry flapping in the wind? I’m sold. You all know how much I love hanging out clothes. And I could use a new do myself …  so I was delighted to see the cover of MAMA'S NEW DO written by Gretchen Everin and illustrated by Tara Britt Story. It’s a whimsical story about the common-sense things we can do to be good stewards of the earth. So pull up a chair – I wish we could all sit out together with a hot cup of tea and fresh cranberry bread – and enjoy this conversation with Carrots, which is what Gretchen goes by on the Blueboards (now part of SCBWI) and where we got to know one another over the years. Now, she is a sister of my heart, who not only encourages me with her words and prayers but has also introduced me to a dear saint, Gemma, who has become a wonderful companion to me. You’ve got to love friends who share their friends! Please welcome Gretchen!
 

First, please tell me your background? I always find the journey to writing itself interesting.  

I grew up in the Midwest and dreamed of becoming a school choir director.  (Really, I just wanted a way to sing in harmony every day.) Alas, my Music Education major fizzled out early during Freshman year when I discovered that students were required to solo on command during Italian Diction class. Way too insecure for that, I did the next best thing, which was to get my degree in Elementary Education and take as many music electives as my schedule would allow.

Me too! About the music electives.

After college, I moved to New England for a year of volunteer work with Chi Rho Catholic Service Corps. Providentially, I was placed in an inner-city school as the librarian and music teacher. What a dream! When my stint ended, I stayed in the area and worked as a classroom teacher, never missing the opportunity to integrate music and children’s picture books into the lessons – even with older students! Then I got married, had my first child, and became a stay-at-home mom.

And I suspect that's when you started writing, right?

On a whim, I wrote my first manuscript in 2005. The story makes me cringe now, but the experience of writing it was life-changing. Truly. Afterward, the stories poured out of me. I couldn’t write enough.

Then I read Harold Underdown’s invaluable book - THE COMPLETE IDIOT’S GUIDE TO PUBLISHING CHILDREN’S BOOKS, which is now in its 3^rd edition - and became a regular visitor to his and Verla Kay’s websites. Their wisdom settled me down and helped me focus. It made me want to do more than write. It made me want to write well. So I took two classes through the Institute of Children’s Literature, which were very beneficial.

Aha, so we're ICL sisters! It's uncanny what a similar path we both took. I'm so thankful we both ended up on Verla's Blueboards.
 

I think it’s quite a coincidence that your book on taking care of our earth coincides with Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si'. Did you have any inkling of it? 

Wasn’t the timing remarkable? Several months before MAMA’S NEW DO was published, I learned of the upcoming encyclical, and by the time I looked at it in the middle of June, the opening paragraph had me in tears. See, Laudato Si was released on May 24. Just three days prior, I had emailed the editor my dedication, which thanks God for this universe and gives a nod to St. Francis of Assisi, who lovingly referred to Earth as “Mother.” To see Pope Francis give that very same nod to St. Francis was thrilling. I even joked to the editor that we were getting free publicity from Rome! 

I no longer believe in coincidences, just God-incidences!  

What/Who inspired you to write this story?  

The wish list of a new indie publisher propelled me to write MAMA’S NEW DO in 2009. Though it wasn’t ultimately a good fit for that publisher, the editor gave me helpful feedback that was used in the current version. I can’t remember how the concept came to me, but I remember where it happened: in my car on the way to a doctor’s appointment! I went on to finish the draft in the waiting room.  

Spoken like a true writer!  

I have to say, too, that the ideas of how to help Mama were inspired by my parents, who were “green” before it was a thing. Their example taught me to do what I can. Most of us can’t get solar panels or harness energy from turbines, but there are a thousand little things we can do. My parents consistently made time to do those things. They still do.  

Your parents sound wonderful! My mom was also recycling before it was even a word. I don't remember us producing any garbage at all growing up in India -- everything we didn't use ourselves was compostable.  

Did MAMA come as a poem to you? It’s incredibly difficult to write an entire story as a poem. I wondered why you didn’t choose lyrical prose instead.

It did come as a poem, but I later rewrote it in prose. When I was given the exciting opportunity to publish with Wandering in the Words Press, the editor, who had read both versions, gave me the final decision. Being sentimental about the original and loving to read poetry to my children, I went with the rhymer.

I love the Grandmother character in MAMA'S NEW DO. Who is she most like? Yourself, your mother or your gram? 

Thank you. She definitely looks most like me but her enthusiastic, supportive personality is from my mom and aunts. Her dancing is a wink to my dear grandma, who loved to polka with my granddad on Saturday nights (and who always had stylish hair!).

Aw, that's so sweet. This book is going to be a family treasure. The cut paper illustrations are gorgeous. Did you know ahead of time what the look of this book would be?  

Oh, those illustrations! I’m so glad you like them, too!  I first saw the line drawings a year ago and swooned. Mama and her care team had come to life! Tara Story, the illustrator, told me she was going to add color, but I didn’t know exactly what that would mean. What I did know is that she would do a magnificent job. And she did, exceeding all my expectations.  

Illustrators have often exceeded my wildest imagination! Love how they bring a story to life.

Since you and the illustrator are in the same town, was there any back-and-forth at all?  

From the beginning, Tara was careful about wanting to respect my vision, but I was equally insistent that she just do her thing. I’ve known her for many years and completely trusted her interpretation. In fact, the only time I felt led to put my oar in was the day I saw the line drawings. On the cover, Tara had made my name significantly larger than her own! I insisted that illustrators are every bit as important as authors – maybe more! Thankfully, Tara made her name equal in size. 

That rings right to me!  

What are you working on now? Or is it to be kept a secret? 
 

No secret! I’m working on revisions of a chapter book. Waiting in the wings are another chapter book revision and a few picture book manuscripts that need to be finished.  

Wonderful news! I looked them up -- Gretchen's chapter books will be published by Splashing Cow Books.    

Writer-mamas everywhere want to know how you make time for writing while also taking care of a busy family. Do you have a routine? Please share any tips you have … I could use them even though my kids are teenagers and sleep till noon.  

I wish I had a writing routine! Fortunately, my youngest still naps, so that would be an ideal time…..if I didn’t find myself filling it with washing dishes and folding laundry and catching up on emails. Usually, I write in the margins, grasping those moments whenever and wherever I can - waiting in the car to pick up the children, during commercials, even in a doctor’s office, as with MAMA. And although I’m a morning person, it’s never been a productive time for me to write. The few long, uninterrupted sessions I’ve had have been late at night. But I can’t do that very often. 

Aha! You have the Midnight Disease as well! 

If I have a story to tell, I am restless until I have told it. So my only advice to others is to say “Yes!” to the story. Tell it. Surrender. Even if it’s TILLY TAPIR LEARNS TO TANGO, there’s some reason it’s in you. Write it! (Then snuggle with your children and read it to them!)

LOL Gretchen! Excellent advice! Especially to surrender to the story. Thank you so much for sharing unstintingly of your time and talent here. I look forward to your future projects. May God bless all your endeavors. 

You all can learn more about Gretchen in the Newport Daily News as well as take a look at the covers of her MeeGenius books, which are now part of HMH.

The Nighty-Night Narwhals

The Nighty-Night Christmastime Narwhals

Down by the Hay

I am sure she will be happy to answer any questions you might have.

My Writing Process Blog Tour

I first got to know Patty in the pages of the ICL newsletter chock full of writing tips and marketing information. A last name like Pfitsch really pops. She’s the author of the MG novels Riding the Flume and Keeper of the Light and also numerous articles and short stories. You can read more at her blog Brooklyn Bound, where she chronicles her adventures in the Big City after being a farmer in Wisconsin for 30 years. All for the love of a child. Grandparents are really wonderful.

I was delighted when she asked me to participate in this blog tour. Being a process junkie, I hopped on the bandwagon right away. Thanks Patty.

1) What are you working on?

After a summer of scribbling in my notebook, sipping tea on my back porch (am I approaching the stereotype of a Southern writer yet?) and writing on the go – in the park, at the beach, in the car – it is nice to sit in my office and finally do a bit of productive writing. I am revising a nonfiction children’s book and a contemporary young-adult novel, and for fun, playing with some picture-book texts. I realize this makes me sound like a dabbler, but I've always juggled multiple projects, allowing me no time for writer's block. Like housework, there is always something on my desk that needs attention. 

2) How does your work differ from others of its genre?

I don’t really know how to answer this. Most of my nonfiction is commercial and market driven but I bring my own sensibility of the topic to it. The current nonfiction book is a memoir, so only *I* can write it! I have written personal essays but this is the first time I’m writing one especially for children. Since I’m bound by a nondisclosure clause, mum’s the word. The young-adult novel is different from many other contemporary YAs because it is a story about making deep personal sacrifices, which is countercultural in today’s world, especially in YA, which tends to be more self-centered. You see self-sacrifice much more in MG fiction than in YA, but I believe teenagers are capable of greatness too.

3) Why do you write what you do?

I write to understand. I write to give a voice to the voiceless. I write to educate and to entertain.

4) How does your writing process work?

I've always had too many ideas. Perhaps this is why I enjoy writing short stories and articles. It satisfies my curiosity. Usually an idea takes hold of me and will not let go. I know when I keep circling it in my notebook (the old fashioned kind, made of paper) that it's time to switch to the computer and give those amorphous thoughts some structure, but I tend to do my best thinking on paper. My hand knows stuff that even my brain cannot figure out how to access.

Nonfiction is much easier for me to write. The story is already there and all that I’m doing is trying to figure out what it is that I want to highlight. I typically make an outline, and these are very detailed, but this helps me to see the flow of information, whether it is logical, whether I am going from simple to complex, etc. And in the outline form, I can see some overarching ideas emerging. I write an exploratory draft and by the end of it, I usually know how I will present it. Then I revise so that everything points to the big idea I'm trying to convey. I’m usually working with an editor at some point, so we go back and forth. And having to explain things clarifies them for me. I have been blessed with wonderful editors who ask the right questions and help me to bring depth to the manuscript. 

For short fiction, I write the story in one fell swoop. It’s only after I finish that I figure out what the story really is about. Then come many rounds of revisions until I am happy with it. I will send it off to my critique partners, who will point out the various blunders and help me to make the story better. I'm happy to say that by the time it gets to the editor, there are very few revision passes, if any.

For novel-length fiction, the process is similar, though it may take years for a story to gel. Once I am committed to writing a story, I try to outline it roughly so I have a road map of sorts. I know the beginning and ending and some of the high points of the story. I have written two novels and for both, and I'm embarrassed to say I didn't know what the story really was about until after a few drafts. But once I know, revisions go  faster. My critique partners are wonderful because they keep me honest. I tend to be plot driven and they always question whether my character would do something I want them to.

I make the process sound easy, but the truth is, writing is hard for me. I fight with myself about what I want to write. Ideas and story-people compete for attention. Time is limited. I procrastinate. Pray. Pet the cat. Go for a walk with my dog. Watch the children. Play the piano. Cook. Clean. And read, read, read. But all these activities somehow help me to figure out the stories. As you can see, I don’t often know what’s in my head until I start writing, so it is a messy process, with false starts, sputtering and choking. But somehow I manage to write … with the help of saints and angels, the "mews" giving me love bites, and just keeping at it even when the writing doesn't feel like it's going well. I am tenacious to a fault, but I always feel better when I write and figure things out. There's a satisfaction that is unparalleled in getting a story just right. I'm very thankful to have a writing life with my family. 

I am going to tag three of my favorite writer buds -- Marcia Hoehne, Faith Hough and Nancy Butts. I know Marcia is taking a blog break but I have powers of persuasion! She is a mystery-writer extraordinaire. I can’t wait to see her books in print! Faith is raising four little women and still manages to write gorgeous historical fiction (I don’t think she sleeps much). And Nancy taught me how to write a big story. I will always be thankful to her for all the time and effort she put into me. Please consider adding Spontaneous Combustion to your writing library ... I have pulled it out several times already. All three of these women inspire me to do my best. If you’d like to share your writing process, consider yourself tagged and play. Please let me know so I can share a link.

Happy reading, writing and ruminating, y'all.

A Conversation with Bryn Fleming

Cassie and Jasper to the Rescue is the first book in the Range Riders series by Bryn Fleming. I am so proud of her!!! She was one of my star students, writing heart-stopping stories about animals. I first met her main character, a feisty cowgirl, in Lesson 2. Bryn revised the story and it made the cover of Cricket magazine. Later, she envisioned a series of books with these characters and I am so happy she found the perfect home for them with Westwind.


From the publisher: Time is short. A horse is in danger. Can cowgirl Cassie and her sidekick Jasper rescue the horse from the owner’s villainous son? Or will the mare go to the local auction and meet a bad end? The ranch kids, raised on rodeos and cattle drives, resurrect the dilapidated corral and barn of an abandoned homestead to house the soon‑to‑be‑rescued mare.

The kids hide, sneak, and spy on the neglectful horse owners. Then, in a desperate night ride, Cassie and Jasper attempt to lead the rescued horse to safety. Danger trails close behind them on a roaring four‑wheeler. Jasper musters his courage and risks all for the horse and his friend. Along the way a new friendship and understanding develops as Cassie and Jasper help the neglected horse’s elderly owner to care for her properly.

At the abandoned ranch, the pursuer reappears, forcing Cassie into a dangerous game of hide‑and‑seek in the old ranch buildings. She’s trapped in the old barn, along with the mare. Will Jasper return in time? Are the kids’ cowboy skills enough to save them all?


I received an ARC several months ago and later received a print copy in the mail. My daughter dreams of a life on a farm with animals and reading a book like this makes her realize the dream can be a reality. Bryn's own life is a huge inspiration. We had a little conversation we'd like to share:

Dear Bryn, thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. Congratulations on your debut! And I’m thrilled to bits knowing this is going to be a series. I’ve known Cassie for some time now. Tell me, is Cassie anything like you? I loved that she came from a functional family, and was full of fire and dash. It is a joy to be with her.

Cassie has a lot of the 12-year-old Bryn in her, most especially her deep-felt connection with animals and her independence.

Not only did I love my dogs, cats, hamster, mice, rabbits, guinea pigs, horse, etc. more than any other beings in my world, but I loved all animals and felt called to defend them and care for them at every opportunity.

When I read about how modern farm animals are raised in inhumane conditions, I became a vegetarian. When I learned how mink and rabbits and others were raised for their fur, I marched on Fur-Free-Friday. When I found an opossum on the road, I gathered up the scattered babies and carried them home in my sweater.

I didn’t understand how anyone could harm an animal. To me, they were always good and innocent. Like Cassie, I cared more about doing the right thing than about anyone’s opinion of me or about the usual pre-teen concerns of fashion and cliques and popularity. 

Your love and passion for animals is beautiful. I can just imagine you with a clutch of baby possums. I imagine you had very supportive parents, but you still got into trouble. Which brings me to: character and plot are closely intertwined. How do you go about imagining the troubles Cassie will get into and out of?  

Actually, Cassie’s and Jasper’s own character traits determine the plot entanglements they get themselves into. Once the characters had formed sufficiently, they seemed to find their own way. Their compassion and protectiveness for animals lead them to rescue Glory.

Given Cassie’s bond with her own horse, Rowdy, and her strong individuality and courage, she would never have turned her back on a horse in trouble.

In the second book, Jasper’s being the victim of bullying leads him to empathize with a down-and-out shelter dog. He and the dog, Willie, act courageously when a raging wildfire threatens a lost girl because of their compassion and bravery.

I remember you have several rescued animals. Have they inspired some of the stories?

Yes, definitely. I have known several neglected horses and have done what I could for them, whether it was donating hay or reporting their neglectful owners to law enforcement. I think it is part of being a good community member to watch out for the well-being of those who can’t speak for themselves.

The second book features an older dog I adopted from a rescue organization. Willie was a ten-year-old, one-hundred-pound Giant Schnauzer, totally blind from cataracts in both eyes when he was abandoned by his previous family. When I saw his face on PetFinder.com, it was love at first sight. I knew he belonged with me. In fact, I was afraid that someone else would see this amazing dog and get there first!

Since adopting Willie, I’ve “specialized” in making the final years of senior dogs as comfortable and happy as possible. I’ve since shared my home with oldster shelter dogs Harley, Summer and Bandit. Although it is hard to lose them after a few short years, I will probably always have a rescued senior dog in my home.

Bless your heart for taking care of these animals. Please tell us something about the work you nature preservation and how you balance that with your writing.

I write in the morning, before work, usually from 6 A.M. to 7 or 8, depending on when I need to meet my team for my fish job, which depends on the projects we’re working on and the season and weather. I feel fresh and energetic and full of new ideas in the morning.

As a fish biology field technician, I gather data for biologists working on restoring endangered steelhead to the Columbia River Basin.

Three times a year, we spend several weeks netting and micro-chipping fish to track their numbers and migration patterns. We also work cooperatively with beavers to improve fish-spawning habitat in local streams by building “beaver-dam-support-structures.”  The beavers build dams which form ponds and riparian areas that are good for fish.

It is strenuous outdoor work in all weather conditions, but I love that we’re helping to increase steelhead populations. I also love spending most of my time outdoors.  I feel very blessed to have a job where I can see beautiful country filled with bighorn sheep, bears, antelope, elk, bald eagles, coyotes, and wild horses.

It sounds like you have the best of both worlds, Bryn. It is good being so close to the earth and being a good steward of it. Please tell us whether writing different now than when you first began? Do you have free rein over the stories or do you work closely with your editor in the planning stages?

After working on the first book alongside my amazing editor, I feel like I’ve become a much better writer. Crafting a middle-grade adventure novel is a very precise thing. I have a much better handle on how to pace each chapter and the overall plot, how to bring out character traits, set scenes, etc.

I usually have a full story ready before I submit it and begin working with my editor. We work together to shape and hone it.

I do a lot of studying of writing techniques as well as working directly on the books. There are so many really good, detailed fiction-writing books out now that a writer can learn from; books on creating suspense, crafting dialogue, setting scenes.  I’m very disciplined and motivated about learning, so I actually love to edit my work and improve my writing skills.

You were always a good student, Bryn, and now an editor’s dream. How did you find your publisher? It is a great fit.

My agent had professional connections with one of the staff at Graphic Arts Books. She saw the potential for a good fit there with my style and subject matter and got my manuscript read.

What advice would you give writers on writing and publishing?

These days, having an agent present your work seems almost essential. Many publishing companies have pared down their staff and will only accept agented manuscripts for consideration. An agent now does that first line of filtering out potentially publishable works and submitting them. I think the publishers just don’t have time or staff to go through vast piles of manuscripts like they used to.

Yours was the first modern Western I read. Every other book was a historical. Did you purposely choose to set the characters in current time? It has worked beautifully. Kids can get an idea of a life outside cities and suburbia.

I did very purposefully choose the “New-Old- West” as my setting. 

For me, reading has always been a way to “travel” to other places, times and cultures. I wanted to open that door to young readers.

When I moved to Central Oregon six years ago, I was struck by the old west flavor that lingers here. Abandoned  homesteads still stand in sagebrush fields, cowboys still move herds of cattle from summer to winter grazing grounds and back, and kids still spend summers working on the family ranch moving irrigation pipe and baling hay.

The school in my town has just over 60 kids from kindergarten through high-school.  Some of them live here in town (population 120) and some on outlying ranches. It’s a very different world than most of my readers will get to experience in person.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Just that it is a pleasure to share Cassie and Jasper’s world and adventures with young readers across the country. I also hope that the books inspire kids to believe in themselves and their ability to make the world a better, kinder place by helping animals.

I am so thankful our paths crossed at ICL. It was such a pleasure to work with you and to see you grow and succeed in this venture. I do believe you are making a huge difference in children’s lives sharing the natural beauty of the world and inspiring them to protect it. God bless you and all your endeavors, Bryn.