Can you tell us a little about yourself and your book?
I grew up in Houston, but my grandmother lived in Galveston and I spent quite a bit of time there with her, so Galveston was like my second home when I was a child. I have a deep love for the Texas coast, so I kne
w that I wanted to write a book set there.
What influenced you to write children's books?
The experience of reading to my own children lead me to try my hand at writing them. As a young mother, I became enchanted with the really wonderful books that I was sharing with them and so embarked upon my writing journey. My kids are now grown up, and I'm happy to say that they still love children's books.
Do you ever plan on writing YA, or Adult novels?
I have written for YA's. I have a collection of short stories called KISSING TENNESSEE, a collection of poetry called POEMS FROM HOME ROOM, and a memoir called MY FATHER'S SUMMERS that are all written for young adults. And I also truly believe that KEEPER can hold its own with young adults--there's romance, danger, longing, a very young teenage mom, a gay relationship--all of which gives it a place among teens.
As for writing for adults, I think that every children's book has to appeal to adults too. Aside from that, however, I don't know if I'll ever write in that category. Not sure. Maybe.
When writing this book did you know where it was going, or did it come to you as you were writing?
It did take me a while to figure out where I was going. In early drafts, I actually wrote the ending first and it took a long time before I realized, oh, this is the end, not the beginning. That was helpful, but it was also a sidetrack.
You chose to have the story take place on a beach and ocean setting, why?
I've always loved the beach, and also loved mermaids. For years I've wanted to write a mermaid story. Where else to put it but the beach?
What was the biggest obstacle you had to over come when writing Keeper?
With every book I write, the big obstacle for me is always overcoming my own insecurities, believing that the story at hand has worth, relying upon the process of writing to get me there. I'm also a big procrastinator. I can find a million other things to do except write.
The story talks a lot about crab gumbo, is this your favorite dish? (Do you recommend I should try it?)
I do love crab gumbo. But I think I love chicken and sausage gumbo better. Yes, try a bowl of gumbo. It's all delicious.
The characters in Keeper have many different names, BD (Best Dog), Too, Dogie, what made you choose these names?
BD was the name of my
grandmother's dog, only his name stood for Bird Dog. I changed it slightly to Best Dog, and when I created Too, I thought, "he's a Best Dog too," thus Too's name.
I named Dogie after an old television show called "Rawhide." It was a western and they had a them song that went "keep them dogies rollin'." I thought, my character is rollin' in his bus, so I named him Dogie.
Are any of the characters based off of real people? (or animals?)
BD and Captain are based upon my grandmother's dog and a seagull that she rescued when it crashed into her kitchen window one night after a storm. Signe actually reminds me a lot of my own mother who was also a teenager when she became a mom. The rest of the characters are pretty much made up.
If you had the chance to meet any famous person, who would it be? Why?
I would love to meet President Obama. I think it would be great to talk to him about his own children's books, but also I would like to urge him to be brave and stand his ground.
Where do you prefer to write?
I love sitting at my desk, in my own studio. I can write pretty much anywhere, but home is where I do my best work.
Besides writing what else do you enjoy doing?
I enjoy going to plays and movies, reading, going out to hear music. I like to travel too, especially when I'm with a friend or family.
If you could have any super power what would it be?
I wish I could be JOB WOMAN. My power would be to find a great job for everyone, a job that they truly loved and that paid well. That would be my super power.
And lastly do you have more books out or in the works?
I have a whole list of projects that I hope to get through before my last day here on earth, which I hope is a lot of years away.
Thanks so much for these smart questions.
