Category Archives: Spotlight on Authors

We like our authors … we had a chance to interview some of them … here’s what they have to say.

Words on a Limb Interviews Sylvia Stewart

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Sylvia Stewart grew up in the (then) Belgian Congo. She spent 21 years as an Assemblies of God missionary in Malawi, East Africa, with her husband, Duane. While there, she taught some writing workshops, which are now bearing fruit. She started writing Kondi’s Quest to weave a story for the children of Malawi. In 1992 Sylvia and Duane were asked to go to Ethiopia to found a Bible College. They spent 11 years there, doing mostly Bible College ministry. Sylvia taught college-level English to students who had never taken a grammar class before. Sylvia is the mother of four children who grew up in Africa. Her eleven grandchildren are the delight of her life. Sylvia’s book was a 24-year project. Through the eyes of a Malawian girl, Kondi’s Quest shows middle-school readers that God’s love and presence is with us, even in very hard times.

We are very pleased to introduce you to Sylvia and her story:

About writing …

When did you first realize you wanted to become a writer?
English was my favorite subject in school. Writing essays was easier for me than for my classmates. I don’t remember writing stories as a child, but I would “tell” myself stories as I lay in bed at night. I guess you could say I’ve been writing most of my life.

What book(s) has most influenced your writing?
The Nancy Drew books captured my fancy even before I was a teen. Later Zane Grey, D.E. Stevenson, Miss Read, and Mary Stewart taught me how to turn a phrase and make a story come alive.

When and where do you prefer to write?
I prefer to write in the morning, but that doesn’t often happen. I prefer no interruptions, but I don’t often get that either. I prefer silence for my writing time, but usually I write in the middle of the house with life going on around me. Soon I will have my own “Just Write” cabin on the back of our property. Bliss!
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Words on a Limb Interviews Peter H. Reynolds

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peter_reynoldsWhether he is busy at FableVision inventing new ways to inspire children to just start, or enlightening people at his Reynolds Centre for Teaching, Learning and Creativity, or building a community center with his Blue Bunny bookstore, Peter Reynolds is doing what he does best, CREATING.

A couple of months back, my son came home with a request from his kindergarten teacher to capture the colours of the sky at various times of the day. She had read the story Sky Colour by Peter Reynolds and wanted to help her students experience a bit of the story. I thought this was a clever idea. Not having heard the story before, I quickly went out to my neighbourhood bookstore get my own copy. It was a unique pleasure to read his work and begin a poetry project of our own as a result of his inspiring words. Peter Reynolds is truly an ambassador for creativity.

We invited Peter to tell us more about where it all started and where he feels it is all going. Here is what we discovered.

Thinking back to when you were five years old, what did you want to be when you grew up? When did that change to story-teller?
I was asked by Major Mudd, a television show broadcast in Boston when I was a kid, what I wanted to be and I responded, “A firetruck.”
Fortunately, I broadened my horizons and started a newspaper with my twin brother, Paul in first grade.
That lit the publishing fuse for me.

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Words on a Limb Interviews Ashley Spires

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ashleysWhether she is busy hacking her new book into a stylish bag, or demonstarting her flair for fashion, or buried in a heap of ideas embodied by her sketches, Ashley Spire’s artistic passion shines bright.

A few weeks ago, we picked up her latest picture book The Most Magnificent Thing and recognized that Ashley brings a fresh voice to children’s picture books; in this instance, sharing a story about perseverance and the value of imagination, mixing in some science, math and technology. Your little ones will love this story’s diminutive protagonist and her loyal assistant. The book is brimming with clever, engaging words and complemented by Ashley’s own charming artwork.

Ms. Spires has also authored the wildly successful Binky series, along with other picture book favourites like Larf. We reached out to this favourite Canadian author to learn more about and ultimately share her story as a writer and illustrator. After her whirlwind Library Tour, we finally caught up with her. Here is what we discovered.

What were you like in school growing up on the west coast?
I was constantly drawing. Every project had the most elaborate title pages! When my best friend and I passed notes, we weren’t writing about usual kid stuff, we were writing each other stories. Mine always had illustrations with them too.

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Words on a Limb Interviews Lisa Dalrymple

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Lisa Dalrymple has lived with chickens in South Korea, a cat in Scotland, swam with sharks and a gecko (in her shower) in Thailand, swam and fished for piranha in the Amazon River – but she has never EVER shared a home with a polar bear. Between all her adventures, she’s also made some time to write several inspiring children’s books, including the award winning Skink on the Brink.

She lives with her husband in Fergus, Ontario, Canada. They have three energetic and imaginative kids who it would be only right to credit as co-creators of many of her children’s stories.

Skink on the Brink won the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award for Canada 2014 and has also been nominated for a Rainforest of Reading award in Grenada. A Moose Goes A’Mummering, her next book, is due to be released in October 2014.

We caught up with busy Lisa, if only to put her under our Author’s Spotlight. Let me tell you, we enjoyed it. Here’s Lisa!

About writing …

When did you first realize you wanted to become a writer?
I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, so I don’t actually recall a time before I knew it was something I wanted to do. I do, however, recall the first time I submitted to a publisher. I was twelve and it was a middle-grade adventure story à la Nancy Drew or Trixie Beldon. I sent it to Grolier, the encyclopedia people, to ask if they would be interested in considering it for publication. Needless to say, they weren’t. (However, they did send me a very nice rejection letter.)

What book(s) has most influenced your writing?
As a reader and as a writer I go through phases. I often get so involved in another writer’s world that I find myself starting to write in a similar manner. I have to remind myself to step away in order to find my own voice again. Even then, there continue to be times when I hear in my own writing the influence of writers I’ve previously (and still) adore, like Margaret Laurence or Daphne Marlatt–or even as far back as Roger Hargreaves (of Mr. Men fame.)

When and where do you prefer to write?
At the risk of sounding like a difficult artist, I do need complete silence, with no distractions, in order to be able to write. As luck would have it, we live in an old house, with poor insulation and 3 incredibly energetic (read: loud) children. Needless to say, I just have to write whenever and wherever I can find a moment–which isn’t really often enough. As luck would also have it, however, I do tend to be able to write in just about any physical location. I actually have an old shelf, pulled from a bookcase, which journeys with me from room to room–to front porch, to front seat of our van, to anywhere else that I may be able to hide, curled up with my laptop on my knees.
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Words on a Limb Interviews Pollyanna Darling

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Pollyanna Darling began writing short stories, cartoon strips and poetry at age four and has a passionate love of high quality literature for children and young adults. She has four boisterous children (all boys) and lives on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Back in the mists of time, Pollyanna was vigorously dissuaded from writing by a well-meaning careers officer. She dabbled in diverse and curious jobs before deciding that writing had her by the heart and wasn’t going to let go. Her intuitive life coaching work led to the publication of her first book in 2011, a self-help guide for adults: The Relationship Revelation, which won gold in the the Living Now Book Awards (USA) in 2012.

Pollyanna has since discovered that writing for children offers many opportunities for fun, mischief and magic. After a two year creative process with Victorian artist Kirsty Chalmers, she completed and published Heartwood (2013): a hand-illustrated, first chapter book for kids who are beginning to read independently.

Words on a Limb had a chance to sit with Pollyanna and learn her story.

About writing …

When did you first realize you wanted to become a writer?
I learned to read at 2 years old as my mother was very passionate about education. By the time I turned 9, I’d read all the children’s books I could lay my hands on, and began on the walls of adult books that lined our house. I have loved words for as long as I can remember – their power to hurt, to heal, to ignite imagination, to take the reader deep. I began creating poetry, short stories and
cartoon strips as soon as I could write. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a writer, but I was talked out of it by a well-meaning careers officer – too many writers, can’t make a living etc etc. I know now (regardless of income), that if you ignore the internal drive to create, life becomes flat and meaningless.

What book(s) has most influenced your writing?
As a child I loved the Narnia series and I devoured ghost stories, but I distinctly remember discovering Fear of Flying by Erica Jong, a book I sneaked from the shelf when I was 12. In those startling pages I found the edgy, fascinating world of feminist literature. My own writing has been influenced both by the heroic hope of the great children’s writers and the holistic world view of feminist writers. I also love the majestic Russian story-tellers (like Tolstoy and Dostoevsky) and the magical realism of Marquez and others.

When and where do you prefer to write?
As a mother of four, time can be a scarce commodity, so I seize the opportunities that arise. I have learned to be self-disciplined around this, it’s too easy to fritter away the time I could spend writing. If a couple of hours loom, I jump on them! My favourite place to write is my bed, but I feel wickedly indulgent doing that, so move around the house – my office, a table on the verandah gazing out at cows, or a cafe in town.
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Words on a Limb Interviews Karen Autio

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Karen-Autio-AuthorKaren Autio is the author of a trilogy of historical novels for young readers. She writes about events in Canada’s history that haven’t had much attention: the sinking of the Empress of Ireland, tuberculosis and living in a sanatorium; spies, sabotage and internment during the First World War.

Karen also focuses on the value of family stories and heritage. When her Finnish-Canadian grandmother gave her a silver spoon and told her its tale, Karen had no idea it would lead her into a whole novel’s worth of words. She learned that her grandmother’s Finnish friends had members of their family from Port Arthur who died in the wreck of the Empress of Ireland. Karen researched the steamship and wove the ship’s story into fictional Saara’s life in SECOND WATCH.

About writing …

When did you first realize you wanted to become a writer?
While I enjoyed writing and illustrating stories as a kid and thought I’d be a children’s book illustrator when I grew up, I followed a different path in university, studying computer science. A few years after graduating, I took a course on children’s books and chose to write a story as my final project. That was my first inkling that I wanted to become a writer, but it wasn’t until 1998 that I realized I wanted to devote my time, energy, and creativity to writing for young readers.

What book(s) has most influenced your writing?
The Dr. Seuss Beginner’s Dictionary played an important role in turning me into a lover of words. Julie Lawson’s historical novel Goldstone about Swedish immigrants in the early 1900s in British Columbia was an inspirational model for me as I was writing my first historical novel called Second Watch about Finnish immigrants in 1914 Port Arthur, Ontario, and their involvement with the sinking of the Empress of Ireland steamship. A book about the writing process that I frequently reread is Take Joy: A Book for Writers by Jane Yolen.

When and where do you prefer to write?
Morning is my best time to write, although I’ve been found writing late into the night when a deadline is looming. I prefer quiet. I filled a spiral notebook while writing Second Watch and wrote scenes out of order. Writing Saara’s Passage and Sabotage was entirely different. I wrote both in a linear fashion from a detailed outline directly on my computer.
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Interview with Aubrey Davis

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GravatarHello everyone. A couple of weeks ago I reached out to one of my favourite Canadian authors, the incomparable Aubrey Davis, who I met many years ago when he was kind enough to autograph a copy of Bagels From Benny for my kids. I asked if we could connect and learn about his journey as a writer. When we got news that he was available, we set up some time and had a chat with Mr. Davis. Here is his story. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you.

I’m Mauricio, managing editor at WOAL, and I had the unique privilege of spending some moments with one of Canada’s most cherished story-tellers and children’s authors. A world traveler, he has mastered the gift of recounting timeless traditional tales in both the oral and written disciplines for a modern day audience. We had a chance to reflect on writing, culture, books, movies, the state of the education but most indulging of all, to me, the distinct art of story-telling. He joined us via Skype from sunny downtown Toronto, on of all days, Mother’s Day.

Welcome Mr. Davis. We know early on you began your career as a story-teller, what inspired you to become a writer?

It began when I was a kid, I was 9 years old and I lived next door to a writer. I never spoke to him about his writing, nor did I see any of his writing, I just lived next door to him. One day I woke up and felt, I want to be a writer too. I kind of caught it like a cold. So I bugged my mom for a typewriter, and a great big Webster’s Dictionary and I started to write.

What I loved to write back then was funny things. I really loved humour. I was a fan of Mad Magazine and the Bible. I was a religious kid on my own, not through my parents. And I just kept writing funny things until grade 8.

Who were some of your champions supporting you early on? And what happened in Grade 8?

I think it was when I was a kid, my 6th grade teacher. I noticed all the other kids got their stories handed back to them and I was the only one that didn’t get a story back. I didn’t know what was going on. He read my story to the whole class, with tears of laughter running down his cheeks. And I thought “Oh, this is nice”. I loved to write in school.

I had a grade 8 teacher that wrote, “There’s nothing worse than humour poorly done”. That shut me down, and I didn’t write again until I was I was about 40 and I came into story-telling.

How did teaching shape your writing? Continue reading →

Words on a Limb Feature: Renée Heiss & Gary A. Stewart

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Words on a Limb feature with the creators of the EnteleTrons®
Entelechy Education, LLC is the brainchild of two forward-thinking partners who came together in 2012 to develop a company that would advance children’s knowledge of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) topics while helping them to understand vital character education concepts. They accomplish this by producing books that teachers can use in the literacy curriculum and parents can strategically place in the home bookshelf for further discussion of the topics. By offering children fun EnteleTrons® characters, learning becomes enjoyable.

Renée Heiss, the corporate literary officer, is an award-winning children’s author and retired teacher of child development. She was the 1997 New Jersey Family Consumer Sciences Teacher of the Year. In 2008, she was honored as a Baldwin Fellow at the University of Wisconsin at Madison for a Nanotechnology Meets Biotechnology Symposium. She is an instructor for the Institute of Children’s Literature and a member of R-NEA, R-NJEA, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Visit her website at www.reneeheiss.com and contact her at renee@entelechyed.com.

Gary A. Stewart, the corporate business officer, has a unique record of accomplishment in the areas of strategic planning, domestic and global business development, marketing and sales, and operational management. Gary has been actively involved in all major facets of the pharmaceutical industry, leveraging his scientific and business background to promote entrepreneurship, strategic and critical thinking, innovation and creativity. Gary is a successful inventor and active educator. Visit his website at www.semperprotinus.com and contact him at gary@entelechyed.com

What was the impetus that drove you to co-found Entelechy Education, LLC?RH: When Gary posted an ad on the SCBWI bulletin board for an author to help produce a science series with a character education component, I felt that the position was mine. While teaching, I had been a founding member of The Human Relations Council at my school. To me, character education is as important as intellectual education in the growth of the whole child. As an author, I knew I could develop the complex scientific topics on a level young readers could understand.

GS: Years ago, watching my own children grow-up, I was always struck by the “standard” plot of good-versus-evil in children’s cartoons and entertainment. As one with a scientific background, I often thought about ways in which we could teach young people basic STEM concepts earlier in a child’s life and how these concepts could also be presented with character development themes. So the idea emerged from asking the fundamental question, “What if?”…and it occurred to me, what if we were able to create a new set of scientifically-based “action figures” to teach real scientific lessons to children? At that moment, I knew at a minimum that I’d need a creative writer to get started! Continue reading →

Words on a Limb Interviews Stephen B. Pearl

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So who is Stephen B. Pearl? He is a lifeguard, husband, mystic, science enthusiast, home handyman, backyard mechanic, and writer. Like most of us the face he wears changes with the company and the season. His three cats know him as the pride alpha, I like to think so, though servant might be more accurate. Who is he kidding? His wife runs the pride; “I just try and stay out of her way.” He says.
At any rate, I am a man of middle years who lives in a house in Ontario, Canada with three cats, a wife and a sincere hope that you will enjoy my book. This week,
Stephen B. Pearl steps into the Spotlight on Authors.

About writing …

When did you first realize you wanted to become a writer?
I think I started taking it seriously when I was twenty three. I was always a story teller.

What book(s) has most influenced your writing?
My writing, Marvel comics (many titles), The Harry Dresden Wizard for Hire books by Jim Butcher, the collective works of Frank Herbert and The Odyssey by Homer.  My life, Lord of the Rings by J. R. Tolken.

When and where do you prefer to write?
Is it warm? Yes. Is it dry? Yes. Does my laptop have power? Yes. I’ll write. Heck, I’ve worked on writing in a freezing car between teaching Mad Science extracurricular sessions. Continue reading →

Words on a Limb Interviews Dave Freeman

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This week Spotlight on Authors is delighted to virtually visit with Dave Freeman. Although we would have preferred to visit him in person since Dave and his wife live a few miles from the ocean in beautiful West Palm Beach Florida – and since we are having a great winter this spring.

Ocean notwithstanding, here is his Mushroom Tale.

Dave is a professional who writes motivational children’s books. With forty years experience solving problems in industry and in his communities, he would like to change that title to: 

WRITER who solves problems, promotes, teaches and entertains.

Well said.

About writing …

When did you first realize you wanted to become a writer?
I don’t recall beginning my love affair with writing. I can only remember that once I joined the real world, in a professional capacity, I was always drawn to and selected for writing assignments. From resumes, radio commercials, complaint letters and other letters to turn an angry client in to a proponent, I stepped up and surprisingly continued to hit the bulls eye on many assignments. That is simply exhilarating. Continue reading →