Ellie Royce's Blog, page 2

What's Your Story? Susi Schaefer

Most months ( I try for every month!) I've been lucky enough to come across a creator who has a beautiful new book and an interesting story to share. I know WE ARE ALL MADE OF STORIES, so I love to share them with you too. As I write, we are in April 2020 in the middle ( hopefully in the middle, more towards the end than the beginning anyway!) of the global Covid-19 Pandemic. I don't want to make this post about that, but I do want to time stamp it and say that if I've learned anything it's this- that stories are even more important now. people #stayinghome need books and art and music and stories more than ever before, and when one feels as though perhaps there's no point continuing with something as 'frivolous' or 'non essential' as creating, remember that in order to thrive humans need more than physical nourishment ( and even toilet paper!) we need soul food too. We find this in the arts, in connection through any means possible and through sharing our stories. Now let me introduce you to a gorgeous butterfly of a book that's sure to uplift you and make you smile, "CAT LADIES" , written and illustrated by an equally gorgeous creator, Susi Schaefer ! ( www.susischaefer.com) Susi Schaefer, what's your story? The Beginning - I was born and raised in the Austrian alps, which is an awesome place to grow up. Aside from spending most of my time sitting in our big birch tree, drawing and making up stories was one of my favorite things to do. My career as an artist started as a teen when I completed an apprenticeship as a glass painter in the medieval town of Rattenberg. Kidlit speaks to me now just as it did to eight-year-old-me sitting on a branch. It has a way of distilling experiences down to their essence, and something about that is very calming to me. The Middle- Three things that I had hoped for and worked towards came true. 1) I signed with an agent. 2) I illustrated a book. 3) I wrote and illustrated a book. I was thrilled to illustrate the picture book ”Zoo Zen, A Yoga Story For Kids”, written by Kristen Fischer (Sounds True, 2017) and my author/illustrator debut ”Cat Ladies” (Abrams, April 2020). The latter was inspired by my Oma and during the making of this book, I felt especially connected to her even though she has been gone for a long time. Also, being involved with a cat rescue has allowed me to meet countless cat personalities, and that experience has definitely shaped my character in ”Cat Ladies.” The End, (which is always actually a new beginning!) I am working on a story that I am quite excited about. Hopefully, others will be too. The kidlit community has been amazing and even though my journey wasn't always smooth sailing, I wouldn't have it any other way. Thanks so much for sharing your story with us Susi. Talk to you soon, stay well and #stayathome

What's Your Story? Michelle Lord

Celebrating International Women's Day by sharing kidlit author Michelle Lord's story.

What's Your Story? Michelle Lord

Michelle Lord writes powerful stories for children. This month in conjunction with International Women's Day, she shares her own story with us.

Every story has a beginning, a middle and an end. But within that bigger story are lots of little ones, chapters, scenes and volumes… Michelle Lord, what’s your story?

The Beginning

I grew up in Carson City, Nevada, the oldest of three sisters. Ever since I could talk, I never stopped asking questions. These questions led to my passion for reading, research, and writing. To this day—to my family’s dismay—I still interrupt movies and conversations with Who? What? Why? I can’t help it, I always want to know more!

When I was hospitalized at five years old, my parents were unable to stay with me due to work and the care of my younger sisters. One day, my aunt brought a pile of books to the hospital. They were truly my greatest comfort, especially FROG AND TOAD TOGETHER, ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY, and THE LORAX. And I’ll always adore how Frances sang about her love of jam in BREAD AND JAM FOR FRANCES. If only I could carry a tune…

As a child I also devoured in nonfiction. I spent lots of time reading my Mom’s first aid manual [the gorier the pictures, the better] and looking up record-breaking achievements in THE GUINESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS. I love stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

I wrote and illustrated my own books, LOVE IS… and FREDDY THE FLY, with encouragement from my second-grade teacher. Teachers rock!

The Middle

When my three children were little, I read many picture books to them. I adored the perfect combination of art and words!

I decided to write my own stories. I joined SCBWI, attended several Highlights for Children workshops, and took Anastasia Suen’s Picture Book Workshop online. And a good critique group can help turn specks of sand into pearls.

My first book LITTLE SAP AND MONSIEUR RODIN was published in 2006 followed by A SONG FOR CAMBODIA in 2008—both with Lee and Low. I’m drawn to stories about real people and events.

As with the middle of manuscripts, there are struggles. My two picture books out this year went through three editors—and the third left at the time of publication. I feel like my books are out in the world without an editor to champion them. I’m an introvert and it isn’t easy for me to toot my own horn. The flip side to the creativity of writing, is the business. I’m working at improving in this area.

Today, March 8, 2020, is International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.

Coming from a family of sisters, I have a great interest in the lives of women and my stories often reflect this. A GIRL CALLED GENGHIS KHAN celebrates the achievements of Maria Toorpakai Wazir in sports. She defied the Taliban by pretending to be a boy in order to play the sport she loved. When the Taliban found out and threatened her family, Maria practiced the game in her bedroom every day for three years! She went on to become one of the top female squash players in the world.

PATRICIA’S VISION: THE DOCTOR WHO SAVED SIGHT is a picture book biography I wrote about Dr. Patricia Bath. Born in the 1940s, she knew from a very young age that she wanted to become a doctor even though she’d never met a female doctor. I interviewed Dr. Bath through a series of telephone calls. She was passionate about restoring and improving people’s vision around the world, especially in underserved communities. Despite racism and sexism, Dr. Bath became the first African American female doctor to receive a medical patent for her invention of the laserphaco, a device and treatment for cataracts using lasers.

Check out International Women’s Day at https://www.internationalwomensday.com for ways to get involved. The goal is to end discrimination against women and create a gender equal world. So, celebrate and circulate women’s accomplishments today—maybe by sharing a book or two with a child in your life.

The End, (which is always actually a new beginning!)

I hope that children enjoy my most recent book that explores plastic ocean pollution, THE MESS THAT WE MADE. Children are the future, and it’s important that they care for the environment.

My current goals are as follows: to find an agent who shares my vision, get a fiction book published, finish my second screenplay, and publish more stories about everyday superheroes like Maria Toorpakai and Dr. Patricia Bath.

Find me online at https://michellelordbooks.com/

Thanks so much for sharing your inspiring story and your inspirational books with us, Michelle, not just for International Women's Day but for every day of the year.

That's it from me for this month , but I'll talk to you again soon...

What's Your Story? Annette Bay Pimentel

Annette Bay Pimentel "I love the true stories of people you’ve never heard of who did things that nudged the world in new directions"

What's your Story?- Laura Renauld

Thanks to Laura Renauld, author of "FRED'S BIG FEELINGS" for including us in her countdown to launch day!

AND THE WINNER IS...... a short (and hopefully sweet) announcement!

The winner of Vivian Kirkfield's Picture Book Critique giveaway!

What's Your Story?-Vivian Kirkfield

Every story has a beginning, a middle and an end. But within that bigger story are lots of little ones, chapters, scenes and volumes… the best stories have twists, turns and surprises and this is certainly one of them!

Writer for children—reader forever…that’s Vivian Kirkfield in five words.

Her bucket list contains many more than five words – but she’s already checked off skydiving, parasailing, banana-boat riding, and visiting kidlit friends around the world. When she isn’t looking for ways to fall from the sky or sink under the water, she can be found writing picture books in the quaint village of Amherst, NH where the old stone library is her favorite hangout and her young grandson is her favorite board game partner. A retired kindergarten teacher with a masters in Early Childhood Education, Vivian inspires budding writers during classroom visits and shares insights with aspiring authors at conferences and on her blog,

Vivian Kirkfield, what’s your story?

The Beginning -When I was a kid, I had a dream. I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. My dream came true when I graduated from college and started teaching my first class. I loved everything about teaching kindergarten, especially reading the picture books. I also penned a few little stories of my own for the kids, but I never seriously considered travelling down this pathway to publication until my son gave me a very unique present for my 64th birthday…he took me skydiving. And, when my feet touched the ground, I knew that if I could jump out of a perfectly good airplane, I could do anything! I jumped into the kidlit world – joining writing challenges, taking classes, attending conferences, reading lots of picture books, writing lots of manuscripts – and I haven’t looked back since. Three years into my journey, I signed with the incredible Essie White of Storm Literary Agency, she sent out the first manuscript I had given her, and we had a book deal within two months, Sweet Dreams, Sarah. It was definitely a sweet dream come true.

The Middle-

Before I had that first book deal, I was like many other writers…I thought that when I got that contract, I’d be home free. But that’s not how this business goes. We signed at the end of 2015…and even though Essie had several of my stories out on submission, there were no bites. For more than a year, I wondered, was I a one-trick pony? It wasn’t until the end of 2017 that…BAM! BAM! BAM! And landed three contracts in the closing months of that year which led to three picture books debuting early this year: Sweet Dreams, Sarah, Four Otters Toboggan: An Animal Counting Book, and Pippa’s Passover Plate.

And in only one month, on January 28, 2020, MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD: THE INSPIRING FRIENDSHIP OF ELLA FITZGERALD AND MARILYN MONROE (Little Bee Books, illustrated by Alleanna Harris) will launch. Then, another book, a compilation of nine full-length fully illustrated nonfiction picture book biographies, FROM HERE TO THERE: INVENTIONS THAT CHANGED THE WAY THE WORLD MOVES (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, illustrated by Gilbert Ford) will launch in January 2021.

But with all this awesomeness, the best part for me is connecting with other kidlit folk. I was fortunate to be invited to speak at the Australia/NZ SCBWI conference earlier this year…and then travelled around the world, to Auckland, NZ, to Geneva, Switzerland, and to the Bologna Book Fair in Italy…staying with critique buddies I’d never met and seeing places I’d never been to.

The End, (which is always actually a new beginning!)

I never imagined that when I retired, I would be turning the page to a new chapter in my life. But that is exactly what has happened. I wake up every morning, excited for the possibilities of the day. As a child, I was very timid…but at this point, at the age of 72, I figure I need to walk through every door of opportunity. I was asked to be on a panel for the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) conference in Baltimore – not only did I say yes, but I also arranged last month’s itinerary to include a stop in Philadelphia for school visits and several days with family, plus a jaunt to NYC to sit down with a couple of my editors, meet up with a couple of my kidlit friends, and hunker down with a cousin I hadn’t seen for a decade.

On the writing front: Sweet Dreams, Sarah received a Eureka! Honor Award from the California Reading Association and was also produced as an animated DVD.

I just presented a webinar for the Hawaii SCBWI on Writing Nonfiction. One of my manuscripts is in the process of being acquired, I’m working on an R&R (revise and resubmit) for another editor, and I’ve got journals filled with ideas for stories that are waiting to be written. I love visiting schools and presenting at conferences. My message to all is simple: I’m living my dream. Please follow yours. Nothing is impossible if you can imagine it.

WOW! Thank you so much Vivian- this is inspiration and motivation plus ! And for one lucky reader it'll be even more inspirational- Vivian has generously offered to donate a picture book critique to a randomly chosen reader- all you need to do is leave a comment and tell us where you've shared the blog on social media. This is a brilliant opportunity have your work critiqued by someone who really knows their stuff- not to be missed! We are so grateful to Vivian for giving her time, energy and expertise.

The winner will be announced just in time for Christmas on 22nd December so you have a bit of time to get sharing...

Thanks for popping in, talk to you soon!

What's Your Story?-Vivian Kirkfield

What's Your Story - Vivian Kirkfield? Writer for children- reader forever... that's Vivian Kirkfield in five words.

What's Your Story? Sandra Warren

The best stories have unexpected twists, turns and surprises- and Sandra Warren's is no exception. Over to you, Sandra...

My Story: Thoughts on THE CALL, finding an agent and the pros and cons of Twitter pitch parties...

Well, it's never been a "call" for me, it's always been an email. Not that I'm complaining, mind you.