Margaret Fieland: Poetry and Prose

I’d like to introduce author Janet Ann Collins. Janet Ann Collins is the author of two fiction books for children. The Peril of the Sinister Scientist is about a middle school boy who thinks he was cloned from the blood on the Shroud of Turin because a scientist who had worked on that experiment is stalking him. Secret Service Saint is a picture book about Nicholas, who discovers the fun of doing secret good deeds and eventually becomes known as Santa Claus.
Collins is a retired teacher, enjoys public speaking and often teaches workshops at conferences. With her husband she raised three deaf foster sons with special needs in addition to their birth daughter, and has one grandson. They live in the beautiful Sierra foothills of Northern California.

Can you tell us something about The Peril of the Sinister Scientist?
The Peril of the Sinister Scientist by Janet Ann Collins is a tweener, or middle grade, novel about a boy who thinks he was cloned from the blood on the Shroud of Turin because a scientist who had worked on that experiment is stalking him. It is available to local bookstores and on many online sites, including Amazon where it can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/yge7uke The U.S. price is $7.95.

What is going on with your writing these days?
I have a book for young readers and I’m working on several things, including a middle grade fantasy about a girl who can communicate with animals by thought language. She and her Deaf brother travel to a foreign land trying to find and rescue their kidnapped mother. I’m also spending lots of time learning how to do marketing and publicity for my published books, write a column for the Antique Auction Explorer, sometimes write articles for other periodicals, and have two blogs, http://onwordsblog.blogspot.com and //janetanncollins.blogspot.com.

What are your future goals for your writing?
I’d like to have more books published as well as more articles in periodicals.

Can you describe a typical writing day for you?
I reserve two days a week for writing and squeeze some in on other days if possible. After I check my e-mail I work on my current project for several hours. Often I’ll do the laundry the same day so when the drier buzzes I can get up and move around for a few minutes, then get back to work. If I’m on a roll I may write more in the afternoon. Otherwise I use that time for plotting, planning, sending out submissions, and working on publicity for my books.

Do you have any pets? If so, introduce us to them.
We have a poodle/Bichon mix named Suds. My grandson says she must also be part Teddy Bear because she loves to snuggle. We got her in the Fall of 2009 from an animal recue group and aren’t sure how old she is. Suds is smart and good at understanding our gestures and facial expressions and at communicating with us. For instance, sometimes she puts her paw on my shoe if she wants to be taken for a walk.

What is your most precious memory?
My grandmother, who died when I was just over two years old. I’ll never forget her beautiful white hair, soft face, and eyes that looked at me with completely unconditional love.

What is your most embarrassing memory?
The time I got locked out of the house and tried to crawl in through the dog door. I got stuck and when I finally managed to reach a broomstick, unhook the latch, and squeeze back out I turned around to see the people at the bus stop across the street laughing at me. Of course I was wearing bright red slacks so they got quite a view of my rear end.

If you weren’t a writer, what would you be doing with your life?
Since I’m officially retired I could just sit around and read, but, much as I love books, that would get old fast. I’d probably do some part time teaching and maybe get involved in a drama group in addition to the volunteering I already do. But it’s hard to imagine a life without writing.

Where can readers find you?
On my blogs or on my website,

You can also check out my page on Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Janet-Ann-Collins/e/B002LFHNFC/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1266608108&sr=1-2-ent

My chapter book, “The Angry Little Boy,” is going to be published by 4RV publishing. Here’s a link to their website:
http://www.4rvpublishingllc.com/

. I’m thrilled!! It’s my first book. I only started writing fiction in 2006, after I hooked up with Linda Barnett Johnson at the first Muse online writing conference.
Here’s a link to Linda’s website:
www.lindabarnett-johnson.com/
And here’s one to the Muse Online Conference. Do sign up for the 2010 conference, to take place in October. It’s fabulous, it’s online, and it’s free.
www.themuseonlinewritersconference.com/
At the time I had no intention of ever writing fiction, but Linda’s policy was that you joined both the fiction and poetry forums or you joined neither. And so I started writing fiction.

The first version of this story was about 5000 words and I wrote it in a weekend. The present version is just over 11,000 and is probably the third major revision.

My cast is off, so no more excuses for not working on my new MG novel. I’ve accumulated lots of emails from D who kindly copied me on the email she sends to her band students, and I need to go over them for plot points. Have more ideas on how to continue story. Also, of course, need to read over what I’ve got so far. Lots to do there.

Also have to finish going over the publishers I want to send my collection of math poems to. I’ve sent to two so far. Have about six more I want to check out for suitability. After that need to go over list of publishers again to see if I can find any more. No excuses now that I’ve set up my new printer, with some help from my boys — C. had to help me find the USB port on my computer, and M. had to tell me to reboot to get the print queue activated. It’s the little things that get you every time.

Meet Elysabeth Elderling, the author of the Junior Geography Detective Squad series. The first two books in the series are available from a href=”http://4rvpublishingllc.com” target=”_new”>4RV Publishing. They are “State of Wilderness” and “State of Quarries.”

How did you get started writing this series?

I wrote a story, “Train of Clues,” that won a shared second place win in a contest in 2005. I wanted to expand the story into a series, with a clue for each state, and consulted with an editor with SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). She sent me some great advice. After receiving her advice and the directions she suggested I could go, I started doing research to find info that could be used for the “clues.” I found some clues on the Educational World ® website and then I found a website, quite by accident, that had some trivia type of information for landmarks in every state. I gathered my information and let the idea brew, trying to figure out the best format for the series, that the reader’s wouldn’t get tired of and that would really be what I wanted from the series.

What gave you the idea to make the stories like a game where you guess the state?

It was an accidental finding. I had thought of writing the stories for a 5-minute mystery site and I played around with different ideas. I originally was going to do the series like a journal, where the kids would be in a year-round school and would have to keep track on a weekly basis of all in the info given to them to figure out which state was being described. When I saw a posting asking for submissions for the 5-Minute Mystery, I thought maybe my stories would work out for that. I tried to make it as the state being the character and giving each state a personality to give the trivia info to the kids, but that didn’t work. I tried making it like a game host asking the questions – kind of a Jeopardy!® type game, but that wasn’t turning out the way I wanted. And, then the produces of the 5-Minute Mystery site wanted the stories to be more “geographical” in the story and I was having to either give up story or plot or characters or something and so we weren’t meeting in the middle.

I understand you’re writing a teacher’s guide to go with your books. Can you tell us something about that?

Yes, I am writing the teacher’s guide as I finish the book. I had wanted to have varying puzzles in the books for the readers to have some fun after reading, so I kept that idea. I had never written a teacher’s guide nor really seen anything. The closest thing I could come up with was the Weekly Reader’s teacher guide given to me from one of the teachers who is a band parent. The research/discussion questions expand out a few of the more interesting clues in the book. I’m trying to have a science experiment in each guide or maybe I’ll switch to some math related problems in some that are related to a clue, and then to wrap it up, I have some end-of-book questions (multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank and T/F). The bibliography will be in both the books and the teacher’s guides so all readers will benefit from the plethora of information I have gathered for further reading or papers or whatever the need is.

Where can readers purchase your book?

Check out http://jgdsseries.blogspot.com to orders copies of the book. Books are also available through amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com as well but you can order directly from me and get signed copies. Direct contact can be made via email – eeldering@gmail.com.

Read about Nancy Familari’s new book, available this month, and stay tuned for an interview with Nancy on October 3rd.

When fifteen-year-old Meg discovers that a beautiful Swedish student with designs on her boyfriend has come to spend a year on her beloved horse farm, she decides to act. None of her plans to force Katrina to leave work. During foaling season, disaster strikes. Will the girls cooperate to save the mare and foal?

Here’s an excerpt from Nancy Familari’s new book, Unwelcome Guest at Fair Hill Farm, available in October.

Meg stood at the mudroom sink letting the warm water flow over her hands. Her parents’ tense voices floated in from the kitchen. The farm wasn’t paying it’s way. She shivered. If they didn’t have a good breeding season, they might have to sell. Meg didn’t want to listen to another discussion of their problems, but she could only prolong hand washing for so long.
“We’ve got to have help this year. Katrina is the only answer.” Mom’s voice carried distinctly into the mudroom.
The rough towel rasped Meg’s hands, but she didn’t notice. She tried to blot out Mom’s words.
Carelessly draping the towel over the hook beside the metal sink, Meg took a quick look in the old mirror hanging above the sink, and ran a damp hand over the curls escaping from her red braid. Hoping Mom wouldn’t comment on her dusty clothes, she edged into the bright kitchen and slid into the chair at the oak trestle table. The rich smell of the beef stew Mom had prepared for lunch made her throat close. She didn’t want to eat, but not eating would only make matters worse.
When she reached for the stew, Mom and Dad stopped talking. Mom brushed a hand across her forehead and said, “Did you have a good morning?”
Meg ladled stew into her yellow bowl. “I cleaned Nicky’s stall.” She dug a spoon into the steaming food looking for a chunk of meat. “Sandy’s coming this afternoon. We’re going riding.”
“That should be fun. Sandy’s a nice girl.” Dark shadows smudged Mom’s eyes. With her short dark curls and huge brown eyes, she was still pretty, but the sparkle was gone.
“We want to talk to you.” Dad laid his spoon on the table.
“What about?” Meg raised a spoonful of beef and gravy to her lips, but didn’t taste it.
“Your mother and I have been trying to decide how to handle the foaling this year, since she had to go back to work.”
“I can help.” Meg let the untasted food fall back into the bowl. “I can take care of foaling. I know enough. We don’t need help. It’ll just be more expense.” She thought for a moment. “Sandy can help.”
“I know you want to help.” Mom sighed. “And Sandy’s wonderful, but you girls have to get good grades. You can’t miss school just because a mare is about to foal.”
Meg shoved her hands under the edge of the table and dug her fingernails into the palms. “It wouldn’t happen very often.”
“Hopefully. You never know with mares, and we get a lot of maidens.” Mom looked at Dad. “At least we used to.”
Meg dropped her eyes. Maiden mares, those having their first foals, were notoriously unreliable and often had serious problems with their delivery, especially if they had been race horses.
Dad dropped his knife on the plate with a sharp rap. His normally mild blue eyes were icy. “Meg, you’re making this hard for your mother. We know you want to help, but your mother would worry about what was happening at the farm when you were in school all day. We need someone here full time.”
Meg picked up her spoon and stirred the stew. “I’m not a little kid. I’m fifteen. I can help. I know a lot about foaling.” She looked down at the brown mass congealing in the bowl. “I could call Doc if there were problems.”
Dad drummed his fingers on the table. “We have some good mares coming this year. If the owners found out that no one was here during the day, they’d send them to a farm where they could get full time attention.”
Meg avoided her father’s eyes; she knew he was right.
Mom touched Meg’s wrist. “I know this is hard, but we don’t have any options this year. We’re very lucky that Inga has an extra girl coming, a girl interested in breeding, who wants to be a vet.”
Staring down at the purple and yellow flowers on the table cloth, Meg felt hot tears build up behind her eyes. “I don’t know why we have to get someone from Sweden. We could get local help.” She choked. “Derek could help. He’s here all the time anyway.”
Dad frowned. “Derek’s a talented driver. He’s got his own career to think about. We’re lucky to get Katrina. The fact that she’s from Sweden and willing to live here is a God-send. I don’t want you to do anything to make her feel unwelcome.”
Ugly words formed on her tongue, but Meg bit them back.
“We need someone here full time.” Mom leaned forward resting her arms on the table. “Horses can have their foals in the pasture in the middle of the day; remember Maisie last year. We need someone to check them regularly and call Doc if there’s a problem.” She patted Meg’s hand. “Give it a chance, Meg. You’ll get to like Katrina. She’s just graduated from gymnasium and wants to go on to vet school. You can learn a lot about Sweden.”
Meg ran her spoon around the inside of the bowl pretending to eat. She didn’t want to learn about Sweden. She hated the very idea of Sweden. A stranger, living in the house, would mess up her family. Meg hated to even think it. Would Mom and Dad still care about her when they had someone else living here?
“She’s worked with harness horses.” Mom pulled her hand back. “You and Sandy could learn about Swedish trotters. They’re some of the finest in the world. They do training a bit differently than we do. You know how successful Inga is.”
Tears stung Meg’s eyes. “I could learn about trotters from Inga, if you’d let me work for her.”
Dad hit the table with the palm of his hand. “You’re being childish. Inga needs full time help as much as we do. Katrina is coming.”
“Besides, it’s only for three months. That’s all they give visas for.” Mom gave a wan smile. “Katrina won’t be here forever.”
Arguing was futile. Three months was forever. She didn’t want Katrina to come at all.

And check out Nancy’s website and blog

//sites.google.com/site/nancyfamolari/
//nancygfamolari.blogspot.com/
//nancyfamolari.wordpress.com

I’m up over 14000 words, and still a week to go before the challenge ends. I’m writing over 500 words per day, so I expect to pass the 15000 mark pretty soon. Major, major work to do on the next draft. I even have a tentative title, “Don’t Ask Me Why.” And don’t ask me why I picked that title, either, ’cause I don’t know.

Saturday, by which point I had just over 8000 words, I was struck by the notion that I needed to write this book in the first person. My previous one (recently completed) is third person — so I guess it never really occurred to me to question it.

Anyway, part of the challenge is not to go back and rewrite. I struggled with my inner editor over this — IE really wanted to go back and rewrite, but I finally stomped on IE and just went ahead and started writing in first person. {Whew} —

I’m now up over 8600 words. Yippee! And now back to writing ..

In response to a challenge by Lea Schizas a bunch of us are engaged in writing (or working on an existing) novel to be completed (as per our goal) by October 7.

I signed up. Yikes. So now I’m writing another book — one about a girl whose parents are divorcing and my writing goal is 15000 words. So far I have just over 6200 words. I’m going with chapter titles, as I did in The Angry Little Boy (the one I’m sending out, getting ready to send out, or whatever) but so far book number 2 has not title.

I need a title — more specifically, I need a title that makes sense. I think I’m going to give the !! thing a title and if it doesn’t make sense by the end of the first draft, well, I can always change it…

Crystalee, You wrote Angeline Jellybean in rhyme. Did you plan it that way?
CC: No, I started writing and that was what came out. In fact, I didn’t realize at first that it was a picture book, but when I did, I went with it. I had never written a picture book before.

What do you think about rhyming picture books?
CC: Rhyming picture books, when well done, are extremely good for helping children
develop language and memorization skills. The pitfall, of course, is that they are very hard to write well. The classic example of a flawless rhymer is Dr. Seuss, but there are many modern picture books with great rhyme schemes.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is probably one of the best out there. Ask a three-year-old to tell you the story, and they can probably do it. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom has really become an update on the “ABC Song.” It uses rhyme to teach the ABC’s and kids have so much fun with it that they don’t even realize how much they are learning.

Do you think that being a poet helped you when it came to writing Angeline Jellybhean?
CC: I find that 99% of the time I try to write a poem that rhymes, it comes out trite or too sing-songy. but my background in poetry did help me hear the rhythm in my head and sort of know when something didn’t fit right. But really, I have very little experience with rhyming, so that aspect took a lot of work.

I hear that you have also written a YA Povel-any plans on getting that published? Can you tell us about it?
CC: Definitely! Yes, I would love to get it published. It wasn’t until I sat down with some of my mentors recently that I realized how far I need to go with it to get it ready for publication. It needs stronger secondary characters, some plot holes filled in, and a subplot or two. I have my work cut out for me!

For readers who don’t know what a povel is, it is also known as a novel in verse or a novel in poetry.
Povels are novels told as a series of poems. In my case, the poems alternated between the voices and points of view of two characters. Yes, it is as challenging as it sounds. Writing a YA novel is much more exhausting than writing a picture book. It took me almost a year to write my 100 page novel. Angeline came out of me in maybe an hour? Of course, neither book was perfect from the beginning. With the novel, I had to be much more organized. I had to keep track of two character’
lives, hobbies, families, struggles, boyfriends, etc. I also had multiple copies of 100 poems lying around my apartment.

I had to set up a schedule for my novel. I wrote religiously every Thursday night from 6:30-9.
Think about it: a picture book of less than 500 words and a novel of 100 pages. The novel has obviously taken up a much larger chunk of my life.

Lastly, where can readers buy your book?
Amazon http://www.amazon.com
Barnes and Noble http://wwww.barnesandnoble.com
4RV publishing http://www.4rvpublishingllc.com/Store-Books.html

Too bad this charming book wasn’t available when my kids, now grown, were young — out of the three boys, two were picky eaters. I sure could have used this book.

Angeline wants to eat nothing but jellybeans. Year round, from Easter to Christmas, she asks for her favorite treat. But a strange event teaches Angeline that there’s such thing as too much of a good thing!

With colorful, delightful illustrations by Stephen Macquignon, Angeline is a great gift for the young picky eaters in your life.

Blog:http://www.crystaleecalderwood.blogspot.com
Website: http://www.crystaleecalderwood.bravehost.com