Name:

Hometown: Boca Raton, FL

Book Title: Freddie The Fruit Fly

Genre: Children’s

Dorrance Publishing (DP): Describe your book in 10 words or less.

Zane Stuart (ZS): Optimistic, adventurous fruit fly finds his way in the world.

DP: What made you want to write your book?

ZS: I saw fruit flies in the market, which caused me to recall seeing them occasionally in my kitchen. I started thinking about how a fruit fly might get from the market to someone’s kitchen, and the story took off from there.

DP: How long did it take you to write your book?

ZS: All in all, it took many years. I wrote the first part of the book pretty quickly. Not knowing how to pursue publishing, the manuscript sat for a long time. Inspiration hit again, and I came up with more ideas about how Freddie’s journey would continue, and I added to the story. I pitched it to literary agents and got good feedback, but none of them decided to go with the book. Years later, I saw an ad for Dorrance on my computer. I sent them the manuscript and they accepted it! I found a great illustrator, and with Dorrance’s help, we finished the book to my great satisfaction.

DP: How do you choose the names of your characters?

ZS: In this case, I went with sound keeping with F for fruit fly. Freddie was an easy choice. And his girlfriend’s name is Francine. Also, my father’s name was Fred.

DP: What do you do when you have writer’s block?   

ZS: Step away, get some fresh air, and come back to it. Be kind to yourself. The inspiration will return.

DP: What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

ZS: I love the transitions—Freddie really travels. I have great fun coming up with creative ways to get him from one place to another.

DP: If you were stuck on an island and had to have one person from each category with you, who would they be and why:

a. One character from your book:

ZS: The lady, because she’s the only human who is relevant to the story.

b. One fictional character:

ZS: Freddie! Because he’s so positive.

c. One famous person (living or dead):

ZS: I would choose George Carlin.

DP: Besides writing, what are your other interests?

ZS: Music, jamming with others, playing and teaching blues harmonica, practicing Qi Gong.

DP: Do you keep a journal?

ZS: Not currently, but that’s a great reminder! I used to write Morning Pages, inspired by Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way.

DP: How did you celebrate the publishing of your book?

ZS: Dinner with girlfriend and friends, but I’m always celebrating this achievement.

DP: If your book was made into a movie, who would play the main characters?

ZS: The main characters would be played by Tom Hanks and Drew Barrymore.

DP: What did you enjoy most about working with Dorrance Publishing?

ZS: I enjoyed their kind, knowledgeable, and expert assistance.

DP: Five favorite books of all time?

ZS: Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda; The Tracker by Tom Brown Jr.; Mousekin’s Golden House by Edna Miller; Black Elk Speaks by John Gneisenau Neihardt; The Horse’s Mouth by Joyce Cary

DP: One sentence of advice for other writers:

ZS: If you are entertained by your ideas, others will be too!

Are you ready to publish your book? Contact us today!

The post Author Spotlight: Zane Stuart appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

Name:

Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri

Book Title: A Dog Named Chilli: My New Home

Genre: Children’s/Fiction

Dorrance Publishing (DP): Describe your book in 10 words or less.

Mark Chartrand (MC): Life lessons wrapped up in adventure for young readers.

DP: What made you want to write your book?

MC: My dog Chilli was the reason I wrote the book. It’s a fictional story of course but, at the time I adopted him from the APA of St. Louis I was dealing with a lot of issues in my life due to some poor choices I made. The outcome of those choices landed me in prison taking me away from everyone I loved, including my dog Chilli. I had plenty of time to think about my mistakes. During that time, I thought about Chilli’s life and what he endured before he was rescued, and I brought him home. I guess you could say we rescued each other.

DP: How long did it take you to write your book?

MC: I wrote “A Dog Named Chilli: My New Home” in six weeks. The story came to me as I loosely based the characters Chilli encounters on situations I found myself in at different stages of my life. The most important lesson I want young readers to take away from the book is to make good choices in life. Learn how to work with others who are different from you. Try not to judge someone before you get to know them. Be confident and believe in yourself. Stand up for your friends to bullies. Be sure to think things through before you make a decision, as those decisions could dictate the kind of life you will lead.

DP: How do you choose the names of your characters?

MC: I chose the names of my characters for this book after family, friends, characters from my favorite T.V. shows and movies as well as pets I had growing up.

DP: What do you do when you have writer’s block?   

MC: When I get writer’s block, I write in my journal. I write about my day. I find that when I do this and distract my mind from the story it helps me get past my block.

DP: What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

MC: Chapter four in the book is my favorite. It’s one of the first lessons that Chilli figures out when it comes to judging people. Chilli’s first impression of Gary’s character is that he’s a mean, grumpy old man. By the time the readers get to this part of the book with Chilli, they see that Gary isn’t a mean person. He’s just sad as he is dealing with the recent loss of a loved one. Chilli see’s the sadness in Gary’s eyes and realizes that he passed judgment on Gary before he got to know him. The line in this part of the story where Chilli talks about Gary’s laughter and how it makes you feel good to be in its presence is definitely one of my prouder moments as a writer.

DP: If you were stuck on an island and had to have one person from each category with you, who would they be and why:

a. One character from your book:

MC: The Character from my book that I would want to be stuck on an island with is Chilli. The reason why is simple: he is truly my best buddy and we would have a lot of fun!

b. One fictional character:

MC: The fictional character that I would want to be stuck on an island with would be Mickey Haller from the Michael Connelly Novel “The Lincoln Lawyer”. The reason why is, given some of my life experience, Mickey Haller being the type of Lawyer he portrays in Connelly’s novels would lead to some great conversations about the moral dilemmas of determining what is right and wrong in the eyes of the law. Then having to defend that position.

c. One famous person (living or dead):

MC: The famous person I would want to be stuck on an island with would be Paul Newman. The reason why is his character portrayals in the movies “Color of Money” and “Nobody’s Fool” reminds me of a combination of both my Grandfathers. For different reasons, but they were both important to me in my life. I miss them both very much.

DP: Besides writing, what are your other interests?

MC: Other than writing, I love St. Louis Cardinal Baseball. One of the books I wrote that will be out soon titled “Out of Play” is based on the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs rivalry. Even though he is a grown man, I love hanging out and doing things with my son Cohl. I really enjoy going to concerts or live music performances. One of my greatest memories of a live performance was seeing B.B. King on Beale Street in Memphis. I’m an avid moviegoer. I enjoy working out, camping, float trips, anything that has to do with the ocean, and of course going on rides with my best buddy, my dog Chilli!

DP: Do you keep a journal?

MC: I do keep a journal. I do that to help keep my story ideas for upcoming projects in order. I also use it for the current books I am working on when an idea for a storyline pops into my head.

DP: How did you celebrate the publishing of your book?

MC: I made a pizza and read my book reliving the story I created about Chilli and all his friends. Then I called my mom and all those who stood by me as I’ve been on this journey at this stage of my life to get their thoughts on the final product. I sensed a little bias, but they all said they loved it!

DP: If your book was made into a movie, who would play the main characters?

MC: If this book were made into a movie, I would like to see Ryan Reynolds play Chilli. Charlie Day play Hercules, Kevin Hart to play Lucky, Zac Efron to play Thomas, Christian Bale would play Higgins, Hugh Grant would play Elton, Joe Pesche and Robert Deniro to play the Farillo Brothers, Samuel L. Jackson would play Razor, Bradley Cooper would play Carl, Charlie Sheen would play Bandit, Vince Vaughn would play Harry, and Charlize Theron would play Rose… I’d be lying if I hadn’t given this some thought (wink, wink Hollywood)! I think this group of talented actors would make a great movie!

DP: What did you enjoy most about working with Dorrance Publishing?

MC: What I enjoyed the most about my working with Dorrance Publishing was the encouragement I got from the beginning when I submitted my manuscript. Barb Ennis and Sandi Kruse were instrumental in helping bring this story to life. I’m very grateful for all their help and feedback during this process.

DP: Five favorite books of all time?

MC: My five favorite books of all time are:

1) ” Empire Falls ” by Richard Russo

2) ” The Life We Bury ” by Allen Eskens

3) ” Paper Boats ” by Thao Lam

4) ” The Stand ” by Stephen King

5) Anything written by Author’s Michael Connelly, and David Baldacci

DP: One sentence of advice for other writers:

MC: The advice I would give to any writer would be “Don’t take yourself too seriously we all have a story or stories to tell, so just write about them!”

Are you ready to publish your book? Contact us today!

A Dog Named Chilli: My New Home

The post Author Spotlight: Mark Chartrand appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

Know Your Demographic.

Believe it or not, it’s just a cliche to say you’re writing a book for all ages. That book just doesn’t exist.  The way you tell a story to a two-year-old is a lot different than the way you tell a story to a twelve-year-old. Figure out important demographics of your target age range: their vocabulary level, attention span, what they’re focused on developmentally…there’s a lot of audience research that should happen.

The hero needs to win.

There’s a time and a place for existential crises and twist endings. A children’s book, however, is not one of them. Kids are learning how stories are told, how to make predictions, and they get emotionally invested in characters. Children’s books are not for tough love. They’re not for teaching kids that the world is cold. They’re for letting kids believe that, if they do everything right, there is such as thing as happily ever after.

Have a clearly defined beginning, middle, and end.

You’re dealing with limited attention spans. Subplots and flashbacks aren’t for children’s books. Figure out what story you want to tell and tell it as simply as you can.

Be unique.

The book market is oversaturated with stories about princesses and superheroes. How can you stand apart from the others?

Find the right illustrator.

Kids’ books need pictures. If you’re writing for toddlers, you need a lot of bright colors, simple shapes, and common items…think yellow ducks, red cars,  white milk bottles, and brown cows. A book for a ten-year-old may not need a photo on every page, but it still needs something to help the reader imagine what is going on. Choose an illustrator who understands your audience.  And don’t be afraid to communicate your vision.

The post Genre Spotlight: Children’s Books appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

Now, if you’ve fallen in love with a classic picture book while reading your kids a bedtime story and thought to yourself, “I could write one of these, ” today’s blog post will help you do just that by providing you with three helpful tips to get you started writing one of your own.

Do your research

We might sound like a broken record; however, no matter the genre, doing your research and seeing what’s out there will help you hone your vision and write the book that makes the most sense for you. When it comes to writing a children’s picture book, you’ll want to peruse a variety of other popular titles. All of this information will help you pick up on themes and writing styles that are commonly used in the genre. From there you can take what you’ve learned and apply it to your own story.

Choose a topic

The topic is what guides your story, so it’s important that you pick one that can hold children’s fleeting interest from start to finish. We encourage you to think outside of the box and come up with one that you haven’t seen on the bookshelves yet. Be original, and consider the reason behind why you’re writing this book. Do you want to write a bedtime story? Do you want it to be educational? Do you want to write it solely because of personal reasons? Whatever the driving force may be behind your book, find a topic that helps you reinforce it, then make it your own by adding your own unique, creative spin on the content.

Tell a story

A children’s picture book is unique in nature as you can rely on pictures, in addition to the words, to help tell your story. That’s why, as a general rule of thumb, your picture book should be less than 1,000 words. In most cases, shorter is better, because we know that our kids’ attention spans tend to be rather short. When it comes to the actual writing of your picture book, you’ll want to keep in mind that the main purpose is to tell a cohesive story. Work with your topic and keep in mind the pictures that will be used to help tell the story in order to point your writing in the right direction. Writing a children’s picture book is like writing poetry: Let the creativity flow, do not force rhymes, and create something that’s powerful and engaging.

The most important tip that we can offer you is to not give up. Writing a book is difficult, and it takes time, patience and creativity to turn your idea into a published book. That’s why it’s imperative to take your time and enjoy the process!

Copyright Dorrance Publishing, 2017

The post How to Write a Children’s Picture Book appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.