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Author Interview Kristy Dempsey Welcome, Kristy. Thanks for joining me here for an interview . AF What inspired you to be a writer? KD - I've always enjoyed words. My mom and I used to play a dictionary game where we'd take turns trying to spell random words. I'd always check out the definitions and ended up having a pretty large vocabulary because of our game. (Sounds like such a fun game, huh? But really, I loved it.) I grew up writing poetry and loving to read. Then, eight years ago when we moved to Brazil and learned to speak Portuguese, I became even more interested in words, their meaning and felt a deeper compulsion to use the perfect word that expressed exactly what I wanted to say. And I started writing again as a creative outlet. AF - Can you tell us about your latest book release? KD - I've just recently sold two picture books. MINI-RACER, a short rhyming story about a boy who races through his day as if he were a race car, will be published by Bloomsbury. ME WITH YOU, a short rhyming story that celebrates love and friendship, will be published by Philomel. We're waiting on illustrators to be determined and then on illustrators to start working, so it will be several years before they're on the shelves at your local bookstore. AF - What prompted you to write your books? Are they based on true life or are they completely fiction? KD - MINI-RACER was inspired by my own three non-stop, always on the go, revving their engines, race-around children. I wrote ME WITH YOU because my husband asked me to write something for him! And I thought, you know. I should write something special for my husband. And it ended up being a text that celebrated love and friendship and fit the picture book format well! AF - Would you take us through your typical writing day? KD - Ugh, typical? My life is anything but typical. I write in the cracks and crevices of life. I have three children, so I constantly jot notes in a notebook or open a Word file on the computer to type down a cool phrase or title that popped in my mind. I do try to write for a solid hour a day on the novel I'm working on. But I often don't get to finish out the full hour because of an interruption. AF - Do you think about your readers when you write a book? KD - Always! I love to think of phrases that will cause readers to giggle or snuggle with whoever is reading to them. In my picture book writing, those two things are my main goal. Giggles and snuggles. Something that appeals to both parent and child. AF - What sort of things do you do when you're not writing? KD - I enjoy running and exercise, especially Pilates. I also enjoy music and will admit to trying my hand at writing a few songs. Also, my husband and I work for a campus ministry here in Brazil, so our home is constantly filled with college students, hanging out and raiding the refrigerator. So if I'm not in the car, driving my kids somewhere and I'm not at home writing, I'm at the grocery store re-stocking the refrigerator. AF - What are some of your favorite things? KD - Diet coke, chocolate, laugh-out-loud or wipe-a-tear-away books, flip-flops and the seashore AF -Many writers speak about writer's block. Do you ever have that, and if so what are some things you do to get over it? KD -I work on several different things at one time. So there's always something I can work on if I get blocked on something else. AF - If you could say one thing to a new writer what would it be? KD - Read, read and read some more. Don't try to write for children if you're not reading what's out there. And if you live somewhere that it's difficult to get current books in English, read excerpts on the internet, study the market and author websites. Develop a sensibility for what works in children's literature. AF - If you could say one thing to the children reading your books what would that be? KD - Each day should be filled with a little reading (surround yourself with books!), a little running (get outside and play!) and a little relaxation (turn off the tv, shut down the video games and think, dream, watch the clouds or the stars, give your imagination some room to work its muscles!). AF- When it comes to writing what's next for you? KD - To finish, finish, finish this novel I'm working on. And then to put it away until I'm ready to tackle revision! AF - Are you available for signings, school visits and writing workshops? KD - Very rarely but on occasional trips to the States, I am available and would love to have the opportunity. |