An Author Answers (Donna Marie Seim)

I had the opportunity recently to read and review Hurricane Mia: A Caribbean Adventure, by Donna Marie Seim. You can find my review here. Donna agreed to do a little Q and A for you all, and without further ado, I give you The Interview!


Literati: First, I'd like to get this out of the way- Go Bucks!! I had to. I'm an Ohio native, and I see that you're a graduate of Ohio State University.

Donna: Yay! Go- Bucks! Shannon, where in Ohio did you grow up? I was born and grew up in Cleveland!

        (L: Donna, I was born in Mansfield and raised in Mount Vernon, just about an hour North of Columbus.)

L: What inspired you to write Hurricane Mia? Was there anything specific? 

D:I love the Turks and Caicos Islands! I have been traveling there for many years and have visited all of the inhabited islands and many of the uninhabited Cays.  The turquoise waters, the wild donkeys, the people and the culture, along with bush medicine, all inspired me to write Hurricane Mia. Once I had decided to write a story about the islands, I then set about composing my main characters and soon had the idea for the core story, a search for the tea that cures everything. I  accomplished most of this while walking on the very beaches I wrote about. My goal was to write a story that would bring two cultures together,  the strength of the story relies on the relationship between the two girls, Mia and Neisha, beginning from the very moment they meet in front of the Green Flash Cafe. 

L: I've heard some authors say that they like to write because they can live vicariously through their characters, do you agree?

D: I am afraid that it is the opposite with me. My characters live through my experience and research. I love to make them come alive and I do want to share them and their foibles with my readers. But, no I cannot say I live through them. I must also admit that as I develop my characters they begin to take on their own traits and actions. I have to keep them in check so one doesn't overcome the other! It is one of the most fascinating parts of writing a novel!

L: I read in your bio that you spend time in the Caribbean. What sort of things do you do down there?

D: Yes, I spend a great deal of time in the Caribbean. My husband and I have renovated a small house and we live there on a part time basis. We enjoy taking eco tours and small boating trips to the undeveloped islands and exploring the uninhabited ones. We enjoy the people and the music, we have fed the stingrays, swam with barracudas, and visited the wild donkeys in the shelter. I love to walk  the beach collecting shells and sea glass. I really enjoy all the birds, wild horses, goats and chickens running free in the streets. We love to 'lime', just sitting and talking with friends and listening to their stories. Islanders always have stories, and they are more than willing to share them! 

L: Any favorite stories of your times spent there?

D: My favorite story is the time when we took an eco tour to meet with a real bush doctor and possibly a granny or two. We had to fly to one island and then take a ferry to another, followed by a long drive in a truck through mud at times nearly three feet high. It was a wild drive, I held on for dear life hoping we would not end up sinking in the mud! We did accomplish our goal and to my delight met with a bush doctor. He had a sign hanging out front, hand painted, that read, The Doctor is in! The back of it read, The Doctor is out. He was a walking encyclopedia of information about all the different types of plants and what  healing qualities they possessed. He also pointed out some bad ones, so you need to know your plants!  We were also very pleased to make the acquaintance of many of the local folk, among them a granny. Auntie Cecilia is partially based on this granny. By the way, a granny is a midwife, and it is out of respect that elders are called Auntie or Uncle with their first names.

L: I love to know the little details that seep through from the author's life into their writing. I noticed one- that you have a dog named Rags and Mia has both a stuffed dog and a real dog named Rags. Are there any other things from your own life that appeared in Hurricane Mia?

D: Yes, I have a dog named Rags and it was fun to put him in the story. Also the name, Dragonfly, came from our boat. Susan, the illustrator, used our boat for the drawing for the cover. Most of my knowledge of boats is based on our own boat, so I decided to name the boat in the story Dragonfly! Also, many of the descriptions of the islands are as I know them and have experienced them. For instance, I have witnessed a water spout, and it is truly a terrifying thing to see. I saw one as we were preparing to leave our house to board a puddle jumper to fly to another island. I could only imagine how scary it would be to be on the sea in a small boat with one coming toward you. It was bad enough in the air. I made a point to file that thought, hmmm, good fuel for a story! 

L: Which character in Hurricane Mia was your favorite to write?

D: I have to admit, I loved them all. Each one is a composite of different people I have met and a hearty mixture of my own imagination. Mia came first, and being the protagonist, she was my favorite. I had to check myself, as I wrote and developed the characters of Neisha and Jack, that I didn't let them take the stage away from Mia. They become stronger as the story progresses, Neisha, with all her strengths and fears, and Jack, as a lovable and humorous character. Auntie Cecilia is special, and I have to say, developing her was a true pleasure, she is a favorite too.

L: Which was the most difficult?

D: Without a doubt Gram was the most difficult! She is presented as rigid and ungiving and judgmental. Without Gram and Mia' s conflict, the story wouldn't have been able to move forward. I felt bad for Gram, because grandmothers are generalized as loving and caring, and not as demanding as the parents. But, that is not always the case, as is this situation. I had to concentrate on the conflict between Mia and Gram having it grow until Mia blows up and loses her temper. She says awful things to Gram and ends up regretting it, but neither of them are able to resolve the conflict between them. That is the reason Mia goes on with her plan and does not ask for help, believing her grandmother would never condone a trip to find something as silly as bush medicine.  

L: Quick! Yankees or Red Sox?! (It's mandatory that I ask you that. Well, not really, but I'm asking anyway.)

Red Sox! Of course!

L: Any advice to young writers and aspiring authors? 

D: The best advice I can give to young writers is to keep a journal. Even everyday incidents can be used later on for a good story. The more your pen flows, the more you write, the more you will master the art of writing. Writers should also read, read, read! I think the more you read the better you write, it helps  to expand your scope and learn how others create a storyline, conflict, tension and resolution. I often feel I write the best after I have read an author that has truly inspired me. 

Some say, write what you know, but I say,  don't only write what you know, use your imagination and expand your horizons! Do some research to fill in the gaps! I also like to write as I travel or experience something new, or meet someone who has just told me an interesting, head turning story. Writing is a process, it is always continuing and growing, you will find that your revisions of your work make it better, just like the elbow grease needed to polish silver until it shines!

L: Anything that you want to mention, but I didn't ask about?

Shannon, thanks so much for the interview! I enjoyed answering your questions, they were great! I love having the opportunity to express my thoughts and feelings about the characters, conflicts and all the ingredients that went into the making of Hurricane Mia! It was quite an adventure! 

        My very best,

Donna Seim

Donna's Bio: 

The love of children and children's literature has played an integral role in Donna Seim's life. In her first book, Fifty Cents an Hour, Donna tells her hilarious childhood stories from growing up in a large Irish Catholic family. 

Donna's first picture book, Where is Simon, Sandy?, set in the Caribbean, is an award winning story of a little donkey that wouldn't quit. 

Hurricane Mia, a Caribbean Adventure, is Donna's first novel. And, coming soon, is Charley!, the story of an orphaned city boy from Boston who sings his way into a dairy farming family in the heartland of rural Maine. 

When Donna is not in the Caribbean, she lives in Newbury, Massachusetts, with her husband and her dog, Rags. 

Donna is a graduate of Ohio State University, and holds a master's degree in Special Education from Lesley University. 

Want to know more about Donna? Visit her webpage- www.donnaseim.com. You can also join Hurricane Mia on Facebook and follow her on Twitter! (@hurricanemia)

An Author Answers (Wendy Delsol)

I had the pleasure of interviewing Wendy Delsol, author of Stork. Stork will be released October 12th, 2010.


The Interview-

Literati: What made you decide to write "Stork"?

 

Wendy: My first three novels I wrote were in the women’s fiction genre, stories centering on relationships, family saga, multi-generational tales, etc. When writing the third generation, girls in their teens, I really enjoyed revisiting the issues and emotions of that age.

 

Once I made the decision to attempt a YA novel, I knew it had to be high concept. I also hoped to find a fresh idea, something that would attract the notice of an agent and eventually an editor. Years ago, when watching the TV show Unsolved Mysteries, I had been moved by a story about a very young boy who claimed he had a pre-birth memory of hovering above the earth and selecting his mother. The story stuck with me. I spun the idea to invent my human Storks, women with the responsibility of guiding these undecided souls.
 

L: Stork has Icelandic lore and Native American beliefs riddled throughout. How much research did you have to do in order to write Stork?

 

W: Though I did research Norse mythology, Native American legends and even Japanese proverbs, Stork is a work of fiction. I took literary license, big time literary license, when it suited my needs. Strict academics will cringe. Most of the book’s wisdom channels through Hulda, the elderly leader of the Storks. My design was for Hulda to be on old soul, one who recognizes the merit and validity of all world cultures and beliefs.
 

L: Any favorite scenes, or scenes that were particularly difficult?

 

W: My favorite scene to write was the Asking Fire, a pre-Homecoming event at Norse Falls High. As soon as I invented it, it was an event I wished had really existed when I was in school. (I know the name I’d have offered to the fire, even.) A brisk fall evening, a roaring fire, young couples inspired by the occasion, and a touch of magic—perfect. Or better still, full of potential conflict.

 

Not that I’d describe it as difficult, but the climactic scene was probably the most work. There’s so much action to the scene that the choreography became complicated. I wanted to sustain the tension while parceling out information necessary to explain the motivations of certain (names withheld to avoid spoilers) characters.

L: Kat is a Robin, Hulda an Owl- If you were in the Stork Society, what bird do you think you'd represent?

 

W: Good question. Green is my favorite color and I’m a warm climate kind of gal, so maybe a parrot. And how fun would it be to eavesdrop from a perch and then mock repeat the best tidbits overheard.

L: Okay, time to put the 'humble pie' away; it's time to toot your own horn! What is it about your book that will make people want to read it? 

 

W: Well, shucks, if I have to. I think the book is a unique concept. I worked hard at coming up with a fresh setting and paranormal angle. Absolutely nothing wrong with vamps and weres and fallen angels, they’re hot and rife with story potential. Still, I’m hoping my human Stork is something the reader hasn’t imagined before.

L: In Stork, there are a lot of witty lines. I've always wondered if that's just the author's brand of humor or if it's the character's voice. (An author can write an evil character without being evil themselves, so it stands to reason that they can write a funny character without being funny themselves.) So my question is, is it you or Katla herself that's so darn funny?

 

W: I think I’m a funny person. I make attempts, anyway. Credit goes to my English parents and extended family. No one was ever exempt from a little teasing and our family gatherings were boisterous. He or she who supplied the punch line or zinger was golden—or at least off the hook from being the punch line.

L: It's sometimes said that authors put something of themselves into their characters; a love for art, certain tastes in music, etc. Anything in particular you feel was or is a part of you?

 

W: Well, it’s sure not the emphasis on clothes and design. I had to do a fair amount of online browsing to invent Kat’s fascination with high-end fashion. I, myself, am a bargain shopper and am much more concerned with comfort than I am with labels.

 

The bit of me that went into Kat would have to be the feeling of new-kid-itis. I wrote it shortly after moving to Iowa from L.A., where I’d lived for twenty years.

L: Stork ended with a satisfactory, yet open ending. Do you have any plans for a sequel?

 

W: Frost, the sequel to Stork, is slated for publication in September of 2011. There’s also an untitled third book in the series to be released …  Well, I guess I should first write the darn thing.

 

L: What's your preferred environment for writing? Outside? In an office? Coffee shop?

 

W: I write at home. I’m distractible in other locations. People watching is too much fun.
 

L: Lately a lot of authors have been making their "book playlist" with songs that they listened to for inspiration during writing. Do you listen to music while you write? Any songs in particular? Or do you prefer quiet?

 

W: I write in a quiet environment. Every once in a while, I’ll play classical music. Nothing with lyrics, however. Again, distractible.

L: Getting published can be a long, difficult road. What made you decide to give it a go? Were you surprised with the results?

 

W: I had a health scare about eight years ago. It prompted me to take more risks and to go after my dream career. I suppose I was a little surprised with the results—and thankful, and grateful, and gleeful, and bubbly (or maybe that’s what I drank after receiving the news).

L: A lot of writers have 'that one book' that inspired them to take up the pen and start writing themselves. Is there any book in particular that made you want to write?

 

W: Pride and Prejudice is the book that turned me into both a reader and writer. Almost 200 years later and that book is still, IMO, relevant.

L: We know that you write, but what else do you do? Interests? Hobbies?

 

W: I’m married and have two teen sons (ages 15 and 13) who keep me busy. I am also a tennis addict enthusiast. I play on two teams, have successfully mind-controlled my younger son into playing, and watch countless hours of tennis during Wimbledon, and the US, French, and Australian Opens. Federer, BTW, is my idol (Behind Ms. Austen, of course).

L: What's one thing that not many people know about you?

 

W: I can’t stand garlic or cilantro. Yuck.

L: Anything I haven't asked that you'd like to share?

 

W: I’m writing this from a hotel room in L.A. while my sons sleep. Ironically, my scalp itches (just like my character Kat’s). Alas, it’s a sunburn and not the sign of membership to a clandestine organization of soul brokers. Phooey.

 ---

A big thank you to Wendy for taking the time out of her busy schedule to answer my questions! If you'd like to know more about Wendy, you can visit her website here. 

Now for the giveaway! I'm giving away a copy of ... you guessed it- Stork. How does this work, since it's not released yet? Well, you enter the contest now, and I pre-order the book for you and then have it shipped directly to you. Easy-peasy. It won't get to you until after it's released (duh) but hey, it's a free book! 

How to enter:

Leave a comment on this post. 

Include your name and email so I can contact you if you win.

+1 (that means an extra entry) for Tweeting about the contest. Leave a link please. :)

Contest is open to residents in the US and Canada only. Contest closes August 13th at midnight, EST.

That's it! I hope you enjoyed reading a bit about Wendy, and good luck!