Hi! I am
Carolyn Howard Johnson, your trusty New Book Review blogger and author of the
multi award-winning
HowTo Do It
Frugally Series of books for writers. This blog has heretofore been
exclusive for reviews but I thought I’d do a special series of interviews after
I chatted with Jeanie Loiacono, President of
Loiacono Literary
Agency – Where ‘can’t’ is not in our vocabulary! I thought sharing
the interviews would help the many subscribers and visitors to this New Book
Review blog, including authors, reviewers, and, of course, readers who just
might find a new favorite author among the featured books and
authors.
So, today
welcome Ruth
Wiseman.
Ruth Wiseman has been writing children’s stories since 5th
grade, when her English teacher, Mr. Lavrov, inspired her talents. She has been
writing children’s books for over twenty-five years and co-edited Broken Glass,
Broken Lives: A Jewish Girl’s Survival Story in Berlin 1933-1945 by Rita J.
Kuhn. She hopes to be published soon and to share her stories with even more
children. She is a grateful mother of two young daughters and two step-sons, and
lives in Passaic, NJ.
What is your genre? Is it
fiction or nonfiction? I write children's
literature and I am trying my hand at a novel. I've only written the first
chapter, but I have to start somewhere! I am also working on a
midgrade.
What made you want to be a
writer? When
I was twelve-years-old, I had a wonderful English teacher. He engaged my
imagination by giving us pictures from which to write stories. Some of them were
very silly. I found a whole new voice inside me when I wrote. I was a rather
quiet student, but suddenly I found a world in which I could have a strong voice
and I wouldn't be teased. My teacher provided feedback as though I were a
serious writer. That experience stayed with me all these years. And need I say
how much I love the feeling of a new pen and paper?
Of all the authors out there,
who inspired you most? I love so many authors, it's
hard to name just one. For children's stories I love Barbara Park, Mo Willems,
Cynthia Rylant, Bracha Goetz. For middle school books, I adore J.K. Rowling,
Sharon Creech, Andrew Clemens, Julie Kagawa, R. J. Palacio, J.R.R. Tolkien. In
adult literature, Tolstoy is magnificent, Jhumpa Lahiri is lovely, Amy Tan has
colorful, multi-faceted characters, Herman Wouk, John Grisham, Edith Wharton.
Really an assortment of writers. I don't have a specific genre that I seek out,
just pure, good writing.
What is your writing style?
Do you outline? Linearly? By scene? Why? For my children's stories, I
will sometimes be given the gift of a full story coming to me in one piece. That
is exhilarating. Other stories, I need to massage and rewrite and rewrite. Each
one has its own personality. The midgrade I am working on right now (and will
probably complete when my current middle school child is in college!), I write
by scenes. I think this is because I am seeing the images unfolding in my mind's
eye, and it then develops into a narrative. This story, though, is giving me a
lot of trouble because I started it in one style and changed the style
midstream. I am going to have to go back and rework the first several chapters
once I have moved the story line far enough along.
Do you write every day? How
much? How long? Ha, that would be nice! I
aspire to that. Somehow with a full-time job, an eleven-year old, and a six-year
old, I just can't seem to find the time or energy to write every day. I also
need a certain physical and mental space for my writing. If I can be in a quiet
place—a library, a cool cafe, an empty park—then my concentration is enhanced
and the words just flow out of me. But if I am sitting in my office in a slow
moment, or waiting to see the doctor, or sitting in my room once my girls are
asleep, those times are harder because my mind is on overdrive with other
concerns. But those are also the ‘lost moments.’ It's a quandary. I am working
on trying to use those moments for some creative purpose. My characters tug at
me to listen to them, and I really suffer when I don't.
Do you think reading is as
important to writing for an author? Why? Absolutely. It is an
excellent way of distinguishing your own voice to read other people's works. I
recently read a midgrade book similar in some fashion to the one I am working
on, but I finished that book feeling that my concept and writing style is very
different and, in my humble opinion, better. I don't always close a book feeling
that way. Certainly not the Harry Potter series; Rowling is just sheer
inspiration. I want to run and get my quill and go into my characters’ worlds,
without thought for my style or my chances of publication. Some writers give me
an artistic thirst for creating.
What are some of the things
you would like to share with budding authors? Just keep writing. Try not
to be your own editor. You have a unique voice, and you do not need to sound
like anyone else. The imaginings and perspectives that you have will resonate
with a certain audience. Trust in that!
Do you have any marketing and
promotional advice, referrals, tips you would like to share? I don't have any just yet,
other than the Yiddish word chutzpah.
It means ‘you've got to have nerve.’ That is how I found my wonderful literary
agent, Jeanie Loiacono. I walked up to a children's author and asked her for
publishing advice. She gave me Jeanie's name. It took a year to build up the
nerve to contact her, but when I did, I was not sorry that I did! Both those
instances involved a certain amount of chutzpah. Any time you put yourself on
the line, you are promoting yourself. Any time you tell your colleagues about
your work, you are promoting yourself. Just keep believing in your stories, and
you will come up with ideas.
Do you think conferences are
beneficial? If so, what have you learned? Which ones do you
frequent? I
haven't attended any conferences for purely logistical reasons. However, I love
being in writing workshops. Any forum that is going to help you focus your
creativity and make you take yourself more seriously as a writer is
beneficial.
MORE ABOUT THE SPONSORING AGENT
Jeanie Loiacono, President, Loiacono Literary
Agency
A facilitator of dreams, Jeanie Loiacono represents over eighty authors. Her
forte is mystery, romance, thrillers, historical/military/southern fiction, and
all quality fiction/nonfiction. Her passion is to see her authors
succeed.
“There is nothing more rewarding than to hold one of my author’s books and
know I helped bring it to fruition. I am so blessed and privileged to be able to
work with some of the most talented writers in the world.”
Jeanie.L@llallc.net www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning
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