Q: Can you tell us briefly
what Sacajawea of the
Shoshone is about and who it's aimed at?
A: Sacajawea of the Shoshone is an addition to Goosebottom Books’ first
series, The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Real Princesses. It tells the amazing
story of Sacajawea, the Shoshone teenager who traveled the west with Lewis and
Clark and her amazing adventure on this expedition. The series is targeted for
ages 9 - 13, although younger kids will enjoy the beautiful combination of
illustrations and real-life photographs and interesting sidebars such as “What
She Ate”, “What She Wore” and “Where She Lived”.
Q: Did you discover
anything surprising about Sacajawea or this period in history while
writing/researching this book?
A: Sacajawea made a
significant and invaluable contribution to the Lewis and Clark expedition. She
gathered food, firewood, made and repaired moccasins, set up and broke down
camp, interpreted and negotiated for horses with her people so the Corps of
Discovery could make it across the Rocky Mountains, prevented the Corps from
being attacked by other tribes (no war party would travel with a woman and a
baby!), and saved Lewis and Clark’s important instruments and documents,
including their journals, when the boat she was riding in almost capsized. Yet her
people, the Lemhi-Shoshone are still fighting for Federal Recognition.
Q: Do you listen to music
while writing? If so what? Tell us about the atmosphere in your writing space.
A: I don’t generally
write with music on. I find it too distracting, and I seem to concentrate
better when I have total silence when I’m writing. On the rare occasion I do
write with music on, I prefer classical which has a profound calming effect on
my brain. I tend to favor Mozart, Pachelbel, Vivaldi, and Beethoven, although
with the latter, at least for writing, I like his softer, lyrical pieces like
Moonlight Sonata or the Pathétique Sonata to the more dramatic symphonic pieces
like Beethoven’s 5th.
Q: How do you develop your
books? Do you have any set process, habits or rituals?
A: My last two books
were non-fiction that fell under two different series released by Goosebottom
Books. Cixi, The Dragon Empress, was
part of The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Dastardly Dames and Sacajawea of the Shoshone was part
of The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of
Real Princesses. With Cixi, she was one of six dames already selected by the
publisher to be featured and I picked to write about her because I was
interested in Chinese culture and history. The publisher wanted to add a Native
American and an African woman to the cultural mix and asked if I wanted to
write one of the books. Of course I did! I selected the Native American woman
because I have some Native American ancestry in my background and was very much
interested in the culture. I’ve always been fascinated with Sacajawea’s amazing
story and we decided that this was the one I should tell. Over the last few
years, I’ve been more interested in incorporating my cultural roots (I’m
Chinese) into my writing so my current projects and my upcoming book (Goldy Luck and The Three Pandas,
Charlesbridge Publishing, 2014) all either have a Chinese protagonist or a
Chinese theme. I try to write every day. In general, I’ll get up between 5:00
and 5:30 in the morning and write till 7 am. when I have to get the kids up for
school. Then, I’ll write for 3 - 5 hours while they’re in school.
Q: Say your fairy godmother has
offered to fly you anywhere in the world to do research on an upcoming book;
where would you want to go and why?
A: Anywhere in the Caribbean, but
preferably at Cape Santa Maria on Long Island. I went there with my family
several years ago and there’s not much there besides some bungalows overlooking
a brilliantly calm, blue sea and a stretch of very unpopulated beach with sand
as fine as talculm powder. The setting will have nothing to do with my
project(s) because I don’t have any stories set in the Caribbean, but it’d just
be a really cool, tranquil place to write.
Q: How long did it take you to write
Sacajawea?
A: Goosebottom Books
has an extremely aggressive publishing timeline so the turnaround time is
pretty tight. Once, I get the assignment, I’ll get about two and a half months
to do all my research and complete the first draft. The editor and I will then
spend the next month or so revising. There could be anywhere from 3 to 7 drafts
in that time. Cixi had many more revisions than Sacajawea did. The upside of
all this stress and hard work to meet these deadlines is that I get to see my
book in print in about a year and a half which is amazing for a picture book!
Q: What would you say is your most interesting writing
quirk?
A: Hmmm...I never
thought I had a writing quirk, except that I can’t write without a hot drink
close by be it coffee or tea. Even when it’s 100 degrees outside.
Q: Do you ever experience writer's block and if so, how to
you overcome it?
A: I haven’t had
writer’s block in years. I have way too many ideas and not enough time hence
I’m always flitting from project to project. That’s probably the reason it
takes me forever to complete my projects! I do though, have moments within a
project or scenes that I get a little stuck on from time to time. What works
for me is to use a different approach or change the pace. For example, if I’ve
been trying to write through a difficult narrative, I’ll try to storyboard the
scene so I can see things more visually or I’ll go work on a different project
for awhile.
Q: What advice would you give to someone who wants to become
a published children's book author?
A: Accept that
rejection is part of the process, learn from it, and don’t give up. My latest
book, Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas,
has been rejected by several publishers, went through 4 or 5 editors, was
signed by Random House/Tricycle Press then unsigned by them when RH decided to
shutter the imprint. By the time it hits bookshelves, it would have been an 8
year journey for this book! Believe in yourself and in your writing, and it will happen.
Q: If you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive,
who would it be and why?
A: David Sedaris. I think he’s hilarious! I love his sense of humor and
his quirky way of looking at his world. I think we’re very similar in that
sense. I have a feeling that dinner with him would be quite entertaining.
Q: Are you a morning person
or a night owl?
A: Morning. After the
kids are in bed, I’m usually too beat to do much else then to veg out in front
of the T.V.
Q:What are you passionate about these days?
A: Chocolate, coffee,
writing, writing, writing, and promoting whatever book I have out at the
moment. Right now, it’s Sacajawea of the
Shoshone.
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