Thursday, August 1, 2013

Interview With Author Hélène Clarke

  
What type of books do you write? I write children's fiction. I've dabbled in most genres but primarily picture books and story picture books.

What is your newest book about?
Timmy and his pet lizard, Joe, are sitting at the beach one day, when suddenly something wet and sticky drops from the sky and lands on Timmy's head! 'Why did the Osprey Poop on my Head?' is a light-hearted story about a young boy who knows that God is good but questions why bad things happen. This is a story picture book for ages 4-8


What inspired you to write it?
My husband and I were at the beach with his family one summer day. It had just rained so we were the only ones. Suddenly an Osprey flew over and pooped on Timmy's head! My husband's name is Timmy ... or Tim. My husband looked over at me and said, "I know God loves me so why did that Osprey poop on my head?" The inspiration for the story was born.

What is the writing process like for you?
So far it has varied. Some stories come to me structured and I only have to fill in the details. Other stories, like Timmy, come as a title and I have to sweat out the structure and details. Then there's times that the story is based on an idea but I have to figure out where the idea fits in the story. 

What did you do before you became an author?
It took me awhile to find what I love so I did quite a few things before becoming an author. I've worked in many customer service jobs as well as being a youth pastor.

How does it feel to be a published author?
I love being a published author but I will admit that the marketing is very difficult. There are so many great books. Standing apart from the crowd isn't easy. Every author, no matter what path they take to being published, needs a platform but that can be difficult when being a writer often means being an introvert. Being an author isn't for the faint of heart, but I do love it.

Any advice for struggling writers?
Keep writing, keep putting yourself out there and find a few good people to keep cheering you on.

Where do you see book publishing heading?
I'm too new to the industry to fully comprehend all the changes but I know that e books are here to stay so we'd better embrace them. I do hope that real, hold in your hand books don't go obsolete because my dream library of floor to ceiling books with a spiral staircase accessing them would look awfully silly if they do. 

I can be found at:
http://www.heleneclarke.com 
http://twitter.com/Binnysgirl 
http://www.linkedin.com/HélèneClarke 
http://www.goodreads.com/HélèneClarke

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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2013

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