Interview With Author Alicia Jennings

  

1. What inspired you to write this book?   I wrote this book for my nephew, Neo. I wrote it during the pandemic when we were all stuck indoors. I wanted to be able to give my nephew the sense of adventure without leaving the house. 

2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for?  The book is about the adventures you can have with just a cardboard box and your imagination. This is written for young children aged 2-5 year-olds.  

3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book?  I hope that it will spark their imaginations and creativity. We live in a world of technology. Where screens are so commonplace every day. It would be lovely to encourage readers to have adventures without the need of pads and television.  

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design?  I wanted to keep the cover design quite simple and almost like it is the beginning of their adventure. I’m a big fan of Judith Kerr’s work so wanted to emulate her with a blank background and just the characters. I wanted to keep the title simple and easy to read for young readers. It sums up the story in that one title. 

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!?  I would say don’t doubt yourself. Keeping trying and pursuing what you love. You will get there, it might be hard at times but all the hard work you put in will pay off. It’s a marathon not a sprint. Most importantly don’t forget to have fun along the way, enjoy the process from idea to a finished book!  

6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading?   I see that in the book world it is definitely more inclusive of everyone. It’s lovely to see all the representation in books now. I feel we are still in the early stages of this but just the nature of being able to get more diverse books out into the world is such a good start and great for building an understanding of others from different backgrounds. 

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book?  We were going through the pandemic so having the spare time on my hands from having to stay indoors gave me the time to focus solely on my book. From an early age I was always encouraged to read and I loved picture books. I would get lost in the pages and knew that one day I would also like to create my own children’s book.  

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to?  My writing style is fairly similar to other author illustrators such as Judith Kerr and Mick Inkpen. I wanted to keep my writing style simple and easy. I’m dyslexic myself so I just wanted it to be a book that everyone can read.  

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book?  I’m dyslexic so the main challenge I faced was the spellings and making sure the pace of the sentences made sense. Sometimes being dyslexic you don’t always read your mistakes properly so it was important to me to have other people read through my book too.  

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours?   You should read my book because it shows there is no limit to your imagination. Also it’s a good story about friendship and looking after one another. A little spirit booster. 

About The Author: Alicia Jennings is an author and illustrator. She loves nothing more than drawing and doodling and has a sketchbook to hand at all times. Alicia has been drawing since she was a small and has never stopped, going on to study illustration at the University of Hertfordshire.  For more info, please see: https://www.aliciajenningsillustration.com/. 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.8 million pageviews. With 4,900+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.