Interview With Author Erika Nelson

 

1. What inspired you to write this book? When my son was in high school, he took a class on American politics and government. We had a conversation about what it would be like to write a book about a political process in a way that little children would understand. I thought that writing a book about presidential elections, not a dry book about the procedures, but an engaging book about the culture and the passions of the electoral process, would be very interesting. It needs to be done in a sincere, non-partisan way to be truly educational, so this is what I tried to accomplish.  

2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for?  What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? The book is written for young children and their parents, and it is designed to appeal to both. At the most basic level, the young readers should learn terms like “candidate”, “campaign”, “secret ballot” and understand the concepts behind them. This would serve as the prelude to their future understanding of the electoral process. Besides that, there are many important themes, such as: how to succeed in the face of adversity, how to temper your anger when dealing with criticism, whose advice is trustworthy and how to win a debate! There is a bit of subtle humor and sarcasm built into the book to entertain the parents. Above all, this book provides a way to start a conversation between parents and children about an important topic they otherwise would probably not discuss. A fable is the perfect teaching tool to introduce a complex topic to young children, as our ancestors did for thousands of years. Unfortunately, there is no “ancient wisdom” about presidential elections because it is such a new phenomenon, so we need to create modern fables of our own.  

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? I did my own illustrations for the whole book, including the cover design. In the foreground, there are two chimpanzees, who are thinking very hard about the title “How to become president.” The birds are not thinking, they are pulling at the sign, as if trying to steal the election. The baby chimp is just swinging in the trees and having fun, just like little kids like to do on the playground.  

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!? People begin to write because they feel they have something to say. If you write fiction, be prepared to craft each character as an individual being, walk in his shoes, feel what he feels. You need this even for the negative characters and episodic characters. The process of getting into character is very much like what an actor does when he prepares to play a role. This will make your characters believable and compelling for the readers. Also, in children’s books, the pictures tell at least half of the story, so work very closely with the illustrator to make sure that your story is presented the way you intend to. I was so concerned about the quality of the images and the visual story line, that I did the illustrations myself.

 

6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? Many books are published in a digital format because it is more convenient to the readers. However, there still demand for cookbooks and children’s books in paper form. People are willing to invest in them because they intend to read them over and over again.  

7.  Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? I worked as a contractor for the Federal government in Washington, D.C., so I spent a lot of time interacting with politicians. I observed how they behave when they are out of sight of the public and how they present their ideas when they want to get a point across, but without leaving any possibility of an adverse interpretation of their political position. Their verbal acrobatics can be quite spectacular. I was very impressed with how clever and strategic politicians really are and by how hard they work. Every 15 minutes of their day is scheduled and accounted for; and their assistants work even harder. It takes a lot of ambition and a mighty amount of willpower to achieve succeed in government. Their networking skills are absolutely phenomenal.  

8.       How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? I was inspired by African folk tales and indigenous American fables. I used to love reading fables to my children when they were little. Fables are full of wisdom and humor. They teach children to think for themselves.  

9.       What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? The writing came easily. I was so inspired that I wrote the whole book in one night. (I did end up finishing it at four o’clock in the morning.) Perfecting the illustrations took a few months. I used to draw a lot when I was young, but I hadn’t drawn much for twenty years until I wrote this book, so my skills were very rusty. The illustrations required a lot of research: all animals and flowers are styled after real animals and plants in Africa. I have gotten a lot better lately, because I have learned to paint and improved my precision of my hand by practicing calligraphy.  

10.     If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? With the elections coming up, a lot of people feel wound-up and little kids don’t understand what all the fuss is about. We try to shield them from the social passions around us, but maybe we should at least try to acquaint them with the basics, because they will grow up to be voters one day. Some of them will even become politicians, God help us! So, we might as well start talking to them about politics in some nice and friendly form, while they are still willing to listen to us.  

About The Author: Erika Nielsen is a writer and illustrator of children’s books, with experience in children’s education. She lives with her husband in New York. They have two children. Erika Nielsen is a pen name. (I am omitting the mention of any additional professional credentials, because I am writing under a pen name). For more info, please see: erikanielsenbooks.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 3.9 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.