Caroline Starr Rose

picture book and middle-grade author

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Straight from the Source: Salma Hussain on Writing Historical Fiction

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SALMA HUSSAIN grew up in the U.A.E. to parents from Pakistan, and immigrated to Canada when she was thirteen years old. She has a B.A. (Hon.) in English Literature with a concentration in creative writing from the University of Calgary, a law degree from the University of Calgary, and a Masters in Law from McGill University. She writes prose and poetry for both adults and children. Her work has appeared in various Canadian literary magazines, including filling Station, Fiddlehead, The Humber Literary Review, and in the anthology, Homebound: Muslim Women Poetry Collection. She lives in Toronto.

This is your first middle grade novel. What came first for you: the character? The era? The story idea? How did you proceed from there?

To answer this question, I’d like to share the origin story for this novel – when my daughter was five, she turned to me sleepily at bedtime and asked, “Mama, you were born outside Canada, right? Were you a regular kid just like us?” 

That one question was the spark behind this entire novel. I knew in that moment that I wanted to write a book in a child’s voice to answer my child’s question. It was also quite clear to me that this needed to be an immigration story so there was my plot! I thought a diary structure would give the reader the closest, most immersive experience so all these separate ideas for the book bloomed open at the moment of her question. Throughout the writing, I returned again and again to her question and it became my reason for writing this book. The one piece of advice I always find useful when it comes to working on a project is to know your WHY. WHY are you writing your story? The “HOW” you will do it usually becomes less foggy when you’ve really sat and simmered in your WHY.

How did you conduct your research?

Structurally, I wanted the novel/’diary’ to cover twelve months in the life of this young character, so I began with gathering and collating as much data about those twelve months as I could. Later I built in some comical moments because as readers in the present-day we see those twelve months more intelligently with foresight.

A lot of my research centered around the first Gulf War. The Iraqi military invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990. However, the main character, Mona’s first diary entry begins on January 1, 1991, so when readers meet this family they have already been dealing with the news of the Gulf War for a few months. This meant I had to insert context and background about the Gulf War quickly but in a way that would not be overwhelming, nor an “info-dump”! It took a few tries to get it right. I looked up the front pages of newspapers in the Middle East (in English, Arabic and Urdu) and compared and contrasted the headlines. I also listened to news coverage from different TV channels (a lot of this is available on Youtube). A lot of it was very sad. News about any war, anywhere, from any time period, is extremely sad. In contrast, I also looked at popular “fashion” magazines from that time and listened to music from the late 80s to 91. This research countered the sad stuff. I found that in order to escape to the reality and horror of war, people determinedly and resolutely sought out joy in fashion and food and music. I’d definitely encourage gathering information about the music and fashion of a time period to get a deeper appreciation of the mood and atmosphere of an era!

What kinds of different questions did you have of the time period? The more specifics here, the better!

What were the big headlines of that time period? In different newspapers and languages?
What was the body language of newscasters reading the leading stories of the time or “breaking news”? And/or what was the tone behind the stories from radio broadcasters (joy/anxiety, etc.)?
What were the popular songs at the time?
What were the popular daytime soaps? Sitcoms? Movies?
What were the big sporting events? I included a bit about a game with the L.A. Lakers because they were so huge at that time.
What were the popular toys? I also included a scene with a Cabbage Patch doll because they were all the rage at the time and I thought it was an important detail that a kid would notice!
Any interesting weather aberrations?

How long do you typically research before beginning to draft?

Research is ongoing for me throughout the writing process, so I go back and forth between writing and reading and researching. I also find it very helpful to read other historical fiction novels set during the same time period I’m writing about, and they can be from anywhere in the world!

Why is historical fiction important?

Historical fiction for kids conjures the past in a way that facts and dates are unable to.
Historical fiction novels are stories about ordinary people living during extraordinary times. The differences in what people ate, wore, danced to – these are fascinating details that remind us that even through the chasms of time and place and culture, humanity shares the same basic hopes and fears for love, belonging, and joy.

I love this.

Can you tell us where we can go to find out more about you and your writing?

Please follow me on Twitter and Insta: @salmahwrites. I post updates about my writing life on these platforms, and I also desperately need more followers! (My mom and her friends aren’t enough! :))
I also have a website (designed by the lovely Hazel of @staybookish): www.salmahwrites.com.

What’s one question you wish readers or interviewers would ask about your story?

What is Mona up to today? 🙂 

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Filed Under: authors, books and reading, historical fiction, the writing life

On Writing

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I am suspicious of stories about art-making that have clean plot lines. So much of the process is twisted and mysterious.
— Austin Kleon

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Classroom Connections: Sylvie and the Wolf by Andrea Debbink

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age range: 4-8 years
format / topics: picture book; fear and anxiety
Andrea Debbink’s website

It’s especially satisfying to share this interview today because I got to read an early draft of Sylvie through my Writing One to One critique service. How wonderful it is to see that draft become a finished book. Andrea, Please tell us more.

My picture book, SYLVIE AND THE WOLF, illustrated by Mercè López, is the story of a girl who has a fear that begins to control her life and makes her world small. With the encouragement of a loving aunt, Sylvie is finally able to confront her fear and learns that, instead of running or hiding, she can move forward and live alongside it.

What inspired you to write this story?

Sylvie’s story is, at its heart, my own story. It was inspired by my own childhood experiences with fear and anxiety. When I was quite young, I experienced panic attacks that led to me developing obsessive compulsive disorder. Although I eventually received a diagnosis and began to get help, that didn’t happen adulthood. As a result, I have deep empathy for people, especially children, who are dealing with anxiety in all its forms. I wrote this book to not only share my story but to pass on what I’ve learned about living alongside anxiety. I hope that it can create opportunities for conversations between children and their caregivers (including parents and teachers) about fear and courage. I want children who are dealing with anxiety to know they’re not weird and they’re not alone.

Could you share with readers a few interesting tidbits about your writing process with this book?

I started writing this book on a snowy day in January 2020. I live in Wisconsin where winters are cold, and I tend to get a little tired of winter weather after the holidays are over. But that year, our January snowstorms inspired me. As I wrote my manuscript, I began to imagine Sylvie’s world as cold and snowy too, inspired by the weather outside and by Scandinavian folktales. I began to think of snowy days as “Sylvie weather.” I love how Mercè López, the book’s illustrator, captured that atmosphere in her illustrations. I think her artwork is magical.

This is also the first book I wrote that had its own playlist. I created a playlist of instrumental music that had the “feel” of the book I was hoping to write. Whenever I worked on the manuscript, I’d play the same music. It helped get me in the right headspace.

What are some special challenges associated with writing picture books?

I’ve written other books but most of them have been middle-grade nonfiction. Because this was my first picture book, I had a lot to learn. The first lesson I learned was word count! Even though I’d read many picture books, I never realized how short they are—only around 500 words! It’s challenging to tell a complete story in so few words, but I discovered that it’s a challenge I enjoy.

Another challenge in writing picture books is that the author needs to have a sense of the book’s visuals as they write, yet they can’t hold too tightly to that vision. Picture books are a group project. The illustrator brings their own creativity and interpretation to the story and that ultimately makes the book better.

What topics does your book touch upon that would make it a perfect fit for the classroom?

I think the book’s overall theme of facing fear and practicing courage is an experience that everyone can relate to, no matter their age. I hope that Sylvie’s story will show readers that they’re not alone if they’re experiencing fear or anxiety and that it can be helpful to tell someone about those feelings—and as I wrote at the end of the book, that courage takes time and practice.

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Publishing can really grind you down.

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There’s something I don’t talk about much here (largely because I try to stay positive in this space): a couple of times a year, almost like clockwork, I go through a very discouraged phase in connection to the writing world and my place in it. Discouraged as in I feel forgotten, unheard, and unimportant — a small, insignificant cog in the massive, slow-moving publishing machine.

This time around I stepped aside from my writing for a couple of weeks. I exchanged emails with Valerie Geary, Kirby Larson, Linda Williams Jackson, and Glenda Armand. I had a heart to heart with Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. All of them were supportive and kind with slightly different things to say, things they’ve chosen to do to keep their minds on the work and not the outcome. I’ve used these weeks to process and think, to consider one more time how I can keep at the work I love without getting wrecked in the process.

One thing I realized almost immediately was I’d never taken my annual social media break. July is usually my time away from the Internet, but when MIRACULOUS released in July 2022, I decided to stick around. Social media has a cumulative effect on me that I’m often not aware of until I’m knocked off my feet. It’s a place where authors engage in relentless horn tooting (me included). It’s where I’m inundated with publishing news. Honestly, I don’t even interact much on social media. I’m more of a “post and run away” sort, but even that approach doesn’t hold at bay all the news and promoting and flash. (I’m not knocking authors, by the way. This is my crowd; these are my people. But even good news from people I’m rooting for when my part of the writing world is silent can hurt.)

One bit of writing-friend advice really stood out. Linda encouraged me to stop reading Publishers Weekly Children’s Bookshelf, a bi-weekly e-newsletter full of articles about books and authors and new publishing deals. I’ve read it religiously for years and years. As a writer and reader, I feel responsible for knowing about new releases and what’s to come. The only problem is PW is much like social media for me. I’m not aware of its cumulative effect until I’m knocked off my feet. It’s hard seeing only the “hot” books promoted. It’s discouraging to see authors sell books after mine but publish those books before me.

Linda told me she hasn’t read PW since she signed with her agent. This permission not to read really felt freeing. I can’t say I’ll give up PW completely, but it’s been nice not to be so tied to every last reported sale or news on bestsellers. I’ve realized I can keep current without knowing every detail (or every deal), and perhaps tuning out a lot of the noise will mean I’ll discover more books with less flash.

Something else I’ve been thinking about these weeks is the word success. If you’ve read here for any length of time, you know this has been a theme of mine — what success is and how I personally define a sustainable definition. But in the last few days I’m thinking I might stop using that word altogether. Success, no matter how you define it, is tied to its inverse, failure. Instead I’m starting to think about what I have contributed and am contributing and will contribute to children’s literature. This strips away the measurements and ranking that come with words like success and failure. I might see evidence of my contribution (like a sweet fan letter or a great book event), but mostly I won’t be aware of my work’s impact. Even so, I believe what I’m doing — and what I’ve previously done — continues to make a difference. Contribution in my mind is a more generous approach than measuring success, and I need all the generosity I can get!

I can’t control how the manuscripts my agent has sent out into the world have been received of late — mostly with deafening silence. I can’t change how long the wait has become to get a sale or rejection. I’m telling you, it’s wearying. But I can come to my desk to find satisfaction in the work (which has always and will always be the primary reason I do this writing thing).

There’s no fancy bow to tie this up with. These are largely the same things that have given me heartache in years past and will probably present challenges in the future. (As my husband says, my job comes with high highs and low lows.) But I can keep trying to keep trying. I can remind myself once again my worth isn’t tied to my work. And I can keep my focus where it needs to be: Eyes on my own paper.

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Quick Lit: What I’ve Been Reading Lately

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The World Belonged to Us by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Leo Espinosa

“In Brooklyn / in the summer / not so long ago” is the phrase that opens and echoes throughout Jacqueline Woodson’s newest picture book. The World Belonged to Us is a celebration of summer vacation, of creative play and friends and community. The illustrations have a seventies vibe, and there’s nostalgia galore (at least for this reader) about carefree childhood days making cardboard forts, jumping rope, chasing down ice cream trucks, scraping knees, playing baseball, and staying out until called home for dinner. “Our block was the whole wide world / and the world belonged to us,” the text says, and it’s an invitation to revel in the independence and simple pleasures of childhood.

Read it with your kids as summer begins!

The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander

This book opens with an Emily Dickinson quote I keep on my desk: “I dwell in possibility.” Still I almost gave up on it a few pages in because it sounded like work and effort would be required — precisely the things I didn’t feel like giving at that moment. I’m glad I ended up giving the book a chance.

Authors Rosamund (a therapist and executive coach) and Ben (a conductor and teacher) walk readers through concepts that sound like a lot of things you’ve heard before: growth mindset vs. fixed mindset, looking for abundance rather than scarcity, and the like. What I liked was the lens they used to talk about these ideas — the classroom and the orchestra. We walk through life taking measurements of ourselves and others, ranking our position and talents. What better place to show this than these two settings? One concept “giving an A,” tells the story of the time Ben gave all of his students an A at the outset of class and how asking them to write a letter as their future selves explaining how they earned that grade freed them to do their best creative work.

As a writer, I felt especially encouraged by the idea of being a contributor. (More on this next week.) Publishing can feel pretty cut throat and competitive and rank-y. When I focus on the contribution I’m making, though, that changes everything. That’s what’s important.

This is what I like to call a “generosity of spirit” book, one that invites us to treat others and ourselves kindly. Lots of good food for thought.

Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins

Here’s another mindset book that is a complete 180 from the one above. I’d call this one a mind over matter, tough love self talk memoir. Last Christmas, my son Caleb was listening to Can’t Hurt Me and recommended it to me. He said the author was kind of intense and I didn’t have to buy into everything he said, but it was a really incredible story. David Goggins is intense, like (spoiler) THE TIME HE TAPED UP HIS BROKEN LEGS TO CONTINUE WITH NAVY SEAL TRAINING! If you’re looking for an underdog story of a man who grew up with the cards stacked against him and nevertheless went on to do some incredible things, this is worth a read. It’s a reminder, too, of how limiting our minds can be (but still…broken bone running sounds like a bad idea). Caleb recommended the audiobook and I do, too, as the author and narrator discuss various concepts between the chapters. As of this writing, the audiobook is ranked #6 on Amazon. A heads up: this book is pretty swear-y.

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A MIRACULOUS Event in Pictures

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Could these cookies be any cuter?

We had a great crowd last month at Books on the Bosque, Albuquerque’s newest bookstore. I brought copies of my manuscript at various stages and an editorial letter for attendees to peruse.

As a group, we defined charlatan, cure-all (also known as patent medicine), and medicine show. Did you know Listerine was originally a patent medicine advertised as a surgical disinfectant, a cure for dandruff, a floor cleaner, a hair tonic, a deodorant, and a remedy for a variety of diseases?

I mentioned the two books I read that influenced the story, You Are Not So Smart and You Are Now Less Dumb, which examine the psychology behind why we believe the things we do.

I read the beginning of chapter two, and we talked about charlatans and cure-alls again. Are they still around? Absolutely. Even though we probably think we’re more sophisticated nowadays than a person who might have fallen for the gimmick of a medicine show, it is easy to be swayed when a person or product preys on our insecurities.

My event happened to be on the last Saturday of April, which is National Independent Bookstore Day. A local news station stopped by, and I had a mini interview. Fun!

It’s so good to finally, officially welcome Jack and Cora and the dastardly Dr. Kingsbury to the world. If you missed out on the event, you can still get a copy of Miraculous. Send me a picture of your receipt, and I’m more than happy to mail you a signed bookplate and bookmark.

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Filed Under: books and reading, Miraculous, publication, the writing life

Why We Read

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Reading is that fruitful miracle of a communication in the midst of solitude.
— Marcel Proust

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Writing and Reading Links

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“When we are beginners—naive beginners—we tap into something pure and unburdened. We don’t get in our own way, because we don’t even possess enough skills for an inner critic to exist.”
Lessons Learned from Watercolor :: Erin Bowman

“This is one of the reasons why those inside the publishing machine find The New York Times best-seller list so frustrating—it’s a data project full of contradictions.”
The Murky Path to Becoming a New York Times Bestseller :: Esquire

It’s fun to see Jasper on this list of recommended historical fiction for middle schoolers.
32 Historical Fiction Books That Will Interest Your Middle Schooler :: Teaching Expertise

So right on.
Bitterness is Consistent :: Seth Godin

“I always realize [that city life is distracting] when I am at Laurentum, reading and writing and finding time to take the exercise which keeps my mind fit for work. There is nothing there for me to say or hear which I would afterwards regret, no one disturbs me with malicious gossip, and I have no one to blame — except myself — when writing doesn’t come easily.”
Pliny the Younger on Happy and Honorable Seclusion :: Cal Newport

“There’s rarely much to be gained from withholding information from the reader.” This is something I often try to explain when writing critiques (though not as succinctly as Nathan Bransford).
Don’t dribble out morsels of information within a scene :: Nathan Bransford

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Straight from the Source: Sandra Dallas on Writing Historical Fiction

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New York Times best-selling novelist SANDRA DALLAS, the author of seventeen adult novels, four mid-grade novels, and ten non-fiction books, was dubbed “a quintessential American voice” by Jane Smiley, in Vogue. Sandra’s novels with their themes of loyalty, friendship, and human dignity have been translated into a dozen foreign languages and have been optioned for films.

A journalism graduate of the University of Denver, Sandra began her writing career as a reporter with Business Week. A staff member for twenty-five years (and the magazine’s first female bureau chief), she covered the Rocky Mountain region, writing about everything from penny-stock scandals to hard-rock mining, western energy development to contemporary polygamy. Many of her experiences have been incorporated into her novels.

She is a three-time recipient of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum’s Wrangler Award, a four-time winner of the Western Writers of America Spur award, and a six-time winner of the Women Writing the West Willa Award.  In addition, she was given the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award for Historical Fiction and was the recipient of the Eleanor Gehres Award from the Denver Public Library and the Frank Waters Award from the Pikes Peak Library District.

Sandra lives in Denver and Georgetown, Colorado, with her husband, Bob. She is the mother of two daughters, Dana, a lawyer in New Orleans, and Povy, a photographer in Golden, Colorado.

What typically comes first for you: a character? An era? A story idea? How do you proceed from there?

The setting almost always comes first.  Then the characters, and then I go looking for a plot.  With Where Coyotes Howl (which comes out in April, 2023), I knew I wanted to write about Wyoming, about the vastness and loneliness of the country there.  I had read a small autobiography of a cowboy who lived in Wyoming in the early 20th century and knew I wanted to write about him and how he fell in love.  So Wyoming came first, and he came next.  Then I spent about 10 years searching for my story. With my novel The Last Midwife, I wanted to write about Breckenridge, Colorado, and the gold dredging that took place there in the first half of the 20th century.  The characters followed, and last of all, the plot.

How do you conduct your research?

What I love most about researching is going to the site of my story and soaking up the landscape and atmosphere.  When I wrote The Diary of Mattie Spenser, I drove out to northeastern Colorado to see what it would be like to live on the prairie with one tree in sight.  In fact, I went there more than once, especially when my character was unhappy.  I wanted to capture the vastness and sense of loneliness she felt. I visited Butte, Montana, for my first novel, Buster Midnight’s Café, and felt I was transported back to the 1940s.  I knew that setting as well as my characters. I talk to local people whenever I visit a site.  That was especially true when I wrote Prayers for Sale, which is about goldboat dredging.  I talked to the old men who’d worked the dredges and to the women who worried about the hardships.

I’ve lived most of my life in Colorado and the West and wrote 10 nonfiction books, generally on the state’s history, before I turned to fiction.  So I usually have a good idea of what happened historically in the time period of my book before I begin to write it.  Then I research as I go along.  I try to find books on the subject I’m writing about.  I also spend time in the Western History Dept. of the Denver Public Library, which is a wonderful resource.  I want enough history in my books to give them a sense of authenticity, but I don’t want the history to overwhelm the story.

At what point do you feel comfortable beginning to draft? How does your research continue once you begin writing?

I often start a draft without doing any research.  Because I write about settings I already know about, I have a sense of place and time.  The story is more important than the history.  So I start the story, then research as I go along. With Little Souls, my last book, I read a great deal about the 1918 flu epidemic before I started the book, because I didn’t know much about it.  But I already knew about Denver in 1918. I researched details of the setting as I went along.  For instance, I knew about Denver’s Great White Way, the street illuminated by thousands of light bulbs on the first-run theaters.  But I didn’t know the specific theater the characters visited or what movie they saw—“Tarzan,” as it turned out.  I had to go to the Western History Dept. to find that out.

What’s your favorite thing about writing historical fiction?

I don’t have to deal with cell phones and electronics.  It seems with contemporary books, a crisis is when the character is out of cell phone range.  I love bringing in historical items—food, perfume, cars.  I want my readers—the ones as old as I am—to say, “I remember that.” And I want younger readers to learn the details of the past.

What are some obstacles writing historical fiction brings?

You can’t alter the truth.  I’ve read books in which the authors tell you they changed a date or place to make the reality fit the story.  You can’t do that.  You have to write within the confines of the truth. I’ve had to go back and change details of books because they’re wrong.  I’ve taken out the names of songs and products because they weren’t around in my time period.  I even changed a book title.  The working title of Westering Women was Catalogue Women.  Then I discovered the term wasn’t used until 50 years after my story was set.

Why is historical fiction important?

Historical nonfiction tells us the bones of history.  Historical fiction is the flesh.  We can read the history of the Civil War and find out about the battles and troop movements, but fiction tells us what people experienced, the conflicts with neighbors, the sacrifices, the tragedy and loneliness of death. Fiction tells us how people feel. With the 1918 flu epidemic, the setting of Little Souls,  we learn through history books about the number of deaths, but novels tells us about the fear of the contagion, the horror of seeing someone turn blue, and the terrible sense of loss and of lives unfulfilled.

***

Mark your calendars! A MIRACULOUS reading tomorrow at 11:00am, at Albuquerque’s newest bookstore, Books on the Bosque.

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“Childhood is designed for wondering.”

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Children yearn to ask big questions because childhood is designed for wondering. Young people are curious about evil, tragedy, and injustice. We do them a disservice by giving them pat answers and keeping things tidy and safe in our art.
— Mitali Perkins

Yes, Mitali! And along the same lines… Katherine Paterson’s “stubborn seed of hope”

***

Mark your calendars! A MIRACULOUS reading Saturday, April 29 at 11:00am, at Albuquerque’s newest bookstore, Books on the Bosque.

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