Today, I had the great pleasure of chatting with this incredible author, now I get to post a amazing guest post from her. Below you will find this guest post and get to know this author as well. I also have a review for this book as well to share with you, so sit back and read on.
On Writing: When Art Imitates Life
Whenever I write a new character, people always ask – is
he/she based on your own children?
As you may know, my newest character, Millicent Marie of
Millicent Marie Is Not My Name is a twelve-year-old sixth grader. I happen to have
a twelve-year-old daughter. When I wrote Millicent Marie Is Not My Name, my
daughter was in sixth grade.
I know what you’re thinking: Oh that’s so cool - your
daughter must be so excited to be in one of your books! Um – No.
When I told my daughter I was writing a book about a twelve-year-old
sixth grader, I got the reaction I was expecting... the eye roll. Those of you
with tweens and teens know what I’m talking about. “It’s not about me, is it?”
she asked with a look that was half pleading and half pure embarrassment.
“No, of course not,” was my answer.
I was telling the truth... sort of. Let’s look at the facts:
(1) Millicent Marie Is Not My Name is about a young girl who
suddenly becomes her school’s most sought after gossip/advice columnist after
her younger brother publishes her private diary online as a blog.
As far as I know, my daughter does not keep a diary, but if
she does, you can be rest assured, it is safe and sound and NOT on the
Internet. Even I wouldn’t cross that line.
(2) Millicent Marie decided to give up a spot on her soccer
team to join the Drama Club in order to keep an eye on her crush.
My daughter doesn’t play soccer and has never shown an
interest in the Drama Club. Crushes are another story, but who didn’t have a
crush on someone in sixth grade?
(3) Millicent Marie has an annoying little brother.
Yes, my daughter has a younger brother, but they get along
great. Now if Millie had an annoying older brother – then, my daughter might be
suspicious. No, I’m not saying my oldest son is annoying! I’m just saying
perception is a funny thing.
These facts were indeed enough to satisfy my daughter that
Millicent Marie was definitely not about her. However, her daily stories about
the happenings in sixth-grade did provide some great inspiration (along with my
own spotty sixth-grade memories.) Namely: bullies, gossips, friends, hair,
clothes, and even *gasp* boys.
As writers, inspiration comes in many forms. We pull from
what we hear and observe all around us. Our brains are constantly collecting
information from these observations. Some are immediately forgotten, some get
stored for later, and some get turned into ideas for our next project.
Is Millicent Marie based on my daughter? Absolutely not. Did
my daughter inspire me? Definitely – and she continues to do so every day,
whether she likes it or not.
Time for a great Giveaway, YAY... This prize is amazing too, below are some great images of the giveaway that you can enter to win.
