Karen Rostoker-Gruber (@KarenRostokerGr), author most recently of Ferret Fun in the Sun (Two Lions), illustrated by Paul Ratz de Tagyos, stops by to talk about author visits, her past life writing adult humor, and her goal to make a pun everyday.
What a PUN interview, you two! I enjoyed this SO much and learned some useful stuff, too, so thanks for that! And lucky you, Karen, getting to work with Margery! I almost got to work with her a few years back (before she retired), she having loved one of my books only the team at Marshall-Cavendish wasn't quite as enamored. I'm definitely going to check out your books. Thanks for all the fun here! :D
I am sooooo sorry that it took me this long to get back to you. I had no idea that there would comments to answer here on this site. When I was on the site today, looking at podcasts to listen to, I saw that my photo had a little grey box on it. When I clicked on the little grey box, your comment came up. :)
Thank you for listening to the podcast. Doing the podcast with Matthew was soooooo much fun. It went so fast, I had soooo much more to say.
I did LOVE working with Margery. She published 5 of my books: "Bandit," "Bandit's Surprise," "Ferret Fun," "Tea Time," and "Ferret Fun in the Sun." She is also an author, so she knows how to talk to us and get us to understand her vision. Her changes were either global or very specific. Globally, she would say, "This manuscript needs to be faster, quicker, and spunkier." Then she would take one of my sentences and show me how she wanted me to change it. It was easy for me to do exactly what she wanted. We were on the same page 90% of the time--literally.
Of course, at times, I had to fight for phases, words, or sentences that she wanted to take out. So we compromised and I got to keep some sentences and she got to remove others. It's funny that that's what it comes down to sometimes--fighting for words, phases, and sentences. But in a children's book every word counts. :
What a PUN interview, you two! I enjoyed this SO much and learned some useful stuff, too, so thanks for that! And lucky you, Karen, getting to work with Margery! I almost got to work with her a few years back (before she retired), she having loved one of my books only the team at Marshall-Cavendish wasn't quite as enamored. I'm definitely going to check out your books. Thanks for all the fun here! :D
ReplyDeleteDear Writersideup.com,
DeleteI am sooooo sorry that it took me this long to get back to you. I had no idea that there would comments to answer here on this site. When I was on the site today, looking at podcasts to listen to, I saw that my photo had a little grey box on it. When I clicked on the little grey box, your comment came up. :)
Thank you for listening to the podcast. Doing the podcast with Matthew was soooooo much fun. It went so fast, I had soooo much more to say.
I did LOVE working with Margery. She published 5 of my books: "Bandit," "Bandit's Surprise," "Ferret Fun," "Tea Time," and "Ferret Fun in the Sun." She is also an author, so she knows how to talk to us and get us to understand her vision. Her changes were either global or very specific. Globally, she would say, "This manuscript needs to be faster, quicker, and spunkier." Then she would take one of my sentences and show me how she wanted me to change it. It was easy for me to do exactly what she wanted. We were on the same page 90% of the time--literally.
Of course, at times, I had to fight for phases, words, or sentences that she wanted to take out. So we compromised and I got to keep some sentences and she got to remove others. It's funny that that's what it comes down to sometimes--fighting for words, phases, and sentences. But in a children's book every word counts. :