Today I have a great interview for you all.
Connie Arnold has a new picture book out. It’s called Olive and
the Great Flood and I jumped at the chance to join her blog tour. First, I
want to say the illustrations done by Kathleen Bullock are beautiful. The story
of Olive (the dove Noah sent to find dry ground) published by Guardian Angel
Publishing is a charming rhymer with gorgeous art that pops. Check out that gorgeous cover.
Olive
doesn’t say a word (of course), but she is a well thought out character. I
loved reading this delightful Bible story again and again and you will too.
Olive keeps the other animals on the ark calm by lulling them to sleep with
soft, peaceful songs.
It’s a joyful,
rhythmic, fun picture book that children will want to read over and over again. Olive and the Great Flood is sure to become a classic.
So please welcome
Connie.
Connie, Olive
and the Great Flood is so fun to
read. Where did you get the idea to write it?
The
thought just sort of popped into my head when I was thinking about Noah, the
ark and the flood, about what an important part the dove had in the story.
Along with that was the thought of pictures of a dove with the olive branch or
leaf in its mouth depicting peace, and Olive came to life as a peaceful bird
who wanted to help the other animals.
You had to be excited to find out that Kathleen was going to be the
illustrator. Did you all talk about the art? Did she ask for your opinions?
I had only
seen book covers and a few illustrations that Kathleen had done and am thrilled
at how her illustrations for Olive and the Great Flood turned out! As with my
two previous books, I provided the text, the publisher provided the
illustrator, who did the art. I never saw any until all was finished. A most
pleasant surprise!
Do you have plans for future stories taken from the Bible?
There is
nothing specific I have planned at this time. I would love to write something
else but need to get the inspiration first. I do have another book coming from
Guardian Angel Publishing, but it is not a Bible story and will be my first
without rhymes.
Can you tell us about your experience writing this particular picture
book? How long did t take you to finish it? Did the words just spill out onto
the page? *wink*
Good one,
Robyn! It really didn’t take long to write the first draft. Then I kept reading
it, putting it aside for a while, reading again, making changes, then submitted
to critique group, who made several suggestions. Writing a children’s book is
always challenging, but when you are doing it in rhyme with rhythms that must
be perfect, that steps up the challenge considerably!
You make writing picture books look so easy with your wonderful
stories. You know that I know it just ain’t easy. Ha. But please, some words of
wisdom for the writers who are reading this.
There are
a few things I think are important to keep in mind: get your thoughts down when
you have the inspiration and don’t wait; once it is written you can go back and
do the proofreading and corrections; have someone else read it and give you
their opinion; put it aside for a while and come back to it fresh; and read it
aloud to yourself or someone else.
Best and worst part of being a writer?
Best is
the positive feedback when you discover that someone loves what you wrote, and
worst is having a great story going and getting stuck and unable to finish it
satisfactorily.
Connie, thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your story with
us.
It has
been my pleasure, Robyn! Thank you for being a valuable part of my tour for
Olive and the Great Flood. I will check in for comments and to answer any
questions that someone might have.
You heard that, y'all. Ask away. Don't forget, you'll be entered into the giveaways.
Thanks for reading!
Links for book:
Those who comment will be entered to drawings for two
prizes, a copy of my first children’s book, Animal Sound Mix-up, and a gold
dove windchime.
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