|
GETTING PERSONAL WITH CHILDREN'S BOOK AUTHOR
TONI BUZZEO
-
AUTHOR STATS:
WHERE WERE YOU BORN: Dearborn, Michigan
WHERE DO YOU LIVE NOW: Buxton, Maine
FAVORITE ANIMAL: Dogs and giraffes
FAVORITE FOOD: Chocolate
FAVORITE COLOR: Blue
FAVORITE AUTHOR(S): The Cod Covers, my annual Maine retreat group: Franny
Billingsley, Jennifer Jacobson, Jane Kurtz, Jackie Briggs Martin, Dian
Curtis Regan, Jo Stanbridge, Nancy Werlin, and Deborah Wiles
FAVORITE MOVIE: Out of Africa
FAVORITE BOOK: Currently: AMERICA by E.R. Frank (but my favorites change)
FAVORITE QUOTE: "This is the greatest gift: to choose a life one can admire oneself for living." --Mary Gordon
THE INTERVIEW:
Savvy Click: Tell us a bit about yourself: married, children, interests or even a personal peeve?
Toni Buzzeo: I'm married to Ken Cyll with one child, Christopher, who is a junior at Williams College. I love to read and to travel and to garden (but I don't have much time for gardening lately!) I live on 36 acres of the old Emery farm in Buxton with my family and my dog Indy.
Savvy Click: When did your writing career begin and why?
Toni Buzzeo: I began to write in high school when I discovered how very much I liked poetry. I read so many poetry books, copied out the poems by others that I loved, and started to write myself.
Savvy Click: What kind of obstacles or challenges have you experienced as a children's writer?
Toni Buzzeo:
I've had the same challenge that all my colleagues have had, the dual challenge of learning to write our own authentic stories in the best way possible and
THE CHALLENGE of breaking into the business.
Savvy Click: What advice can you offer the 'newbie' children's writer?
Toni Buzzeo: Take it all very seriously. Undertake learning to write as you would an apprenticeship. Study the many wonderful books
ABOUT WRITING FOR CHILDREN available. Take notes. Go to conferences. Take more notes. Meet as many editors as you can and really LISTEN to what they have to say, in general, and--when you have a
critique--specifically about your work. Don't be defensive. Be ready to revise and learn and grow.
Savvy Click: Has your job as a Library Media Specialist influenced your writing career? If so, how?
Toni Buzzeo: I'm very lucky. In my job as a Library Media Specialist, I come to know all of the newest and best children's books. I'm also a children's book and audiobook reviewer in my librarian's hat. So I have an inside angle on the children's book business that is very helpful.
Savvy Click: Toni, share a few of your favorite resources or websites for children's writers and illustrators.
Toni Buzzeo:
· How to Write a Children's Book and Get It Published by Barbara Seuling
· It's a Bunny-Eat-Bunny World : A Writer's Guide to Surviving and
Thriving in Today's Competitive Children's Book Market by Olga Litowinsky
· The Art of Writing for Children : Skills and Techniques of the
Craft by Connie C. Epstein
· How to Write and Sell Children's Picture Books by Jean E. Karl
· Writing and Illustrating Children's Books for Publication: Two
Perspectives by Berthe Amoss and Eric Suben
http://www.underdown.org/
http://www.verlakay.com/
http://www.write4kids.com/
http://www.institutechildrenslit.com/
Savvy Click: What motivates your creativity? When do find time to write?
Toni Buzzeo: What motivates my creativity is the germ of an idea. I'm not a writer who begins with a voice. I begin with a situation, something that I can't resist writing about, and then I go in search of a character with a problem.
Savvy Click: Do you keep a writing journal? If so, what might we find inside?
Toni Buzzeo: No, I actually don't!
Savvy Click: What do you feel has been your greatest accomplishment as a writer?
Toni Buzzeo: My greatest accomplishment has been to hold fast to my dream of children's publication (I also have four other books for teachers and librarians in print) and to work at my craft until I was able to sell my first children's book, THE SEA CHEST.
Savvy Click: Toni, tell us about your newest book release, THE SEA CHEST.
Toni Buzzeo: As they watch for the arrival of a long-awaited stranger, Maita tells her great-grandniece the story of her remarkable childhood. Living sheltered on a lighthouse island with only her parents for company, Maita would bake pumpkin pies, tend to the hens, spin stories, and long for a time when she might not be the only child the ragged island knew. And then one icy night, howling winds blew wave after wave against the shore, and from that fearsome storm came a sea chest--a gift that would change Maita's life forever.
THE SEA CHEST is both a retelling of the beloved Maine legend of the baby-in-the sea-chest and a heartfelt adoption story. It looks at the true meaning of family and giving. It is a story of longing and love and generosity.
Savvy Click: How did you accumulate and organize your research for THE SEA CHEST?
Toni Buzzeo: I kept photocopies of all book research, bought as many books as I could as well, and printed out web pages when necessary and bookmarked all others. I'm a librarian, after all!
Savvy Click: Once THE SEA CHEST had been accepted, how long did it take to succeed publication? And what type of publishing stages did you experience with this book?
Toni Buzzeo: It took two years almost to the minute :> My editor and I did one revision of the text in two stages. The text was copy-edited. I saw preliminary sketches and preliminary color art and then I saw photocopies of final art.
Savvy Click: Mary GrandPre did the elegant illustrations for THE SEA CHEST. She is well-known for her "Harry Potter" illustrations. Toni, working with a high-profiled name must have been exciting! We would love for you to share some details about this experience.
Toni Buzzeo: Mary was fabulous. We spoke by phone before she began her illustrations, and I met her at ALA. Since she couldn't come to Maine, I was fortunate enough to do some illustration research along the mid-coast area after her sketches were complete. I sent along a box of shells and driftwood, books on sea vessels of the time, books on New England wildflowers, a video of Maine lighthouses, and many copies of prints of clothing of the period. Her illustrations are magnificent, I think.
Savvy Click: Do you have other children's books (coming soon or in the works)?
Toni Buzzeo: DAWDLE DUCKLING will be published in January, also by Dial, and illustrated in the most charming style by California illustrator Margaret Spengler. It's the story of a little duckling who swims to the beat of his own drummer until danger threatens.
Savvy Click: As we wrap up this interview, please tell how we can learn more about you, your books, and future projects.
Toni Buzzeo: Please visit my website often at www.tonibuzzeo.com
Savvy Click: Toni, thank you for
sharing your time with us. We look forward to your success.
Cover ©2002
by Mary GrandPré
A Junior Library Guild Selection
|