Interviews

Interview: Carrie Karnes-Fannin

 
 

When she was nine and living in Arkansas, Carrie read The Call of the Wild, leading to a failed attempt to turn her dachshund and beagle into sled dogs. But author Jack London did succeed in inspiring her to create stories and share them. When procrastinating from writing, you'll find Carrie collecting fun words such as "collywobbles" and "conundrum" in notebooks while doodling in the margins.

Carrie’s poems, “Once A House,” “The Trash Bandit,” and “The Moth,” are part of Little Thoughts Press Issue Two: Natural Wonder.


Little Thoughts Press: You used to be a professional photographer. Between light, composition, and focus, there's a lot of careful crafting taking place in photography. In what ways do you think your photography background has influenced your approach to writing?

Carrie Karnes-Fannin:  What a great question! I could talk all day on this topic, but I'll try to keep my answer short. LOL.

Photography taught me to play with arrangements and find joy in editing. 

When framing a picture, you compose a line for the eye to follow, leading the viewer to see the story of each image. Rick Sammon often says, "Composition is the strongest way of seeing." The choices you make as you press the shutter—where to stand, what to include in the frame, what to leave out—are all in service of creating the best story.

I've learned it's much the same in writing. 

We might say, "composition is the strongest way of telling." There are many ways we could write any story. But which point of view we choose and how close it will be, what we tell the reader, what we leave out—we use these choices to compose the most compelling story we can.

 

Little Thoughts PressYour poem, "Once A House," is a beautiful reflection on the relationship between people and the natural world. What inspired you to write this piece and what message do you hope young readers take away from it? 

Carrie Karnes-Fannin: Natalie Goldberg, the author of Writing Down the Bones, talks about drawing from our "compost," as it were while writing. While the initial spark was a photo of a centuries-old house (the writing prompt for a contest), this poem mainly grew from my childhood memories. 

As a free-range kid of the 70s and 80s, my dog and I wandered the woods frequently. We'd come across the ruins of old fallen-down houses from time to time. Even when I was a kid, I've always been fascinated by time and our place in its stream. Exploring the lonely chimneys and crumbling foundations broken apart by tree roots, I imagined who'd once lived there and the lives they'd led.

In some small way, I'd love for the poem to spark a young reader's curiosity about our connections to all the lives—human and otherwise—who came before and will come after our own. 

 

Little Thoughts Press: Issue 2: Natural Wonder is all about celebrating nature. Do you have a favorite spot in nature or a place you have visited where the wonder of nature was on full display?

Carrie Karnes-Fannin:  A year into the pandemic, we moved to the foothills of the Appalachians in northern Georgia. Beavers, flocks of geese and ducks, more turtles and fish than you can count, and one lone Great Blue Heron live on and in the small lake at the edge of our backyard. So right now, my favorite nature spot is the view out my kitchen window. It's pretty cool.

 

Little Thoughts Press: What initially drew you to writing kid-lit and what do you find most challenging and rewarding about writing for a young audience?

Carrie Karnes-Fannin: Until four or five years ago, my writing consisted of funny posts on social media, essays about family stories, and the awkward and terrible start of a historical novel. I didn't pursue writing kid-lit until an ice storm.

Trapped at home, I scrolled online, admiring pictures of my niece's new puppy. The words, "Spike the Dog-Dog was born on a cool fall day…" came and wouldn't leave. I had to get the story down to get it out of my head. 

After writing and creating cut-paper illustrations and having it all bound, picture books hooked me into writing kid-lit. I had no idea how hard picture books were back then, but I fell in love with the storytelling synergy between art and words. 

A few weeks later, I signed up for my first kid-lit writing class, led by the amazing Laurel Snyder, and I haven't stopped working on my craft since. We kid-lit creatives have the great privilege of being a part of a child's introduction to the world of stories. It's heady stuff. 

There's a real challenge in working to reenter a child's mindset and see from their perspective. But seeing through a kid's fresh eyes—that's also the reward.

 

Little Thoughts Press: Which kid-lit authors and books were your favorites growing up? 

Carrie Karnes-Fannin: S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, Scott Odell's Island of the Blue Dolphins, and Katherine Patterson's Jacob I Have Loved are three titles that immediately spring to mind. I read each multiple times!

Looking at that list now, I see a theme of longing and searching for one's place in the world running through these stories. It's incredible how such a universal experience can feel so lonely. Thank goodness we have books to help us find the way.

 

Little Thoughts Press: What advice would you give to young writers?

Carrie Karnes-Fannin: In addition to reading widely and writing like no one's watching, my advice would be to make a lot of compost. 

Get out and create as many experiences as you can. Explore other people's lives and memories by asking questions and listening to the answers. Read, write, see, do—make your life's compost pile huge. Your memories may take a few years to become rich soil for imagination, but trust they will. 

 

Little Thoughts Press: Is there anything else you wish I had asked? Any upcoming projects, publications, or other news you'd like to share? 

Carrie Karnes-Fannin: I'm currently working on several projects. One is an early middle-grade novel influenced by the absurd humor of one of my favorite books, Douglas Adams' masterpiece The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Another is a humorous picture book about a fairytale superfan frog. Gort hops off on a quixotic quest inspired by the stories he's read. Everything goes terribly wrong in all the right ways for him. I'm not sure what sort of happy ending our froggy hero might find, but I'm having fun on the journey. 


Find Carrie and more of her work on Twitter, or via her website.

Interview: Keira Legge

 
Photo of Little Thoughts Press Magical Winter with a sneak peek of the story Christmas Countdown. Issue cover has a painted winter scene with kids playing in snow and bears drinking cocoa in their den.
 

Keira Legge is 9 years old and in 5th grade. She loves reading. Her favorite books are the Justin Case Series and Case Closed Series. In school, her favorite subject is Social Studies. When she is not in school, she plays softball and karate. Keira loves to travel with her family. They went to Hawaii. That was amazing! Her goal is to go to Australia someday.

Keira’s story, “Christmas Countdown,” is part of Little Thoughts Press Issue One: Magical Winter.


Little Thoughts Press: “Christmas Countdown" has a unique structure where the story is told in small snippets for each day leading up to Christmas. It kind of reminds me of diary entries. Can you tell me about how you decided on this structure for your story? Was there anything specific that inspired you?

Keira Legge: I read a book series called Justin Case by Rachel Vail and it was written in a diary style and I loved reading it so I thought I would write my story in that same style. When I heard the 12 days of Christmas song, the idea of writing a story about the days leading up to Christmas came to me.

Little Thoughts Press: "Christmas Countdown" features a lot of wonderful holiday traditions—decorating, family photos, notes to Santa. What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?

Keira Legge: I love putting decorations around the house while listening to Christmas music. I also really enjoy driving around with my family looking at all the lights on houses and seeing different light shows. It makes it feel so magical.

Little Thoughts Press: One thing I love about writing stories is being able to imagine experiences that are different from my own, and one thing I find challenging is writing dialogue that sounds natural and realistic when spoken by kids.

What do you enjoy most about writing, and what do you find the most challenging?

Keira Legge: It is fun to create different stories, I love imagining ideas and then being able to bring them to life. It is the best. The most challenging is coming up with ideas and themes. I liked this because I was given the theme of winter which helped me figure out what to write about.

Little Thoughts Press: What are your favorite books, and/or what is the best book you've read recently?

Keira Legge: My favorite books are the Justin Case series by Rachel Vale and the Case Closed Series by Lauren Magaziner. Lauren Magaziner has inspired me to write. I have signed copies of her books and she even wrote me a letter. It was awesome!

I am currently reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and am loving it.


Little Thoughts Press: What is your favorite thing about winter?

Keira Legge: Playing in the snow with my friends. We have had some big snow storms lately and it has been so much fun building snowmen and having snowball fights.

Little Thoughts Press: What inspired you to start writing and do you have any advice for other young writers?

Keira Legge: Other than Lauren Magaziner, my mom and my teachers have inspired me to write. My mom and I worked on a picture book called The Comfy Spot together, which was published recently. My advice is that anything can be a story, it can be big or small, it can really be anything you want. You just have to write it down.

Little Thoughts Press: Is there anything else you wish I had asked?

Keira Legge: For those that don’t like to write, I want to say that it doesn’t have to be boring. You can write about anything you want, it can be about your family, your favorite game, it can be magical or completely make-believe. There is no end to the possibilities in writing, so just let your imagination go and write it down.

And thank you for having my story be a part of this. It has been such a cool experience. It was awesome to see my story published and with such amazing illustrations.

Interview: Amy Neufeld

 
Photo of Little Thoughts Press Magical Winter issue with a page open to the story Solstice. The issue cover is a painted winter scene with kids playing in snow and bears drinking cocoa in their den.
 

Amy Neufeld (she/her) has a degree in English and diploma in Theatre Arts. Amy is a contributor to Shameless Magazine and CBC Radio’s The Irrelevant Show. Amy has been published in Daily Drunk Magazine, Flash Fiction Magazine, Frazzled, and Little Old Lady Comedy, and is a member of Pat the Dog’s 2021 Women’s Room for playwrights. Amy is a knitter and a friend to animals.

Amy’s story, “Solstice” is part of Little Thoughts Press Issue One: Magical Winter.


Little Thoughts Press: In your story, "Solstice," two kids witness a magical event in celebration of the winter solstice. You've told me that you wrote this story specifically for our Magical Winter theme. Can you talk a bit about what inspired you to connect the winter solstice to the theme of magic? Do you do anything special to celebrate the solstice?

Amy Neufeld: We used to live in Edmonton, Alberta, which is quite far north, and therefore gets a lot of darkness in the winter. I heard about people who celebrate that darkness rather than bemoan it, and would have "longest night of the year" parties. We moved back to Kitchener, Ontario shortly after I learned about these parties, but I really liked that idea of celebrating the long winters, since we can't avoid them. And the longest night of the year feels like a time not only when magic could happen, but when it should happen! That's probably why so many religions and cultures have celebrations around that time. So I thought a magical solstice world where night stretched out even longer and lights made all of your winter dreams come true sounded like a pretty great place to start a story.

Interestingly, our neighbourhood builds a Reindeer Runway every year on Christmas Eve, where candles in paper bags are placed along a street to welcome Santa and his reindeer, and this year we were able to go and actually see the candle pathway just as I imagined it in my story. Talk about magic!

We haven't been able to have a party for solstice these last few years, but I make sure we get out for an evening walk to look at all the lights on the longest night of the year.

Little Thoughts Press: You have a background in theater arts and playwriting. In what ways does your performance background inform your writing? Are there similarities to how you approach your fiction and playwriting? What do you think are the biggest differences between these forms of writing?

Amy Neufeld: I think my background in theatre has helped me when it comes to writing dialogue. For a lot of plays, you have to communicate most of what's going on through dialogue, and there's a subtlety to that so characters aren't just spouts of exposition. So I think reading and performing plays has helped tune my ear to dialogue.

I approach all of my writing in basically the same way, and the first part of that is deciding which container the story goes in. Is this a novel, a play, an essay, or a short story? In terms of reading plays, I can tell when I've found a script that I really like because I can start to see it play out on the stage, and I apply that to my other writing as well. When it really comes alive in my mind, when I can see it all like a play or a movie, then I feel like I've got something interesting to work with, and that I've found the right container for the story.

I don't know that there are many differences, besides the structural ones, to writing plays versus stories for me. It's all about finding the characters' voices, making those true, honest, and specific, and letting them tell the story.

Little Thoughts Press: You also write for both adult and kid audiences. What initially drew you to writing kid lit and what do you find most challenging and rewarding about writing for a young audience compared to writing for adults?

Amy Neufeld: I started writing plays for young audiences because I formed a theatre company for that age group, and it was easier to write plays for us than to find them. I've always thought that high school is the most effortlessly dramatic time in anyone's life, and so I love it as a backdrop for a story. I'm working on a novel about seven teenagers who get lost in the woods, and their hormonal teenage state provides as much drama as their precarious situation!

You have to be sharp when writing for young audiences. They're the most honest group, and will be very blunt about what they like and don't like. With my playwriting, I learned quickly about pacing and engagement, and I think those factors are relevant in all my work. Whatever else it is, your writing has to be entertaining. There are lots of different ways that writing can be entertaining, but there has to be a payoff for the reader/audience. So that challenge of young audience's honesty is also what makes it really rewarding to write for that group.

I've also benefited from having young readers in my home. My daughters, 8 and 11, are my beta readers for my kid lit, and they let me know what they like and what they think I should change. Reading my stories to them, I can also (sneakily) watch their reactions, so I can see the parts where I lose them, and I know that's an area that needs some work.

Little Thoughts Press: Which kid lit authors and books were your favorites growing up?

Amy Neufeld: I loved, and still love, the author Gordon Korman. He writes incredible stories for and about teenagers, and uses humour so well. Read I Want To Go Home if you're looking for an introduction to his work.

I also really loved series like The Baby-Sitters Club and Sweet Valley High. It takes a lot of energy to invest in reading a book initially. You don't know the world or the characters, you're unfamiliar with the writing style, so I always find starting a new book to be a tentative experience before I get hooked. So I love a series because you get to start a new book but skip all that initial anxiety because you already know the world and the people in it.

Little Thoughts Press: What is your favorite thing about winter?

Amy Neufeld: I live in Canada, and we get a lot of snow and cold in the winter. I wish I was more interested in outdoor winter activities, and while I do enjoy tobogganing or taking a walk when it's snowing, if I'm honest, my favourite thing about winter is getting cozy under a blanket with a mug of hot tea and reading for an entire afternoon.

Little Thoughts Press: What advice would you give to young writers?

Amy Neufeld: Keep writing, and write what you like. Don't worry about what's popular or what your friends like reading - write the things that you want to read.

Get a library card, and read as much as you can by other writers. When you find a book that you really like, take a moment and think about what, specifically, you liked about it. Was the main character really relatable? Did the author use humour to navigate challenging subjects? Was there really amazing world-building that allowed you to see the landscape? These observations will start to inform and support your own writing as you get better and better through practice.

Little Thoughts Press: Is there anything else you wish I had asked? Any upcoming projects, publications, or other news you'd like to share?

Amy Neufeld: In addition to the YA novel I mentioned earlier which I'm currently revising (and looking for beta readers if anyone is interested!), I just received a grant to work on a middle grade nonfiction book about knitting, not a how-to guide, but a why-to guide, with essays from my own experience to discuss my favourite hobby.

My new play, Witches in the Woods, a re-telling of Hansel and Gretel, will be getting a staged reading in March, along with workshops. I'll post details about those events when I have them on my theatre company's Facebook page.

I'm building my website at www.amyneufeldwrites.com, and it should be live within the month. The best way to find out what I'm doing is on Twitter where I'm @AmyRNeufeld.


Interview: Melody Serra

 
Illustration of a person reclining on a couch. A brown and white dog is standing on their lap. A Christmas tree sits in the background.
 

Melody Serra is passionate about teaching and empowering others by sharing what she has learned. She started a JavaScript class at the Boys and Girls Club of Visitacion Valley and an arts and crafts program at a children's hospital. Melody hopes to inspire youth to explore and expand their creativity through web development, writing, and art.

Melody’s artwork is part of Little Thoughts Press Issue One: Magical Winter.


Little Thoughts Press: You are both a writer and an artist. In what ways are these two forms of creative expression similar for you? How does your artistic expression inform your writing and vice versa?

Melody Serra: Both forms of expression ask me to pause and reflect. These forms of expression also encourage me to ask lots of questions, such as: How does something make me feel? What did that observation make me think of or reminisce on?

Being a visual artist helps me bring in sensory descriptions when I am writing, and being a writer encourages me to think about how something makes me feel when I am bringing a painting to life.

Little Thoughts Press: Can you tell us a little bit about how you created your illustration that appears in Magical Winter? What is the medium? What is your process for moving from an image in your mind to a completed work of art?

Melody Serra: The illustration that appears in Magical Winter was created digitally using Procreate. How I create really depends on if I know what I want to draw or if I am free drawing. I will walk you through my process if I know what I want to draw: when I want to create something visual whether it's on paper or on a screen, I spend some time reflecting. What are the emotions and feelings I want to capture in this piece? That question then leads me to conceptually think about what kind of imagery may depict that emotion or feeling. I then may do some sketching before actually jumping into the piece itself.

Little Thoughts Press: Which kid lit authors and books were your favorites growing up?

Melody Serra: Growing up I was a big fan of A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh series and poems. I also loved authors like Eric Carle who used visuals in powerful ways. If I had to choose one favorite book that I could read over and over again, it would have been The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister.

Once I was reading chapter books I also really enjoyed the Harry Potter series and anything by Beverly Cleary.

Little Thoughts Press: And what about today? Any kid lit writers you love and want to shout out?

Melody Serra: A good friend of mine named Anna Doherty who is based in Cambridge, UK is a kid lit writer and illustrator. Her books are so clever, witty, fun, and beautiful.

Little Thoughts Press: What is your favorite thing about winter?

Melody Serra: I am new to New York City and my favorite thing so far about winter is the first snow of the season. There was something beautiful and magical about how the light made the snow look blue, and how families were out in Central Park with sleds.

Little Thoughts Press: What advice would you give to young writers?

Melody Serra: If you have a story to share, don't be afraid to put it out in the world. I am a firm believer that your audience will find you and that the story you're telling will have an impact on them.

Little Thoughts Press: Is there anything else you wish I had asked? Any upcoming projects, publications, or other news you'd like to share?

Melody Serra: I want to thank the young people I volunteer with through 826 National and Girls Write Now. They inspired me to start submitting my work and to put it out in the world. My work in Magical Winter is some of my first artwork ever published and that is such an honor.


You can find Melody and follow her work on Twitter.


Interview: Luree Scott

Photo of Little Thoughts Press Magical Winter issue on top of an open-page spread from the issue showing the title page for the story, The Sugar Plum Something. This issue cover has a hand painted snow scene with kids playing and bears drinking cocoa

Luree Scott is a writer and performer from San Diego, CA. She received a BA in Theatre Arts and English from the University of San Diego and is currently an MFA candidate in UCR Palm Desert's Low Residency MFA Program for Creative Writing, where she studies fiction and playwriting. Her previous works can be read in The Alcala Review and Poets' Choice.

Luree’s story, “The Sugar Plum Something,” is part of Little Thoughts Press Issue One: Magical Winter.


Little Thoughts Press: Your story, "The Sugar Plum Something" deals with complex themes about family and place through the connection between a child and a magical creature she discovers while shopping for a Christmas tree. Can you talk a bit about how this story developed? What was your initial inspiration? And what message do you hope young readers will take away from this story?

Luree Scott: The initial idea for this story came about not long after my mother and I went Christmas tree shopping during the pandemic. It was back in 2020, so it was the first year where traditions were being challenged because of health risks and overall exhaustion, and that trip to the neighborhood Michael’s for decorations was overwhelming to say the least. My mother had decided to "downsize" our tree. The big green one we put up every year wasn't going to be taken out. Instead, we were picking out a lighter tree (both in weight and color). It was pencil thin, covered in white frost (not very green at all), and just didn't look like Christmas to me. I tried to look cheerful and excited, and in some ways I was because we still got to decorate, but that change struck me at my core. I started asking myself questions like: Why does our old tree mean so much to me? Why doesn't this feel like Christmas anymore? What am I missing? So then I started writing "The Sugarplum Something" to answer those questions; to find a deeper meaning within that small, craft store experience. And to make a little more holiday cheer for myself in the process. Through the writing of that story, I reminded myself that love and family are the things that make Christmas feel right, and that anyone can be that family for you. It doesn't have to be traditional to be good. It's the love that's the good part. That's what I'd like readers to take away from it.

Little Thoughts Press: You have a background in theater and are currently studying both fiction and playwriting. In what ways does your performance background inform your writing? Are there similarities to how you approach your fiction and playwriting? What do you think are the biggest differences between these forms of writing?

Luree Scott: What my theater experience has done for me in terms of writing is allowed me to fully embody characters. To become them and understand them, even if they are wildly different or opposite to who I am as a person. I know for a fact that has helped me create unique characters in my prose, poetry, and stage plays. It's been a great help with forming dialogue too. People often say things in their own special way. The way my mother talks is completely different from the mail lady, whose voice is completely different from the manager of the Starbucks down the road, and so on. The Wicked Witch of the West has different words and ideals than Mary Poppins (and I felt that very physically and emotionally when I played these characters on stage).

Fiction and playwriting are also both very character driven. Without a main character or characters who the audience is connected to, there's not much of a story to experience. But here's the main difference I've found: In fiction, you get to describe the setting, the thoughts and feelings of the characters, and the actions to the very finest detail. In playwriting, as we've studied in my MFA program, most of what you can use is dialogue. You get a little bit of time to describe action and setting, but you're mostly focused on what your characters say. Writing in both mediums has helped me learn how action and dialogue can work together; how much or how little can be used to create different tones and plotlines. I definitely recommend writing in multiple forms and genres (especially the ones that seem the hardest for you), because that allows you to gain techniques that help all aspects of your writing.

Little Thoughts Press: What initially drew you to writing kid lit and what do you find most challenging and rewarding about writing for a young audience?

Luree Scott: This is a very interesting question for me, because I don't usually write with an audience in mind. I just write the story and trust that the audience for it will find it someday. And "The Sugar Plum Something" did find its way eventually, but in an even more fantastic way. I originally sent this to another magazine, where you, Claire, were a reader who read various submissions. I wasn't accepted into that magazine, but you told them to mention the submissions for Little Thoughts Press as a potential home for my story. So, I submitted it again to you this time, and my story found its audience in kid lit in a way I had never expected, which is in itself a true kind of magic! I feel this is important to mention for the writers who are just starting out. This experience let me know that rejection is not the end of the world, and even if some readers don't understand your story, or have a place for it yet, there is always someone out there who will.

What was challenging about writing for a young audience was how I used language. I often write with long sentences and descriptions. I can't help it sometimes. I’ve got a lot to say! So going back to make it more accessible for younger audiences involved a lot of revision, cutting, rearranging here and there, and finding ways to rephrase some ideas so they were simpler. But I loved it! Getting that awesome feedback about where to trim up my story helped me realize that I could still accomplish quite a lot with fewer words. The rewards for writing for a younger audience are many, but I think my favorite is that it can inspire their imagination, and encourage them to see the world in different, even impossible ways. Reading when I was young inspired me to become a writer myself and make up my own stories.

Little Thoughts Press: Which kid lit authors and books were your favorites growing up?

Luree Scott: I had so many authors and books when I was young that truly ignited my passion for a good story. Some of my favorites are The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, Coraline by Neil Gaiman, the Avalon: Web of Magic series by Rachel Roberts, and Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George.

Little Thoughts Press: What is your favorite thing about winter?

Luree Scott: That's so tough! The long sweaters and blankets, and hot tea, and Christmas movies are all so much fun and comforting. But I have to say, I really do love wrapping and gifting presents. It feels like making little reminders for everyone in your life of how much they mean to you. The smiles and laughter when you exchange them can't be beat. And you get some reminders yourself of how much you mean to others in return. Yeah, gift giving is pretty special.

Little Thoughts Press: What advice would you give to young writers?

Luree Scott: To all the young writers out there, I give you permission to write what you want to write, not what other people want you to write. You may look at your story and think it's too silly, too weird, too fantastical, too realistic, too anything. It's not. Like I've said before in this interview, there is going to be someone out there that loves your story and believes in it, just like there are people who love and believe in you. Take it from someone who has a published story about a tree-elf-gremlin-creature in a fake Christmas tree. No story is off limits. What matters is that it makes you happy and means something special to you.

Little Thoughts Press: Is there anything else you wish I had asked? Any upcoming projects, publications, or other news you'd like to share?

Luree Scott: These questions were so thoughtful and well said. I can't possibly think of another that could have been asked. Thank you for the opportunity to talk about my work and process! I'm just back in school now and hope to graduate from UCR Palm Desert's Low Residency MFA program in the Fall of 2022! I also usually share updates on my publications on Twitter when they come out, so if anyone is interested, I'm over there at @luree_s.

Interview: Sheila Schmotzer

Photo of Little Thoughts Press Magical Winter with an open page spread featuring The Snow Ballet. The issue cover is a handprinted snow scene with kids playing and bears drinking cocoa by the fire in their den.

Sheila Schmotzer is a former dance studio owner and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance. Currently, she works as a flight attendant with a major US airline. She resides in South Carolina and is based out of Orlando, Florida. Sheila is a member of the World Animal Foundation. She enjoys volunteering at her local wildlife refuge center and traveling. An IMDb member, Sheila has appeared in Netflix’s The Do Over, as well as in the feature films Magic Mike XXL and Baywatch.

Sheila’s story, “The Snow Ballet,” is part of Little Thoughts Press Issue One: Magical Winter.


Little Thoughts Press: You are a former dancer and dance instructor, and this background is on full display in your story, "The Snow Ballet." I think of both dance/movement and writing as forms of creative expression. What similarities have you found between these modes of expression, and how does your dance background inform your writing and your approach to storytelling?

Sheila Schmotzer: You are right, they are very similar expressions. I loved teaching ballet and I loved making up dances. Choreography is setting every move up to where it fits with the music, feels good, paints a visual picture onstage, and moves the audience in some way. Writing is exactly the same. Every word, phrase, and line must be sequenced in the best way possible to engage the reader. To me, writing is the choreography of words.

Little Thoughts Press: What initially drew you to writing kid lit and what do you find most challenging and rewarding about writing for a young audience?

Sheila Schmotzer: Around 5 years ago, I changed careers and went from owning a dance studio to becoming a flight attendant. So I went from the nonstop creativity of choreography, music editing, designing costumes and websites, and putting together recitals… to a new nonstop life revolving around a company schedule, commuting across the country to go to work, weather, following protocols, learning every part of a plane, hustling through airports, and unpredictable rest/sleep stages. My creative side was ready to explode. I found writing (especially on red-eyes) to be engrossing and a FUN way to let it out.

Little Thoughts Press: Which kid lit authors and books were your favorites growing up?

Sheila Schmotzer: P. D. Eastman

Little Thoughts Press: And what about today? Any kid lit writers you love and want to shout-out?

Sheila Schmotzer: I wish I could write like Mo Willems. His simple style gives his audience humor and impact. His stories get away with absurd and funny things while in reality, giving kids little tools to deal with situations without them knowing it.

Little Thoughts Press: What is your favorite thing about winter?

Sheila Schmotzer: SNOW. I have an interesting story from the moment I knew I must write a picture book. It was in the snow outside an airport at 2 in the morning. The temperature was 8 degrees and snow completely covered the sidewalk. It was then I spied a tiny little mouse, scurrying about in the thick heaps of snow. I was totally fascinated and intrigued by this little creature and his plight. A year and a half later, driving into the same lot, I mentioned the little mouse and someone said to me that he sneaks into the doors and hides in a vending machine. That’s when I knew I had my first story. That magical meeting with that little mouse in the snow is what inspired me to become a writer.

Little Thoughts Press: What advice would you give to young writers?

Sheila Schmotzer: Surround yourself with people that you can bounce ideas off of frequently. Enjoy the ride.

You can follow Sheila’s work on Twitter, Instagram, or on her website.