Actually, if you are in central Alberta on Sunday 16th June, you will find me at the Fort Saskatchewan Public Library. They are holding a Local Author Fair from 1:30 pm-4:30 pm. I, along with several other authors, will be tabling our books for sale and giving author readings and talks throughout the day, including some perfect for children and families. The event and parking are FREE. Address: 10005 102 St, Fort Saskatchewan, AB T8L 2C5
I will have all my books available and will be reading from Ockleberries to the Rescue at 2:00 pm in the Program room. Come and listen to the tale of two magical sprites helping their forest animal friends.
Hope to see you there and I’m happy to sign every book.
When I write, I use places I have visited, or know well, for the setting of my narratives. While others are purely conjured up in my imagination.
For example, for my YA adventure novella, Creature Hunt on Planet Toaria, the planet Toaria is completely my creation, with its two moons, the strange trees, lit pathways and robotic companions. However, the initial idea came from a large mullein plant, I spotted on a road trip many years ago. As you can see below.
This tall plant morphed into a creature invading the planet giving my four youthful character’s the adventure of tracking it down. The robotic companions are similar to pill bugs, but obviously made of a metal. These little creatures are a favourite to play with.
In my other YA novella, Clickety Click, I used a mixture of English countryside and Canadian mountains as the landscape for my metamorphosing heroine, Alice.
You have probably guessed my children’s chapter book, Ockleberries to the Rescue is set in an English forest. I was lucky enough to grow up in the countryside with a forestry, a large common and country lanes to play in. Fairies, elves, gnomes and the like are a part of my heritage, so it was easy to write about my magical woodland sprites, Crispin and Tansy and the forest animals friends.
As spring arrives eventually in Alberta, we look to the signs of spring. Animals emerge from hibernation, green shoots are foraged and the green blush of new leaves makes the landscape so much more pleasant to look at.
As many of you know I wrote a children’s chapter book to educate, as well as inspire and generate fun. Ockleberries to the Rescue centers around two magical sprites helping their forest animal friends. Each chapter is the adventure of a different animal, or the sprites themselves. Easy to read independently or as a bedtime/vacation traveling story.
To accompany reading the book I created this word search to add to the fun. Feel free to use it.
You have written many novels, and most are time travel or sci-fi – what drew you to this specific type of genre?
The easiest answer to this is to say that I was inspired by my love for Back to the Future that I saw at the drive-in theater with my parents in 1985. It is my all-time favourite movie and gave me my love of time travel, which also extended to science fiction in general.
Do your story ideas come easily, or do they develop over time?
Some of them come easy while others take quite a bit of time. Initial ideas come pretty easy. I’ll hear somebody say something or I’ll be listening to a song and that sparks an idea. My ideas come from many different places. It seems I always have ideas coming. I have a list for NaNoWriMo up until 2028.
What is your writing process?
I usually just sit down and write. I’ll come up with an idea and I may take a few notes, but I don’t do a lot of plotting. I prefer to just write and figure things out in editing.
Do you have future projects pending?
I have two projects in editing right now and another one ready for editing, but I’m honestly not sure what I’m doing with that one. I also have the previous year’s NaNoWriMo project that needs to be completed. I unfortunately did not meet my goal.
You are attending a book fair event on 24th September, can you tell us about it?
Yes. Words in the Park is held in Sherwood Park in the Strathcona Community Center’s Agora Room from 9 am – 4 pm on Saturday. I’m really looking forward to it. This is the first live event for Words in the Park that we’ve had for 2 years. There are going to be around 30 artisans, and authors in attendance. There is going to be lots to do for all ages.
Tell us a little about your most recent published books?
Virtual Age
What inspired your novel Virtual Age?
I’ve always liked the idea of virtual reality. I can’t think of any one thing that inspired the idea. As for the title, I came up with that at work. I work as a commercial pipe insulator and I remember being on a job and I had to wait for material as it hadn’t been delivered yet. As I was waiting, I took notes on the different ages from history – dark ages, iron age, computer age, etc. – and I ended up using that list in the book.
Do you think this format could become real?
I wouldn’t be surprised. I hope it doesn’t come to the point where it becomes a necessity for survival as the world dies but, as far as the technology is concerned, we are becoming more and more advanced as the years go on. Today VR is impressively advanced; maybe one day we’ll get to step into these computer worlds rather than just have images coming at you.
Would there be dangers to being immersed in such a ‘world’?
I could only imagine the dangers that would be involved with immersing your mind into a computer. I included some of the dangers, in my novel, I figured would be relevant in this scenario.
Does your narrative have a message for your readers?
In most of my books I include the message of acceptance and trust – accepting people for who they are and trusting people until they give you a real reason not to. Don’t judge someone before you get to know them.
Last Stop
When did this story idea come to you?
I’ve had this idea for years. I don’t know exactly when I came up with it. All I know is I heard the Journey song Don’t Stop Believing. There’s a line in the song about a couple meeting on a midnight train. I loved that idea and it spawned from there.
Do you believe in ghosts?
I am intrigued by the idea of ghosts. I have not had any experiences with ghosts and am kind of skeptical. I think if something has happened or were to happen, I would try to explain it away logically. Though, I hope there is something out there.
Why did you base the novel in Edmonton’s LRT system?
I based the novel in Edmonton because I love where I live and, because I live here, it’s easier to write what you know. I chose the LRT system because it perfectly met with my initial inspiration of the couple meeting on a midnight train.
Hello Baby, Nice to Meet You!
Why did you write this story?
I have always wanted to write a children’s book. I have had other ideas in my head in the past but then, when my sister announced she was pregnant, I had an idea to write a book for her child. The title of the story was going to be for a very different story. In that one it was going to be about a father trying to get to the hospital in time to see his wife have his baby. I chose to change the idea as I thought a book about animals would appeal more to kids.
Did you base the characters and location on personal experience?
It’s not about anyone or any place in particular. I did grow up on a farm but, by the time I came around, my parents had gotten rid of most of the animals. We did have cats, a rabbit at one point, and a bunch of laying chickens. I wanted to expand a little bit on what I knew, and chose the animals for the book that would be different enough from each other to be interesting. I could have done more, but I needed to draw a line somewhere.
What advantages does this story have for parents as well as children?
For parents it’s easy to read and there really aren’t a lot of pages, so if their child has a short attention span it’s great for that. For kids I included bits of trivia for them to learn from. Also, the kids will enjoy the brightly coloured illustrations of the fun animals and their young.
Who was the illustrator?
I illustrated it. This is the second full-coloured illustrated kids book I illustrated, but this is the first one I had both written and illustrated.
Mandy Eve-Barnett's Blog for Readers & Writers 