About The Book: Ordinary tween life turns upside down when Ancient Egypt intrudes on modern middle school life. Twelve year old Sara Guadalupe Bogus reads about adventures, but unexpectedly is drawn into one when a mystical emerald ring that once belonged to Cleopatra becomes stuck on her finger.A series of burglaries spook Sara’s small Ohio hometown. Concluding that the root of all the crimes is the emerald ring, Sara realizes it’s up to her and her friends, Heidi and African exchange student Kainu, to save the town and protect Cleopatra’s legacy. Filled with magic, the ring thrusts Sara into a world filled with nightmares, allows her to shape shift into an Egyptian cat and battle assassins.Today Dorine White is here for her blog tour for her debut middle grade fantasy, The Emerald Ring.
1) Why do you write for children? I like children's books because they are so full of whimsy. Children are at an age where they can imagine anything is real. I am able to weave in great fantasy and unlikely adventures into my stories.
2) Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you became a writer. Well, I am a stay at home mom of 6 awesome kids. The oldest is a senior and the youngest is in pre-school. I have always loved writing and was the editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper. Writing books just seemed to come naturally and it was something that I didn't mind spending time on. Of course, it is a little hard to find time to write, so I tend to do it in spurts.
3) What was the inspiration for The Emerald Ring? My love of culture and fantasy. I studied Humanities in college and like to mix fun history with adventure.
4) Tell us about your process. I'm one of those weird writers who doesn't write everyday. I think it's adult ADD or something lol. I write in spurts, filling up pages and then setting it aside for awhile.
5) What does a typical writing day look like? I have no typical writing day. It's mostly finding time at night after the kids have done their homework.
6) Where is your favorite place to write? I have a desktop in the living room. It's easiest for me to write there so that I can keep an eye on the kids at the same time.
7) What did or do you find most challenging in creating the story and/or getting it published? What do you wish you would have known? The most challenging thing is the amount of time it takes to get published. It took me over 8 years.
8) What is the best writing advice you have ever received? Write what you love.
9) Are you working on a new project? Can you tell us about it? Yes, I am working on a YA fantasy novel that involves an evil tyrant and his flesh eating griffin.
10) What advice would you give others that write for children? Read! I find that people sometimes try to write for children, but rarely ever read the children's books that are out there. Read what you write.
Connect with Dorine:
Author Website- http://www.dorinewhite.com/
Blog- The Write Path- http://www.dorinewhite.blogspot.com/
Twitter @Dorinewhite- https://twitter.com/DorineWhite
Facebook Author Page- https://www.facebook.com/dorinewhite
Six kids! How can she ever find time to write? Good for her. Thanks for an interesting interview and for telling me about The Emerald Ring.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this interview so much. I'm a writer who writes "in spurts" too, although I'm trying to be more regular about it. I loved two of her pieces of advice especially: Write what you love. Read what you write.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the enjoyable interview. Your questions brought out some very insightful comments about writing and publishing. It's certainly a long road and one we keep traveling because of our love for writing.
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