I like the fun side of Halloween---scarecrows, hayrides, trick-or-treating. I wanted to capture some of that fun in my poetry.
I try to be considerate of other people’s feelings and beliefs, and I know that while many people like Halloween, many others do not. For many, it goes against their faith to celebrate Halloween. Out of respect, I didn’t want to put my faith poems in the same book as my Halloween poems. Some of my children’s poetry expresses my Christian faith. Rather than creating a book of children’s poems that had both, I chose to publish the Halloween poems on their own.
You describe "In The Spirit of Halloween..." as a "chapbook of poetry." Please define "chapbook."
A chapbook is a collection of 30 poems or less, each pertaining to a specific theme and starting on a separate page, and written by the same author.
A chapbook can be handmade or printed (like my book). It can be elaborate, with artwork and a decorative cover, it can be the standard printed and bound (like my book), or it can simple, with its pages sewn or stapled together. It can be a one-of-a-kind treasure or a mass-produced pamphlet-style giveaway.
The poems in "In the Spirit of Halloween..." are fun for kids and evoke memories for older readers and adults. Do they reflect your memories of Halloween as a child? What are some of your memories of Halloween?
The first Halloween I remember is when I was 7 or 8 years old. We lived in Middletown at the time. As soon as I got home from school that day, my sister shoved something into my hands and said, “Put this on. It’s Halloween, and mom said I had to make costumes and take you guys trick-or-treating.” I didn’t even know it was trick-or-treat night, but I did as I was told. My sister, who was 10 or 11 at the time, had taken stuff from around the house and quickly turned us into trick-or-treaters. My brother was a hobo. I think she turned me into an old lady, using our mom’s coat and a hat. I don’t remember what she wore, but I’m sure it was something clever.
I remember the spooky feel of a dark, cold, windy night, going door-to-door, getting candy in a pillowcase, the leaves rustling in that scary way they do when you’re on a dark street with shadows lurking around every corner. When we got home, our pillowcases full, we dumped them out onto the floor and marveled at all the candy. (We didn’t get candy often, so Halloween really was a big treat for us. And candy bars really were a lot bigger then than they are now.)
“Monster Under My Bed” was definitely inspired by my childhood. My sister and I shared a bedroom, and one night she said we had to start taking turns turning out the light and that it was my turn. She jumped into her bed, and just as I was ready to hit the switch, she let me know that there was a monster under my bed and I had to get into the bed before the light went out or it would get me. Of course, my bed was on the other side of the room, so there was a real risk of me not making it. That monster never got me, and I never saw him, but I was scared of him nonetheless. I still sleep with my covers pulled up to my chin…just in case.
As you can probably tell, my sister literally and figuratively made Halloween for me when I was a kid.
How do you observe Halloween now?
We keep it simple. We hang our Walmart scarecrows on the porch and put out a couple of small autumn decorations inside the house. A lot of our neighbors put Halloween decorations in their yards, so my husband and I walk or drive around our neighborhood and admire their creativity. Sometimes we seek out a hayride or a haunted house.
On Halloween, I dress up and hand out candy to the kids when they come knocking and tell them how cute their costumes are. Then my husband and I watch Charlie Brown on TV.
This year, I’ll be reading my Halloween poems to students in a Pennsylvania school via live chat. I’m excited about that. It will be a new experience for me and an opportunity to share my poems with kids.
One could detect a poignancy about "Altered -- Lamentations of a Jack-O-Lantern," "The Ghost of a Snowman" and "Monster Sleepover." What prompted you to write them and what did you want your readers to take away from them?
“Altered” is written from the perspective of a jack-o-lantern. Younger children might not understand that poem, but older children might experience some empathy as they read it. They might find it darkly humorous to see from the perspective of a jack-o-lantern. They might get inspired to write a poem that looks like something other than what it is about.
“The Ghost of a Snowman” falls into the category of quirky. Kids like quirky poems and quirky jokes. Instead of using the phrase “lost his head” metaphorically, as would be the norm in poetry, I used it literally. It’s always a bit sad to see the snowmen melt when the sun comes out and the temperature rises, but who knows, maybe on Halloween, the ghost of last winter’s snowman will drop by for a visit…
“Monster Sleepover” isn’t just for Halloween, but I included it because monsters play a part in Halloween and some kids might get scared, seeing scary costumes and being out in the dark. Whether it’s Halloween or not, kids have monsters in common. Monsters keep us up at night. They follow us into adulthood. We have to look those monsters in the face and let them know who’s boss.
“Monster Sleepover” started out as a very spooky poem, not a poem for children. It was more about our fears. My fears. The irrational ones. As I wrote, the poem evolved into a bedtime story and a story of empowerment. At least, that’s how I read it. I hope children will get that out of it too. I want it to help take that fear away. Monsters are bullies. If you understand your bully’s weaknesses, you can take your power back.
The back cover of "In The Spirit Of Halloween" states you "never outgrew" your "love of children's books." What were your favorite children's books as a child and what about them appealed to you? Who were your favorite children's authors? Did any of them influence your writing?
There were always books in our house. Mother Goose nursery rhymes were my introduction to poetry, and like most little girls, I liked books about puppies, kittens, fairies, and princesses. I still do. I have a tendency to fall into the sweet innocence of fairy tales and animals when I write.
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore stands out in my memory. The whole idea of catching a glimpse of Santa Claus was magical to me. I have several copies in my collection of Christmas books. Not only did the story captivate me as a child, but I appreciate it as a writer, as well. The verses are well-written. The story is tight. The action and the imagery contained in the words bring it all to life. The poem lends itself easily to being illustrated. I would love to write something that magical, something that can touch so many and can stand the test of time.
Another book that stands out in my memory is Tom Sawyer. I read it when was in middle school and I identified with that book on a soul level. I don’t know why, but it felt like home and love to me. I can’t swim and I’m afraid of water, but I went rafting in the safety of that book. I was with them on that river. When we moved from Kentucky to Ohio, I was 7. The rest of my family dropped their accents off at the bridge, but I kept mine. The characters in the book had a southern accent, like I did. My accent has evolved over the years, but I still have it. Like Mark Twain, I throw a little southern dialect and some of that down home culture into my poetry sometimes.
Please describe your other works: "A Bit of Tickle For the Mind -- Poetry" and "Tickling God's Toes : Poetry." Who is your audience for each one?
Both collections include poetry in a variety of topics, styles, and lengths, and most of the poems are positive and easy to understand on the first read, but neither collection has a theme per se. Some poems are serious; others have humor or irony. Some are realistic; some are fanciful. There isn’t one poem I can give as an example of the whole collection, for either book. Varied. Positive. Pondering. Encouraging. Those are some of the words I would use to describe the poems.
The audience for both A Bit of Tickle for the Mind and Tickling God’s Toes would be around age 9 – adult. Of course, not every poem will appeal to every person; that’s the nature of poetry. The nice thing about a poetry book is you can skip around until you find a poem you like.
The audience for In the Spirit of Halloween would be elementary and middle-grade children.
About the nuts-and-bolts of writing.....
Do you have a writing routine? A special place, time to write? A certain method -- longhand or laptop?
Sometimes I write on my laptop, but I often write in an artist’s sketchpad.
I don’t have a set time to write. When an idea pops into my head, I try to jot it down right away so I won’t forget it. If I can work on the poem then, I will.
Some writers can write on command or they can select a topic and write about it. I don’t write like that. I have to wait for inspiration to come to me. Sometimes I get almost the whole poem, but usually it’s just a thought, a line, or a word. God gives me the seeds to work with. When I try to go it on my own, I get weeds. When I wait for the seeds, I get a garden of fragrant flowers.
You self-published "In The Spirit of Halloween." Did you do the same for your books listed above? In general what does self-publishing entail?
I self-published all three of my books. I used Create Space for my first book. Create Space is now part of Amazon KDP, which is who I used for the other two.
For novels and chapter books, there are templates you can use, which makes setup and consistency easier. Poetry, however, doesn’t follow a set format, so it has presented obstacles for creating a template. You have to do the formatting and layout yourself. Regardless of which company you choose, you should become familiar with the specific book formatting requirements of that company.
I would advise anyone who is interested in self-publishing to also research how to properly format a Word document for the purpose of publishing a book or an e-book before they start writing. There are many pesky habits that can make a mess of your book, for example double-spacing between sentences. That’s a big no-no.
You can create your own cover and purchase an ISBN, if you like. I chose to use the free options offered by the company.
Order a copy of your book before you go live. Your book may look good on the computer, but not in print. You’ll want to fix any problems before customers purchase your book.
Once you go live, it takes a couple of days for your book to show up on Amazon. You can opt for a future date and get pre-orders. I didn’t do that.
KDP is a print on demand publisher. With print on demand, you don’t have to order any books. When a customer orders a book, the customer pays for the book and the book is printed and mailed to the customer. If you choose to purchase copies, you can. Author copies are the same quality as customer copies, but you get them at cost.
Finally, as a published author, what overall advice would you give to prospective writers?
Write. That book isn’t going to write itself.
Start where you are. With practice, your skills will improve.
Study the craft. Know when to follow the rules. Know when to break the rules. Make some rules of your own.
Stop comparing yourself to others.
Write without censoring yourself. You don’t have to show your writing to anyone.
You don’t have to be published to be a writer. If you write, you are a writer.
Be brutal with your revisions. Be willing to let go of the phrases you love. Don’t let those jewels ruin your story.
Consider getting an editor. Seriously.
Don’t quit your day job. Most writers DO NOT make a living at writing.
Some writers do make a living at writing. I hope you get to be one of them.
If you’ve already written your book, and you want to publish, what are you waiting for? Here’s your invitation.
If you choose to try the traditional publishing houses, do your research. Find the best fit for your book and follow their submission requirements. And then you wait.
If you’re going to self-publish, you are the publisher…send yourself an acceptance letter and get to publishing!
