This Old Band feature on The Storyteller's Inkpot

Today I'm honored to be interviewed by Hamline Master of Fine Arts in writing for Children faculty member Marsha Qualey at The Storyteller’s Inkpot.

I love my Hamline MFAC community!

Here is an excerpt:

1. Please describe the book.

In THIS OLD BAND, a ragtag band of cowboys and a cowgirl dance, play their instruments, and make noise out on the open range while they count down from ten to one all day and night to the tune of a familiar folk song.

2. As the story progressed from inception to copy-edited version, what were the major changes?

This was always a counting concept book that featured rugged westerners, but initially I envisioned a story that included a duel. After many attempts and rewrites over a number of years, it became clear to me that these characters did not want to fight; they wanted to play!

How did those changes come about?

I started to think harder about concept books, what made them work, and what I had loved to sing or chant when I was young...

This Old Band at Writer, Writer, Pants On Fire!

Today Mindy McGinnis helps me kick off my This Old Band tour by hosting me for a Successful Author Talk at her blog: Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire! Mindy is one of my Class of 2k13 classmates, and is one of the most successful writer bloggers that I know. She's also the talented author of NOT A DROP TO DRINK and the upcoming IN A HANDFUL OF DUST.

Here is an interview excerpt:

Are you a Planner or Pantster?

Most of my writing begins as one tiny nugget of an idea scribbled on a sticky note or receipt, so I definitely start out as a pantster. If an idea grabs hold of my imagination and won’t let go, then I begin to flesh it out, still by the seat of my pants, though, and often in my head. Sometimes that phase will last for days or even months depending on the project, and I make sure to jot down those ideas as they come. At some point, though, from the very shortest picture books to longer verse novels, I have to step back and ask what I’m doing and how I might make this lovely mess of ideas into a story or a poem that could hang together and actually become a book. That’s when my writing becomes more planful.

Click on one of the BIG BLACK CATS below to be whisked away to the full interview. Thank you for hosting me at Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire!, Mindy!