Today's muse: Rachelle Rogers Knight
Author of: Read, Remember, Recommend for Teens
(Part II of Traveling to Teens book tour)
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Bookworm: Welcome, Rachelle! To start, what was the inspiration behind Read, Remember, Recommend?
Rachelle: My inspiration for creating the journal came from a cluttered purse full of reading suggestions on scraps of paper--a lot of which were books I learned about from following award and notable lists. When I set out to buy a journal to keep these suggestions organized, nothing existed that provided the awards and notable lists nor places to keep track of everything I wanted to buy and recommend to others. In addition, as a book club member, I was always looking for ways to keep my thoughts and discussion points about reading available for discussing. The Read, Remember, Recommend journal was the marriage of both needs.
Bookworm: Did you enjoy reading as a teenager?
Rachelle: Yes! When my sister and I were 15 (we are twins) and had a whole boring summer ahead of us, my mom had a great idea to help entertain us (both of my parents worked fulltime). She took us to our local bookstore once a week and would buy us anything we promised we would read. That summer I discovered Stephen King. Now, I would not advocate King for most 15 year olds, and my two little boys will not be introduced to him (by me) until they are 25 (hehe), but I was hooked. My sister, who chose teen romances, and I would sit on our patio for hours, completely absorbed. She, lost in a western with a teen heroine, and me scared out of my seat by a clown in It. For a budding reader, it doesn't get any better than lots of time and lots of books!
Bookworm: How long did it take you to put the book together and become published?
Rachelle: The first edition of my fiction journal took me almost a year to complete. I published for the first time through a publishing company I started called Bibliopages. The first journal was released in 2007. My teen journal was also published by Bibliopages in 2008. I signed on with Sourcebooks early last year (2009) and new editions of both journals were released April 1, 2010. So, the journey from my idea to being a published author with a national publishing company has taken three years. What a fun, crazy adventure it has been!
Bookworm: What was the last book you read and loved?
Rachelle: The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle. Even though this is an adult fiction book, I think it would be a great read for older teens.
Bookworm: How do you keep track of all the books that you read?
Rachelle: With my journals. Even if I don't write a journal section about each book, I always mark the author, title, and dates. Otherwise, I wouldn't remember what I read last week!
Bookworm: What is your one top for teens who want to be authors?
Rachelle: Get as much feedback as possible without dashing your enthusiasm. On the internet, there are a lot of sites dedicated and focused on helping teen writers. In addition, many offer avenues for them to show their work and get their work critiqued. Take advantage of these. I think it is hard at first to take any sort of criticism on something you have created. Start slow with introducing your writing to others until you are comfortable with not only sharing, but can accept comments without them affecting how you feel about your work. Newly forming ideas are fragile and until they are solid, can easily be squelched if you aren't prepared for any feedback that isn't stellar.
Bookworm: What do you enjoy when you're not reading and writing?
Rachelle: I love to go out to dinner (can that be a hobby?), garden, travel, bird watch, go to movies with my husband, and walk my big, sloppy dogs.
Bookworm: What can't you leave the house without?
Rachelle: My kids! I have 3 and 5 year old little boys who are with me continually. I feel lost without them!
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Thanks so much, Rachelle!
Visit Rachelle online here at her website Bibliobabe
Enter to win a copy of Read, Remember, Recommend for Teens here!
(Learn more about Traveling to Teens here)
2 comments:
HI, I visited your blog via Bibliobabe. I have fallen in love with her journals. so helpful. You have a great assortment of books reviewed. Thanks for sharing your comments.
That's a great interview, I enjoyed reading all of Rachelle's answers especially the question on what she wouldn't leave her home without! That's so cute.
I have the reading journal by her and would really like to get the teen version too! :)
Here is my review of her amazing journal. Thanks!
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