Mia and Nattie One Great Team : Children's Picture Book by Marlene M. Bell ➱ Book Tour with Giveaway
Mia and Nattie EXCERPT
Tiny Nattie studied the
ways of older sheep.
She ate grass and tasty
weeds.
She ate grain and hay
and drank water instead of milk.
But Nattie would never
be big enough to live with the rest of the flock.
She was too small to
raise babies of her own.
“Your lamb needs a
home,” Grandma said to Mia.
“She has one! Please let
me keep her.” Mia hugged Nattie’s neck.
Mia squinted back tears before
they fell on Nattie’s wool.
“A neighbor wants to buy her,” Grandma said, then spun around and
walked to the barn in silence.
Mia had to find a way
for Nattie to stay.
How do you research your books?
I rarely use
the internet for book information unless I find a picture of the place I’m
writing about. In most cases, I purchase coffee table travel books from people
who have actually been to the location, and read their accounts to help with my
writing.
Was Nattie a hard character to write
about?
Because
Natalie lived with us both inside and outside the house, I knew her character
well prior to starting the children’s book. She was a sheep, yet she thought
she was a person because I raised her, not her natural mother. This made it
difficult for Natalie to blend in with the other sheep, just like in the book.
She never felt like she belonged with her own kind.
Where do you get inspiration for
your stories?
My stories
come from personal experiences. Whether it’s raising sheep, or the people I’ve
met along the way, the most interesting occurrences might become an anecdote or
a subplot in one of my books or novels. In the case of Mia and Nattie, I used myself as the Mia character, Grandma
characterized my husband, and Nattie played herself!
How long have you been writing?
My writing
journey began in 2007 when I wrote a non-fiction book about raising sheep for
our 4H club. That first book was more of an experiment to see if I enjoyed
writing. In 2010 I decided to jump in with both feet to learn how to write
fiction. I found fiction much harder because my imagination had to work
overtime, and readers expect certain things from the romance and mystery
genres. By the time I had the idea to create a children’s book and had located
an illustrator for the job, I had to learn children’s writing all over again.
What is your next writing project?
I have some
ideas for new children’s books that feature our Nattie because Mia and Nattie One Great Team! has become a popular gift for parents, grandparents
and kids too! I’m having trouble choosing children’s themes to write about
because I don’t have kids of my own to teach me the subject matter. I’d love to hear from you if there’s
a favorite subject that should be written about to help children grow in their
teenage years to adulthood. There are many books that fall short when it comes
to right and wrong and learning solid life lessons. I grew up with
moral-to-the-story books with happy endings, and these kinds of books seem to
be lacking in the current marketplace. Send me your kids’ book ideas in the
comments section for this post.
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