Ask the Author: Susan Schaefer Bernardo
Answered Questions (5)
Susan Schaefer Bernardo
SO MANY THINGS! Launching The Big Adventures of Tiny House on April 25 (and then doing a book book tour at lots of tiny house festivals this summer!), finishing revising and then indie publishing my first YA novel, writing sequels to the YA novel, developing a picture book set in Italy, revising and producing a picture book biography about an artist, and writing some guest posts for blogs. It's a fertile frenzy inside my brain!
Susan Schaefer Bernardo
Keep writing - and also keep living your best life! Every experience - good and bad - feeds your imagination. I published my first children's book at age 45. Before that, I worked in public relations, as a teacher, for a television producer, at a produce store, and raised two kids. Along the way, I met a ton of interesting people, saw a lot of the world, kept lots of journals and did all kinds of writing, from newsletters to grant proposals to poetry.
Susan Schaefer Bernardo
I am about to release a picture book called The Big Adventures of Tiny House, which was inspired by the tiny house movement. I was particularly inspired by a couple who built their own house on wheels and have traveled over 20,000 miles around America filming a documentary house. Seeing their adorable house really sparked my imagination! They used a lot of repurposed materials in their house - wood from an old farmhouse and trees knocked down in a tornado in North Carolina - and those seemed like really good metaphors for making lemonade when life hands you lemons! The concepts of minimalism, sustainable living and downsizing in order to live a really BIG life - all of these seemed so relevant in today's hectic world. And there are so many ways to live Tiny - it was easy to populate the picture book with interesting, quirky characters like Buster the Skoolie and Waverly the Houseboat.
Susan Schaefer Bernardo
Everything :) Seriously, one of my favorite things about being a writer is keeping my creative well filled. I love traveling, going to museums, doing art, tidepooling and getting out into nature, trying new activities. I love that it is my JOB to stay inspired and seek out interesting experiences. A picture book I am working on now, for example, was inspired by a trip to Paris, where I spotted a little bronze cat in the window of an antique store and asked more about the artist. I am choosing to set my books in places that I want to visit, so that I have another reason to go - research! A few years ago, I took glassblowing classes so that I could add realistic details about a character in my upcoming YA novel Inspired.
Another thing that I love about writing children's books is doing school visits to share my work with kids and teachers. I LOVE that!
Another thing that I love about writing children's books is doing school visits to share my work with kids and teachers. I LOVE that!
Susan Schaefer Bernardo
I am not the most disciplined of writers, and do not have a set schedule for writing. I tend to work in creative bursts (I love NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month - for that inspiring frenzied month of churning out a draft of a novel!). If the words aren't flowing, I will usually do something physical that allows my mind to wander, such as sculpting, gardening or ecstatic dance - and always keep a journal handy to scribble ideas if they pop up from my sub-conscious.
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