Interview with author Jeannie Meekins
Author of over 65 children's books, Jeannie Meekins let us in her imaginative mind and talks about her inspirations, her writing process, and her future projects!
“Don’t you see? That’s why you are here.”
Jack shook his head. “No, I don’t see.”
“Then I’ll prove it... Where’s my Book. Bring The Book!” the King ordered.
A boy, a crystal and a world out of balance.
Jack finds himself trapped in the fantasy world of Drac; a world of magic, dragons, and evil doings. The world is dying. The Talisman, which stores the elemental virtues of the races and keeps the world in balance, has gone. A prophecy has been set in motion and will be fulfilled, one way or the other.
Jack has been brought there to save the world. While travelling the lands, he begins to realise that good and evil are not so clearly defined, and all the people need to unite to save their world.
In this first part of the adventure, Jack meets the mysterious Clubs, learns of the prophecy and sets off to find the first element.
Name:
Jeannie Meekins
Title of most recent book:
Into the Land of Clubs
This is actually book one of a longer book, The Virtues of Drac.
What started out as a fantasy adventure for younger kids (8+ years) ended up over 100K words. I got lots of positive feedback from traditional publishers, but no one actually willing to take a chance on it. Late last year, I decided that, as well as the full version, I’d break it into three books.
All four will be out before the end of the year.
What inspired you to write this book?
My kids. My son gave me the original idea. He’s given me a few ideas over the years. My daughter kept me going. She was always interested; always wanting to know what Jack was up to in his adventure.
What do you like the most/least about writing?
I love the creativity. The ability to sit down with a pen and paper (my computer is for typing) and get on a roll. I write chronologically, so I know how something starts, some major plot points and how it ends. The rest just happens. Quite often my characters run away with the plot and go places I hadn’t planned or thought of. To me, it means that they are alive and not just going through the motions of the plot.
Least? With the non-fiction, it would have to be the research. So much research, and a lot of it the same – sometimes word for word.
How important is doing research for writing your books?
That depends entirely on the book. Much of my fiction has no research. With the works that need a proper basis in reality, such as sci/fi, I make sure the facts hold together to give a proper grounding, and then let it fly.
If you get the grounding right, then the suspension of disbelief has a better hold on the reader.
Non-fiction must be accurate. There is a vast amount of inaccuracy in the world of non-fiction. If I can’t find at least two different sources that agree on something, I don’t use it. For topics that may have many versions, such as the legend of Saint George and the Dragon, I’ll explain that there are many versions, and use examples. Dates can also be off because many events of history don’t have accurate or any records.
I often use at least twenty different sources - books, magazines, newspapers, websites, etc.
What are you reading right now?
When I make new writing friends, I check out their work – and quite often review it, if it’s worthy. I don’t tell the writers this, and I don’t always use my own name. Just because I’m your friend does not mean I will give you a glowing five star review. I will be honest.
It doesn’t matter whether I like the subject matter or not. You don’t have to like something to appreciate the quality of the writing or storytelling.
I’ve made a few new friends over the past months. So I think I’ll keep that to myself for now...
What is your next project?
I currently have about 10 projects on the go.
I have some kids non-fiction (and a couple of fiction) for US educational publisher Learning Island. They’ve picked up quite a few series, so I’m always trying to add to them.
The Virtues of Drac – the entire saga.
There’s a Sci/Fi saga aimed at mature readers in the rewrite stage. The aim is to complete the rewrite by the end of June.
Some junior novels are at editing stage and a couple are at illustration stage.
I have a biographical piece currently on display in a World War I exhibition, and the local historical society is looking at picking it up for their upcoming book.
I’m sorry, what was the question...?
Is there one subject/theme you would never write about as an author and why?
When I started writing, I said I would write stuff that my kids could be proud of. I wouldn’t want them picking up a book in 20 or 50 years time and being offended or embarrassed to admit that their mother wrote it.
Can you tell us 5 fun facts about yourself?
I never set out to be a kids’ writer. I tried lots of different types of writing: novels, short stories, etc and lots of genres. I sent stuff out everywhere. The positive responses came from the kids stuff. I had four kids’ novels published by traditional publishers before anything else got picked up. Then Learning Island grabbed my non-fiction, and that’s just taken off.
I often get characters’ names from the phone book, street directory or car licence plates. Some of my characters have names long before they have a story. Others have no proper name even after a story is finished. Usually because I haven’t found anything that actually suits them. If they have a half decent role in the story, then they need a decent name. So... if you have a personalised licence plate, you may find it (or a variation of it) in my next book.
My best ideas seem to come at the most inconvenient times. Yep, I’m a shower-taking/driving/dog-walking/great-ideas-flashing-into-my head kind of person. You know – anywhere where you don’t have a pen and paper handy.
I love to spend time on my sister’s farm with the cows, horses and chickens. You go outside and the kangaroos are feeding and lying down in the paddocks with the cows. It’s just beautiful. I often get in quite animated discussions with the chickens – and usually end up getting told off by them.
One of my friends calls me a “Stress Free Zone”. She said she loves being around me because I don’t stress. Well, I do stress. But I learnt years ago to prioritise and know what’s worth worrying about at any particular time.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I can’t see that far ahead.
Can you share a little of your current work with us?
Okay, well let’s use The Virtues of Drac.
The basic premise is a boy, a crystal and a world out of balance.
Jack finds himself trapped in the fantasy world of Drac; a world of magic, dragons, and evil doings. The world is dying. The Talisman, which stores the elemental virtues of the races and keeps the world in balance, has gone. A prophecy has been set in motion and will be fulfilled, one way or the other.
Jack has been brought there to save the world. While travelling the lands, he begins to realise that good and evil are not so clearly defined, and all the people need to unite to save their world.
That’s the blurb, but I could go on all day about it. During the rewrite, so much more came out of it than I’d ever planned, or even thought was there. Some of the underlying themes of power and ignorance really hit home on how fragile our own world really is.
The book is illustrated with black and white line drawings at the beginning of each chapter. AT Davidson is one of my favourite illustrators, so I was really pleased when he stuck up his hand and said he wanted to do them.
Meekins' books are available at over 15 ebook retailers and lending libraries including Amazon, Apple iStore, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, and Smashwords.
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