Interview with Noelle Veldhouse

When and why did you begin writing? What genre/style do you generally write (fiction, poetry, non-fiction, mystery, literary, etc)?

I have been writing for as long as I can remember. Recently, I decided to follow a dream and started writing & illustrating children's literature.

Do you ever write in multiple genres?

Yes, no, maybe so.
Where might we be able to find your work?I started doing my own blog on my website, but have been so busy with work, kids, house stuff, and being pregnant that I have really haven't blogged in a while. I need to get back to it! However, I do have a poem published with Boise Novel Orchard's first publication Bites From the Orchard. It is called Piggtoot the Forgotten.

What is success for a writer? What do you do to get yourself there?
Success is defined differently for everyone. To me, as long as you are still having fun, writing and enjoying it, you are a success! Also, deep breathing helps.

Do you have a writing schedule? What works for you? How do you keep up the discipline to stick to that schedule?

I LOVE to write first thing in the morning, before anyone else is up and it is just me and the computer. But, I really also enjoy writing during nap time when I get to sit and relax in peace. My goal is to work on my book several times a week and do something every day, even if it is a sketch or a rewrite on a certain line.


You're walking on a straight line. There's trees and grass and bunny rabbits. The road turns a bit, and reveals a fork. Do you go right or left?

I'm sorry, what? I got distracted. I was supposed to be following a line? I was over on the hill chasing a butterfly.


What do you like to read?

Stuff that makes me think, smile and/or laugh.


Who's your favorite author?

I enjoy children's authors, Ted Arnold, Shel Silverstein, Dr. Seuss. I do read books written for my own age. My favorite book tends to be the one that I'm currently reading.

Has this writer influenced you and your work?

They all have. Love them all & their creativity!

What about a writer you despise?

I think every writer does the best they can with the knowledge they have at the time. I'm not a fan of certain authors, but I don't despise them. I can say that I have no desire to ever read anything that else that John Steinbeck has written after I read Grapes of Wrath.
Has this person affected your writing at all? no

Where would you take your favorite author to dinner?

I would love to have dinner with Dr. Seuss but since that is not possible, Ted Arnold.

What's on your reading list right now?

I just finished reading Born To Run (LOVED IT!) and up next is The Princess Bride.

Do you have any projects on your table right now? What are they?

Yes.
Pants on Head and
Princess Piper Pillowey


At what stage are they?
I am sketching my 1st dummy for Pants on Head & am working with an editor on it. PPP is on hold for a bit.

Are you satisfied with it?

It is fun & I love it! It is an ongoing process but yeah, I'm more than satisfied with it.

Have you learned anything from writing that applies to other parts of life?

I know that writing has HELPED my other parts of life.

Do you have any personal advice that you would like to share?

Yes, but one valuable lesson that my husband has taught me is that sometimes it is better just to be quiet and listen. I love listening to what others have to say about writing.

Look out! It's the Zombie Apocalypse, and the only inhabitable place on earth is an island. What do you do? Do what Bill Murray did in Zombieland. But if that doesn't work, I'm off to the island.
What do you take with you?My family, my dog, the Swiss family Robinson boat & all their supplies, and LOTS of guns (to kill the zombies, of course.)

Your computer just died, does this ruin your writing day, or can you cope?

I see it as a sign, I need to get outside and breath fresh air, go play or go to bed... depending on what time of day it happens.

Why isn't the sky red?
One sky,Two sky. Red sky, Blue sky.

Noelle Veldhouse is a children’s author and illustrator who is exploding into the children’s writing/illustrating market with passion. She teaches elementary school in Meridian She is the mother of 2 ½ children, a dog, a cat and a fish named Buster. Her poem "Pigtoot the Forgotten" can be found in Bites from the Orchard: Bridges.

May Guest Blogger: Chad Smith

May's Guest Blogger is Chad Smith, winner of the Bridges contest. His poem, "No Rocks on this End," can be found in Bites from the Orchard: Bridges.

[Edit: Never post things half-asleep, especially when copy pasting. The formatting will always get funky]

When and why did you begin writing? What genre/style do you generally write (fiction, poetry, non- fiction, mystery, literary, etc)? Do you ever write in multiple genres?
I started writing and illustrating stories way back in grade school. I took a creative writing class or two while in college. I enjoy being creative and making art stuffs. Most of what I've done in the past has been in the visual arts realm. I'm a graphic design multimedia guy. This year as a New Year's resolution I decided I was going to become a poet and I am starting to get serious about writing.

Where might we be able to find your work?
My poem "No Rocks on this End" in the Bites From the Orchard book was the first landing spot (of hopefully many) out of the gate. I have been posting my poems on my blog at JackNoodle.com

Do you have a writing schedule? What works for you? How do you keep up the discipline to stick to that schedule?
Oh! I really should stick to a schedule. I find that my best writing and ideas come to me first thing in the orning. I'm a firm believer in documenting anything that comes to you in your dreams right when you wake up. If you say you'll be able to write it down later in the day you won't and the freshness will have worn off. I had a whole poem figured out in a dream, still had it when I woke up and then totally forgot it later in the day. Many writing and artistic solutions have come to me while sleeping. That's quite handy when one can catch it.
If I could get more nuts and bolts, nose to the grind stone writing done in the night before sleeping that would be awesome. I'm usually too sleepy then.

You're walking on a straight line. There's trees and grass and bunnyrabbits. The road turns a bit, and reveals a fork. Do you go right or left?
Left of course.

What do you like to read? Who's your favorite author? Has this writer influenced you and your work? that about a writer you despise? Has this person affected your writing at all? Where would you take your favorite author to dinner?
I'm an excellent starter of books but a horrible finisher. I wish I was more of a reader. I'm in love with the idea of being an avid reader and consumer of books. I think one of my problems is I read too slow and then my mind wanders off when an interesting idea pops up in the book. I'm an excellent retainer of the words that do make it into my noggin though.

What's on your reading list right now?
Right now I am reading all poetry. I've been checking out lots of how to write poetry books from the library and reading as many poets as I can. I'm digging Walt Whitman and Allen Ginsberg. I discovered Kim Addonizio a couple of days ago and can't wait to check out more of her stuff. I'm going to investigate Gertrude Stein in the near future. Oh yes, and Arthur Rimbaud's "A Season in Hell" is magnificent. I'm still a toddler in the poetry world and I've been quite excited with where my self educating journey has taken me so far. I'm still figuring this stuff out.

Do you have any projects on your table right now? What are they? At what stage are they? Are you satisfied with it?
Right now I am working on a one hundred line poem about a baby who fights demons. I'm also trying to finish up some poems that I'm not posting to the website in hopes of submitting them to some poetry magazines. There's that whole, "Is posting your poem to your blog count as previously published?" question that I haven't got a solid answer on yet. I'm trying to write one hundred poems in 2010. I'm not sure if I'll make it. I have a thing for the number one hundred and I'm trying to slip it in every chance I get. Not sure why.

Look out! It's the Zombie Apocalypse, and the only inhabitable place on earth is an island. What do you do? What do you take with you?
I don't care for the zombie genre so much. I think somebody should totally write a zombie teen romance series in the vein of Twilight though.
My favorite horror movie is "Devil's Rejects" by Rob Zombie. Devil's Rejects is the sequel to "House of a Thousand Corpses" and they should both be viewed in the same sitting. House of a Thousand Corpses isn't as good as Rejects but you must see it to appreciate how horrible and terrifying the characters in Devil's Rejects are. Despicably not for anyone the slightest bit squeamish. Very scary.
Wow look at that tangent.

Your computer just died, does this ruin your writing day, or can you cope?
I'm a computer guy. I have to sit in front of a computer everyday for my day job and I enjoy it. I am getting to the point in my old age though that I probably wouldn't mind if my computers died. Pen and paper is nice for writing. I would miss the spell checker!
That is an excellent reminder to save and backup your files.

Febuary Guest: Miriam S. Forster

We're starting off the guest blogging with an interview with an Idaho author, Miriam S. Forster. Her book, The Flute and the Dagger, is due out this year. Keep reading for insights from a budding new author. Then, head over to her blog for some more reading, and updates on her book. Miriam can also be found on Facebook and Twitter. We'll hear more from Miriam later this week, and again later in the month.

1. When and why did you begin writing?
According to my mother, the first book I wrote, I wrote at the age of seven as a birthday present for my younger sister. And writing poems and stories in English class was always my favorite. But I didn’t start to love writing for its own sake until high school. I’d made up a this world on a computer game I had and I wanted to tell the story of it

2. What sort of genre do you write?
Mostly young adult, and mostly fantasy. I like how tight the writing is for that age. And I love the possibilities and wonder of fantasy lit.

3. Have you been published? If so, what titles? Where can we find your book?
I am in the process of being published. Unfortunately the small press I’m publishing with had a huge name change last year that pushed everything waay back. I have heard from my publisher though, and things should get rolling this spring.
The best way to keep informed about when the book comes out is to follow my blog, or join my Facebook Page.

4. How do you define being a successful writer? What do you do to get there?
I think success is a hard thing to define, because no one ever feels like they’ve reached it. Success is always just one more achievement away. And in publishing, a LOT of things are out of your control. So I try to focus on what I can do. Am I writing consistently? Am I improving my knowledge of how publishing works? Am I connecting with readers and networking to the best of my ability? If I can say yes to those things, then I consider myself a success.

5. What is your writing schedule?
500 words a day, of course! I usually try to write after work, before I go home and other things get in the way. If I don’t do that, then later at night generally works best.

6. You come to a fork in the road. Which way do you go? Why?
Probably the road less traveled, or the one that looks like it might go somewhere interesting.

7. What books have most influenced your life?
I can’t think of any specific ones that had a huge impact. I think the thing that really influenced me was that I was allowed to read widely when I was a kid. My dad shares my love of books, and most of his library was open to me. That really encouraged my love of books and storytelling and gave me an open mind.

8. What book are you currently reading?
I got The War of Art by Steven Pressfield for Christmas, and I’ve already read it three times. It’s a simple book, but it shoots straight about a lot of things, including the fight against Resistance and the way we self-sabotage.

9. What are your current projects?
I’m currently rewriting the book I finished in November, a novel about a high-school girl who dies and ends up into the body of a kitten. I’m also doing a lot of research about the Nome Alaskan gold rush for my next book, a middle-grade historical fantasy.

10. Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Oh, that’s a HARD question. I love Mercedes’ Lackey’s worldbuilding and Donna Andrews’ sense of fun. Tamora Pierce does awesome female characters like no one else, and Dean Koontz can almost always be counted on for good escapist plots.
It all depends on what I’m in the mood for.

11. Have you learned anything from writing that applies to other parts of life?
I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is to focus on the things I can control. Also, humility and patience.
In writing, you can get too wrapped up in the words on the page, too invested in the work. Writing is a deeply personal thing, but it’s also a skill like any other and needs practice. If you take critiques, rejections, etc, too personally, it can really hurt your ability to improve.

12. Do you have any advice that you would like to share?
Practice, practice, practice. You wouldn’t expect to become a concert pianist the first time you played chopsticks, don’t expect to be an amazing writer the first time you pick up a pen.
Along with that, the best way to be a better writer is to write another book, (or poem or song, or whatever). I spent years trying to rewrite my first book, and it wasn’t until I had another two manuscripts under my belt that I had the experience to make that first book what it needed to be

13. You're trapped on an island, what five things do you have with you?
A book on edible plants and a fishing net, to start. :) Also, a box of pens, a giant box of paper, and a really good, long book.

14. Quick, it's a Zombie Apocalypse! What do you do?
Run and find someone with a really big gun, then hole up in a bunker somewhere.

15. Your computer just died, does this ruin your writing day, or can you cope?
I think I could cope. There’s always planning to be done, outlining, or research. And if I have a scene that HAS to be written, I can always write longhand.

16. Where would you take your favorite author to dinner?
Flying Pie! Or somewhere like it, somewhere you can settle in, eat breadsticks and relax.

17. Why isn't the sky red?
Um, it is, isn’t it? Next you’ll be telling me stop signs aren’t blue! :)

Interested in being a guest blogger? Point us to your blog and let us know.