I'm excited to have my friend and fellow Tampa Bay writer, Nancy Cavanaugh, here today. Nancy's first middle-grade novel, THIS JOURNAL BELONGS TO RATCHET, launches this week. I loved this book! And apparently, so did a lot of other reviewers.
⇒A star from Kirkus is about as gold as you can get.
Pull up a chair. Or a tool bench. And let's ask Nancy about 11-year-old Ratchet and her home-school journal.
Augusta: I’m curious about the neat format of this book. Kids will love the poems, letters, research- all from Ratchet. Did you write the entries in the order
they appeared or did you skip around?
Did they change much as you edited it for publication?
Nancy:
For
the most part, I wrote the book in order.
Going from beginning to end is just how my brain works. There were a few times though, when I’d
think of a scene I wanted to have happen later on, so I would jot notes down
about that scene, and I’d also decide what type of assignment I would use for
writing that scene. Over the years
while I was writing RATCHET, I revised A LOT, and once I started working with
my editor at Sourcebooks, Aubrey Poole, I revised a lot more. So yes, the book changed quite a bit
throughout all those revisions.
Augusta: When and
where do you do your best writing?
Do you like music, crowds, food to surround you? Or are you a solitary writer?
Nancy: My
best writing time is probably late at night. It’s when I know I won’t get interrupted because everyone
else is asleep, and it’s nice and quiet.
As for the best place, I’m kind of a writing nomad. In my house, I write in different
places. Recently, I found this
handy dandy carry-all organizer that holds all my stuff.
It makes it so easy for me to take
everything with me to any room in the house.
You’re both a mom and librarian.
Were you inspired by other books you’ve read over the years? Do you have any favorites?
Nancy:
I
feel like we’re all inspired by everything we read – the books we think are
good and even the ones we think aren’t so good. In writing RATCHET though, I was inspired by one book in
particular – WHAT I BELIEVE by Norma Fox Mazer. It’s a wonderful story told through free verse poetry, and
for some reason that book inspired me to think about writing a book in a
different format.
Nancy:
I
can sum up my fashion sense in one word – comfort. My criteria for what to wear is that it be first and
foremost comfortable. That’s why
you’ll see me wearing gym shoes about 95% of the time. As for shopping, I guess I can sum that
up in one word too – Kohl’s. I buy
about 95% of my clothes and shoes from Kohl’s. (They’re not even paying me to say all this; that’s how much I love
Kohl’s.)
(Here's Nancy, looking pretty comfy, toiling away at her Work Bench!)
Augusta: Your
writing about Ratchet’s dad’s shop and her helping out is such fun to read and
so realistic. Do you know your way
around a toolbox?
Nancy:
I
learned all my mechanic skills from my husband. He was a former industrial arts teacher, and the two of us
developed and taught elementary and middle school students a course on small
engines. In the class, we took
apart a small engine and put it back together again. Well, you know what they say, there’s no better way to learn
something than to teach it, so that’s how I learned what I know. My experience became the inspiration
for Ratchet’s expertise.
Augusta:
Will we see this character again? Do you have another book you’d like to
tell us about?
Nancy:
I
don’t have plans for another book about Ratchet, at least not right now. What you will see from me is more books
written in alternative formats. I
love the creative part of figuring out how to tell an entire story in a unique
way.
Thanks for sharing this funny, smart girl and her story with us today. Here's a link to Nancy's website:
THIS JOURNAL BELONGS TO RATCHET is available via INDIEBOUND here:
4 comments:
This seems like it will be a wonderful book. I loved learning more about the character and especially about the author. good luck, Nancy...and thanks for sharing, Augusta!
What a nice interview -- with real information about the author. But as a late night writer myself, I liked her from the beginning!
Great interview, gals - thank you!
Her book launch is this Sunday, 4:00, Clearwater Barnes and Noble. Sorry I'll be in Indiana, but I know it will be fun.
Thanks for the comments!
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