Taking a "Book Break!" with Author Sarah Maizes

Today I'd like to welcome Sarah Maizes to take a "Book Break?" with us!  She is the author of On My Way To School.

The first is me in front of my collection of my FAVORITE CHILDREN’S BOOKS EVER!!!! I use them for reference sometimes, and sometimes just inspiration…or entertainment! The good ones always make me laugh!

On My Way To School is on the primary ballot for the New York State Charlotte Award.  

I came to write On My Way to School . . .  Actually On My Way to School is the third book in a series. The first two books, On My Way to the Bath and On My Way to Bed came first. I got the idea one night after yelling for my youngest daughter to get in the bath for the 20th time. I was sitting in her room putting some stuff away when I saw her on her crawling past the doorway on the floor saying “I’m a snail. I moving so slow…” And that was it. Then I wrote the next two books like I was following Livi and her day.  I would love to do the next one about going on a playdate - but you’d have to talk to my publisher about that. 

Readers should read my books . . .  I don’t know if I can ever tell someone they “should” read my books, but I will happily say that if they do - and especially if they read them with a kid - they’ll have a great laugh and maybe both walk away with a better understanding of the other person’s point of view.

My favorite place to read . . .  My plush chair in my bedroom. (Picture attached below - Note the foot massager I keep at on the floor in front of it!)

Where I sit to read (chair in my bedroom - notice the foot massager!!!! I’ve nailed this whole “reading nook” thing.)

A book that has touched my heart . . .  A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I must have read this book 100 times as a kid and teenager. Hated the movie remakes. Only the book works.

I collect my ideas and inspiration for writing . . . I get my inspiration just Parenting and watching other people parent. I actually get a LOT more inspiration from the kids I watch than the parents. Parents are boring. But kids have this fresh perspective of the world. We forget it’s all new to them! Then I write things down everywhere. I keep pads of paper in my car, next to my bed and on my desk. I never know when inspiration will strike and if I don’t write something down right away, I completely forget. I have PILES (literally) of little notes and notebooks filled with ideas, jokes, partial stories and observations. When I run out of ideas, I go into these piles (I keep in a big plastic box) and just pick one out. It’s like playing a raffle every time! 

Just a few shelves of some of my favorite books - there’s an entire area devoted to cook books - which I love. This is seriously just a fraction of the books I own. My husband made me just put a ton of them in the garage because I can download them. But to me, nothing feels like paper in hand.

Readers should know . . . I performed comedy for 5 years. Improv, sketch, stand-up - you name it. It was my life’s dream to be a stand-up comedian. But oce I did it for a little bit, I was done. Sometimes, you pursue a dream only to say “Well that was fun, and I’m glad I did it, but…nah.” but I'm SO glad I did it! It forever changed how I write and create entertainment! Best experience of my life, but wow, I’m glad I don’t do it anymore. That’s one tough life!

A project I’m currently working on . . .  I always have 5 or 6 stories I’m working on simultaneously. That way I can procrastinate writing one book by working on another, and still get work done! On top of that, I’m producing an animated preschool show for Jim Henson - which was another dream of mine - and I’m loving every second of it!

Thank you for taking a "Book Break!" with us, Sarah!

Now, be sure to be "on your way" over to Sarah's website to learn even more about  her and her work.