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| Rhonda Gowler-Greene |
I'd like to give a warm welcome to Rhonda Gowler Greene, author of The First Men Who Went to the Moon, which is on the New York State Reading Association's Charlotte Book Award Intermediate ballot.
1. I wrote The First Men Who Went to the Moon
because I had written other books in the same circular, poetic pattern (example
- The Very First Thanksgiving Day) and
they were successful. I thought- What other historical event
could I write about? The journey of
Apollo 11 popped in my head, maybe because I actually watched the first Moon landing
and walk on live TV when I was a kid.
I didn’t write the story with the
50th anniversary (2019) of the Apollo 11 mission in mind, but I was
excited and pleased that the publisher (Sleeping Bear Press) worked hard to get
the book out in time for the worldwide anniversary celebration.
2. Readers should
read my books to…
a) learn interesting facts about
historical events (such as in The First
Men
Who
Went to the Moon),
b) have fun with reading (in No Pirates Allowed! Said Library Lou),
and…
c) look for good writing craft.
3. My favorite place
to read is next to a fireplace. I’m lucky
because the house my husband and I moved into a couple of years ago has
fireplaces in the kitchen, living room, and a bedroom. I love to curl up in a cozy chair with a
good book right next to a warm, glowing fire- even in summer!
4. A book that has
touched my heart is Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse. It’s beautifully written. Plus, I love free verse novels. It won the Newbery Award a while back, in
1998. There are actually so many
children’s books that have touched my heart.
Another one is Mr. Putter & Tabby
Write the Book by my favorite author, Cynthia Rylant. (I got to meet her once!) I love all her books, but this one really hits
home. It’s so warm and funny. And I’m going to squeeze one more in, a newer
one—The Remarkable Journey of Coyote
Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart. Wow, I
couldn’t put that one down. I predict it
will be a contender for the 2020 Newbery Award.
5. I collect my ideas
for writing most often when I’m reading other children’s books. My house is like a library! It’s absolutely full of kids’ books, from picture books to novels. I study the books and read them like a
writer. I jot down my ideas on any paper
that happens to be near me. I’ve learned
if I don’t write down an idea the very moment it comes to me, I usually forget
it. I keep these ideas in a file folder. Or some, I’ve put in a computer file.
6. A project I’m
currently working on is a picture book about George Washington and Abraham
Lincoln. I don’t know yet if an editor
will want to buy the manuscript, but—fingers crossed!
7. Readers should
know I got 220 rejections (for about a dozen different stories) before I ever
sold a manuscript. That was over twenty
years ago. The First Men Who Went to the Moon is my 28th book. I think it takes three P’s to get published—
Passion, Persistence, and Patience. Though I still get lots of rejections and it’s very frustrating at times, I don’t give up.
When signing my Apollo 11 book, I always add– ‘Dream Big! Reach for the stars!’ To accomplish any major goal, I think it requires dreaming big, working really hard, and not giving up. It takes that for me to get a book published. And on a much larger scale, it took that (and a team of 400,000 people!) to land humans on the Moon and get them safely back to Earth.
Thanks so much for the interview!
Thank YOU Rhonda!
Watch the book trailer for The First Men Who Went to the Moon . . .
Make sure to visit Rhonda's website!
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