Friday, June 20, 2008

An Interview with Alan H. Jordan


Alan Jordan is not only an established author he is the brainchild of Lets Be Creative. Alan has created a safe haven for children of all ages and adults to venture into the world of interactive learning. Alan took time out from his busy schedule to grant me the pleasure of an interview and with his technology knowledge he recorded the interview into an .mp3 file ~ http://www.donnamcdine.com/images/Donna_Alan_LBC_Interview.mp3


Come join me on this colorful adventure with Alan.

Donna McDine: Please tell us about your wonderful interactive website: http://www.letsbecreative.org/.

Alan Jordan: LetsBeCreative.org is designed to inspire children, adults and businesspeople to employ creative solutions in life. The initial stage of the website is for children only. Later, it will link to http://www.MrCreative.com/ (grown-up site. Right now they go to the same place.) and http://www.microsoftformanagers.com/ and http://www.techformanagers.com/.

In the children’s site, I want to inspire children to DISCOVER the joys of reading, writing, math and computer usage. I don’t want to teach them. I want them to be exposed to many different stimuli that make they want to spend time doing creative things that help them in their life.

People discover in different ways. In addition to the sense of sight, LetsBeCreative.org invokes the senses of hearing (audio content and e-books) seeing (video content and e-books.) Later, there are plans to integrating the sense of smell and taste, but that’s down the road.

People discover by participating themselves and cooperating with other people as well as by observing. That’s why there are e-books into which people can insert their own artwork. E-books that younger children and their older siblings, as well as Mom, Dad, teachers, and older friends, can work on together. (My Monster on Top of the Bed, My Divine Inspiration.

Unfortunately, it is not cost effective to give away everyone on the site, and I don’t like advertising, so I’m asking people to subscribe to take advantage of the full benefits of the site. (You don’t see all of the assets until you subscribe.)

DMc: What inspired you to develop such a website?AJ: Our world is evolving. Children today need to understand that English is not the only language, and that other cultures are every bit as beautiful as ours. That’s why I’ve literally gone around the world to bring native people to speak the same story. This web site exposes viewers to cultures. Children also need to discover. I have a background in programming, so I put together a site that lets them do this. It is my hope that people from around the world will use it, and that it will help people in Argentina and France as well as in the USA.

DMc: How did you come up with the idea of The Monster on Top of the Bed?

AJ: The impetus for the idea came from wanting to write books for my future grandchildren. The specific idea came from a challenge that was presented in a writing course. I was working on conveying some the inherent worth and dignity of every person as well as helping children discover how to allay bedtime fears.

DMc: At what age did you become interested in writing?

AJ: Age 12. I used to write a newsletter for a club that I belonged to. I used to write it using a typewriter, and “spirit masters,” which ran on a duplicator machine. You could have green, red, blue, black and purple, and I used all of the colors.

DMc: How many hours do you devote to writing and how long does it takeyou to write a book?

AJ: It varies. Some days I spend 12 hours. Some days, a half-hour. It all depends what I’m doing.

DMc: Are you working on a new manuscript right now?

AJ: I’m working on several. Two are “Daddy was dying, so we went for . . .” and “Mommy was dying, so we went for . . .” There’s also a book on poetry, Lights of My Life, which captures the essence of people that I know and love in short poems, and a sequel to The Monster on Top of the Bed.

DMc: What advice would you convey to aspiring writers?

AJ: Read. The more you read, the more you are convinced that you can do as well as someone else, or better. When you feel that you can do better, write. (Not before that.)

DMc: Describe your working environment.

AJ: I have several. I have an upstairs office in my home, which is quiet. I also have a laptop computer that I take with me. Sometimes, I’ll work in an airport or a hotel.

DMc: What do you do when you're not writing?

AJ: I like to go bike riding and snow shoeing. I also like to go to plays, concerts and out to dinner. I enjoy computer programming and designing websites.

DMc: What would your career be if you weren't a writer?

AJ: That’s easy. I have a composite career. I’m also a Management Analyst and a computer programmer.

Visit http://www.letsbecreative.org/ to learn more about Alan and his interactive website. Beware, you will find yourself visiting for hours on end!

4 comments:

  1. Donna,
    Great interview.
    Blessings
    Jessica Kennedy
    The Differently-Abled Writer
    http://www.jessicakennedy71.blogspot.com/ writing tips, inspiration, book interviews and personal interviews.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a neat site. Thanks for the great interview.

    Cheryl

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  3. An interesting interview, Donna. I must visit Alan's site. It sounds like fun.

    Beverly

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  4. Donna,

    Add Let's Be Creative to my LONG list of websites that I want to check out! I need more time in the day!

    Lori
    www.loricalabrese.com

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Thank for you taking the time out to visit with me and to learn about my writing career.

Please be sure to leave your blog address so I can reciprocate.

I look forward to visiting you too.