Wednesday, February 16, 2011

The Writer's Life with Laurie Monopoli

Welcome to day two of Laurie Monopoli’s 6-day NWFCC February Author Showcase tour.



For many years I was asked to bring Tony Chestnut to life in an illustrated picture book. After each request, I would graciously reassure each person that I would write the book, when the time was right. In reality, I was waiting to come up with a story that would truly capture the true merit of our much adored song, Tony Chestnut. This turned out to be quite a challenge. I knew the premise for this story had to have a special meaning and purpose… it simply had to feel right!

Then out of the blue, one night I had a dream about a dear friend from my childhood. His name was Rusty Reynolds; he had bright red, crazy hair, zillions of freckles, black thick rimmed glasses and the kindest, most generous heart. And at the ripe old age of five, Rusty and I embarked together on what turned out to be a terrifying journey --- our first day of kindergarten!

When I awoke from my dream I raced to my computer and began typing at a speed faster than I even anticipated I was capable of. In just minutes I wrote the entire story. When I was finished typing, I took a deep breath and with some trepidation prepared to read the story aloud to my audience consisting Chrissy, my bright-eyed, nocturnal Himalayan cat and Lexi, my half sleeping Yorkie. After this first reading I sat back and deeply sighed in delightful relief. I realized Tony Chestnut’s story was always there, it lingered deep within me just waiting to emerge-- at the right time. A few months later, The Book About Tony Chestnut was officially brought to fruition. Of course with a little inspirational guidance from my childhood buddy, Rusty (the resemblance between the two is no coincidence) and it simply… felt right!

Follow Day 3 of Ms. Monopoli's tour tomorrow at http://www.melangeofcultures.wordpress.com/. Leave a comment and your name will automatically be entered to win a Three Angels Gourmet Co mug and a package of Divine Dill Dip Mix - at the end of the month, provided by the National Writing for Children Center.


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Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
http://guardianangelpublishing.com/pathway.htm

7 comments:

  1. Laurie:

    Welcome! It's a pleasure to have you here today.

    Best wishes,
    Donna

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  2. Laurie,

    You're such a talented writer. I wish you all the best in the future.

    ~ Irene

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  3. You know I hear a lot of authors saying they got their ideas from a dream. In fact, that's where I got the idea for one of my books. Can you imagine what kind of dreams Stephen King had, lol? Great guest post!

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  4. I don't think I want to even consider Stephen King's dreams.

    What a great story behind the story. Inspiration comes from all kinds of places.

    Best of luck in all you do,

    Cheryl

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  5. Great story! It's exciting when you find you've either had the answer inside all along or somehow your characters have created their own story. Thanks for sharing!

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  6. How cool!! My daughter sang Tony Chestnut last year in Kindergarten!! So glad there's a book to accompany one of the highlights of her Kindergarten year. :-)

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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.