Happy Thursday Critters! Today is our SECOND interview of the week! I’m thrilled to be sharing today’s interview with the prolific and talented Marsha Diane Arnold because I love her new book, LIGHTS OUT, AND because it happens to be illustrated by my incredibly brilliant friend and critique partner, Susan Reagan. LIGHTS OUT addresses light pollution, which is a topic I didn’t know much about and found fascinating while reading Marsha’s text. The art is stunning and I was lucky enough to see Sue working on this book from the very beginning. It’s always a magical thing to see a book created from start to finish. Marsha has an incredible list of books to her name and I’m so happy she could be with us today to share her creative process and journey in publishing.
So without further ado, please welcome Marsha Diane Arnold!
Where do you live?
Currently, I live in the sweet little “town” of Alva, Florida. My husband and I moved here six years ago from another sweet little town – Sebastopol, California. The move was a big change after living in Sebastopol 35 years, raising my children there and creating a half acre garden with heirloom roses and fruit trees. But I am grateful to be in Alva now, with nature preserves on two sides of our home, my daughter’s family close by, and my son’s family, at least, on the same coast.
I was born and raised in Kansas, lived in Northern California most of my life, and now call southwest Florida my home, so I’ve spanned the USA. My husband and I also had a casita in Costa Rica for years and loved having toucans and monkeys as neighbors.
How many years have you been in publishing?
My first picture book, Heart of a Tiger, was published in 1995, but I wrote homegrown treasures, an award-winning newspaper column, for ten years prior to that. Though I always loved reading and majored in English literature in college, I didn’t start writing until I was in my thirties. It’s wonderful that you can come to writing at any time of life. It doesn’t matter how young or how old you are.
How did you first get published?
That was a long time ago to remember! First, I studied up. I joined SCBWI, started a writer’s group in Sebastopol (Luckily, there are many creative people in Sonoma County.), read everything I could find on the business and craft of writing picture books, and read hundreds of classic, current, and award-winning picture books (That was fairly easy as I had two young children during the time I was learning.) After thirteen rejections for the first manuscript I felt was worthy to submit, I found a wonderful editor at Penguin who loved my story as much as I did.
Do you write full-time?
No. I have too many interests to write 40 to 80 hours a week and I can be terribly unfocused. However, it has been my main profession for most of my life. I was a stay-at-home mom and I loved it. During that time, I began writing my homegrown treasures column, which mainly revolved around home and family. Some said it was a bit like Erma Bombeck. One judge in the Best Local Columnist contest said, “she finds a universe in her back yard.” That’s really what I try to do with my picture books too: find a universe in my back yard.
Of course, things related to writing keep me busy, just as they do other writers. I enjoy school visits (now virtual), doing manuscript consultations https://marshadianearnold.com/manuscript-consultations, and sharing manuscripts with my two online writer’s groups.
What inspires you to create picture books?
So many things – children, nature, funny things I overhear.
What surprised you the most working as an author?
I don’t think there were a lot of surprises. I’d done so much homework and reading before I started submitting. I knew it would be a challenging career. But I suppose it’s always surprising how long it takes for a manuscript to find an editor and also that some of my most beloved manuscripts never find the right home.
What is your favorite thing about being an author?
Getting the author copies of my books in the mail. Publishers usually send ten to twenty “author copies” to an author right before launch date. It’s wonderful to see the book that may have taken you years…or decades… to write, and to start sharing it with others.
What do you find difficult working as an author?
Working from home is such a blessing, but it’s also a challenge. There are always things that draw me away from my writing studio.
What do you do to shake the rust off or get new ideas?
I am rusty most of the time. Ha. I get new ideas often, sometimes too often. I also have files and notebooks full of old ideas, some of them still wanting to be published. The hard part, of course, is to take an idea and craft it, with artistic flair, into a fabulous story that others will want to read, over and over again.
Anything you are habitual about when it comes to creativity?
I am one of those people who stop in the middle of something to follow another course. I’m often distracted, always curious about something new. The only thing that is habitual is sitting myself down in a chair and starting to write. That’s the only thing that works.
Can you share a positive experience you’ve had in the Kid Lit community?
There have been so many wonderful experiences, at conferences and literature festivals.
Often the positive experiences happen at school visits – the enthusiasm and interest of the students, the art and writing projects they do before and after my visits. That all happens because the educators have first shown enthusiasm and interest in my books. I’m so grateful to them.
One of the most delightful experiences I’ve had happened at Jane Yolen’s and Heidi Stemple’s very first Picture Book Boot Camp. It was held in Jane’s home and I stayed in the Aerie (the attic) where Jane used to do most of her writing, surrounded by her awards and books. You can read more about it here: https://www.childrensbookacademy.com/blogonauts/a-weekend-with-a-legend-by-marsha-diane-arnold
Recommended reading?
Sheila Turnage’s middle grade books are so well written and such fun. You will fall in love with Miss Moses LoBeau and the other characters in the Mo & Dale Mysteries. I love all or Sheila’s books, but Three Times Lucky is my favorite.
For picture books, Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings is one of my current favorites. I have loved A Sick Day for Amos McGee for a long time; Philip Stead is a treasure.
What has been the highlight of your career thus far?
So many wonderful things.
I’ve been extremely lucky to work with some of the best editors and illustrators in the business. My book Lost. Found.’s editor was the famous Neal Porter and the illustrator is Matthew Cordell, who later won the Caldecott Medal.
I’d also had a dream to one day work with the lovely and kind Kate O’Sullivan and have Renata Liwska illustrate one of my books. What a delight to have that dream come true in one book: Waiting for Snow.
Two more highlights have to do with honors, one from early in my career and a more recent one.
When Heart of a Tiger won the Ridgway award for Best First Book by a New Author, my editor told me it was a “sweet little award,” but it meant the world to me. A ceremony was held in New York City and Penguin paid my expenses to come from California. My husband came along to celebrate. I always say it’s an award you only get one chance at; I was blessed that Heart of a Tiger won.
Recently, my bilingual Galápagos Girl, illustrated by Angela Dominguez, was chosen as the 2020 Little Read Lakeshore book in Michigan. This community read involves over 25 elementary and pre-schools, 13 libraries, and 4 plus non-profit organizations. I’m delighted so many will be enjoying my book. Sadly, I won’t be able to travel to Michigan during these times, but we are going to do some fabulously fun visits virtually.
Can you tell us about your newest book?
I’d love to! I’m passionate about the subject of Lights Out - light pollution – and I adore Susan Reagan’s spectacular illustrations, which show the play between light and dark so brilliantly.
In a world filled with
“House lights
Car lights
Truck lights
Streetlights,”
Interior art from LIGHTS OUT written by Marsha Diane Arnold, illustrated by Susan Reagan
Fox and Firefly begin their search for the Dark of Night. Along their journey, across the wide, wide world, they encounter other distressed animals affected by too many artificial lights. Eventually the group comes to a seashore where baby turtles are hatching. Disoriented by the land lights, they need help to find their way into the ocean. The little group guides them into the water, swimming onward, until…well, you’ll have to see. Because at the end you will see true light in the middle of darkness.
“Great Bear, Little
Comet play
Dancing moonbeams
Milky Way”
Interior art from LIGHTS OUT written by Marsha Diane Arnold, illustrated by Susan Reagan
As a child, I lived surrounded by Kansas farmland, far from city lights. I remember crawling out the second story window of my home and sitting on the roof for hours, enchanted by the constellations. My father also loved the night sky. Years after his farming work was done, he saved his money to buy a telescope and enjoyed sharing the wonders of the night with neighbors.
Today, we see less than 1 percent of the night sky compared with people of the 1600s. As Henry Beston said in Night on the Great Beach, “With lights and ever more lights, we drive the holiness and beauty of night back to the forests and the sea.” I am grateful for those who are working to reveal the night skies to the world. I look forward to finding ways to work with the International Dark Sky Association, that works to protect and restore the night sky for present and future generations. As the Lights Out book flap says, “In a world marred by light pollution, this quest for true darkness is a clarion call to turn out the lights—so that all may see.”
Interior art from LIGHTS OUT written by Marsha Diane Arnold, illustrated by Susan Reagan
What’s up next for you?
I have another book coming out, hopefully in 2022, but it hasn’t been announced yet. So, mum’s the word.
My wonderful agent is always sending out my manuscripts, which we love, but which we can’t always find an editor for. Yes, I still get many rejections. But I keep writing. The stories I’m working on now include one about a lizard, a train, and another about a smiling monster.
Anything else you’d like to share with aspiring authors and illustrators?
There is so much available online, much of it free, to help you with your writing craft. So, Google, join Facebook writing groups, and connect with others to find information.
When I talk with children and adults about writing, I often mention the three P’s – Patience, Perseverance, and Practice. All are vital for a writer. Another thing to strive for is to not be envious and jealous of other’s success. I’m still working on this one. But remember, only you can write your stories. Focus on your unique stories and write them the best that you can.
And last, but not least, favorite 80s movie?
You’ve probably noticed I can’t just pick one. Moonstruck, Field of Dreams, E.T.
Huge thank you to Marsha for stopping by Critter Lit today! We are so excited for LIGHTS OUT and can’t wait to see what comes next!
Called a “born storyteller” by the media, MARSHA DIANE ARNOLD is a multi-award winning picture book author with over one million books sold. Her books have garnered honors such as Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (Roar of a Snore), Smithsonian Notable (The Pumpkin Runner), and the bilingual Galápagos Girl being chosen as Michigan’s Little Read Lakeshore community read for 2020. Marsha shares her love of story through school visits (virtual now), manuscript consultations, her Writing Wonderful Character-Driven Picture Books e-course (https://www.childrensbookacademy.com/writing-character-driven-stories.html), and reading to her grandchildren. Past joys, that she doesn’t do quite as much anymore, include camping at 10,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada and scuba diving to 140 feet in the Blue Hole. Life has its ups and downs! Current joys are family, books, and nature.
WANT TO KNOW MORE about Marsha Diane Arnold and her books, visit her online or follow her on social media:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/marshadianearnold
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/marshadianearnoldauthor/
BUY THIS BOOK To order a copy of Marsha’s new picture book, LIGHTS OUT, illustrated by Susan Reagan, click here.
TEACHER’S GUIDE Lights Out: Activities for Educators & Readers
Download the Entire Kit: https://bit.ly/LOActivities
-or-
View a Menu of Individual Activity Downloads: https://bit.ly/LOKitIntro
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