CORINNE DEMAS HOLIDAY BOOK BUNDLE: AN INTERVIEW AND BONUS ENTRIES

GIVEAWAY ENDED
YES, REMEMBER? TODAY IS

CORINNE DEMAS DAY

ON MY BLOG!

CORINNE DEMAS HOLIDAY
BOOK BUNDLE GIVEAWAY!

ONE WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY
MY COMBINING ALL ENTRIES FROM
EACH POST THAT YOU WILL SEE
ON CORINNE DEMAS DAY TODAY!

AND WHAT BETTER THAN
AN INTERVIEW TO MEET
THE AUTHOR...
"UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
WITH CORINNE DEMAS"

I "met" Corinne Demas a few years ago when my sister attended an engagement where Corinne was speaking and signing her memoir ELEVEN STORIES HIGH. Since they were in New England and I was in Florida, my sister bought a copy of the book and had it autographed and sent to me as she knew I would like it.

Like it? That didn't begin to tell you how much, but more later about that. Anyway, because Corinne and I both have the same maiden name, and after reading her book I realized our lives paralleled in SO MANY ways, I had to write to her. Throw in I told her I was a teacher, like she is (well, she's a Professor but close enough) and the children's book connection came about.

Since then, I have read all her books and reviewed many of them. And so when I approached her about doing a "bundle" for my blog, she was very kind to donate the autographed books that will be given as the prizes for the winning reader. She also gave me so much of her time and information I could use as well. We have never met in person, but will someday, and yet I feel I know her so well from reading her books and our emails. So it was fun for me to ask Corinne if she would let me include an interview on this special CORINNE DEMAS DAY and she was very kind to agree. So here goes Bingo (B) interviewing Corinne (C) Demas! ENJOY!

B—Your writing career is unusual in that you publish books for both adults and children. Which came first?

C—My first book was a picture book, That Dog Melly!, but I had been publishing short stories long before that.

B—What brought you to write for children?

C—Becoming a Mommy. I was always telling stories to

my children, and I began to write them down. Matthew’s Meadow was a story I had originally written for my son. The Littlest Matryoshka was a story I had written as a Christmas present for my daughter.

B— How do you manage switching between writing for adults and writing for children?

C—It seems natural to me. It’s just a matter of keeping my audience in mind. There is so much I want to write about, and some of the material clearly lends itself to one audience or the other.

B—You seems to work in variety of genres, as well. You’ve published fiction, memoir, and now a collection of poetry, and this year your new play, Blue Straw Hat, was produced. What genre do you prefer?

C—Actually, I like all of them. It’s wonderful to be able to move from one genre to another; they have different textures, different paces. You can always tuck a poem in here or there. Sometimes I’ll be in the midst of working on my novel, and an image will come to me that doesn’t belong in the narrative but works in a poem.

B—Your collection of poetry, The Donkeys Postpone Gratification came out in October. What made you decide to do a collection of poems about donkeys?

C—I was putting together a group of poems to submit for a chapbook, and realized that although I had a pile of poems on a wide variety of subjects, there were at least two dozen of them that were about donkeys. The donkeys provided a vehicle to write about many things—not just equines.

B—Tell me about your recent children’s books.

C—My picture book Always in Trouble (illustrated by Noah Z. Jones) came out in January. This fall two of my picture books, Saying Goodbye to Lulu (illustrated by Ard Hoyt) and Valentine Surprise (illustrated by R.W. Alley) came out in paperback. I’d heard from so many families and teachers that Saying Goodbye to Lulu was useful for children who were coping with the loss of a family member or a pet, and it’s wonderful that it’s now back in print and available in paperback. And I’m delighted that there’s now a gorgeous paperback of Valentine Surprise, and it’s not much more money than a Valentine card you’d buy.

B—What new children’s books are coming?

C-- Halloween Surprise, featuring the same cute Lily that R.W. Alley illustrated in Valentine Surprise will be out from Walker in time for Halloween. Pirates Go to School will be out from Scholastic next year. John Manders is doing the illustrations and he’s tops when it comes to pirates. This is a picture book that’s all in rhyme, and was great fun to write.

B—And for adults?

C—My new novel, The Writing Circle, is coming out from Hyperion July 6. I’m thrilled.

B—Is there any crossover between the audience for your children’s books and your adult books?

C—Oh, I hope so! Sometimes a parent or teacher who knows my children’s books will be interested in reading what I’ve written for adults, and sometimes a reader of my adult work will discover that I also write for children. A book like my memoir Eleven Stories High: Growing Up in Stuyvesant Town 1948-1968 seems to appeal to a wide-age range of readers—it’s been discussed in high school English classes as well as senior centers.

B—What are you working on now?

C—A new novel, a new picture book. . . that’s the joy of being a writer. There’s always something to look forward to.

On that note, I will say thank you since there will always be something to look forward to from you, Corinne! Thank you so much for everything today and I know we will all be eager to see your new work coming out, as well as check out books you already have written and some may have missed along the way! (by the way, if you click on the book covers, it will take you to Corinne's site to read more about them and you can even find out how to buy them if you'd like)

GIVEAWAY

ALL ENTRIES TO WIN THIS BUNDLE WILL
BE DONE THIS TIME AT THE END OF
EACH POST AS YOU WOULD NORMALLY DO!

A WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY
MY COMBINING ALL ENTRIES
FROM EACH POST THAT YOU WILL
SEE ON CORINNE DEMAS DAY
TODAY!

RULES:

--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY, SORRY
--NO P. O. BOXES, PLEASE
--ALL ENTRIES MUST CONTAIN
YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
--EACH COMMENT MUST BE MADE SEPARATELY
OR THEY WILL NOT COUNT
AS MORE THAN ONE ENTRY!

HOW TO ENTER:

EACH BOOK WILL BE REVIEWED
AND YOU WILL HAVE A CHANCE
TO COMMENT ON THEM. YOU WILL
ALSO BE ABLE TO LEARN A LOT
MORE ABOUT CORINNE DEMAS AND
COMMENT ALL DAY TODAY!

AND NOW SOME ENTRIES
FOR THIS POST!

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT BY WRITING A QUESTION YOU WOULD HAVE LIKED TO ASK CORINNE IF YOU HAD BEEN THE INTERVIEWER.

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON IF AND HOW YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG.

THERE WILL BE 2 MORE POSTS
TODAY ABOUT CORINNE DEMAS...
BECAUSE AS I SAID, IT IS
CORINNE DEMAS DAY
ON BINGO'S BLOG TODAY!

DEADLINE TO ENTER IS
6 PM, EST, DECEMBER 10