Peggy Archer
Children's Author

Kathryn Page Camp is the author of Writers in Wonderland: Keeping Your Words Legal, a book for authors about anything and everything to do with legal issues for writers. Her first book, In God We Trust: How the Supreme Court’s First Amendment Decisions Affect Organized Religion, is also non-fiction for adults. Kathryn is a licensed attorney and lives in northwest Indiana with her husband.

Kathryn, I’m so happy to welcome you here! Can you tell us a little about yourself and how long you’ve been writing?

Like many writers, I started young. My first attempts to get published came in high school. I had some (unpaid) success with poetry but none with the short stories I sent out. Then I put it aside while I pursued a legal career that, fortunately, involved a lot of writing. I started writing for publication again about ten years ago and have been doing it full-time since I retired from my salaried legal position at the end of 2009. When I’m not writing, I enjoy reading, photography, and sailing Lake Michigan with my husband of thirty-four years. We have two children and a son-in-law.

Writers in Wonderland is written in such a way that makes it easy for someone with no legal background to read and understand. What was the inspiration behind this book, and why did you feel a need to write it?

As a lawyer who is also a writer, I have long been interested in the legal issues that writers face. Through the years other writers have asked me legal questions that I was happy to answer or, in many cases, to research and then answer. Encouragement from my fellow writers became the primary motivation for writing the book.

What kind of research did you do to write your book?

I’m one of those geeks who enjoys research, and I believe in being thorough. That means I read a lot of court cases involving writers. I also read the federal laws on copyright and trademark.

I love the theme that runs through your book, which is based on Alice in Wonderland and other works by Lewis Carroll. How did you arrive at this title/theme for your book?

I’m not quite sure. I don’t remember why, but I used phrases from Alice in Wonderland for the chapter titles in one section. Someone from my writers’ critique group said they sounded out of place and I should either eliminate the references or expand them to the entire book. I had been looking for a way to make the book more interesting, so I chose the “expand” option. I’m glad I did, because finding passages that worked was half the fun of writing the book.

Did you face any challenges when writing this book?

Finding the right Lewis Carroll quotes was challenging but also fun. The hardest task was choosing which cases to use. If I had tried to read everything, I would still be reading. So I narrowed it down to three categories: (1) Supreme Court cases that every writer should know about, (2) cases that tell interesting stories, and (3) cases about celebrities. Of course, I also picked cases that make an important legal point.

What encouragement has helped you along your way?

Good critique partners were my best encouragement. That means the Highland Writers’ Group and my online critique partner, Celeste Charlene. My husband was supportive, too.

You are a licensed attorney. How does that experience inform, inspire, and affect your writing?

It’s both a blessing and a curse. On the blessings side, my legal training and experience have taught me to love research and to do it well. It also gives me something to write about: both of my published books involve legal issues. On the curse side, I have spent years trying to learn how NOT to write like a lawyer. I hope that Writers in Wonderland proves I’ve been successful.

Your current book is NF for adults, but you also write for children. Can you tell us a little about your writing life? Do you prefer writing NF over Fiction?

I prefer writing fiction, but it’s a lot harder to do right. The same is true of children’s books. I wrote two early chapter books intended to begin a series, but a couple of very helpful rejection letters made me realize how hard it is to age children’s books correctly. The books were too advanced for the level I was aiming at but too short for the next level up. My adult fiction hasn’t found a publisher yet, either, but I keep trying.

What projects are you currently working on?

My current project is contemporary women’s fiction, but I am also researching ideas for a middle grade historical novel.

Where do you turn for instruction and inspiration?

I attend at least one major writers’ conference every year. I also attend events sponsored by the Indiana Writers’ Consortium, the Indiana Chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers, and the Indiana Chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

What books have most influenced your life? What are you reading now?

In 100,000 words or less? While it’s hard to narrow it down, the greatest influence probably came from those authors I read vociferously as a child and during my high school and college years. The childhood favorites include Lucy Maude Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Kate Douglas Wiggin, and Frances Hodgson Burnett. High school and college saw me reading Grace Livingston Hill, George Elliot, Charles Dickens, and William Shakesphere. I also read a lot of mysteries in high school, including those by Ellery Queeen and Rex Stout. I later discovered Agatha Christie, who is my favorite mystery author.

More recently, I have been enjoying middle grade and young adult fiction. I just finished Walk Me Home by Catherine Ryan Hyde. Other recent books are Below by Meg McKinlay and The Romeo and Juliet Code by Phoebe Stone. And I loved, loved, loved The Life of Pi.

Kathryn, you and I met through the Indiana Writers Consortium (IWC) several years ago. How have you been involved in this organization for Indiana writers?

I am currently Secretary, web master, and blog master. I was President the previous two years and Secretary/Treasurer before that.

Do you have any advice for new or aspiring writers?

Read, read, and read some more, especially in the genre you are trying to write. The other important piece of advice is to learn your craft. It’s amazing how many beginning writers think that good grammar is all it takes. They don’t realize that you have to write sentences and paragraphs and chapters and books that keep the reader interested, and that requires understanding the craft. Attend writers’ conferences. Read books about writing. Get input from a critique group that points out the weaknesses as well as the strengths.

Are you interested in speaking to groups? If so, how can interested parties contact you?

I enjoy speaking to groups. More information can be found on my website at www.kathrynpagecamp.com, or contact me at kcamp@kathrynpagecamp.com.

Kathryn, it was a pleasure to interview you on my blog! Thank you so much for sharing your insight and your books with readers here.

You can find more about Kathryn and her writing at her website, or visit her blog at http://kathrynpagecamp.blogspot.com.

Kathryn’s books are available at Amazon and other online retailers and can be ordered from your favorite brick and mortar bookstore.

Writers in Wonderland: Keeping Your Words Legal
KP/PK Publishing 2013, ISBN-10: 0989250415, ISBN-13: 978-0989250412

In God We Trust: How the Supreme Court’s First Amendment Decisions Affect organized Religion, Faithwalk Publishing 2006, ISBN-10: 1932902600, ISBN-13: 978-1932902600  Read More 

As a children's author, I dread the side of writing that includes plodding through contracts and other legalities. So I was truly delighted to find that Writers in Wonderland: Keeping Your Words Legal was such an easy read. It explains things that every writer should think about but doesn't want to, putting it into language that can actually be understood. Camp includes examples from interesting court cases to illustrate her points and help put things in perspective. As a reader, I enjoyed the chapter openings which referred to the works of Lewis Carroll. You'll also want to read the Appendices for resources, a glossary, and the complete text of the poems quoted in the book. Writers in Wonderland is well-written, informative, and a great read.  Read More 

My husband and I like to walk. One of our favorite places to go walking is at Quail Ridge Park in Wentzville, Missouri. It sports a beautiful paved walking trail which is about three miles long if you go from the parking lot to the end of the loop. You can make it longer or shorter depending on how you do it.

Our walks take us through sunny and shady areas, past several playgrounds (one featuring a sculpture of two children and a rabbit), a dog park, and one fairly challenging uphill climb. But one of the most beautiful and serene areas is over a bridge and around a small lake. We’ve seen turtles, ducks and squirrels, a snake, fish, and once a deer that crossed our path. It’s peaceful and inspiring, and good exercise.

But there was an added dimension this summer with the posting of the pages from Peter Brown’s picture book, The Curious Garden. On the first board was the title page from the book, along with the following message:

“Welcome to the Picture Book Walk at Quail Ridge Park, a partnership between the St. Charles county Parks Department and the St. Charles City-County Library District. You’re about to read The Curious Garden by Peter Brown, a Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator and author of books for children. While you walk around the trail, enjoy the story of Liam, a young boy who turns a dreary industrial area into a beautiful garden. Savor the story and its lovely illustrations as you enjoy being in the beauty of nature.”

For a children’s author, what could be better than combining a picture book about a garden with nature itself!

"The picture book walk begins at the paved trail below the Quail Ridge Lodge and wraps around the picturesque lake. The nearly one-mile-long walk features 17 numbered signs which encompass all 32 colorful pages of Brown's popular children's book. The walk was designed for families with young children in mind, and is convenient for strollers and bicycles to easily maneuver around the lakeside path." --from the St. Charles County Parks department website

"The picture book walk promotes the love of reading with the enjoyment of the outdoors," says Parks Director Bettie Yahn-Kramer. "It's a free, festive, educational program that appeals to all ages."

If you live in the Wentzville area, west of St. Louis, you can still enjoy this outdoor experience which will be in place at the park through August 31. Quail Ridge Park opens daily at 7 a.m. and closes a half hour after dusk.

The Curious Garden, written and illustrated by Peter Brown, is a NY Times bestseller, an ALA Notable Children’s Book (2010), and received the E.B. White Read-Aloud Picture Book Award (2010) and the Children’s Choice Illustrator of the Year Award (2010). Visit Peter Brown’s website for more information about the author/illustrator and his books.

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 2009,
ISBN 9780316015479  Read More 

Do you remember playing frozen tag when you were a kid? If you were ‘IT’ anyone that you tagged would have to stand ‘frozen' in the position that they were in when you tagged them until someone else tagged them again.

Sometimes I play ‘frozen tag’ in my writing. I ‘freeze’ words or sentences, or even whole paragraphs. I do this by changing the color of those words or sentences to white or a light gray. It essentially removes them from my view, so that I can see how the story would read without them.

Then I ask myself: “Do I really need those extra words? Will the story make sense without them, or are they absolutely necessary? Do they add something to the story, like humor, emotion, or some detail that helps the reader see the character, setting, or something else, in his mind?

Or do those extra words take the reader away from the story, even for a moment?

Remember, I write picture books! If you’re a novel writer, your frozen sections will probably be much longer!

Picture book authors usually have a ‘picture’ in their minds of what the scenes in their book will look like, which can make it hard to leave those details out. But we need to remember to leave space for the illustrator’s creativity as well. If we do that, we’re often delightfully surprised!

If you’re sure that the ‘frozen’ words in your manuscript need to be left in the story, then you can un-freeze them by changing the color back to black. You might also want to consider if there’s a way to ‘show’ the same thing in fewer words.

But if you’re satisfied that your story holds up without those frozen sections, just highlight them and hit the ‘delete’ key!  Read More 

At the end of June I was excited to be able to attend the American Library Association (ALA) convention in Chicago. I was not a featured author, and I didn’t attend any of the ticketed events. But $35 will get you a one-day floor pass to the exhibits with 692 exhibitors, and 487 Meet the Author opportunities!

ALA is geared mostly to librarians and teachers, but if you’re in any way connected to children’s books, there are other perks to being there. So with ‘Author’ on our identification badges, my friend Karen and I walked the halls of McCormick’s Place on Saturday, June 29th. Here are some things that an author can get from the ALA experience, even if you’re not one of the many authors there signing books.

Connecting with your publishers. Top on my list was to stop at Candlewick’s booth, and Penguin and Dial Books for Young Readers. At Candlewick’s booth I enjoyed re-connecting and talking with Anne, who encouraged me to submit one of my manuscripts to my editor there. (It’s on its way, Anne!). Although I wasn’t able to find a familiar face at Dial this time, I stopped by to say hello.

Connecting with other publishers. I made stops at a number of other booths that publish different kinds of materials for children and picked up some flyers and websites to look at later. Some were children’s magazines, which had sample magazines to take home and read to see what types of material that they publish. Another was the name and e-mail of an editor at a publishing company that publishes non-fiction.

Free books and samplers. Some publishers have advanced reading copies (ARCs) or uncorrected proofs to hand out to visitors. Some are autographed by the authors. There are also audio and dvd samplers. I had to keep reminding myself to be selective, and not to take more than I could carry! Among the several that I did bring home were an uncorrected sampler of IF YOU WERE A CHOCOLATE MUSTACHE by J. Patrick Lewis, and a chapter sampler from the book, STUBBY THE WAR DOG, autographed by the author Ann Bausum. Publishers Weekly and Book Links also had free copies of their publications to hand out.

Books to purchase and have personally autographed by the authors. This is something that’s hard for me to pass up, and I did get a couple books for my collection—WOOBY & PEEP BY Cynthea Liu, and STEAM TRAIN, DREAM TRAIN by Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld, a follow up to GOODNIGHT, GOODNIGHT, CONSTRUCTION SITE.

Connecting and re-connecting with other authors. Though I live in Missouri now, I keep the ties to good friends from Indiana and Illinois. Karen Kulinski and I have been writing buddies for many years, and it was great to spend the day together traveling through the aisles. We met up with another member of our Indiana skype critique group, Sharon Waller Biggs, and had lunch with two wonderful authors from Illinois, Esther Hershenhorn and Carmella Martino. I got a peek at Esther’s new book coming out soon, TXTNG MAMA, TXTNG BABY at the Sleeping Bear booth. I was sorry to have missed Rebecca Kai Dotlich’s book signing later in the day, but did see Tracy Richardson from Indiana and got a signed copy of the ARC for her new book, THE FIELD.

…and more. Getting a taste of what’s coming in children’s books by browsing the books showcased by different publishers. Making new friends by asking questions at the booths, and standing in lines to have books autographed. New ideas that come from being around children’s books. Drawings for books and more. And always, bookmarks, catalogs, and promotional items like train whistles, and stress balls that look like apples, available for taking. And books for sale.

And I learned that Book Expo America (BEA) is schedule to return to Chicago in 2016. See you then, Chicago!  Read More 

Happy Independence Day to everyone! May we continue to enjoy the freedoms that God granted us.

Check out the Blog Hop interviews this week!

July 3rd -- Lori Galaske

July 5th – Sue Bradford Edwards: One Writer's Journey
 Read More 

I was invited by my friend, Cynthia Reeg, to participate in a “blog hop interview.” Cynthia sent me some interview questions, which I answer here on my blog. Following my answers, I tag 3 other writers who will, in turn, answer questions on their blogs next week. It’s been fun checking out the Blog Hops to see what other children’s authors have posted!

Cynthia posted her answers to the questions at her blog, What’s New With Cynthia Reeg on June 26th. If you like, you can leave a comment on her blog and tell her that you connected to her through my link here!

Here are my answers to the questions that I chose from the list:

1. What are you working on right now?
I have several projects going on that I switch between when I need to put one down for awhile. One is a picture book with ogres in it, another is a non-fiction picture book about animals with some unusual things about their teeth.

2. How does it differ from other works in its genre?
Most picture books that I have seen about ogres show them turning out to be cuddly and friendly. In my book, humor keeps the ogres from being too scary, and the child in the story uses his wits to save the day. My animal teeth book is a combination of poems and facts—and the teeth facts are such fun!

3. Why do you write what you do?
I love being a part of a young child’s world. Maybe I just don’t want to grow up! I’ve always worked with kids, as a nurse and now as a writer. It seems the perfect place to be.

I love interesting facts, rhyming poetry, and humor. I try to make my readers smile. Things don’t usually come out of my mouth as funny, but I love it when something I write comes out that way.

4. How does your writing process work?
When I started writing, I had five (then six) young children who kept me on my toes. For lack of time, I did a lot of thinking about the characters and the plot in my head before putting anything down on paper. I still do that. I kind of need to have that first line or two in my head before I can move forward, even though it may change later. I don’t outline, but I do have an idea of where the story is going before I start. I also re-write a lot, and listen to suggestions from other children’s writers in my critique groups.

Finding time to write can still be a challenge. My kids are grown, but now I have grandkids who are fun to be around. My day includes time to write, no excuses! Although some days I have more time than others.

Thank you for the blog-tag, Cindy! Please check out Cindy’s answers to her questions at What’s New With Cynthia Reeg .

In addition, I am tagging the following three children's authors. Make sure to check out their blog posts on the following dates:

Posting Monday, July 8th—Jeanie Franz Ransom

Posting Monday, July 8th—Diana Jenkins: DJ’s Thoughts

Posting Wednesday, July 10th—Margo Dill's Read These Books and Use Them!

Tag! You’re It! I can’t wait to see who’s next!  Read More 

Check out my friend, Cynthia Reeg's blog celebrating Blog Hop!

While you're there, look around her site for some great posts for children's authors and for young readers.

My husband is on a mission! It’s called ‘de-cluttering.’ Lately he’s been pulling out boxes of old photos from the shelves with a plan to divide them up and give them to the kids. That’s about seven shelves, and it doesn’t even count the dvd’s since photos went digital!

So far we have six small piles of photos to give away. Mostly we look through the boxes and ‘remember when.’

‘Back then’ kids liked hide and seek, sand boxes, and bikes. They liked playing games of all kinds and reading stories. Kids still like the same things, but what’s different in today’s world is the many ways that kids can do those things.

They still count to ten out loud when they play hide and seek. They still dig and build roads in sand boxes, and they still ride bikes. But when it comes to games and stories, it’s a brand new world.

Today some games can be played on a board at the table, and some can be played outdoors. They can also be played on a video screen, hand-held or desk-top, or with many different game systems. Electronic games have their place, but just as ‘back then,’ kids still enjoy the interaction of having someone who will sit down and play a game with them.

When my kids were young, books-on-tape was something new. I remember them listening to a tape of BEDTIME FOR FRANCES. They would listen to the part that says “U is for underwear, down in the dryer,” giggle, and re-wind the tape and play that part over and over. The thing is that they had the book in front of them and turned the page when the ‘beep’ sounded. They were reading along with the tape. Just as today kids can read along on an e-reader. I think that our kids still enjoyed the stories best when we all sat close together on the sofa and read them out loud.

Today books can be listened to on cds and on all kinds of e-book readers. Have you ever watched a baby swipe his hand across a book page, waiting for it to change the picture? Some of these babies know more about electronics than I do! E-books can be interactive, read-only or with someone reading it as you go along. It can show the spelling of a word in the story, make a dog bark when you click on it, and more.

Electronic books or the board and paper kind—it’s all reading. The difference is the format. What electronic games and books doesn't change is the personal interaction, bonding, and closeness of playing together or reading together. No matter what the format, we can still read books together out loud, sitting close together on the sofa.

Hoping that this summer all kids have someone to play games and read books with them, no matter what the format. Happy summertime!  Read More 

Just saw this link to a u-tube video where the dads at Scholastic talk about what books they like to read to their kids.
Scholastic Dads Talk Books.