www.shutta.com , www.facebook.com/shuttacrum , https://twitter.com/shutta
I write poetry, children’s books, children’s novels and nonfiction articles for magazines and journals. By Dec. 2017, I’ll have sixteen books out. My newest book is MOUSELING’S WORDS. I love writing for kids of all ages!
Questions:
1. When you were my age did you like to read? As a kid I loved reading everything! I wanted to read all of the books in our small school library. But I did especially love adventure books.
2. What was your favorite book? One book I loved and still think fondly of is: MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN by Jean Craighead George.
3.Where do you get your ideas for books? Ideas are all around us all the time—it just takes a few quiet moments to think about why something is happening, and how if you just made on little tweak . . . really wild things could happen. I like playing “what if.” That is, asking myself what if this or that? What if a space ship landed on the roof of my house on Christmas Eve, instead of Santa?
4. Is it hard to write a book? It’s VERY difficult to write a good book! It’s easy to write a bad book. Sometimes it can take me years to finish a book. But that’s all right, because in the end I know I’ve given it my all and tried to make it the best book I can.
5. Do you have a favorite book of the ones your have written? All my young readers ask if I’ve got a favorite book of my own that I’ve written. That’s always difficult to answer because I like different ones on different days for different reasons. But, overall, MY MOUNTAIN SONG pulls at my heart because it is similar to how I spent happy summers with my grandparents. And THOMAS AND THE DRAGON QUEEN is dear to me because I had my father in mind as I wrote it.
6. What authors are you reading right now? Right now, I love many many authors! I’m reading a lot of Jason Reynold’s novels lately. And I just reread A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness. Really enjoying this reading. As far as books for the very young, I love Rosemary Wells’ books, Sandra Boynton and Jon Klassen.
7. Do you have advice for kids who want to be an author? My best advice: read, read, read! How do you know what you want to write if you don’t read at all levels and in all genres? A good writer needs to really be versed in their field. Read at least a thousand books before you begin your own.
