You can find out more about Cheryl Carpinello, her books and World of Ink
Author/Book Tour at
http://tinyurl.com/ajka7zv
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Beyond today Educator
http://www.beyondtodayeducator.com
Carpinello’s Writing Pages
http://carpinelloswritingpages.blogspot.com
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ccarpinello
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/cheryl.carpinello1
Publisher Website:
https://museituppublishing.com
To learn more about the World of Ink Tours visit http://worldofinknetwork.com
Interview with Cheryl Carpinello
Please share your bio with us and anything else you would
like readers to know.
I’m a twice-retired high school English teacher. While I
still enjoy teaching and working with kids, after 20+ years of grading essays
and senior research papers, I finally cried ‘Uncle’. Now I do Medieval Writing
Workshops for elementary and middle school students and the Colorado Girl
Scouts in addition to writing.
What are some of the things that have influenced/inspired your writing?
My influence for Guinevere: On the
Eve of Legend and The King’s Ransom were my high school students. I
had students read T. H. White’s The Once and Future King when I couldn’t
get them to read anything else. I wrote for the younger students in hopes that
they might get hooked on reading at an earlier age.
Joseph Campbell’s The Hero of a
Thousand Faces is at the root of all my writing. The idea of the hero’s
quest fits perfectly with Arthurian tales and with most of the stories for
young readers out there. It figured prominently in The King’s Ransom and
is the driving force behind my current work in progress and its characters.
Can you share some writing experiences with us?
Do you want the ones where the words
flow out faster than I can write, or the ones where I’m standing and beating my
head against the wall? Thankfully, I’ve had some of the former, but none of the
latter. When I’m productive, I can write pages and pages without the outside
world intruding. On the other hand, when I find myself staring off into
space, rocking too hard to my music, and
writing little, I stop. I don’t beat my head against the wall. I’ve learned
that my brain is telling me that I’ve not thought things through enough. As I
tell my students, I need to do some brain work before continuing.
Tell us briefly about your recently
published book and what you feel is the most important topic/sub-message you
share.
Young Knights of the Round Table: The
King’s Ransom is an
adventure story centered around the journeys of three yet-to-be heroes. Gavin,
Bryan, and Philip are the culmination of my study of Joseph Campbell’s The
Journey of the Hero. Their individual quests to save their friend demands
that each of them dig deep within themselves to find out who they are. In the
end, I hope readers come away understanding the cornerstones of Arthurian
Legend: Loyalty, Honor, and Friendship.
Like all authors, you have had your fair
share of rejection letters. You obviously did not let the letters deter you.
How did you keep your determination without getting discouraged?
I did get discouraged. I knew I was on
to something with the Arthurian Legend, but no one wanted to listen. I got so
discouraged that I decided to take the plunge and self-publish with Outskirts
Press. It was not an easy decision either. I had the final copy of Guinevere
ready for a month before I got the courage to hit that send button in December
2008! Since then it’s been a lot of hard work and a break from another author I
met online to have Young Knights accepted by Muse Publishing and
published in 2012.
It has been my experience, some things come quite easily (like creating
the setting) and other things aren’t so easy (like deciding on a title). What
comes easily to you and what do you find more difficult?
Amazingly,
I usually have a title before I ever get the first draft of a story done.
Sometimes before I even start writing. Plotting the story out is the difficult
part. I want to be sure that everything works, the characters are where they
need to be, etc. One of the frustrations with Young Knights I didn’t
discover until I was a couple of drafts in. It hit me like a brick, literally.
One of the characters was all wrong. I had to go back to the beginning of the
book and make the changes all the way through.
Please describe to us your relationship between you and your editor. What
makes an author/editor relationship a success?
I always appreciate another set
of eyes on my work. That’s the English teacher in me. Nothing is ever perfect,
and every piece of writing can be improved. With that mindset, I’m open to all
suggestions from my editors (my two and my publishing company’s two). I believe it’s important to keep an open mind
when working with an editor. Writers have a tendency to view their work as
theirs alone. That’s fine if you’re writing just for yourself, but if you’re
writing for an audience and to be published, then you need to open yourself and
your writing up for constructive criticism.
When they write your obituary, what do you hope they will say about
your books and writing? What do you hope they will say about you?
I’m a teacher through and through, and
my writing is aimed at reluctant readers. These are kids who know how to read,
but choose to do other activities. I hope to be remembered for my dedication to
these and all students and for the fact that I wrote the Arthurian Tales in
hopes of inspiring kids to embrace the adventure of reading and the ideals of
the Knights of the Round Table. Sounds a bit hokey, I know, but I believe that
all kids need to know how to read and communicate to be successful in life.
What I hope to do is a small piece of that.
Is there any particular book when you read it, you thought, "I
wish I had written that!"?
OMG, yes. The
Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I would love to be able to build
worlds like Tolkien did. The best part of those books is that they revolve
around the Hero’s Journey, a concept around long before Joseph Campbell put it
into words.
Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? If yes, how
did you ‘cure’ it?
What writer hasn’t? I’ve learned that beating myself up
doesn’t work. Now I just acknowledge that I need to do more mental work, so I
write in my head. When I’ve gotten pass the problem, I go back to writing. I
started writing Sons of the Sphinx (my WIP) about five times and quit.
Finally, I figured it out and started the final first draft!
What type of books do you mostly write?
My books are Middle Grade/Tween adventure/quest stories. Guinevere
and Young Knights are Arthurian Tales. My next book takes place in
Ancient Egypt with an adventure/quest by a young Pharaoh and the modern day
heroine he calls on for assistance.
Who or what inspires your characters and/or plots?
My imagination and my love of old world and ancient
civilizations inspire my characters and my plots. I’ve always loved the Wales
of King Arthur’s time, and Ancient Egypt has fascinated me for a long time. We
visited Egypt in 2008, and this modern world sitting amid the Ancient ruins and
gods stole part of my soul.
Tell us about your writing space.
I can’t do that. I don’t have a writing space. I write on my
couch, at the kitchen table, at my desk, and outside on my patio! I just pick
where I feel comfortable writing at that moment. The only consistency is that I
usually listen to my favorite songs or have a favorite movie of mine on the
television.
Is
there anything you'd go back and do differently now that you have been
published, in regards to your writing career?
Sometimes I
wish I would have pushed through with my earlier tries. I have three completed
books that will probably never see the light of day. Then, I look back and
realize that with teaching and raising a family, I just didn’t have the time or
the drive to do so.
Do you do first drafts on a computer or by hand?
My first draft is usually written by hand. I’ve tried
writing on a computer, but I don’t like it as well. While my laptop is small,
nothing beats the mobility of a pad of paper and a pen. Transferring my written
draft to a computer allows me to do a small bit of editing without slowing me
down.
How do you see the future of book publishing, both
traditional, electronic and print on demand?
I don’t see physical books going away. In fact, I don’t want
them to. Children need the actual physical contact with a book and its pages to
re-enforce the value and wonder of reading. I believe that ebooks are here to
stay. It’s nice because electronic publishing opens up the world of reading for
so many more. POD (print on demand) has the potential to lower publishing costs
for the big traditional houses as well as the ever-growing Indie publishers. I
think it is here to stay.
What happens before sitting down to write? (Explain your
creative process.)
Once
I get an idea for a story, I write out an outline, not overly detailed, just an
overview of the entire story. Then I spend several days doing what I tell my
students is brainwork. I just think about what I’ve outlined, the possible
characters, the storyline, conflicts, etc. I then go back to the outline and
fill in some of the missing pieces. I do more brainwork and then finalize the
outline. Once that is done, I write straight through without stopping to
question of verify information. I save that for the next draft.
Do you do a lot of research for your book(s)?
Minimal research was required for Guinevere and The
King’s Ransom. Research for Sons of the Sphinx has been
extensive and long. The nice aspect about that has been that I’ve immersed
myself in Ancient Egypt for months and loved it. In fact, I’m still reading
even though I getting ready to revise the first draft.
What voice do you find most to your liking: first person
or third person? (Answer only if you write fiction)
I would have to say first person. For me, third person is
tough. I tend to forget that I’m not supposed to know certain thoughts,
feeling, etc. Young Knights challenged me in that I had to alternate
between three viewpoints as each of the characters is a lead character.
Have you received any awards?
Guinevere: On the Eve of Legend was a Finalist in
Pre-Teen Lit in the 2011 Global Ebook Awards. That was my first foray into the
awards arena.
The King’s Ransom (Young Knights of the Round Table)
has done well for itself. It has earned the 2012 Seal of Approval for
Recommended Reading from the Children’s Literary Classics; the 2012 Silver
Award for YA Fiction from the Children’s Literary Classics; and named a 2012
Finalist for Ebook Children in the USA 2012 Best Book Awards.
What advice would you give to a new
writer?
I know it’s been said many times, but writers need to write
what they love. Also, don’t be afraid to explore and expand on that. It was my
love of King Arthur that propelled me into writing. Tying that together with
Joseph Campbell and the hero’s journey inspired me in my writings for young
people. Today this has taken me beyond Arthurian Legend to ancient Egypt where
a young pharaoh embarks upon his own journey to write a wrong and be united with
his one true love.
Sometimes a person’s writing can take
them places they never imagined. Rejoice in that and embrace it!
Use this space to tell us more about your
book’s characters. Anything you want your readers to know. Include information
on where to find your book(s), any blogs you may have, or how a reader can
learn more about you and/or your book(s).
My main website is Beyond Today
Educator(http://www.beyondtodayeducator.com), but I apologize in that it needs updating. Pictures of my Girl Scout
workshops are posted under the Events tab.
My books are all available on
AmazonUS, AmazonUK, Barnes & Noble, iBookstore, and other sites.
I thank you for taking the time to share with my readers
about being an author.
Book Talk:
The King’s Ransom (Young Knights of the Round Table)
Experience the true meaning of friendship and loyalty as three friends, motivated by their belief in the Wild Man's innocence, embark upon life-changing quests testing their limits and forcing each to confront and conquer their fears or face humiliation and/or even death, in their attempt to save their friend.
ISBN: 978-1-77127-056-4
Publisher: MuseItUp Publishing
Publication Date: May 2012
