Monday, September 16, 2013

How Long Will You Love Me?: Spotlight


 
Author Patti Brassard Jefferson joins the World of Ink Virtual Tour  

The World of Ink Network will be touring author Patti Brassard Jefferson’s picture book filled with silly answers for young children and lovers of all ages, How Long Will You Love Me? in September 2013.

What started as a single drawing for a Valentine's Day card, has slowly, but oh so surely, became Jefferson’s debut book.
 
About the Book:
Whether it's a question from a child to a parent or an adult to their significant other, the question “How long will you love me?” probably gets asked more than you think...even if it just stays in your head and you are the only one who hears it. Patti Brassard Jefferson's creative first book starts with the question and each page gives a warm, rhythmic reassurance --- "I promise I will love you 'til..." It's the perfect book to read to someone to let them know your love is endless.
 
So, just how long WILL I love you? The answer is perfectly clear in this book!
 
BONUS: Each page also has a heart drawn in it somewhere. While they are not very difficult to find, the search will also take the reader through some of the other subtle jokes such as a banner behind the bunny band that promotes Carrot-oke or a whale who's reading Moby Dick on the beach.
 
Places where available for sale:
    www.bn.com
 
Title of Book(s): How Long Will You Love Me?
Author & Illustrator: Patti Brassard Jefferson
Publisher: Halo Publishing, Int.
Genre: Children's book
ISBN Number:  ISBN: 9781612441658
Publication Date: June 2013
 
 
Interview:
 
What are some of the things that have influenced/inspired your writing?
Probably the biggest influence in wanting to write children's book originally came from having my daughter and spending so much time reading with her and making up our own stories. Ironically, my first children's book wasn't released until June 2013 and my daughter was already 27 years old by then!
I think children's book authors have to have a child-like side to them to relate on that level so I try to see things with the same awe and wonder that a child sees. Sometimes that means I need to make time to blow bubbles and draw on the sidewalk in chalk or wear a tiara in my living room. If anyone questions my behavior, I just point out that it's part of my job.

Can you share some writing experiences with us?
I carry a polka-dotted notebook full of little thoughts that I think someday may combine in the proper order and become books. The book I am working on now to be released on Halo Publishing in March 2014, came to me while I was trying unsuccessfully to get to sleep one night. The basic premise started slowly but after about 20 minutes, I jumped out of bed and  spent the next couple of hours sketching out some illustrations and writing a first draft of the entire story. It's not close to finished yet but I'm pretty happy with its progression so far.
 
Tell us briefly about your recently published book and what you feel is the most important topic/sub-message you share.
How Long Will You Love Me? was released on Halo Publishing in June 2013. Its a collection of silly poems that answer the question that most kids ask. Heck, most adults have asked the same question at some point. This book throws out improbabilities, such as "'til baseballs grow on trees" or " 'til dolphins tan", in a fun way to reassure that love is endless. On each page there is a heart hidden in each illustration. They aren't super hard to find but subconsciously the message even there is that love is easy to find if you are paying attention.
 
About the Author: 
Patti Brassard Jefferson lives under a palm tree in sunny Florida with her husband, Ken and their 2 rescued mutts. How Long Will You Love Me is the first children's book that PBJ has written and illustrated. She began drawing when she was a little girl and forgot to stop when she grew up. She thinks doodling is a lost art and has a special place in her heart for the smell of a new box of crayons.
 
More details:  Patti Brassard was born in upstate NY in 1962 but moved with her military family to Virginia when she was 11 years old. She always loved art in school but never gave a thought to making it a career until she started college in 1980. With no idea where a Fine Arts degree would take her, she instead studied Media Arts Advertising and after graduation, started her own graphic design company so that she could continue to be a work-at-home mother to her daughter Nikki.
 
It was while Nikki was learning to read that Patti mocked up her first book aimed at teaching pre-readers the alphabet. She only shared it with her daughter and her kindergarten class. It was very well received but Patti never pursued the project any further.
 
Over the following years Patti opened a paint-it-yourself pottery studio and got back to being involved in more artistic endeavors. In  2010, she remarried and added Jefferson to her name: Patti Brassard Jefferson.  They moved to the Florida Keys with their two rescued dogs, Marley & Mollie, and she opened an art gallery.

While in Florida, she decided to dust off unfinished children's book project that she had put on the shelf. It had started as a Valentines card years before and had morphed into the beginning of a book. Over the next 2 years, Patti worked on the illustrations and adding more pages. It was finished in October 2012 but she had no idea what the next step was. A friend and fellow author had just self-published a novel so Patti did some research.  She decided to start a Kick Starter campaign to raise the funds necessary to self-publish her book. The campaign launched in April of 2013 and funded 30 days later. She signed with Halo Publishing International and the book was released in June!

Follow Patti Brassard Jefferson:
Author Website:  www.HowLongWillYouLoveMe.com
Blog Address: www.1crayonshort.blogspot.com
Twitter URL: pbjmosaic
Facebook URL: facebook.com/pbrassard
Facebook Fan Page URL: facebook.com/howlongwillyouloveme
 
You can find out more about Patti Brassard Jefferson, her work and World of Ink Author/Book Tour at http://tinyurl.com/pxvhsc7

To learn more about the World of Ink Tours visit http://worldofinknetwork.com   
 
 

1 comment:

I love your comments!