Book Birthday Blog with Patti Richards

Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog! 

Where we celebrate new books by Michigan's children's book authors and illustrators

Congratulations to Patti Richards on the release of THANKU: POEMS OF GRATITUDE!

Q#1: Congratulations on the release of THANKU: POEMS OF GRATITUDE! Can you tell us how you became involved in this amazing project?

Thanks, Jodi! The way I got involved in this project is a testament to the importance of writing partners and critique groups. As writers, we can’t be everywhere at once when it comes to reading blogs, checking out websites and keeping track of contests. Having critique partners that know your strengths and interests helps fill in the gaps. My long-time writing partner and dear friend, Lisa Rose, saw on Miranda Paul’s blog that she was looking for two more poets to feature in her upcoming project, THANKU: POEMS OF GRATITUDE, and she wanted to give those spaces to newer writers. She was taking submissions for short window and encouraged her readers to send in their best work. Of course, the deadline was the next day (why does that always happen), so I had to get busy creating a poem around the theme of gratitude/thankfulness that was kid-centric. I don’t know how many versions of the poem Lisa and my family read over the next 24 hours, but it was a lot! LOL! Anyway, when I was finally happy with the result, I sent it in. Then promptly forgot about it. 

About a month later, I got an email from Miranda saying that she loved the poem, that it was a top contender, and that she would let me know her decision soon. A few weeks later, I received another email with the happy news that my poem would be included in the anthology. Because the book was well under way when I got the email, the entire process happened pretty fast for me, which is unusual in publishing! I didn’t know until after I’d signed the contract and became part of the email group who the other authors were that were part of the project. And wow! I was overwhelmed and so very, very grateful!   

Q#2: As a children's book author, how has reading and writing poetry influenced your work?

Along with my work as a children’s author, I’m also a musician and have been playing the piano and singing since I was around 7. My entire family sings…parents, grandparents, great grandparents, so music was everywhere as I was growing up. That’s why I love poetry so much, because well written poetry makes words sing! I look for and love the music in the words I read, and I try to write stories that are as musical as possible even when they don’t rhyme.

When I was in elementary school, I had several teachers that were gifted readers, and they read aloud to us each day, both poetry and prose. I was mesmerized by the cadence of the poems of various authors and how they could invoke both a picture and a feeling by their choice of words and how they put them together. When I moved to junior high, I fell in love with Emily Dickinson and then by high school some of my favorites were Sara Teasdale, William Carlos Williams, Edna St. Vincent Millay and of course, Shakespeare. As a language arts teacher, I looked for poets/poems to read aloud to my students that were rich in cadence, meter, rhyme and story, and so I added James Whitcomb Riley and Robert Frost, two of my personal favorites, to my list for reading aloud to students.  

When I retired from teaching and started writing full time, I enjoyed, and still enjoy the work of fellow authors like Pat Zietlow Miller, Patricia Toht, Kathi Appelt, Lori Mortensen and our own Lisa Wheeler! These are some of my go-to authors when I’m looking for rhyming mentor texts. And when it comes to writing musical prose, no one beats Michigan author, Gary D. Schmidt!

So, I guess reading and writing poetry has influenced my work by challenging me to make each word feel like the note of a song in every story I write.   

Q#3: We all know that writing can be difficult at times. What are some things that you do to stay positive especially in the face of writer’s block or rejection?

Ah, the question no one really wants to answer but must! I am the queen of rejection…THE QUEEN! I’ve been writing for children for more than 20 years. I’ve had some lovely successes and some bitter failures (remind me to tell you how I signed with my first agent, was with her for three years, one of which she was on maternity leave for to then be passed to another agent who had to let me go because of company restructuring…). I’ve won awards, I’ve signed contracts to have the houses go out of business. I’ve been at the acquisitions table and been so close, so many times I’ve stopped counting. But here’s what I’ve learned along the way: 

1. Rejection is part of the process and only serves to make you a stronger person and better writer IF you can allow yourself to learn from it. Grow a thick skin. Give yourself 48 hours to grieve and eat dark chocolate and get back on that horse. There’s no way forward but through. 

2. Remember writing is a business, and agents and editors must make smart business decisions in order to stay afloat in a very completive market (i.e. ALL children’s books by celebrity authors except for Jamie Lee Curtis😊).

3. You must not only love what you write, you must love the children you write for. It’s easy to get caught up in the Academy Award and/or market driven mindset that circles around all artistic endeavors. But don’t be fooled or motivated by apparent celebrity status or the next best thing since sliced bread- at least within our community. Write for children. Love them. Listen to them. Hear their hearts and remember what it was like to open a brand-spanking new book when you were young. Take an honest look at why you’re in this business and adjust accordingly. Stay true to your calling. If you don’t, you won’t make it. 

4. There is no such thing as writer’s block. Slumps happen, but writer’s write. If you can’t think of anything else to work on, write a list of what you plan to work on. Write a thank-you note to someone who has helped you along the way. Write a grocery list for heaven’s sake. But keep on writing. It’s what we do. Period. 

Q#4: If you were to share the work of 2 authors or illustrators (just 2- I know, it's hard!) with new writers who would you choose and why?

That’s a tough one. I think I’d rather share what I think are perfect books. EVERY author publishes a clunker now and then. No one is perfect every single time. 

For picture books, I’d choose, BEAR HAS A STORY TO TELL, by Philip C. Stead and Erin E. Stead. Beautiful book with heart-warming illustration, endearing characters and a perfect story arc.

For middle grade, I’d choose A WRINKLE IN TIME, by Madeleine L’Engle, THE LION THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, by C.S. Lewis or THE WEDNESDAY WARS, by Gary D. Schmidt. Masterfully told stories!  

For YA…and I don’t read much YA…I would choose THE RIVER BETWEEN US, by Richard Peck or LYDDIE, by Katherine Paterson.

Q#5: What's next for you? Marketing or promotions for THANKU, book signings, etc. Where can people connect with you?

Well let’s see…as soon as my youngest heads back to college and my middle girl gets into a rhythm in her new teaching job and my bathroom remodel gets finished…I’m starting some new projects based on stories written and given to me by my late grandmother before she passed away last year. I’m also heading over to the Made in the Mitten Festival on Saturday, September 28^thin Allen Park with some of my Michigan author friends to sell and sign copies of THANKU! Would love to see you there. And I’m  hosting a book giveaway on my blog, www,pattigail1.com, next week, so be sure and stop by! You can also find me on Twitter at @pattigrichards. 

A little bit about the book: This anthology brings together a diverse group of poets who express gratitude for everything from a puppy to hot cocoa to the sky itself. Each writer uses a different poetic form, and readers will encounter a concrete poem, a sonnet, a pantoum, a sijo, and much more. Stunning illustrations from Marlena Myles invite close examination, making this a collection to return to and savor again and again.

A portion of the proceeds from this anthology will be donated to We Need Diverse Books.

A little bit about the author: Farmington Hills, Michigan native, Patti Richards has spent more than 25 years telling tales. Her children's poetry is part of the upcoming anthology, THANKU: POEMS OF GRATITUDE, Edited by Miranda Paul, (Millbrook Press 2019). She is the author of three nonfiction books and her work has been part of Highlights Magazine and Fun for Kidz Magazine.. She was a Katherine Paterson Prize Honorable Mention winter in 2018, a finalist in 2014, and three-time Honorable Mention winner in the Writer’s Digest annual fiction contest.