Writer Spotlight: Three Men Join the Ranks

Charlie Barshaw coordinates our quarterly Writer Spotlight feature and interviews writers of SCBWI-MI. In this piece, meet three new to SCBWI-MI writers: Arthur Brood, Baxter Bramatti and Jeffrey Goeb.

Three Men Join the SCBWI-MI Ranks

Arthur Brood

 

When did you know you were a writer?

 I am a teacher, but had not given thought to being a writer until I was modeling a writing assignment for my students in the early 2000’s.  As I was demonstrating how the outline can be used to write a story I started thinking that I had a story that had potential to become a book.  At that point I realized I would like to write books for struggling boy readers.  I found it was a big process and that writing was the easy part, the hard work starts when the writing is done.

 

You’ve written three middle grade books about antique cars, obviously an obsession with you. Where did your passion for early automobiles come from?

 

I have had an interest in automobiles ever since I was a young child.  My mother tells me I was pushing my bottle and making car sounds when I was 6 months old.  I also remember being at my grandparent’s house and watching a Model T drive by on the road, it is imprinted into my memory.  As the years went by I learned more about the history of the automobile industry and read books and magazines about cars.

 How has your teaching career helped your writing career? How has it hindered it?

I have been very fortunate that I taught 4th grade for many years.  Michigan’s auto history fit perfectly into the curriculum that I taught. With some assistance from a colleague I was able to develop a unit of study on the Ford Model T and the Assembly Line. As part of this project I also purchased a go cart sized Model T replica that I converted to electric so it could be used inside a school building.

 I have presented this to many schools across the state.  In 2009 I was presenting the Model T program at a state conference and was introduced to someone from Macomb County Intermediate School District who oversaw the Author, Specialist, Knowledge (ASK) program and I have been honored to present my books to students in their district for the last 10 years.  

 

In 2015, I was recognized as the Michigan Council of the Social Studies Elementary Social Studies Teacher of the Year and also awarded the Annette and Jim McConnell History Award by Michigan Council for History and Education.  Although these have been a wide range of events, they all contributed to my writing career in some aspect.  

The challenge I face in being a writer and a teacher is that my school schedule pretty closely matches all other schools and thereby limits my ability to present at schools or attend conferences. The teaching schedule is a benefit in one way, but it does limit the discretionary days I can take off.  

 Another challenge I face is that because I chose to self publish I find that I do not have skillsets in all areas of publishing.  I have sought out editors and illustrators, but marketing seems to be my weak area.

 What are you working on right now?

 I am currently trying to relaunch my latest book, Bud: My Adventure Across America.  It was published two weeks before the world shut down for Covid and all the events I had planned were canceled. To further complicate things large publishing houses were providing free materials for young readers, which as an educator was wonderful, but as a small publisher and author I could not compete.

 What are your plans for the future?

 I have ideas for several books in my head, but I have found the reality of teaching full time, raising a family, in addition to my other activities has limited me to focusing on one book at a time.  So at this time there is nothing concrete that I have planned for the future.

 You live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Are you looking forward to the coming winter?

 Not anymore. The older I get the less I enjoy winter.  I like the slower pace of life in the U.P. and the natural beauty, but winter gets very long and creates a lot of work that I do not enjoy anymore.

Contact Arthur: 

 https://www.facebook.com/Author-Arthur-Arthur-Brood-1415120608796209

https://www.instagram.com/arthurbrood/

 

Baxter Bramatti

 

When did you know you were a writer?

 Right now! You’ve confirmed it by the way the question was asked. The question I get more often is, “When did you know you wanted to be a writer?” Wanting and being are two separate experiences. I’ve known I wanted to be a writer since my 4th grade teacher introduced creative writing into my weekly routine.  I’ve known I wanted to be a writer in the same way I’ve known I wanted to be a millionaire. Which, by the way, I am well aware that being a writer and being a millionaire are two completely unrelated dreams. 

Being a writer comes in the form of acknowledgement and confirmation by others (some could argue that perhaps it could come from one’s self); that you have written something someone else sees as a valid form of art. Just like being a millionaire happens when you have a million dollars. Since your question implies that I am a writer, then I say, I am one now, and now is when I know I am a writer. And for that, I thank you.  Now, I’m hoping your follow-up question is, “How does it feel to finally be a millionaire?”

 What books and authors influenced you?

Oh, so you didn’t wire me a million dollars for the purpose of calling me a writer and a millionaire in the same interview? That’s okay, being called a writer is more important anyway.

Okay, to answer the question, and I’m sure this sounds phony, but all of them. Anything I’ve ever read, everything from Richard Wright to Neil Gaiman and Albert Camus to Susan Collins, influences my writing and me as a person in different ways. 

As far as picture books go, Maurice Sendak’s work influences me to dream and create from a child’s perspective; Julia Donaldson’s work pushes me to strive for perfection with my own picture books; and Nancy Tillman’s works of sentimental words set to beautiful art remind me of the importance of the words being shared. Those, as well as others, influence me to find my own path with my writing and not be afraid to try something. 

Even “bad” books influence me in a couple of ways: first, they teach me what mistakes not to make and to find my own path to making new mistakes. Second, they inspire me and give me confidence to put my work out there in the “hey, at least mine won’t be as bad as this one” sense.

You published your first picture book, Moon Puppets, earlier this year. What moved you to create Flora Figgleworth’s story?

There’s two ways to interpret this question. The first is with the story itself, which is about a young girl who wants to cast shadow puppets on the moon for the whole world to see. It was inspired by my father. I have vivid memories of my dad shining a flashlight on the ceiling when I was a kid and we’d lose power during thunderstorms. He’d lower his hand over it to make it look as if there was a giant hand above me coming down to pick me up. It’s the perfect spooky-yet-silly dad-trick that gets kids’ minds off of worrying about when the TV is going to turn back on, if only for a few minutes. Well, I was thinking about his nifty little trick one day when I was looking at a full moon many years ago. I started to imagine how spooky-yet-silly it would be if a shadow of a hand spread across the moon.

The second way to interpret the question is to answer what inspired me to create the actual book. I wrote Moon Puppets not long after I imagined a hand moving across the moon seventeen years ago! But it wasn’t until my daughters entered preschool and kindergarten that I was inspired to create the actual book about Flora’s adventure. If I was going to do a picture book, I wanted to see my kids get to experience the book at the appropriate ages. I fear I wouldn’t have gotten the same kind of excitement, positive feedback, and support from them if I waited until they were in high school to publish it.

 What is your Day Job?

 Whatever it is, I haven’t quit it yet, but I also don’t really see achieving that millionaire label anytime soon.

 What are you working on right now?

The illustrator of Moon Puppets, Taylor J. Graham, and I are working on Flora’s second fantasy adventure. It has a planned release date in February of 2021.

I’m also unofficially participating in NaNoWriMo, working on a sort of Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 meets Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove style novel set in an assisted living facility. However, at the rate I’m going I don’t expect to hit the 50k-word goal. I really like the concept of NaNoWriMo though, and I think it’s a great event for any kind of writer to try.

And of course I always have a stack of unpolished stories and manuscripts to see through to completion.

 What are your plans for the future?

I plan to do things to ensure I keep getting called a writer. So maybe polishing up some of those stories and manuscripts to make them publishable? But besides writing, I’m really looking forward to traveling with my family in the future when this COVID-19 pandemic comes to some kind of an end. I’d also like to visit classrooms and libraries and read my books to kids after the pandemic. But for now, for the short-term future, I suppose it’s a good time to keep writing, keep creating, and keep dreaming.

 Describe the 5XFat series. What are you trying to accomplish when you listen and write?

The 5xFat series was basically a short-lived writing exercise in the form of a series on my blog. With each piece I would listen to a beat that my friend created on repeat and just think about that music and come up with a theme or story, something I could put into words that expressed how that music made me feel or how it spoke to me. 

Listening to music is a big part of my writing. In 2018, the only time I successfully completed a NaNoWriMo challenge, I only listened to music by Future Islands for the entire month, and always while writing. The band’s music perfectly complemented the self-identification and self-pride story told through the perspective of a horse wanting to be a unicorn. It helps listening to music like that when I write. It can set the mood for the story or even pull me back into that world I created when I need to return.

Contact Baxter:

 Anyone is welcome to contact me at baxterbramatti@gmail.com, find me on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @BBramatti, or see what I’m sporadically up to on my website: www.baxterbramatti.com.

Jeffery Goeb

When did you know you were a writer?

Thinking back to the elementary school days, I feel that I've been decent with the written word from an early age. Having the confidence to put myself out there and open myself up to criticism has been more of a barrier that needed conquering, but reading to my daughter at bedtime is probably the biggest factor in helping me believe that I could write children's books with success. With a multitude of writing styles, and subject matter only limited by the mind, there isn't a whole lot that one can't write about. As a result, I currently have dozens of concepts in an array of styles and topics.

What books and authors influenced you?

For me, "On The Night You Were Born" by Nancy Tillman is hard to beat. It comes across as so heartfelt, and it fits right into my desire to encourage my daughter and constantly remind her of how special she is. I enjoy the fun storytelling and the silly twist of Doreen Cronin's "Click, Clack, Moo, Cows That Type." "Are Pirates Polite?" by Corinne Demas & Artemis Roehrig has great pace and clever rhyme (and pirates!) And Leslie Kimmelman's characters in "Trick Arrr Treat" showcase such diversity in a very simple and understated way.

What is your day job?

I've had a small home improvement business since 2006; Since being on my own for the past few years,  I've mostly done interior residential painting and bathroom and kitchen remodels. Recently, I've been expanding my business model to include home inspections for the real estate market.

What are you working on right now?

I currently have several concepts in development, including stories about bees, bats, witches, basic Norse mythology and "renaissance festival" types of things-  and something inspired by some of Adam Mansbach's works that I'm particularly excited about (even though it's not for the "little ones.")

What are your plans for the future?

I've had some unique life-experiences in which I've considered writing self-help material and other adult topics, but I think my primary focus moving forward is going to be on writing for kids and really embracing a different kind of creativity that is entertaining, encouraging and empowering to our young generation. I'm pretty new to the whole process and even though it can be intimidating at times, there's literally no limit to what one may be able to create for an audience that is always hungry for new content.

How did you find SCBWI?

I discovered SCBWI pretty early in the process of researching traditional publishing online;  it's been a great way to network and learn about the publishing process, and the workshops are amazing! SCBWI is a phenomenal resource for anyone looking to publish in the children's book genres. I highly encourage members to take advantage of every opportunity available to educate themselves about the creative and rewarding world of children's book writing.