Children’s
Author – Marvin Mayer – Interviewed by LAWonder10
condensed from interview as appeared on Rockin’ Book Reviews , used with permission by interviewer and webmaster
Marvin Is A Wonderful, New Children’s Author Who
I Am Elated To Have As A Guest On my Site Today! His Books Are So Well-Written
and Delightful. Each has a very profound teaching element to it.
1. Marvin, where were you raised? Is that where you
feel is your “Home Town”?
I was born, reared and educated in Louisville, KY. Although
I’ve been gone from Louisville for more than 50 years, that’s still my “home
town.”
Well that is certainly a beautiful place to call home!
2. In your brief Bio on your website, you have stated, you never
enjoyed books as a child? Why is that? Do your children/grandchildren enjoy
them?
Unfortunately, although my mother tried to interest me in books, I
didn’t enjoy reading. I was a slow learner throughout my school years, and
never learned the joy of reading. To this day, I’m still a rather “lazy”
reader, but I definitely read more today than I did as a youngster.
Through my writing, I’m trying to influence children to take advantage of the
world of books.
My daughter was an avid reader, but my son was more like me,
reading only what he had to read. My granddaughters are readers, and one
of them is a teacher, so her children are discovering books.
In my personal observations, throughout my life, on an
average, I find girls tend to be more interested in books than boys, yet we
have many great male authors such as you are. I have this situation in my
own family, as well.
3. You volunteer for many children’s groups. What are they in
what ways have you benefited from doing so?
As an extension of the library, I read to children at a day
care nursery. The program is called Book Buddies, and my benefit is in seeing
how the children enjoy hearing the stories I read to them. I also used to
volunteer at a children’s advocacy center. There, the benefit was in knowing I
may have brought a bit of fun and happiness into the lives of children who had
to endure physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse. Both of these volunteer activities
allowed me to be more “in touch” with young children since I have no little
ones at home any more. The same could be said for when I taught first grade
Sunday school at my church.
I think that is marvelous! If more adults would dedicate their
time volunteering to aid others this world would be a far better place.
Thank you for that example.
4. Do you relate in any way to the children coming from
troubled homes whom you serve? If so, in what ways? If not, do you feel this service
makes a big difference in their well-being?
That’s a tough one! Coming from a “normal” middle class household,
I was blessed to have a caring mother and father, both of whom were there for
me, teaching me right from wrong, assuring me of their love for me, and
instilling in me their set of moral values. So, no. I can’t say I related to
those children who suffered abuse or who came from abusing relationships.
Still, because I had it so good, I feel if I can just show
children they are loved and that each of them is a valuable human being, I’ll
make a small difference in their well-being. I was told by another volunteer
that my being there, reading to a child who had to testify in court, made a big
difference to him, so in at least one instance, the answer was yes.
I was fortunate to have kind,loving, moral parents, as well. I
have often grieved for those who do not. I cannot imagine life without the love
and support of my parents, especially during those formative years.
I do feel you do make a impact for good on more lives that you
are aware of.
5. Your book, Ferdinand Frog’s Flight, is written
beautifully in rhyme. Why, do you feel, most authors no longer use rhyming in
their writing? Why do you?
Most publishers discourage writers, particularly new writers from
attempting to write in rhyming verse, saying they lack the ability to do it
properly. More often than not, those publishers are correct. It’s difficult to
tell a story in rhyming verse where the meter remains constant and the rhymes
are not “forced.” Even the training seminars and courses I’ve taken discourage
writing in rhyme, saying the story can be told as well, if not better, in
ordinary prose. So, in order to have their work published, many emerging
authors dutifully avoid writing in rhyming verse. I happen to enjoy writing
(and reading) stories with rhymes. Many of the books I read to the day nursery
children use rhymes. Dr. Seuss wrote in rhyme, and even though many of the
words were his own creation, they were accepted (as rhymes) throughout the
world. Rhymes tend to make the story flow and children seem to enjoy them more,
but it is definitely not for everyone or for every book.
I agree. Most authors who write in rhyme do not do it successfully.
However, you do! I was totally impressed how easily it flowed together
from verse to verse, page to page.
Personally, rhyming stories were always a joy to me to read and
memorize .
6. Interestingly, in this book, Ferdinand decides his
dream wasn’t all he thought it to be. What are your feelings on this? In what
ways are dreams important and worth striving for?
While my unspoken message here is “the grass isn’t always greener
on the other side of the fence,” at book signing events I always sign my
books with words encouraging children to aim high and dream big. I strive to
present a positive self image of/for my young readers, so Ferdinand, after
experiencing what he thought he wanted to do, realized he was better off where
God originally placed him – in his pond and on land – rather than in the air.
He was thrilled to be back in his natural, familiar environment.
LOL! That is a lesson well-learned
7. On one of your websites are pages
individuals can download to color. Did you create those pages by yourself? If
so, when did you begin drawing? If not, who assisted you with this and in
what ways?
I wish I could take credit for the drawings, but I can’t even draw
good “stick” figures!
The same marketing company individual who helped me create my logo,
designed and ordered book markers for me (for Sammy Squirrel,) and has done a
host of other things to help me, created the coloring pages and fixed them so I
could put them on my website for a free download. She’s been a huge help to me
ever since I started my writing career. Her name is Deann Wells and the company
is Exclusively Yours.
Well, she is to be congratulated! She has done a wonderful job
in creating them. Yu have done a wonderful thin by coming up with the
added idea for allowing this for children.
Amen to that! I like how well you brought that final point
out. Often individuals feel because they have less they are not worth as much.
I think readers can emphasize those points with voice inflection
as they read how unhappy and scared Ferdinand was while flying. I think readers
also can ask the child questions about what Ferdinand learned from his
experience, and ask if the child can relate to Ferdinand’s situation.
Hopefully, they will do just that.
8. What is your next endeavor and when will it be
published?
4RV Publishing, the same publisher responsible for production of
Ferdinand Frog’s Flight, is in the final stages of structuring my next book.
They haven’t given me a target release date, but I’m hopeful it will be by
early summer. That book, titled Case of the Stolen Stash, is a “detective”
story. What makes it different is that all of the characters are birds! Thus,
instead of Sherlock Holmes, my detective is Sherlock Hawk. This book will be
for the same reading age group as those who read and enjoyed Sammy Squirrel. In
fact, some of the events in Sammy Squirrel are introduced into the story line
of this book.
I want this book to be both entertaining and educational, so I
have included a glossary (to help young readers identify new words and their
meanings) and an appendix. The appendix features photographs of the various
types of birds mentioned throughout the story, and factual data about the
species; size, nesting habits, diet, etc.
In addition to “Stash,” I have a few other manuscripts to present
to my publisher, but 4RV has its hands full at the moment. In the meantime, I’m
trying to get my thoughts together to create my next book.
This all sounds exciting! It is appreciated by many readers of
all ages when an author adds explanatory glossaries and helpful pictures.
9.
Do you feel it is a good possibility you will write books for older children
such as middle school age? If so when and what would it be about? If not, why?
I doubt that I will attempt to write for teenagers or older
children, but I learned a long time ago, never say never. I’m not sure I have a
message or any subjects of interest for today’s teens. I prefer to write for
younger children. They are so innocent, a lot less “worldly” than today’s kids
who have their own iPhones, iPads, etc. Younger children seem more interested
in being entertained with wholesome stories, stories not tied to sex, drugs,
and violence. Perhaps my thinking is outdated, but that’s who I am, so that’s
where I will continue to focus with my writing.
You are correct in feeling you can have a great impact on
younger children. Psychologists have stated a child’s main values have been set
by ages 5 through 8. ?The young are much more teachable.
10. You are not only a dad and grandfather but a
great-grandfather as well. How many children/grandchildren in all? From
what age?
Obviously, my surviving son is an adult. His daughters are in
their mid-twenties, and I have a great grandson age 5 and his younger sister,
my great granddaughter, who is 2.
Amazing! I cannot picture you as a great grandfather…I cannot
picture me as a great grandmother but that possibility is becoming close each
year!
11. What caused you to become a children’s book writer?
We already discussed my prior lack of interest in reading, so it
is strange that in spite of that, I like to write. Throughout my entire working
career, I have been praised for my ability to write effective business letters,
memos, and other business related articles. For family events and for special
occasions for friends, I often concocted a poem about the honoree or honorees,
and recipients seemed pleased to get them. So, when I retired, my wife
encouraged me to pursue writing “professionally.” Since she know how much I
enjoyed being around children, she handed me something she had carried with her
as we moved around the country; an application for enrollment at Connecticut’s
Institute for Children’s Literature.
I completed the application, was accepted into a course called
Writing For Children and Teenagers, and completed the correspondence course in
about 15 month.
Reading and writing always seem to go together. It boggles my
mind why someone talented in writing would not want to read as well! You are
definitely a talented writer!
I admire the Acknowledgements you give your wonderful wife. It
is very gratifying to many of the female population, when a man gives such
recognition to his wife.
12. What goal do you hope to obtain in future years that you
haven’t obtained yet?
My goal when I started writing children's books was to entertain
children and get them interested in reading at an early age. Thus far, my
“reach” has been rather limited to my immediate community, with a bit of a
stretch to places where family and friends dwell, and to festivals and events
not more than several hours’ drive from home. Certainly, I would like to have
my work recognized by being award winners, but even more than that, I would
like to achieve a more worldly distribution for my books. To accomplish that,
I’m sure I’ll have to “master” social media, so my goal is to do just that:
learn how to put the internet to work in ways I haven’t even imagined yet.
Social Media is the way of the future. I am learning the true
values of utilizing it. There is so much to lean about it. I will do all
I can to promote these wonderful books. Be sure to “Follow” Marvin on his
Website Link below.
Thank you again, Marvin, for being my guest and allowing us to
become better acquainted with you.
