Alice Grant

Books with poems; books with short stories; books on historical events; books involving political issues; books discussing multicultural views; books on famous speeches; books on stage plays; books on medieval literature; books on the Middle Age and the Renaissance Era; books on every kind of genre imaginable.

I read each and every one of those books over and over and over again. And, when all of those books were exhausted, I went to my mother and said: " There’s nothing else to read in this house." She looked at me and replied: "Well, start on the encyclopedias."

And, so I did. I read our encyclopedia collection from A to Z. And, when I was done, I went to my mother again. Her response: "All I know to tell you now is to start writing your own books." I took it literally.

While all the children where outside playing in the summer from s un up to sun down, most of my days were spent reading, writing and more writing. By the time I was twelve years old and in the seventh grade, a former teacher, Mrs. Deloris Swims said to me: " Alice, you have a talent in writing. Do you know that?" She would submit my writings to our junior high/high school newspaper and encourage me to enter writing contests.

By age thirteen, I felt I was ready to see MY name on the cover of a book like all those other books I had read. So, I gathered the address from the copyright page of one of my favorite books which was published by a major publishing company (I didn’t know it was major at that time) and mailed in the manuscript to Bantam Books, an imprint of Random House (I didn’t know that either then).

Time passed and I received THE most beautiful rejection letter ever. I had written and mailed in the manuscript in longhand. The letter stated that once I was older and had learned the format enough to attract an agent to represent me and my literary works, they would be happy to consider them. I’ll forever remember that letter advising me to never give up on my dream. And, that I had potential.

Suddenly, I realized that the letter would be coming from an eight year old child and to make it as simple as possible- clear and to the point. After revising, I decided that the child would write the letter describing to the President all the things her dad missed while being away from home. So, the book was inspired by both my oldest daughter and my husband’s stories of other soldiers.

CB: You are currently working on a series of children’s books. Tell us about those.

AG: My goal is to complete stories to thirty (30) outlines I have created for books reflecting everyday thoughts, dreams, feelings and world views of children in gleeful/delightful experiences. And, once I’ve completed that, I would like to continue developing a series of children stories (8 books) featuring a main character I wish not to speak any further on. I hope you can understand that.

CB: Many do not know that your book was illustrated by a young boy and not a professional. Tell us how this came about and a little about the boy you chose to do the illustrations and why.

AG: So, I had the story written for "Dear Mr. President, Please Send My Daddy Home", However, the pictures were sitting there stuck in my head. I felt it couldn’t be a complete story without the pictures. After all, it is a picture book. I knew of a young boy who lived in the neighborhood I grew up. Everyone talked of how great his drawings were.

CB: Will your future books also be illustrated?

AG: Yes, the next thirty will be picture books as well. The last eight will have some illustrations, but mostly text.

CB: Have you already or will you try to get your book into some elementary schools and if so, how do you plan to go about that?

AG: I’m hoping that the elementary schools I’m targeting would be highly receptive of the book’s contents. I plan on contacting them directly through each superintendent’s administration.

CB: What inspired you to try writing again?

AG: Throughout most of my life, I would write off and on, but I abandoned writing completely during my college years. However, what has inspired me to maintain a continuous flow for one, would be my children. My oldest is just ecstatic that her mom is a published author.

CB: Are you planning on trying your hand writing in any other genres and if so, which ones and why.

AG: Most definitely, I am planning to pursue other genres. One in particular is young adult fiction. So many of our youth are in search of guidance. I want to write stories that will inspire them to move forward in a positive way with their lives. I want to write stories that will encourage them. I want to write stories that will compel them. I want to write stories that will challenge them. I want to write stories that shows them that there are others going through experiences like their own.

CB: For those aspiring yet unpublished writers out there, tell us how you chose your publisher and why.

AG: For a while, I had been surfing the internet in search of writing forums. I came across PublishAmerica’s website. I read the entire site and watched their message board for months reading the posts of their authors. Authors who were thrilled to be apart of the publisher’s family. Those posts that interested me, I would click on the author’s websites and read about them and their books. I wanted to submit, but was unsure because of the negative websites out there designed to bash PublishAmerica business ethics.

CB: Did the young boy who did your illustrations do the cover art as well, or was that done by your publisher?

AG: Yes, Carter Montrell Johnson did the cover art as well.

CB: Any advice you would like to give to others who might be trying to get published?

AG: The same advice Bantam Books gave me so long ago: "Never give up on your dreams." Also, my advice would be to find a circle of people with your same interests. Create a network of positives. If you hang around a carpenter building things all the time, it is possible that you would start building an interest in building things as well. So, if writing is what your heart desires, find a network of people who are writers and start building your dream today. Remember, writing can be recreational, but I’ve found that revising is better. The more you revise your work, the stronger your plot and characters become.