  Behind
the Book Interview Terry
O'Neal, Author
Back to Book Description |
|
| Kulture
Kidz: |
Tell
us a little about yourself. What are some things
you like to do in your free time?
|
| TO: |
Well,
I am a wife and a full-time mother of three children.
Free time is something that I have very little of.
Aside from my children's activities, homework, and
house keeping, I work part-time for my husband's
communications corporation, in addition to running
Motion Publications: the company that I established
in 2000 to publish my work. Whatever free time that
I have left, I try to spend it writing.
Some
things that I enjoy doing are kicking back and
watching a good drama with a bowl of popcorn
and M&M's;
I enjoy listening to my gospel music, and reading
books by my favorite 20th century poets.
|
| Kulture
Kidz: |
What role did books and writing play in your childhood?
|
| TO: |
They
played an enormous role. My mother always kept tons
of books around the house. She would read to us
every night. I never realized how big of an effect
that it had on me until I became an adult; I just
figured that books and reading were a part of every
child's life.
I
always enjoyed writing. When I became an adolescent
I would take English courses every opportunity I'd
get.
|
| Kulture
Kidz: |
What
were some of your favorite books as a child? |
| TO: |
As a child I enjoyed reading and listening to fairy
and folktales: The Elves and the Shoemaker, Chicken
Licken, etc. My mother kept all of those books,
including the entire Dr. Suess and Sesame Street
collection; Green Eggs and Ham was a big favorite
of mine, as well as Dr. Suess's Sleep Book.
|
| Kulture
Kidz: |
Who
are some of your favorite authors and/or writers?
What do you admire about their writing style? |
| TO: |
I
enjoy the works of 20th Century black poets the
most. I'm a Langston Hughes enthusiast. I mainly
read books of poetry. Gwendolyn Brooks, Dunbar,
and Maya Angelou are also some of my favorites.
One
thing that I admire about Hughes writing style is
its simplicity, the natural dictation that he uses
is easily understood; it's within reach of the average
person.
|
| Kulture
Kidz: |
When
did you first notice you had a talent for writing?
|
| TO: |
I have loved to write since about the age of 9 or
10. When I was in elementary school, I would write
songs that my sisters and I would sing. When I got
a little bit older, it progressed to stories; I still
have the beginning of a novel that I attempted to
write back in my early teens. Even though I enjoyed
writing back then, I didn't recognize it as being
a passion; it was more like a hobby. It wasn't until
I was in my early twenty's that I realized that writing
is and always has been my calling. |
| Kulture
Kidz: |
What
influenced you to write the children's book "Ev'ry
Little Soul"? |
| TO: |
My main
goal in writing is to inspire as many minds that
I can. Children are a priority to me because
they are our future. I have four kids of my own
and they are so impressionable. With so much
negativity in the world, I would like to be known
as one of the positive influences in the lives
of our youth. I strive to lead by example, and
my message to young people is that you can do
anything that you want to do; be whatever it
is that you want to be, so long as you have the
will; and Ev'ry Little Soul is my portrayal of
that.
|
| Kulture
Kidz: |
How
were you able find your illustrator Ms. Wendy Robinson? |
| TO: |
I had been in search of a children's illustrator
for months after writing Ev'ry Little Soul,
but continually ran into dead ends. I was online
searching for children's illustrators when I stumbled
upon Illustrators in the Western Cape. There they
displayed samples of illustrations done by Ms. Wendy
Robinson. When I looked over her online portfolio,
I was truly impressed.
|
| Kulture
Kidz: |
Thank
you Mrs. O'Neal for your time! Be sure to visit
Terry's Web site at www.terryoneal.com.
|
