It is my privilege, today, to introduce Darcy Pattison to everyone.
Darcy is a well-published children’s writer with a host of fiction and
non-fiction titles on her shelf. Her shelves also contain books on writing
and publishing in today’s market. She holds writing workshops at
Highlights Foundation Workshops at Chautauqua and at other conferences as well
as online.
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| Children's Writer, Darcy Pattison |
Darcy is going to talk about her newest title, Liberty, a middle grade adventure story on the high seas.
This is a tale of struggle and hard work to obtain dreams. It’s a tale of
learning to believe in oneself in order to help others.
Welcome, Darcy, to Adventures in Writing. And thank
you for sharing some of your writing expertise with our readers.
My
pleasure, Victoria Marie, and thank you for having me.
One
of the most important elements in children's literature is a sense of wonder.
As a children's book author, you must remember that children don't have a
strong base of experiences to draw upon. Everything is new - and full of
wonder. The appeal of fantasy is exactly the same thing, that this story
reaches outside the realm of everyday and takes them to a new place for new
experiences.
In
my new middle grade fantasy, LIBERTY, I play upon that need for new experiences
by starting with pigs on Farmer MacDonald's farm, the normal world. Quickly,
though, you realize this story won't stay near home. Santiago Talbert is a pig
who wants to sail the seven seas! Pigs at sea? Yes!
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| Darcy Pattison's new release book cover |
The
story started soon after 9/11 when I sat at the dinner table with my elementary
school age son and his friend and asked what I should write about next.
Pigs,
they said.
Okay,
but what will the pigs do?
Go
sailing.
From
a simple conversation the concept grew. Santiago and Penelope Talbert leave the
farm and go to the mythical land of Liberty, where any intelligent creature—human
or animal—can get ahead in the world. They learn the world of sailing and map
making and finally join the crew of the H'alloween, where the polar
bear Captain harbors a dark secret.
It's
a journey or a quest, a coming of age story. The character's growth was
important to keep in mind. They move from naive about the world to savvy
sailors. But the deeper question is how do you decide what you value in life?
The Talberts' character qualities are challenged by their adventures. Will they
pursue selfish dreams? How will they treat others?
For
this type of fantasy, it's been important to keep the character change in mind.
The adventures aren't just for action's sake, but instead to put the characters
in positions where they must choose a course of action. Quests are about
discovery of new places, but most importantly about discovery of a character about
him/herself. While revising, I went back often to check exactly what they said
at important points and made a list of these statements. Then, I read through
them to be sure there was an emotional progression that made sense.
LIBERTY
is a story about following your dreams while holding onto your ideals. Set in
the fascinating era of tall ships, it's a rousing story of danger on the high
seas. But in the midst of the action, Penelope and Santiago grow up and become
the sort of pigs that take care of their friends.
Thank
you so much for this post, Darcy. If you
are interested in purchasing Darcy’s new release, you may access it through
these links:
iBooks: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/liberty/id1097144503?mt=11
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/liberty-45
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/liberty-darcy-pattison/1123693211?ean=9781629440651
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/liberty-45
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/liberty-darcy-pattison/1123693211?ean=9781629440651
Have a
beautiful day, everyone!
