Have you ever wondered what sparks an idea for a book?
Author Jennifer Keats Curtis talks with us about the process of writing Primate School and how one idea lead her to a deep study in animal behavior, feelings and thinking.
When I learned that orangutans were using iPads, my first thought was, Oh good, there’s hope for my mother. Ok, I’m kidding. My real thought was that despite extraordinary study and learning, there is so much about animals that we still don’t know.
As I set off to learn about orangutans and other primates for the nonfiction Primate School, I thought about how much I 
love animals and want to understand them. I thought about my own connections with animals and my personal belief that animals have feelings and emotions. I believe that they feel joy and sadness, perhaps not in the same way that we do, but that they are conscious, sentient beings and I wish I could better relate and communicate with them. I think that we have missed a lot with animals in the past for fear of anthropomorphizing them.
I joyfully learned about how primates communicate with each other through verbal cues and behavior and how they express themselves, show happiness and love, and learn from each other and keepers. I loved learning about how primates connect to each other and to humans. I was fascinated to learn about aunting behavior among langurs and saddened to learn about the gibbons who had been raised as pets and had trouble relating to other gibbons.
I wrote Primate School ecstatic to use what I’d learned from cognitive ethologists. Ethologists study animals in their natural settings and cognitive ethologists get to focus on the thinking process, including communication, culture, and learning. I embrace this concept and cannot get enough of what these scientists have to say. Even though that book is complete, I never want to stop learning about what primates and other animals think and feel, how they learn from us, and how we can learn from them. That is one of the main reasons that I write about animals for children.
Award-winning nature author Jennifer Keats Curtis is frequently found among students and teachers, talking about literacy or conservation. In addition to Primate School, Salamander Season, the Animal Helpers series, Baby Owl’s Rescue, Kali’s Story, and Turtles In My Sandbox for Arbordale, some of her other recent titles include Osprey Adventure, Saving Squeak: A River Otter’s Tale, and Seahorses. Jennifer resides in Maryland, with her family and a wide variety of pets. Visit her website at www.jenniferkeatscurtis.com.
Learn more about Primate School and Jennifer’s other Arbordale books here!
I'm trying something new today...blogging from the front seat of my car as we close the distance towards The Windy City - Chicago! I'm speaking tonight at the Plainfield Public Library in Plainfield, Illinois to their Teen Writing Group. If you're anywhere in the area, I'd love to see you. The talk starts at 5:00 p.m.
A follower of the Buzz Girls asked me to give some tips on author visits and speaking to school groups and libraries. I'll throw in some things that I think work for writers and I'd love for my fellow Buzz Girls to chime in in the comment section:
1. Know your audience. Get as much information going into your talk as you can. Know the ages of the crowd, if there will be teachers or parents there. Try to gear portions of your talk to them, as well.
2. Don't be nervous. Okay...easier said than done, but try to just be yourself. Relax and have fun. Be natural to your audience. Believe it or not, they're just as nervous meeting a "famous" author. LOL!
3. Send books ahead of time. If the school or library isn't familiar with your work, donate a set of books to their library for the kids to read ahead of time. That way you'll get some interesting questions because they're familiar with you.
4. Dress casually. Especially if you're writing for teens, dress down. Jeans, pants, casual Friday look. This actually puts them at ease because they can identify with you more because you have a casual "feel" to your presentation.
5. Get the audience talking. How boring is it for someone to stand in front of you for an hour going on and on and on? Yep...you've been there! Keep your talk to maybe 20 minutes of highlights of whatever you want to talk about...your career, how you started writing, what your favorite books are, whatever specialty you bring with you (for me, it's ghost hunting), and then open it up to questions. This makes the talk much more interactive and the time just flies!
6. Do a book sale/signing. After you talk, the kids will want to read what you're writing, Always try to have a book sale and signing following your speech. Also, have some giveaways they can take away in case they don't have money for books - pens, bookmarks, anything relating to your book (I have temporary ghost tattoos) is great. Use your imagination!
7. Have fun! Take lots of picture, send a thank you not to the librarian or media specialist that sets up your event, and put pics up on your blog.
Hope this helps any writers out there wanting to get out and meet their audience. As I said, I'd love the Buzz Girls to chime in with any additional advice!
And finally....our winner of the FIVE for FIVE GHOST HUNTRESS: THE GUIDANCE contest is.....(drum roll).....
rainesire111 - and friends Julia, Cecily, Tia, and Bryn
Please email me at
marley_gibson AT yahoo DOT com with your mailing address and I'll sign the books to all five of you and mail them to you. CONGRATS!!!
Hugs,
Marley = )
I have been a buzy bee, let me tell you what. I have spoken at several high schools and libraries and have been having an awesome time. I went back to the "homeland" of Pike County, Alabama, and spoke at six different schools.
I was in front of three hundred people at Goshen High School...where I dribbled water down the front of me...LOL...
I was mobbed at Goshen Elementary School where the kids wanted my autograph...
I also reunited with my high school cheerleader partner, Laura Ross Hixon, who is a teacher...
I went to my alma mater, Pike Liberal Arts School and saw my favorite English and writing teacher, Mrs. Hixon...
I even scored 100% on the Scholastic advanced reading test on GHOST HUNTRESS: THE AWAKENING...phew! Wouldn't have been able to live that down...
And I spoke to a full house at the Monroe County Public Library in Key West thanks to their awesome librarian, Nancy Howanitz...
Finally, I did a full day at Carroll High School in Ozark, Alabama, thanks to their assistant principal and my former baton teacher growing up, Juli Botts Parrish...
During all of this, my sweetie, who is also a professional photgrapher, took my new author picture. It's done in infrared. I love how cool my eyes look!
And, to round out my post today, I wanted to add the li
CBS News deserves a medal! Every day we hear about book sections folding and the lack of interest surrounding literature, authors and publishing, and yet it is still one of the most influential and inspiring areas of our culture. It fills me with hope when I see news outlets adding book coverage to their schedules. Jeff Glor is the host of AUTHOR TALK, a place for authors and readers to come together and learn about what is going on in the world of books. Author Talk is “a place to find the best new books, and get answers directly from the authors who wrote them.”
The most recent book covered is WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGED: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present by Gail Collins.
The winner of Tera's joke contest is Meredith F. with this joke: What's green and has wheels?Grass! I lied about the wheels!! (Isn't that hilarious?) Please email at [email protected].
Wow...
GHOST HUNTRESS: THE AWAKENING has been out for a few weeks now and the feedback is so encouraging and fun. The Amazon.com reviews are wicked awesome and I've managed to snag a few interviews on paranormal radio programs here and there. Everyone has been so wonderful and supportive...from the Buzz Girls to readers alike.
I wanted to share a couple of interviews that I've done. My friends, New York Times bestseller,
Gena Showalter (who will be launching Harlequin's YA line soon!!) and her fabulous critique partner...and partner in crime,
Jill Monroe, were kind enough to interview me for their cult hit,
Author Talk (where authors talk to other authors.) We had an absolute blast taping this! Hope you enjoy!
I just love these ladies!!
And also, here's another interview. While attending
GhoStock 7 on April 18th, 2009, in historical Salem, Massachusetts, Angelique Avalon from
Paranormal SPY interviewed me about my paranormal investigations as well as the release of the GHOST HUNTRESS series.
Now, I must return to the writing cave where I'm cranking out GHOST HUNTRESS: THE REASON. If you've read GHOST HUNTRESS: THE AWAKENING, I'd love to hear from you. Let me know what you think about it!
Hugs,
Marley = )
www.ghosthuntress.com
P.S. Don't you just love our new headers that our webmistress extraordinaire, Tera, did for us? Cheers to TLC!!!!
Have you ever wondered what sparks an idea for a book?
Wonderful tips, Marley!
Something I've been known to do to get the audience involved is to ask for volunteers who like to read aloud, and hand each one of my books. When the time comes to speak about a particular book, I have the assigned volunteer read the back blurb to the group.
Aw man. I wish I would have read this post earlier - I'm not too far from Plainfield I don't think.
Great post, Marley! It can be difficult to speak in front of people, especially about yourself or work. ;)
When are you coming out West?
hugs,
Heather