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Fall greetings from Tanglewood headquarters! We hope this newsletter finds you in your favorite sweater, rustling up an armful of decorative gourds for that picture-perfect seasonal centerpiece.
This edition of Into the Woods is bursting with goodness. First off, we are introducing a new column, Ask the Editor, where Publisher Peggy Tierney answers reader questions about editing and developing children's books.
We also feature an interview with The Kissing Hand author Audrey Penn. She discusses her upcoming novel, along with her research and writing process.
And finally, it's giveaway time once again! Nominate a school or library in need to win a box of Tanglewood books.
Oh, and one more thing: As of October first, it's finally official—Simon & Schuster is now our distributor. Reach out to S&S for ordering Tanglewood titles!
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What is the most common problem you see in manuscripts?
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I realize that authors have probably envisioned every setting to its smallest detail and know characters to the bone. But children’s books, in particular, need to have a quick pace and lots of action. Describing every setting in detail or writing a long exposition on a character drags the story down and doesn’t leave any room for the readers’ imagination, making the reading experience less immersive. Finding the right balance—telling enough but not too much—is the art of a great storyteller.
Compare this scene, written two different ways. We know from the last chapter that the main character, Gabriel, heard weird noises in his bedroom earlier.
Heavy description
Gabriel came in through the back door into the kitchen. His mother was cooking, and he looked out the window, wondering when his sister was coming home. He went into the living room and headed for the sofa. The walls were white, the curtains had flowers on them, and there was shag carpet on the floor. “Gabe,“ his dad said, “you need to go to your room and get your homework done before dinner.” Gabriel thought about the noises and was scared, but he got up from the sofa, walked by the table, went into the hall and started up the stairs, down the hall to his bedroom.
Light description
When Gabriel returned home, he was heading toward the sofa when his dad, looking over the top of his paper, said, “Gabe, you need to go do your homework before dinner.” Gabriel stopped and looked at his dad. “Now,” his dad said, going back to his paper. Gabriel didn’t answer but slowly started up the stairs, hoping his sister was coming home soon.
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Though the second version was shorter, we know that there is some distance between Gabriel and his dad, and his dad’s parenting style might be authoritarian. We know Gabriel is scared without being told by the narrator. The person Gabriel trusts is his sister, and he is wondering when she is coming home because he would feel safer, which we didn’t know from the longer narrative. In general, description should only be written to play a role in the story, revealing something about the characters or part of the plot.
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Tell us a little about your upcoming novel on Blackbeard and Ocracoke, as it’s been several years since your previous series of books on Blackbeard came out?
The first three novels released many years ago seemed more like plays I wrote and directed, first in my head and then on paper. I made well over a thousand revisions while writing: sometimes to find just the perfect word, or add just the perfect description.
The new stand-alone novel, Blackbeard’s Legacy: Shared/Time unites Blackbeard with the American Civil War. I wrote the ending to this book in 1977 when I began this long journey. In this new book, I attempt to deal with multiple periods of time: the present time with my four island children, the Civil War with the Battle of Hatteras Inlet, and the years during Blackbeard’s lifetime. This book takes the children on an emotional roller coaster concerning slavery. But the conclusion of the book is known to me and to my editor Pierre Dery and no one else. It’s a zinger.
You’ve taken many trips to Ocracoke over the years to research Blackbeard, his life, and the island, will you tell us a little about your research, and share one new interesting detail that you've uncovered or learned?
From 1977-1990 we visited Ocracoke several times a year where I learned what I could from hearsay and listening to stories and songs that spoke of the island’s history: this always included tales of Blackbeard. Mostly I worked out my story ideas with the children who attend Ocracoke School. I asked real children to do the things I asked the kids in my books to do. I wanted to make sure I had thought things out correctly. I thought I knew how the children in my book would react in certain situations. I was constantly wrong and had to rewrite the entire event. But, years of disasters and mishaps have made for terrific stories. But, it wasn’t until 1990 that the islanders began sharing their intimate family stories with me and I could begin my true research on the man known as Blackbeard.
Several years ago, I was presented with a letter from a Maryland school teacher that no one outside of her family members had ever seen. I was given permission to use the information for my last novel. The letter was written by a man who was a ten-year-old cabin boy on a ship Blackbeard looted in 1718. It is the only document known to have a full description of the pirate’s actions upon entering the ship and robbing it.
Will you please share a few elements about your writing process, where do you write and how do you prefer to write?
My work day begins at 5:00 am. My office is a mere six feet away from my bedroom, so I begin writing in my fuzzy pink robe and slippers with a mug of coffee and the company of my dog Eddie. After staring out my window and watching the deer and birds flit about, I set to work. I always begin with the writing I ended with the day before. I make sure I know my goal for the chapter and how each child in the book will respond to the various situations.
If it’s a beautiful Durham morning, I pack up my necessities and go sit on our southern front porch and write while dodging battling hummingbirds. But when I am outside, I can read my story out loud without waking the household. I can’t really hear my story unless I read it out loud. I try to work on one half of a chapter at a time. On really good days, I can accomplish this all at once. But a half a chapter can take me up to ten hours to complete. Because of my physical condition, that ten hours can sometimes take a week or more to accomplish. Every day is a challenge, whether I can work for eight hours or can only put in half an hour of writing, but writing makes my pain all but disappear. I can’t imagine a day without writing. After several hours of work, I sleep for most of the rest of the day. I begin writing again in the early evening.
The new Blackbeard book is in its seventh year of research and writing and it is almost ready for the publisher. This has been quite an experience for everyone in my family who has graciously let me finish my four-novel, forty-year project.
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| Win a Box of Books for a Library or School
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| Tanglewood Spotlight: Mystery at Blackbeard's Cove
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When New York Times bestselling author Audrey Penn’s Mystery at Blackbeard’s Cove was released, fans were quickly drawn into this exciting tale set on Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was also well received by reviewers and other media. Booklist wrote: “Committed fans of pirate tales will enjoy this, along with girls who like books featuring female characters who aren’t afraid to face adventure head on.”
Following its success, two more novels in the popular series were published, Blackbeard and the Sandstone Pillar: When Lightning Strikes and Blackbeard and the Gift of Silence. Blackbeard fans have been awaiting the next book in this exciting series, and Audrey has spent the last 10 years writing it! She has taken many trips to Ocracoke to continue learning about Blackbeard, his life, and the island, so she can get the story (and the details) just right. The good news is that the next book is definitely in progress, and will be worth the wait. In the meantime, the original books are available to enjoy, and perfect for fall reading!
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