Beverley Brenna

From the Archives — Interview with Beverley Brenna

3 Comments / Interviews, Looking Back and Moving Forward / By

Welcome to my Saturday series of posts taken from my old blog, thus the title “From the Archives.” All the posts in this series will be under the category “Looking Back and Moving Forward.” This was first posted on elizabethannewrites on September 6, 2011. Beverley Brenna was born and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, a city on the Canadian prairie, and still lives nearby. Her love of nature is threaded through all her books. She has worked as an elementary school teacher, a special education teacher, a special ed consultant, and is now a Professor of Education teaching English Language Arts. She writes and has been published in many different genres: picture books, with Daddy Long Legs at Birch Lane, a Smithsonian book, being the prime example; middle grade novels including The Keeper of the Trees and The Moon Children; young adult novels such as Wild Orchid, and Waiting for No One; she has a collection of short stories, Something to Hang On To; and also writes poetry for children and adults. Her newest novel, Falling for Henry, will be released this fall. I interviewed Bev by email, and was delighted by her responses to my questions.

August Augmented Fifths — 1/5 — The Keeper of the Trees by Beverley Brenna

12 Comments / Just Want to Say, Starred Books / By

The word spelled a-u-g-u-s-t has at least two meanings. The most obvious is the month we are currently in, the eighth month of the year. August. But “august” can also mean something particularly noteworthy, something esteemed. In music, an augmented fifth is a type of chord that uses a note slightly higher than a normal fifth chord for the top note. It adds some extra excitement to the music, a sense that the music is going somewhere. An augmented fifth is not the sort of chord that one uses to finish a song, it’s a chord that leads to something else. It builds the listener’s anticipation. For the five Fridays of this month of August, I’m going to introduce you to some middle grade novels that to me are particularly noteworthy, that have augmented my life and led me to growth and discovery. I hope they will, among other things, lead you to the library where the anticipation of these “august augmented fifths” can find resolution as you read the book for yourself. So, let’s take a look at the first of five — 1/5 of the augmented fifths of the month:

Friendspiration post at The Write Routine today!

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What’s that? This blog is supposed to be on hiatus right now? Well, yes, you’re right, but technically I scheduled this post back on June 30th, so I’m not really blogging in July. Not really. What I’m really doing is pointing you to Marcie Colleen’s blog, The Write Routine, where she has a new series called Friday Friendspirations. Today I’m blogging at Marcie’s about one of the greatest friendspirations in my writing life — and in my personal life — my cousin and fellow children’s writer, Beverley Brenna. Here’s the link to Marcie’s blog. Now, back to my blog-cation. Mmmm… sun, surf, inspiration galore.

J is for … Juxtaposition — and a Wednesday Worthy

10 Comments / A to Z Challenge in April, Interviews, Wednesday Worthies / By

Juxtaposition. A satisfyingly long word. In its simplest sense, it means placing something next to something else. In film, it is particularly  “the contiguous positioning of either two images, characters, objects, or two scenes in sequence, in order to compare and contrast them, or establish a relationship between them; see also sequence, symmetry, and composition.” That definition is quoted from the AMC Filmsite’s Film Terms glossary. Juxtaposition is an excellent tool for writers as well, to highlight similarities or differences in character, setting, or action. As in film, two disparate characters in juxtaposition can bring depth to the writing, and can draw the reader further into the story. Today, I’m placing two similar blogposts in juxtaposition. Yesterday I told you about books written by Canadian author Beverley Brenna, today I have interviewed Bev specifically about these books and about Asperger’s Syndrome which informs and challenges the main character’s life in both books. This is, again, by request of my friend Pat Tilton, whose blog Children’s Books Heal, continually brings to the forefront of our consciousness an awareness of kids with special needs. For Autism Awareness Month in the U.S., then, I am juxtaposing the book recommendations yesterday and the interview today. (Again, I apologize that this post is longer than the suggested standard for an A to Z post. I believe you’ll find it well worth the extra time it takes to read.)

I is for … Improv

18 Comments / A to Z Challenge in April, Starred Books / By

Improv. Improvisation. Acting without the roadmap of a script. Some actors revel in it, others, I suspect, dread it. A website like learnimprov can help a person to understand the basics, but there’s nothing like just getting up there in front of people and doing it. (Scary as that may sound.) Improvisation is also a facet of music, especially jazz. Have you ever listened to a really good jazz pianist take off and go where the music leads? It’s amazing. Improv can also be a great tool in writing, not that it’s usually called improv in this application. It’s useful if one is stuck, feeling the brick wall of writer’s block. At such times, try improv. Let the ink and the thoughts flow and take you wherever they want  to, without a roadmap, just like acting without a script, or playing music without a score. Improvisational skills are also good to have when one is a blogger. I had all my posts for the A to Z Challenge written and scheduled when my friend and writing colleague, Patricia Tilton, emailed me and asked me to re-post a couple of posts from my old blog for Autism Awareness Month which is recognized in April in the United States. So I changed my script a bit. I’m improvising, and sharing with you reviews of a couple of books that mean a great deal to me. Click the magic words:

Who Seeketh Beauty — Myra Stilborn, 1916-2012

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Years ago, my first singing teacher brought out a piece of music and said, “The lyrics of this song were written by someone named Stilborn. Is she any relation to you?” Yes. My aunt (by marriage, but as close as blood in our hearts). The song, “Who Seeketh Beauty,” told of someone, who, seeking the beauty of a bird’s song, caught and caged the bird — which then would not sing. Finally, he “opened wide his hands that earth may hear her song.” The cage has been opened, the bird has flown, she is now singing freely. My dear aunt — wonderful poet, wicked player-with-words, talented tatting-wizard, and giggler extraordinaire — died earlier this evening at the age of 95. I will miss her so much. She was like a second mother to me.

Waiting for No One — the WINNER!

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And the winner of the giveaway for one copy of Waiting for No One by Beverley Brenna is… (drumroll please)… Lucky Number 13, Julie Hedlund! Congratulations, Julie! Please contact me through the contact form on this blog with your mailing address, and I’ll send the book out to you as soon as possible. For those who aren’t acquainted with Julie, she is the person behind the 12 x 12 in 2012 challenge, which is encouraging 300+ people (at last count) to produce one picture book manuscript draft a month for every month in 2012. There’s still time to sign up, if you’re interested! For more info, click here. (By the way, Beverley is in Florida today, being presented with the Dolly Gray Award for Waiting for No One. An article about the award came up in my google alerts today. Congratulations, Bev!)

Seize the Opportunity!

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Something writer, actor, arts advocate, literacy advocate Julie Andrews stresses, no matter who she’s talking to — aspiring writers, young people wanting to become involved in the arts, whoever — is that one must do one’s homework, be fully prepared, and be ready to recognize and seize opportunities when they come along. I find it easy to look back and see opportunities missed, but I also find it amazing that when I start acting on the opportunities, having done the work to prepare myself, that other opportunities seem to fall into my lap. I seem to have come to a point in my life, in my writing life, when it’s full speed ahead. And that’s what is behind today’s book-title musing.

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