Enjoy!
Tell us a little bit about
yourself.
In
addition to being a children’s author, I am also a singer/songwriter. I have won
several International Songwriting Awards including those from Billboard. Grammy winner, Jim Cravero, produced my
newest children’s tune titled, Kobee’s
Song. It’s fun, upbeat, and has a
solid reggae grove.
Ever
since I was young, I had a passion for manatees. As I got older my admiration for these threatened
marine mammals kept growing. So I
studied them in greater detail. I have
plans for creating a complete Kobee
Manatee series, which is educational, entertaining, and fun for children,
parents, grandparents, teachers, and librarians.
I
have a strong interest in weather, oceans, sea life, and coral reefs, which
will be subjects for upcoming titles in the series. I have a degree from Temple University. I also worked as a copywriter. In addition, I am a member of the Author’s
Guild, SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), the Save
the Manatee Club in Maitland, Florida, and BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.). I currently reside in Bucks County,
Pennsylvania. You can learn more about my
children’s educational series at: KobeeManatee.com
Ever since I was young, I always had a
strong interest in manatees and I always enjoyed learning. Especially learning about anything living. At 7, my parents bought me a
microscope. And when I saw my first
single-cell amoeba, I was fascinated! I
quickly gravitated toward insect and animal books, butterflies and
moths, reptiles and mammals. All along
the way, I always had such a keen interest in manatees. Then as I grew older, I also became very
interested in weather and the oceans.
So for me, the natural progression in
the series was to have the first title, Kobee
Manatee: Heading Home to Florida, teach children all about manatees. Then the second title, which is my current
release, Kobee Manatee: A Wild Weather
Adventure, I
continue entertaining and teaching children by having my protagonist, a
friendly manatee wearing a purple cap and a yellow jersey, introduce different
cloud types and weather events, which take place along Kobee Manatee’s adventure from Key West, Florida to Nassau in the
Bahamas.
How did you
get interested in writing this particular genre?
I’ve always had a passion for manatees. And I also enjoy wearing a cap as part of my own
outfit. With that said, I wanted to reflect this in my protagonist. So I created a manatee wearing a purple cap
and a yellow jersey. And while I always
enjoyed learning, I decided to incorporate this concept into my manatee by
giving him anthropomorphic traits.
Clearly, the logical genre choice for me would be writing children’s
picture books. I wanted my books to be fun,
entertaining, and educational so learning would seem incidental.
Do you have
any favorite authors or favorite books?
I’ve
always enjoyed Dr. Seuss because they were such fun reads. What can be more fun
for a child than reading Green Eggs and
Ham? And also the wonderful Curious
George series by Margret and Hans Augusto Rey. As for other favorites, I enjoy any title on
science, living things, weather, and the oceans.
What's a
typical working day like for you? When and where do you write? Do you set a
daily writing goal?
A typical working day for me can vary
greatly, except for my mornings. I’ll
research new ideas and create an outline for one of my upcoming Kobee Manatee blogs. I also may review and edit a blog that’s
almost ready to post. I’ll check with both
Google analytics and my distributor’s sales reports to see how my marketing is
performing.
As for my writing, I find mornings are
best. It’s quiet and I usually have no
interruptions. I’ll write with my laptop
and sit at the same couch spot during each session. Much like Sheldon Cooper’s favorite sitting
spot! As for my daily writing goal –
it’s important for me just to progress with some new words each time. It doesn’t matter if I’m in the zone and a
whole bunch of stuff flies off the keyboard, or if I’m struggling and finding
it difficult to get that next word down.
As long as I write something, I’m happy.
What is the
hardest part of writing for you?
I write children’s educational picture
books, where I’ll create a fictitious story and then weave in “Kobee’s Fun Facts,”
which mirror the story’s subject. The
hardest part of writing in this genre for me is keeping my word count in the
narrative arc manageable for my target audience, children 4 to 8. However, I’m finding the “Kobee’s Fun Facts”
embedded in each story can draw in readers who are older.
What’s the
best thing about being an author?
I get such a great feeling when I learn
children love one of my titles. And
especially when I do an author visit at a school. There’s nothing better for me
than being in that live environment, where I personally see how much fun the
children are having when I read them a Kobee
Manatee story and then sing them a Kobee
Manatee song!
What are you
working on now?
I’m working on my third series release, Kobee Manatee:
Shipwreck Sea Friends. This title is
another adventure tale were Kobee and his pals are busy searching for the historic
shipwreck, the SS Antonio Lopez, off
the coast of Puerto Rico. Children will be able to identify popular reef fish
and they’ll also learn our beautiful coral reefs are now being seriously
threatened and dying from increasing Ocean Acidification.
What advice
would you give aspiring writers?
Stick with it! We all have those unwanted days where nothing
in the writing department seems to make sense.
You just can’t get one new word on the page. When that happens to me, I just write
anything down …
anything! This can definitely help dissolve
that stubborn mental jam, and those thoughts can start flowing again.
What question have
you always wanted to be asked in an interview? How would you answer
that question?
The question I’d like to be
asked in an interview is…
Why is it
important to teach young children about manatees and other threatened animals?
It’s very important because not only manatees, but also all sea
life, including our precious coral reefs and plankton are now threatened from
increasing Ocean Acidification [OA]. OA
is a condition caused from carbon dioxide [CO2] in the air dissolving in the
ocean. This creates carbonic acid in
seawater. Carbonic acid can destroy
coral reefs. CO2 levels are the result
of human activities, which include the burning of fossil fuels; oil, coal and
natural gas. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization [UNESCO]…
“Coral reefs are the nurseries of the oceans, they are
biodiversity hot spots. On some tropical coral reefs, for example, there can be
1,000 species per square meter². Their decline affects tourism, food security, shoreline
protection and biodiversity. Ocean
acidity has increased by 30% since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.”
How is Ocean Acidification a Threat to Coral
Reefs and Marine Life?
Ocean acidity results in an increase in
the amount of energy needed by small ocean organisms in making their carbonate
shells. In some areas of the oceans, the increasing seawater acidity will make
it impossible for these organisms to live. This will have a drastic effect on
ocean ecosystems. As a result, tropical oceans will not be able to sustain coral
reefs. Here is what UNESCO is saying
about the increasing threat of CO2 and increasing ocean acidification, “Coral
reefs are the nurseries of the oceans, they are biodiversity hot spots. On some
tropical coral reefs, for example, there can be 1,000 species per m². Their decline affects tourism, food security, shoreline
protection and biodiversity.”
“Ocean
acidification may have a strong negative impact on many plankton and zooplankton
species that form the base of the marine food chain. Plankton is key to the
survival of larger fish, and their decline may trigger a chain reaction through
the marine food web. This will affect the multi-billion dollar commercial
fisheries and shellfish industries, as well as threatening the food security
for millions of the world’s poorest people. Ocean acidification, along with
warming surface waters, may reduce the ability of the ocean to absorb CO2,
leaving more CO2 in the atmosphere and worsening its impact on the climate.”