Yesterday, I reviewed This is the Feast, a Thanksgiving picture book by Diane Z. Shore and today it is my pleasure to introduce you to Diane herself through an awesome interview! So check out the review, then come back here and please make her feel welcome and leave a comment or two.
Maw Books: Welcome Diane! Take a moment to introduce yourself so our readers can get to know you better.
Diane Z. Shore: Well, I’m originally from the Midwest and now live in Atlanta, GA, and love it here. One thing that may surprise your readers is that I used to be a C.P.A. (Yikes!) But I wasn’t very good at it, and I definitely like being a children’s author much better. In my spare time I play tennis. I’ve had to cut back some due to my traveling schedule, but I’m still on three different teams!
Maw Books: Another author I interviewed, James Dashner, was a C.P.A. as well. How funny! What books do you currently have published and do you play favorites among your own books?
Diane Z. Shore: After 9 ½ years, more than 400 rejections, and more sloppy copies than I can count, my first book, Bus-A-Saurus Bop was published. When I visit schools, I use this book to talk about the long road to publication, and that if you believe that you can accomplish something and truly have a dream, don’t let anyone tell you that it can’t happen. There were several times I felt like giving up, but something in my gut kept telling me that I was getting closer and closer. I’m so glad that I didn’t give up, because I am truly doing something that I love to do!
Bus-A-Saurus Bop was the start of my career, and since then I have published Look Both Ways, Rosa Love to Read, This Is the Dream, and This Is the Feast. But I would have to say that my favorite book that I wrote is HOW TO DRIVE YOUR SISTER CRAZY, which was inspired by my then seven year old son and nine year old daughter. That book came out about three weeks ago, and my kids are now 15 and 17! But my son still drives his sister crazy!! This seems to be the favorite among the kids! Must be a lot of sibling rivalry out there!
Maw Books: Who doesn’t drive their sister crazy? What was the inspiration behind This is the Feast?
Diane Z. Shore: It was at an SCBWI fall conference back in 1998, where a panel consisting of a librarian, an editor and an agent all expressed the need for more Thanksgiving books. I really like the Thanksgiving holiday, but wouldn’t say I was gung ho about writing a book about it. A year later, I was checking out books at our local library and one of the books I checked out was titled This Is the Pumpkin, a contemporary story about Halloween, written in a variation of cumulative rhyming verse. I thought that this format could work for a contemporary story about Thanksgiving and started out writing This Is the Turkey. That story was going nowhere, and so I thought why not write about the First Thanksgiving using the same cumulative rhyme format, and calling the book THIS IS THE FEAST.
Maw Books: What is the process like to research for a picture book, especially this one based upon the first Thanksgiving?
Diane Z. Shore: For This Is the Feast, I checked out every book I could find on the First Thanksgiving, both adult and children’s. A couple of the Pilgrims (or New Comers as they were actually called) kept diaries so I had primary sources, too! I found the research to be very interesting and exciting, or as I tell the students when I visit schools, “very wowing!” I discovered I really loved non-fiction, and thought about other historical events that might work written in the cumulative rhyme format, and that’s when I came up with THIS IS THE DREAM. That book actually started out as THIS IS THE MARCH, about the 1968 march on Washington D.C., but decided that was too narrow an approach, so I expanded it to the entire Civil Rights Movement. For research I watched videos and read lots of books. Most of the research material for DREAM was primary sources.
Maw Books: Because it’s Thanksgiving and your book is a Thanksgiving book, what are the traditions that you have in your home this time of year?
Diane Z. Shore: I’m not much of a cook, so anytime I can go to my sister’s house or my parents’ house, we’re there! So I guess you could say that one of my traditions is to let someone else cook!
Maw Books: I’ve never hosted a Thanksgiving myself. If I had to make a turkey, I wouldn’t know what to do. But, I love to ask authors for a favorite recipe to share with my readers. What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish and would you care to share the recipe?
Diane Z. Shore: OK, now I just told you that cooking is not on my top 10 list of favorite things to do. But, I do always offer to bring something when we are invited elsewhere for Thanksgiving and Sweet Potato Casserole is my favorite thing to make AND eat. It’s more like a dessert than a side dish. (And I love desserts!)
SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE
2 eggs 1
cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes
Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Beat eggs, granulated sugar, and 3/4 cup butter. Add milk and vanilla. Combine with the mashed sweet potatoes; spoon into a greased 2-quart casserole. Combine brown sugar, flour, 2 tablespoons softened butter, and pecans, mixing until crumbly; sprinkle over sweet potatoes. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Serves 6.
Maw Books: Sounds delicious! Thank you! What do you do outside the world of books?
Diane Z. Shore: Play tennis, read, and go out to dinner with friends.
Maw Books: What can your fans look forward to next?
Diane Z. Shore: This Is the Game, about the history of baseball, and more How to Drive Your Sister Crazy books. I think the ideas for those books are endless. They are in my household anyway!
Maw Books: I look forward to them! Thank you so much Diane!
Diane Z. Shore: Thank YOU! Happy Thanksgiving and may the wishbone break your way! Diane
You can visit Diane Z. Shore at her website and purchase all of her books at the Maw Books Amazon store. And visit these other bloggers participating in the Kidz Book Buzz blog tour: the 160acrewoods, A Mom Speaks, All About Children’s Books, Becky’s Book Reviews, Cafe of Dreams, Dolce Bellezza, Homeschool Buzz, KidzBookBuzz.com, Looking Glass Reviews, Maggie Reads, Maw Books Blog, Never Jam Today, Olive Tree, Our Big Earth, Quiverfull Family, Reading is My Superpower, SmallWorld Reads.
After Diane’s recipe, I’m ready to talk about Thanksgiving traditions that many of us carry on in our own homes. Tomorrow we’ll talk about some of those traditions and share some yummy Thanksgiving recipes. So come prepared to share!
