Interview with Gifted author, Janice Spina!

"Today I have an extremely talented guest, my author friend, Janice Spina.
Good morning, Janice. I'm so pleased you're spending time with me for another interview about your wonderful children's books, Louey the Lazy Elephant and Ricky the Rambunctious Raccoon. It's always an honor to have you as my guest."
"I'm excited to be here with you today, Deanie."

• Tell me a little bit about your first book, Louey The Lazy Elephant:

"As the title states, Louey is a lazy elephant who wakes up one day to find that the herd has moved on without him. He is extremely upset and a little frightened but is determined to find his way to his family and friends. Louey is adorable and so sweet that children will love him."

• How did you get the idea for Louey the Lazy Elephant?

"I have always loved elephants and when I was just a child I begged my parents to take me to the zoo to see them. I would watch how the mother elephant cared for her baby and was amazed. The story came to me years later when watching Animal Planet on TV about elephants.
"My husband and I both have a thing about them and have elephant figurines all over the house. Did you know that the elephant with his trunk up means "good luck?"

• What is the main thing you would like children to remember about Louey's  story?

"I wrote the story with the idea of teaching children how to think for themselves and why it is important not to be lazy."

• Tell me about your newest book, Ricky the Rambunctious Raccoon:

"Ricky is an adorable baby raccoon who gets into all kinds of trouble when he ventures out on his own. He learns a valuable lesson."

• What would you like children to remember about Ricky the Rambunctious Raccoon?

"I think children will read Ricky and come away with the lesson that if you do not listen to your mother you could get in all kinds of trouble. Mother knows best!"

• I love the color illustrations that your husband, John, does for your books. Can you tell us about the technique he uses?

"John was at first a reluctant illustrator but I convinced him to illustrate Louey and Ricky. He is now illustrating my third book. He uses a combination of crayons, markers (sometimes) and puts all his drawings into Photoshop and enhances them."

• Do you have some other projects that will be published soon?

"Yes another children's book, Jerry the Crabby Crayfish, is being completed with illustrations by John. It will be a little while yet before it is published."
 I am editing my murder/crime novel, Hunting Mariah, which has been a long standing project for me. I started writing it back in 1995 and it continues to evolve into a completely different story today. I hope to have it completed within a month so I can send it to be published on Smashwords. John illustrated the cover.
A third project is editing two children's books that I recently wrote so that John can do the illustrations. One is about a polar bear and the other, about a purple lamb.
There is a little story behind the polar bear idea. I met an adorable little five-year-old boy on my vacation in Aruba and I asked him what his favorite animal was and he responded, "polar bear." I promised him that I would write a book about a polar bear and name it after him, Jesse. Hearing about this story by four-year-old granddaughter, Leah, requested that I write three stories for her. One would be about her favorite stuffed toy, Lamby, her dog, Daisy, and a white rabbit.
I have my work cut out for me. I am just crazy about her! She is so cute. My husband tells me she is a little me (on the bossy side).
Ha ha!
I will let everyone know when these books are published on my website and my blog.
PIA:publishedindieauthors.wordpress.com is a site, founded by Paul G. Day, where I am co-founder, blogger, recruiter, facilitator and editor. I welcome all to come and visit and check out all that PIA has to offer."
"Another project is copy editing other authors' books. At present, since I am editing my own books, I'm not taking on too many other authors' books. If anyone wants to contact me  about copy editing, they can reach me through my website and look under Services there.

• Where can people purchase your books?

They can go to:
 Website: https://jemsbooks.wordpress.com
Blog: https:// jemsbooks.wordpress.com
Create Space: http://createspace.com/4324983 (Louey)
                    http://createspace.com/4424412 (Ricky)
Amazon:http://Amazon.com/0615836534 (Louey)
             http://Amazon.com/0615881076 (Ricky)
My Amazon author page: http://Amazon.com/author/janicespina7

• Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Becoming an author in my retirement has been a wonderful experience, thereby realizing my life-long dream. I am truly grateful to God for giving me the ability to follow my dream. Writing is what I love to do and will continue until my last days. I am always available to anyone who would like to be on my blog, or just wants to discuss writing and publishing.
I would like to say that getting to know you and so many other wonderful online people has been a joy. I have more friends than I have ever had in my life. It is very enjoyable to blog and reach people all over the world.
I want to thank you for having me on your beautiful blog, and letting me share myself and my books. It has been a sincere pleasure."
You're most welcome, Janice. It has been a tremendous pleasure to speak with you. As always, I wish you much success with all of your projects."