Author Spotlight July 2021

 Author Spotlight July 2021

Book Review- “The Fastest Dinosaur.” Overall, this book by Mrs. Caren Cantrell tries to work with a simple concept of a dinosaur who is in a race for being the fastest runner out of his friends. Yet, at the same time he has a large heart and wants to help everyone. So, when he is challenged by another dinosaur to a race, he accepts this challenge and as he races, he comes to situations where he is asked to help others. The illustrations by Mrs. Amy Klein use simple colors and shapes to represent the characters really well.

The one issue I found with this book is that it seemed not to tell the full story bringing in many characters that we knew nothing about. The characters even the main one, Enzo were very genetic and not realistic. It also lacked a story arc where a character has to grow in some way. I am not sure what the target age of this book is or what message it was trying to send it’s readers? It could definitely have used some more work and development. I got a sense it was put together extremely fast. As for a rating I will give it  2.5 stars since it seemed to be only half finished.               

 

Caren Cantrell is a children’s book author who writes stories about characters who capture her imagination. They might have a too short flipper or curly whiskers. Or they might just be curious about the world around them.

Her family moved around a lot when she was a child and making new friends over and over again wasn’t something her introverted personality lent itself to. She found solace and friendship in reading books, and she read tons of them. At the age of twelve, Caren started writing her own stories and knew that writing for children was something she wanted to do.

But life, and the need to make a living, have a way of intruding on our dreams so Caren spent thirty years working in banking while raising five children, putting her writing on hold. When the opportunity finally arose in 2011 to quit the bank and start her own publishing services company, Caren jumped at the chance.

At the same time, her children started having children and writing became a passion once more. Not only was it fulfilling a dream but also leaving a legacy as the main character in each of her books to date bears the name of one of her grandchildren. Caren has eight picture books published so far, a middle-grade science fantasy novel in illustration, and another picture book in the revision stages.

Annie Argyle’s Amazing Adventure is her first book. It’s about a sock that deliberately goes missing from the dryer to have an adventure because she’s tired of being in dark, stinky places. With five children at home, Caren always had a laundry basket full of mismatched socks and wondered what on earth happened to them.

Her latest work, The Fastest Dinosaur, is a reimagining of The Tortoise and the Hare. In this book, Enzo, the fastest dinosaur in the world, doesn’t lose the race because he is too proud. He loses because he is too kind, stopping to help his friends along the track. In today’s world, where bullying and social shaming seem to be the norm, Caren felt a book about kindness was sorely needed. And who doesn’t love dinosaurs?

Sea of Surprises is the book that challenged Caren the most to write because it combines prose with rhyme to tell the story of a treasure hunt a little mermaid embarks on to find the surprise her grandmother has sent for her birthday. The book is also available in Spanish, something she intends to do with all her books.

She also has a non-fiction series on Kindle, written under the pen name Matthew Taylor, called Planet Discovery Books for Kids. These books are filled with fun facts and photos of creatures who share our planet, such as rabbits, reindeer, snakes, and some of the deadliest creatures.

Caren’s three favorite words are Read It Again!

She lives in Cave Creek, AZ, with her husband, Bill, and little dog, Daisy, but travels frequently to visit her five children and ten grandchildren.

 

1. Who was the biggest inspiration in your life.

Author Ayn Rand was a huge inspiration, although I no longer agree with her politics. She was one of the first authors I read who had a strong female protagonist who operated under her own set of values, rather than those imposed by the societal rules of the time. Her writing inspired me to want to do more and be more with the confidence I could make the right choices for myself.

 

2. What major event helped you decide to become a writer?

The desire to be a writer had been with me since I was a child. However, it took retiring from the corporate career that gave me the time and financial freedom to write. Then I became a grandmother, and the stories started flowing.

 

3. When you worked in the Finance industry, what was the hardest thing about it? What was the easiest?

I feel no matter where you work, the hardest thing is always dealing with the people, whether they be coworkers, employees, or clients. I was an Executive Vice President and had 600 people working for me in five states. Making sure communication was clear and timely and everyone was pulling for the same mission, results, and excellent customer service took a lot.

I was in the Operations area, so the easiest part for me was figuring out the most effective processes and procedures and putting them into practice. I’m very organized.

 

4. Tell us about an incident in your life that is the most memorable.

As a writer, the most memorable incident was the first time I held the print copy of Annie Argyle’s Amazing Adventure in my hands. I could barely contain my excitement and I wanted to show everyone! I’d spent years learning the craft, getting critiques, revising, revising, and revising, and finally, I could call myself a published author. I’d say my writing has improved significantly since that book, but none of the others have made me feel quite the same way as when I opened that first box of picture books.

 

5. How did being a grandmother change your life?

Oh my gosh, how didn’t it? I’ve got ten grandchildren and none of them live in my home state so I travel, a lot, to see them. There’s nothing I like better than being a grandmother. I have the time now to engage with them, play, and have adventures, that I missed with my kids when I was working full-time. Watching them and seeing what they see through their little eyes and minds gives me so many ideas for future stories. 

 

6. If you were to give advice to new writers, what would that be?

Learn your craft first, particularly if you are writing for children. As part of my publishing services business, I provide development edits for other writers. Too many times I get manuscripts for picture books that are over 1000 words, or they have adults helping the child to solve their problem. It tells me right away that the author hasn’t spent any time learning the craft. If you’re looking to be traditionally published, it helps to learn the rules before you even begin to write. And, of course, as others have said on your blog, one of the ways to learn is to read, read, read other books in your genre.

 

7. Tell us a little about the writing process you go through with each book.

Whenever I come across something I think might make a good children’s story, I write it down. I have a whole notebook full of story ideas, many of which are a result of participating in Story Storm every year where you jot down an idea for a new story every day for 30 days. Before I begin to write, I decide on a theme. For example, in The Fastest Dinosaur, the theme is kindness, in Sea of Surprises the theme is family over things, and in Ranger Henry, the theme is not giving up on your dream. Then I research to see what other books are out there with the same theme and read a few of them as mentor texts. If I’m using animals as the characters in my books, I’ll also research them. In Leo Learns to Swim I needed to research if a sea turtle could swim with a short flipper. Only then do I write my first draft. I run it by my critique groups and revise, revise, revise. Then I put the manuscript away for a few weeks so the next time I look at it, I’ve got fresh eyes and revise again.

 

 

8. If you would give advice to your grandchildren, what would that be?

Follow your dreams and dream big. Don’t let the little voice inside your head tell you you’re not good enough. That voice is put there by other people. Keep trying new things and don’t be afraid to fail. Failing is just your First Attempt in Learning and gets you one step closer to success. And above all, do what makes you happy.

 

9. What new project are you working on and what kind of future plans do you have?

Currently, I’m working on a picture book about a French Poodle who comes to the US. The other dogs don’t understand her because she barks in French. It will be a humorous, bilingual book. I also have a middle-grade, science-fantasy novel coming out at the end of the year called The Sun Thief. My plans include trying my hand at writing a chapter book series based on a fourth-grade spy club that my hairstylist's daughter started at her school.

10. Share some wise words and advice with the community.

If you are serious about becoming an author, you should treat writing like a business. And by that, I don’t mean giving up your creativity to chase the money. What I mean is you should set an appointment with yourself for when you are going to write and treat that appointment as sacredly as you would any other. Writing can be hard work for many of us and it’s easy to let other things take priority. Set a goal during that time to write 100 words or write for 15 minutes or write 20 sentences. However, the writing is only one piece of the authorship puzzle. It helps to have a project plan that lays out all the things you have to do before your book gets published, particularly if you are self-publishing. Start with your ideal publish date in mind and work back from there with tasks like finding an illustrator, getting critiques, cover design, building your platform, and putting together a launch team to name a few.