MIRACLE AT MADVILLE - MaryAnn Diorio - One Free Book

Welcome back, MaryAnn. What made you decide to write for children? Many years ago, while browsing in the children’s section of my local bookstore,  I noticed a book about Jesus. I got so excited to find such a book in a secular bookstore. But when I flipped through its pages, my excitement crashed. The book presented Jesus as merely a prophet and teacher, just like Mohammed and Buddha. In fact, after presenting these two false prophets along with Jesus, the author invited the children to choose which one they wanted to follow!

I literally began to weep in that bookstore. Right then and there, I said, “Lord, I’m going home right now to start writing a children’s book that portrays the truth about You. The devil is not going to capture children’s minds and hearts on my watch!

So I went home and started writing Who Is Jesus?, a picture book that portrays the truth about Jesus Christ in a way that children can comprehend and relate to.

After that book, the Lord began giving me other ideas for children’s books. I have always dearly loved children and am able vividly to recall my own childhood. This helps me a great deal when I write for little ones.

It’s been said that it’s easier to write for children than it is to write for adults. You write for both, so what is your opinion? I think it’s definitely more difficult to write for children. When we write for children, we write for little people who are just like us grown-ups but less nuanced, yet, I believe, more spiritual in their life experiences. I like to say that children are “fresh from the heart of God,” with all the innocence that position implies. So when we write for children, we write on a different, and I think, more noble, level of the human heart.

One of my favorite quotes is that by Madeleine L’Engle: “You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”

Do you get input from children for your children’s books? Most certainly, especially from my grandchildren. One of my granddaughters is especially literary. She and I brainstorm, and she offers excellent ideas for plots and plot twists. Unlike adult family members, children will tell you exactly what they think of your story. So, you can always count on having an unbiased critic in a child.

The most wonderful moment of my writing life came shortly after I had published my first middle-grade novel, Dixie Randolph and the Secret of Seabury Beach. On a visit to my home, my nine-year-old granddaughter pulled me aside and said, “Nonna, I really liked your book!” Her words so touched my heart and brought me to tears.

Why do you think writing for children is so important? We live in a culture today where absolute truth has been driven out. Our children are being exposed to unmentionable evil unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed in my lifetime. We are planting seeds of sin into their fragile, impressionable hearts instead of seeds of righteousness. This is nothing short of child abuse. I am often reminded of our Lord’s comment in Luke 17: 2: “It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin.”

There are several genres of children’s books: picture books, storybooks (like picture books, but longer), chapter books, middle-grade fiction, and young adult, aka YA. Do you have a favorite? I have written in all genres except  YA. I don’t know that I have a favorite. As long as I can tell an engaging story, I’m happy. Picture books, I think, are more difficult to write in that the story should not exceed 800 words. Recently, that number has even been reduced to 500 words by some publishers. So a picture book writer must tell a good story with a beginning, a middle, and an end in only a few words. This forces the writer to get down to the heart of the story—the bare bones, as it were—while still considering all the elements of good story-telling.

What advice would you give to an aspiring children’s writer? First of all, I would say that if you are not consistently around or with children, find a way to spend as much time as you can with them. Get involved in their lives. Listen to them. Mostly, listen. Ask them questions. They will share their hearts with you. Those nuggets they share will be seeds for your stories. 

Observe children interacting with other children. Observe them when they are alone. Observe them when interacting with adults. You will learn a great deal about them from their body language and their facial expressions. Most of all, love them with all your heart and they will love you back. You will grow in awe of them. You will come to understand what Jesus meant when He said we must become like little children to enter the Kingdom of God.

Finally, read as many children’s books as you can, particularly in the genre you wish to write.

How much say does a children’s author have in the illustrations for his book? It depends on who publishes the book. If your story is published by a traditional publisher, you will likely have very little say in the illustrator chosen or in the illustrations. Some publishers may ask your opinion on a cover, but most do not.

If you indie-publish, then you have all the say on the illustrator you choose. Since my children’s books are indie-published, I chose all my illustrators. But once I choose the illustrator, I allow the illustrator freedom of artistic expression in the illustration process. This is my way of honoring the artistic gift God has given the illustrator. I feel comfortable giving the artist full reign on the artwork, however, because I have first chosen the illustrator and have seen his or her artistic style and am happy with it.

How does publishing a children’s book differ from publishing a book for adults? Again, it depends on whether you go with a traditional publisher or you indie-publish. Since I have indie-published my children’s books, I can tell you there is a lot of work involved. I have to hire my own professional illustrators and editors. Also, I have to have the files formatted properly, although an experienced illustrator will know how to do that. Books with illustrations require a different kind of formatting compared to simple print books. When I publish my books for adults, however, I don’t need to consider hiring illustrators, only editors. So, publishing for adults is much easier when it comes to logistics.

Do you have any more children’s books in the works? Yes, I am currently working on a children’s storybook titled Nonna Cioccolata (Italian for Grandma Chocolate.) Because I bring my grandchildren Hershey chocolate kisses when I visit them, they have taken to calling me Nonna Cioccolata. So, I decided to write a story about a character by that name.

Do you have any final words to encourage our readers?  Yes. If God has called you to write for children, then consider it a great responsibility and a high honor. Children believe everything they are taught, so our responsibility as children’s authors is, I believe, more onerous than it is when writing for adults. Not that we have less responsibility when writing for adults. We don’t. But when we write for children, we are holding impressionable hearts and minds in our hands. Hearts and minds that are not yet experienced enough to be able to nuance and to discern between truth and error. So, write for children with great care, knowing that you are writing for the very heart of God. 

Thank you, MaryAnn for sharing Miracle at Madville with us. I'm eager to share it with my great-grandchildren.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/Miracle-at-Madville-Maryann-Diorio/dp/0930037731/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1671127810&sr=1-1

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