Interview with Kristen Collier

I am excited to interview author Kristen Collier today. She has a B. A. in English from Concordia College , Ann Arbor , MI . She's editor/co-owner of Tangerine Sky Productions, Ltd., a writing company, and also a freelance writer for The Chronicle of the Horse. She has freelanced for The Grand Haven Tribune, The Fruitport Gazette, and The Muskegon Chronicle and is a former religion columnist for West Life (Cleveland). And her first picture book has just been published.

 Congratulations, Kristen, on the publication of your picture book, Joy the Jellyfish. What was the inspiration for this lovely story? 

Thanks Beverly! My wonderful husband and illustrator for the book, Kevin, gave me the idea. We were originally going to write it together, and he did help me with it, but then he was really busy, so I just put the finishing touches on it myself. I really liked how it turned out, so pursued publication. Regarding the inspiration, it's me. Kevy knows my insecureties, so wanted to write about a creature that was nearly transparent, one that felt virtually unseen. Kevy's like the wise Bella Beluga, who teaches the jellyfish that a true friend is one who sees what's on the inside, and that to make a friend you have to be a friend. Kevy's a wonderful man?he does everything he can to build me up.  

What kind of research did you have to do to create the sea creatures?  

None, ha ha! One night Kevy was drawing some pictures for me for fun, and he drew the cutest little jellyfish with stars on the end of some of her tentacles. Then he drew a darling blowfish and a sweet little manta ray. Creatures like that are something that most people know a little about, and I did actually see a Beluga Whale at Sea World when I was little. Her name was Namu, the White Whale. I've never forgotten her. She was the sweetest thing ever, with this big, white whale, Beluga smile. 

How long did it take you to write the book and then find a publisher? Any bumps along the way?

I wrote it one day, then Kevy went over it and added some bits to it. Then I did the final a bit later, so not much time (compared to my novel, which took about two years!). No, no bumps along the way. Kevy helped a lot, which is great to have someone who is like a live-in writing teacher here to help me. It's fun because I'm really learning a lot about writing from him, he is really tuning up my writing, so it's neat to see the online Joy stories progress as I learn. As I write each one I see improvement, which is nice to see.  Regarding finding a publisher, I just did a google search and then sent Dragonfly Publishing a query. I guess Kevy had already contacted them for art work, and they wanted him as an artist, so it was a match made in literary heaven. 

Your husband illustrated the book. Tell us what itâ??s like working together. Did you have any input about the artwork? 

I think it's silly when writers try to have input artistically. I would never be so presumptuous as to play artist, after all they're the gifted one, not me. And working with Kevy is this wonderful symbiosis. It's perfect. We gel completely. We both respect the other's input so are able to get good feedback from each other to make a better story. It's a lot of fun working with him. Our strengths are complimentary?his is the creative end of things, with dialogue being his strong suit, and mine is the grammatical end, with my strength being narrative, so it really is a great blend of authors working together. And we're on the same wavelength. Often, we'll write the same lines not knowing the other has done so. Our goal is just to write the best books possible, and because we're so complimentary, it helps to write together.  

Your bio mentions that you write for several magazines and also have written other books. Please tell us about these. 

No other mags currently, and there are a bunch of manuscripts, no published books, other than an e-book called "Dreamchaser," which will probably go to print next year. But my raison d'etre, the reason I started writing, is a book called "King of Glory." It's a story in which Jesus walks invisibly with the characters. Some people were really moved by the self-published version, and even went back to church after reading it, which is my goal--to remind people that we're never alone, that Jesus is always with us. I'm currently re-vamping it now that I've learned so much about writing from Kevy. I'll re-release it in '08 sometime.  

Now for some fun questions. Do you have any hobbies? 

I love dressage, which is an equestrian sport in which the rider wears a fancy black coat and boots. They show it in the Olympics. It's really beautiful, looks like ballet on horseback. One day I hope to get another horse and ride again. But mostly now I'm working, taking care of my family, and spending every other second writing/promoting the book stuff, so that one day it will hopefully become a career. 

If you could live in any other time period, when would it be? 

I would live in a future in which I could fly in space ships. I'm a sci-fi freak! I LOOOOOVE sci-fi! 

What is your favorite color? Food? Place to visit?  

1.) Raspberry 2.) Milk Duds 3.) Anywhere my husband is  

Where can your fans read more about you and also purchase your book? 

The best place to go is http://www.joythejellyfish.blogspot.com. That links you to all my other pages, including the publisher of "Joy the Jellyfish." You can also get the book at Amazon.com. 

Thank you for visiting with us today, Kristen. It's been fun. 

Thank you, Beverly! 

Joy the Jellyfish wants a friend, but she's invisible to the other creatures in the sea. She's also very shy, which makes it difficult for her to talk to the animals that live in the Great Barrier Reef with her. She's so lonely that one day, she decides to go in search of a friend. She smiles shyly at each animal she meets, hoping to be their friend, but the anemone doesn't see Joy. The seahorses turn up their noses at her. The Great White Shark swims away. Will no one be her friend?

Then Joy meets a ghostlike creature that has an answer to her problem. Oh no! I'm not telling. But children will be delighted by Joy's discovery of the "secret of true friendship."

The playful illustrations, with bright-eyed sea creatures, complement Ms. Collier's tale of friendship. It is a lovely book that young children will want to read or have read to them over and over. There's one word?"trepidation"?that a parent will have to explain to this age child. A nice story for bedtime or for anytime.