Woofing it Up with Mayra Calvani- Author Interview

Crash by Mayra Calvani

Illustrator: Anna Pylypchuk

ISBN: 978-1-933090-54-2

Price: $10.95 print, $5.00 ebook, $9.95 CD

Format: ebook, paperback, CD

Locations to purchase: Amazon, B&N, Guardian Angel Publishing, Fictionwise

Age group: 2-6 yrs old

Marcelo is thrilled when he gets a golden retriever puppy for his birthday, but now he faces one of the toughest jobs of his life, not only because owning a pet is a huge responsibility, but because he has to find the perfect name for it—and that’s hard!

Mayra Calvani

Blog Address: www.mayrassecretbookcase.blogspot.com

Website Address: www.mayrassecretbookcase.com

Email: mayracalvani@gmail.com

Multi-genre author, reviewer and animal advocate Mayra Calvani hails from San Juan, Puerto Rico. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, playing the violin, interviewing other authors for her blogs and newsletters, and watching too many reruns of Gilmore Girls. She's a regular contributor to Blogcritics Magazine and a member of SCBWI.

REVIEW OF CRASH

Mayra Calvani’s latest picture book Crash will peak a child’s curiosity and imagination as they try to discover the new puppy’s name. In the inventive tale Marcelo gets what every child hopes for, a puppy.

The reader is introduced to the responsibilities and joys of receiving a new puppy. For a book to captivate a child and have them ask you to read it again and again, you need look know farther.

J. Aday: How did the visit come about?

Mayra: Ever since the release of my first children’s book in December 2007, I had been toying with the idea of contacting schools around my area for visits, but I was scared. Mostly of rejection. Also, I’d always been terrified of speaking in public. So I debated with myself for most of this year until finally I told myself, ‘Enough is enough! If you’re serious about your writing career, you better stop your pitiful, shy author act and get your butt out there.’ And so I did. I drafted a letter and sent it to various schools. The letter included a brief bio with my websites/links, blurbs of my books (and of course links to their covers and reviews), and my desire to come to their school for a possible presentation, reading and/or book signing.

Most of the schools showed interest and two of them booked me right away. Two other schools want me to come and visit next year.

J. Aday: How did you prepare?

Mayra: To start with, I did some brainstorming and wrote down some ideas. I also asked advice from some Guardian Angel Publishing (GAP) authors. We have a fantastic group of people in our forum and we share ideas and help and support one another. I also practiced a few times my ‘speech’ to the kids and read the book out loud to myself several times to achieve the right flow, tone and pitch. I had bookmarks of the book and coloring pages done well in advance. Since the book is about a golden retriever puppy, dog names, and the responsibilities of owning a dog, I brought with me a life-size golden retriever puppy and mother golden retriever stuffed toys.

I made an outline for the 30-minute presentation:

· Put the stuffed toys in a closed bag. Upon arrival to the class, after a brief introduction about yourself and why you wrote the book, tell the kids, “I have a surprise for you. I always bring my dogs to my school visits because they LOVE children and they LOVE listening to stories.” At this point the kids will think you have real dogs in the bag. Take out the toys, “Surprise!” and put them at your feet in a “listening” position. Tell the kids, “The mother golden is called Brigitte. But I won’t tell you the name of the puppy--you’ll have to guess that at the end of the story!” (This was suggested by another GAP author, and it was a great idea!)

· Then tell them, “If you’re very quiet and listen to the story very carefully, I’ll let you hug the goldens before I leave.”

· Proceed to read the story. Dramatize it with different voices, gasps of surprise, barks, etc.

· When finished, ask the kids, “Do you now know what the name of the puppy is?” Of course, they’ll answer “Crash!” Then ask them, “Did you like the story? What did you like about it most?” Make sure all kids who raise their hands have a chance to respond.

· Ask the children if they have any dogs, what their dogs’ names are, and what things they must do to take care of their dogs. Engage in a warm discussion.

· Give them coloring pages and bookmarks of the book.

· Before leaving, let each child give a ‘goodbye’ hug to the goldens.

J. Aday: Why you consider it successful/unsuccessful

Mayra: We all had a wonderful time—the kids, the teacher, me. The kids listened to the book with interested, raised their hands with dozens of questions and comments when I finished, and when I left the room we all had big smiles on our faces. So I guess it was a success.

J. Aday: What elements did the kids enjoy?

Mayra: They absolutely loved the two stuffed golden retrievers I brought! They also loved the coloring pages and the bookmarks I gave them. They were excited that they were actually going to take home the stuff I gave them. I allowed them to give a hug to the stuffed goldens before I left—I think that was their favorite part! LOL.

J. Aday: Did you decide to change/alter your next presentation? Why?

Mayra: For children under 5 years of age, I wouldn’t change my presentation. I would keep it simple and fun and no more than 30 minutes. But for older children I’d add a story game after the reading/discussion, something more challenging to put their creative juices to work.

J. Aday: I know you’re on the shy side. Did this experience alleviate or strengthen your unease of “getting out there”? In what way?

Mayra: Definitely! After this visit I learned something… I’m not as shy as I thought! It was a learning and self-powering experience. Plus, it was so fun to interact with the children. I’m filled with self confidence for my next school visit, which will be this December. I’ll be reading my other book, The Magic Violin.

J. Aday: What suggestions would you give someone preparing an author visit?

Mayra: If there’s something I learned from this my first school visit is that only reading a book won’t do it. You need to ‘put up a show’, be entertaining, and get the kids to interact.

J. Aday: Did you get any media coverage/publicity? If yes, how and what?

Mayra: Not for this one, no. Though the event was well promoted inside the school.

J. Aday: Did you prepare any giveaways for the teachers or kids? What?

Mayra: Yes! I gave away bookmarks of my book which displayed the cover art, purchase information, my website’s link, and a review quote. I also gave the children coloring pages of my book. They loved them!

J. Aday: How did the teachers prepare for your visit?

Mayra: They were having a book week when I visited, so I was part of a group of authors. The school promoted the event well in advance in their school newspaper and in a special ‘Book Week’ brochure that included all the visiting authors, along with their photos and bios. These brochures were sent to all the parents. They also put flyers on all the bulletin boards in the school.

Thankfully Mayra is forgiving as well as insightful. this interview should have been posted weeks ago. My computer locked up. I lost the interview. Mayra kept ba copy and was kind enough to send it to me.