Author Interview:Claire Annette Noland

Wow, it's been a while since I posted an author interview, but I have some great ones coming up this month to make up for it!

First up is Claire Annette Noland. We met through our debut author group, The Debut Crew. She is one of our fearless leaders, and I've been so happy to get to know her even better through this interview.

Her debut picture book, Evie's Field Day, illustrated by Alicia Teba, comes out on May 1st. It's a fun one, and you can find my review HERE.

But let's get to it! As always, my comments are in green:

Hi Claire, welcome to my blog! Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you came to write children's books?

I’ve always been a reader. I became a writer in high school when I took a creative writing class and realized kid lit was my happy place. I decided I wanted a career focused on children and books and I’ve been able to do that as a bookseller, children’s librarian,  reading specialist, kindergarten teacher, mom to four children, and now author!

Wow, your list of jobs is like my dream list! Kid lit is my happy place, too. Can you please tell us about your upcoming book?

Evie’s Field Day is about a girl who loves to win and looks  forward to getting more ribbons at the annual field day. Unfortunately, things don’t work out as planned and Evie is not a very good loser. When she is finally ahead, she is faced with a decision. Should she race ahead and win or make a choice to stop and be a friend.

Field days are the best! But I totally get how Evie feels. It's easy to get caught up in winning. What inspired you to write this story?

No one likes to lose but it is a fact of life. We can’t always win. As a child, I never seemed to win anything but games of chance, like BINGO. As a mom and teacher, I saw how frustrated and upset children can get when they lose. I want to encourage children to enjoy the game, focus on doing their best, and on being a good friend and teammate. I hope Evie’s Field Day will be help children to be good sports.

It's a good lesson to learn young. Still, I love how spunky Evie is as a character. She reminded me of myself when I was a kid. I loved winning! Did you base her off of anyone you know?

Actually, she is a combination of my four children who each struggled with competitors and learned many valuable lessons in the process.

I love that! Kids are the best inspiration. And I also loved all the fun field day games in your book. How did you choose them? Did it require research?

Field Day is always one of the most anticipated days in the school year and the games included in the book are student favorites. I had many to choose from!

I guess it helps when you've been a teacher for a few years! The suggestions on teaching good sportsmanship in the back matter are great! Was that part of the initial drafts or your submission package or did it come later? How did you develop that?

Cardinal Rule Press has a very clear vision for the books they publish. They want realistic stories about children and the issues they face. They want to empower children as well as encourage parents and teachers. Each of their books have suggestions and activities that support the topic.

The back matter was developed after the contract was signed. I read many articles on sportsmanship and talked to coaches. I also included techniques that I personally developed as a teacher and parent.

Fascinating to see how the process works for different publishers. 

So let's talk about the art. I love how the illustrator, Alicia Teba, uses color to really spotlight the kids in the story and bring focus to the action. Was this something you had discussed with your editor/art-director beforehand, or was it a fun surprise? What was your reaction on seeing it? 

I love the illustrations done by Alicia. The color palate was the brilliant idea of Maria Dismondy, publisher of Cardinal Rule Press. I was able to see the draft illustrations throughout the process and I am thrilled with each page. I especially love how Evie’s emotions are so clearly evident.

So clear! Now, I have to ask. The timeline is so long for picture books. You've been looking forward to release day for years now. How has COVID-19 affected your release day plans?

Evie’s Field Day was planned to launch in time for end of the school year activities. Unfortunately, things are turning out differently than planned because children are not at school. The book is being launched virtually and we are planning a big #AtHomeFieldDay on May 21st.

The field day will be celebrated on Instagram. Families can post pictures on Instagram with the hashtags #EviesFieldDay and #AtHomeFieldDay to be eligible for prizes. Here's a blog post with some fun activity ideas: At Home Field Day- 10 ways to play, and here's information from Cardinal Rule Press about the #AtHomeFieldDay contest.  I hope many families will join the fun!

Sounds super fun! What a great way to celebrate. 😊

Okay, one last question. I have a fascination for personalized license plates. What do you think Evie might choose for a personalized license plate? You have 8 characters. Go! 

PLAY4FUN!

Love it! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog, Claire, I loved learning more about you and your book. Wishing it a very successful launch!

And for the rest of you,  thanks so much for stopping in and reading! You can find all the links for following Claire on social media below, as well as links for where you can get your own copy of EVIE'S FIELD DAY! 

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Claire Noland is the author of easy readers, board books, and picture books for young children. She knows that everyone who reads is a winner and as a children’s librarian, reading specialist, and author, her life’s goal is to excite kids about books and reading. She writes from her home in Central California.

You can follow her on Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook, and Instagram.

EVIE'S FIELD DAY is available now from Claire's local indie book store, Petunia's Place Books,  through bookshop, Amazon, B&N, and wherever books are sold.