Authorsday - J.D. Holday

Welcome J.D. Holiday and her book Janoose the Goose.

Janoose the Goose is visiting her cousin, Molly Duck on the farm. Janoose likes the barnyard very much but she must go home because there are no job openings on the farm. When her flight home arrives, the fox’s has begun a crime spree and Janoose is the only one who can stop him.

1) What was the best writing advice someone gave you?
The best writing advice was to edit, edit and re-edit. This advice I got from
many sources from writers to English professors. For me I can’t edit enough.
It’s is one piece of advice a writer must take seriously and never overlook
its importance.
2) What’s your favorite quote?
I love reading famous quotes. I think there is so much advice in them. I
really have many favorite quotes but the one that suits me most is by Douglas
Hugh Everett (1916-2002), the physical chemist, professor who taught chemical
thermodynamic and was also a gifted painter. "THERE are some people who
live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are
those who turn one into the other."
3) What do you consider your strengths in terms of your writing?
I consider my strength to be that I have a sense of timing that allows me to
easily move scenes along smoothly while keeping the story’s focus and action
high.
4) What do you consider your weaknesses?
I consider my weakness to be that I am a terrible speller and can not do
without a dictionary.
5) How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing for 26 years, since 1983. My father wrote every weekend
for as long as I can remember though I never thought of writing myself while he
was alive. My spelling problem held me back. I didn’t think I could write
because of it, BUT in the sixth grade I did write a story on a rainy day and
loved it.
In 1983 I started writing when a friend asked me to read a few pages from a
historical romance she was writing. I told her what I thought about it and she
asked me to help her write the book. We did finish it and sent it to an agent
who was kind and sent the manuscript back with a detailed account of what was
wrong with it. My friend went on to other things while I found that I loved
writing and did not want to stop.
6) Why did you pick the publisher that ultimately published your book?
That’s easy. My publisher is me! After years of submitting manuscripts to
the big publishers and waiting for the rejection letters I was giving up on
getting published. I had a agent and editors along the way that were interested
in my work, but no books published. Then, POD publishing, or
Print On Demand came along and was affordable to get books into print. I
decided that was what I was going to do.
I tried one of those print services, which for me, was a disaster. I had my
publicity plan ready to go but the print service had made a mess of my book and
the galley was not ready for printing. I tried working with them to fix it, but
the next galley had the same problems and the deal collapsed. That was when I
decided I could do the job better myself and I started my own publishing
company, Book Garden Publishing, LLC.
7) Describe your book.
My book is a children’s picture book called, Janoose the Goose. Janoose the
Goose is visiting her cousin, Molly the Duck on the farm and likes life there
but can not stay. There are no job openings on the farm. Her flight home arrives
but Janoose misses it because the fox starts a crime spree and Janoose seems to
be the only one who can stop him.
In the late 1980's I wrote the first draft, which was a nursery rhyme. By
the 1990's I had begun to think that the old type of nursery rhyme where the
fox is out to eat the members of the barnyard was not what I wanted children
reading my books to have to think about. I developed the plot line while
shopping for pillows. Suddenly I realized the farm community, especially those
who have feathers, had another reason to be afraid of the fox and it gives
Janoose the perfect reason to chase the fox away. This might give you a good
hint as to what goes on in the story.
8) Tell me one thing about yourself that very few people know?
That would be that I have stage fright and can’t seem to talk publicly about
myself or my work whether to a crowd of people, or even, sometimes just to one
person.
9) What authors do you admire?
The authors I’ve read who I admire most are: Jane Austen, Agatha Christie,
Charles Dickens, Mary Stewart, Harper Lee, and Rex Stout.
10) Do you plot or do you write by the seat of your pants?
I plot all my stories heavily. I write detailed outlines of about four pages
and make notes on anything available to scribble on as things come to me. The
notes are clipped, stapled or taped in a binder that no one else would want to
try and read through. But I wade on through the mess to write out my story on
loose leaf paper that is then added to the binder until the story is done.
That’s the first draft. Then I type it on the computer and begin again to
edit. This can not be changed, I’ve tried. This is what works for me!
Thank you, Chris for having me on you blog. I appreciate this opportunity!

J.D. Holiday has had several short stories published. She is the author and illustrated of the children’s book, Janoose the Goose . Besides writing and painting, J.D. Holiday enjoys reading, gardening and listening to all types of music. She lives in Pennsylvania, USA and is a member of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.