Interview with Author d. washington-jones

 

Hello everyone... Today we are interviewing Author d. washington-jones for his book "The Runaway Christmas Tree". It's an  Children's Book. This is the link to the YouTube trailer :  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkE5Z0i5tEk. So, we asked d. washington-jones a few question about the book and himself, below are the answers:

1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
   

Oh, this is a great question.  I was in grade school and I loved reading short stories so I wrote one of my own.  Others enjoyed it and they began to write their own stories.  Can you imagine a storm of excitement to write took over our school for a period of time?  It was wonderful!  I had given life to that storm and that is when I knew that I wanted to be a writer because my writing moved people.

2. How long does it take you to write this book?

The Runaway Christmas Tree took about five years to complete.  I started in 2006 and finally finished it in 2011 with illustrations and all!

3. What is your work schedule like when you're writing

When I am writing a story now, I discipline myself to write during the day like a 9 to 5 job.  After all, the difference is, that it is a job that I love.

4. What brought you to write this book?

My youngest son inspired this book when he was only 9 years old.  He wrote a story from a story starter with the same name and I thought it was cute and funny.  It ignited my creative juices and I was determined to tweak it and write the book.

5. How you become a published author? Any inspiration? I am a self-publisher and I enjoy the works of Charles Dickens.  He is my inspiration.  Someday I’d like to write a classic like A Christmas Carol, something that would inspire others to change like his book did and to have a legacy to leave behind that moves people and transcends time.

6. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?  I love Christmas, so many of my books seem to have a Christmas Theme.  “I’m Glad I’m Not a Zombie” (my second book) was written to encourage other writers in our Cane River Writers’ Club to write in their particular genre about things that are trending.  Since I write mainly Children’s books right now, I wanted to combine that genre with the trending “Zombie” theme like The Walking Dead, but I wanted to create something that children would enjoy.

7. When did you write your first book and how old were you?

As stated above, I wrote my first story when I was in the 7^th grade and I was about 12 years old.  It was called, “Color It Love”. One day I plan to reprise it and make it a movie script.

8. What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I have a day job.  I’m a teacher, but when I’m not teaching, I like to watch Jeopardy and read inspirational works.

9. How many books have you written? Which is your favourite?

To this day, I have written about 5 books.  The Runaway Christmas Tree is my favorite because it was my first published work.

10. What's next for you? What are you working on now?

I am working on a new children’s book entitled, Sony, the King of Cats.  We are looking for an early spring release.  I am also finishing up the sequel to The Runaway Christmas Tree entitled, The Runaway Christmas Tree goes to London. Aye, Good day, Gov’nor!

I’ve also begun a children’s chapter book series called, The Eddie and Sassy Mysteries.  The first one is entitled, The Great Christmas Lights Caper.  I look forward to sharing these works with the world.