Question: What advice would you give to people who ‘run out of creativity’ when writing? Answer: Writers block happens to everyone. To free ones inner spirit will help one to become more creative. To be efficient and feel secure our brains tend to follow the same path. The socially accepted and patterned way of doing the norm stifles out thinking. To free yourself and ‘spruce up creativity’ one must postpone judgment and divergently get new ideas. This is why Emma’s House of Sound happened. I took a slice of ‘live facts’ and creatively spruced up this idea with soundless instruments. If a deaf child can hear drums blasting sounds, then a hearing child can’t hear drums with cotton ball drum sticks Question: Do you have a web site with additional resources for hearing-impaired children? Answer: I do have a website which is link to some National Organizations which address hearing-impaired children and profoundly deaf children. These websites have “Book Stores” where the book can be purchased. Amazon.com , the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, Adelphi University and other colleges with Deaf Education are putting this book into their curriculum and libraries. Question: When naming characters do you give it any thought to the meanings of their names? Answer: Yes I do. Names make impressions and some names trigger the characters personality. Names are sometimes indicative of a character’s personality. I would not name a boxer Muffin. Or a sweet man and name him Rocky. Question: Do you use real live facts on true stories? Answer: I sure do! I listen to people and watch what they do. Sometimes I get an idea and write. Or begin to write and then get an idea. True happenings, such as Emma being denied performing in a school concert allowed me to use ‘real live facts’ to fictionalized Emma’s House of Sound. Sometimes, authors use live facts but must be cautious of how to deliver them. Yes, I use them all the time and love to fictionalize along the way. Question: Did you always want to write? Answer: No! As a child I told many make believe stories. In Kindergarten I was not shy when it was Show And Tell time. Then with artistic interests my stories where told with pictures. I began showing a real interest in writing when I was in college and then children’s writing when I became a teacher. As much as I love to write fiction, when I was writing a graduate thesis, I did enjoy the research, factual data, analysis, and the rudimentary writing. Why? I learned gram mar and how to develop ideas and sentences etc. Then my artistic nature freed me from this academic foundation and permitted me to become more literary. Question: How do you plan to get word out about your book? Answer: The promotional plan is to place Emma’s House of Sound in Special Ed schools for the Deaf Schools, libraries and the New York League for the Deaf where Emma began her educational journey at age 3. Flagler College Department of Deaf Education (Held meetings and spoke to a senior class), the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind library and suitable contacts (Spoke at their Board Meeting and received a “Testimony from their Board President Emeritus. There are120,000 libraries in special, private and public schools. I will visit one a month. I will visit the Boces III, where my mom was the principal and have book signing; Boces Nassau where Emma received the New York Teacher of the Year Award. Visits will be made to Gallaudet University, Maryland School for Deaf (202, 613 hard of hearing in the state and 17, 089 profoundly deaf in the state too). An official Proposal listing a Promotional and Marketing Plan will be followed, in addition to the list of all the deaf schools and college in the Nation. Some Awareness Projects in other countries have already been emailed and appropriate visits will happen. |
Interview Questions
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| Interview Questions - Mary Jane Hayes |
Page 3
