Skip to main content

Interview with Teen Author Rachel Yurchisin - Books - Blogcritics

Joining us today is Rachel Yurchisin, teen author of a children’s book entitled Diary of My Days in Kenya: A Naturalist’s Observations of a Lioness and Her Adopted Baby Oryx. Rachel's love of science and nature has inspired her to write her first children’s book in the hopes of passing on her passion to other young ‘budding’ naturalists. Yurchisin is a junior in high school and participates in educational programs at her city zoo and natural history museum.

Thank you for joining us today, Rachel. Can you please start us off by sharing a bit about yourself?
I have a love of science and nature that has inspired me to write my first children’s book in the hopes of passing on my passion to other young “budding” naturalists. I am currently a junior in high school residing in Cleveland, Ohio. I feed my interest in animals and the natural world by participating in educational programs at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. I enjoy competing in tennis tournaments and I play softball for my high school.

When did you first get bit by the writing bug?
I started writing little poems from a very early age, but I didn’t write my first book Diary of My Days in Kenya until fifth grade. Why did you decide to write stories for the How-to/Parenting market? It wasn’t a conscience decision; at that point in my life, I was writing a story that was designed for children my age. I do believe that if I am fortunate enough to publish any future writings, I will probably continue writing children’s stories.

What is your favorite part of writing for this group? What is the greatest challenge?
My favorite part is knowing that I am opening up the world of reading to a child and sending them off on an adventure that they may never had embarked upon had they not turned the pages of my book. The greatest challenge is to “get all my facts straight” and do the research aspect of the writing.

Can you tell us about your book? Diary of My Days in Kenya is a fictional story loosely based upon the real life occurrences of a nomadic lioness who nurtures baby oryx as if they were her own young. During a drought, a naturalists, Susan Polling, and other professionals, are sent on assignment to observe and document this special pairing. The book’s spirited protagonist, Polling, offers the reader interesting insights as to why this unique phenomenon has transpired. The story explores how the traditional relationship of predator and prey is transcended, presenting a spellbinding account of how a parental bond, even a non-traditional one, can never be broken.

Read more: http://blogcritics.org/books/article/interview-with-teen-author-rachel-yurchisin/#ixzz1jAVPEi1P

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Interview Friday with multi-talented author, Cheryl Malandrinos

Cheryl Malandrinos is a freelance writer and editor from Western Massachusetts . A regular contributor to Writer2Writer, her articles focus on increasing productivity through time management and organization. A founding member of Musing Our Children , Ms. Malandrinos is also the Editor-in-Chief of the group's quarterly newsletter, Pages & Pens . Cheryl is a Tour Coordinator for Pump Up Your Book Promotion , a book reviewer, and blogger. Guardian Angel Publishing will release her first children’s book, The Little Shepherd Boy, in 2010. VS: Cheryl, I want to thank you for being my guest here on The Writing Mama today. I know being a parent and writer can be hard and I find myself asking if I am giving my three children enough attention throughout the day. I am sure you have been in my shoes from time to time. So to start here is the first question, how many children do you have and what are their ages? Cheryl: Thanks for having me at The Writing Mama, Virginia. I’m thril

Why Do You Need a Book Trailer

Many writers and illustrators ask me, "Is it really important to have a book trailer for my upcoming book?" My answer is "YES!" Book and Event trailers are a lot like movie trailers. They catch viewer interest if done right. I don’t know if you have noticed, but many BIG publishing houses have discovered the importance of book trailers. They believe in them so much that you can catch them as television commercials. Something you didn’t see 20, 10 and even 5 years ago! Book and event trailers are fast becoming the future in marketing, promotions and school events. Similar to a movie trailer, a book trailer is a marketing tool to assist authors, illustrators and publishers in promoting their work by creating a viral marketing campaign online. You may even have noticed event trailers or home videos making it on the home pages of places such as Yahoo.com. Why is this? Because people are spending more and more time online, and they are looking for entertainment. Wh

VBT-Guest Author Spotlight Donna McDine

      Donna McDine is an award-winning children's author, Honorable Mention in the 77th and two Honorable Mentions in the 78 th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competitions. Her stories have been published in many print and online publications and her interest in American History resulted in writing and publishing The Golden Pathway. Donna has two more books under contract with Guardian Angel Publishing, The Hockey Agony and Powder Monkey . She writes, moms and is the Editor-in-Chief for Guardian Angel Kids and Publicist for the National Writing for Children Center from her home in the historical hamlet Tappan, NY. McDine is a member of the SCBWI and Musing Our Children.                What excites you most about your book’s topic? Why did you choose it?       The Underground Railroad was a pivotal time in American history, one that should never be repeated. It is my hope by keeping history alive for each generation that these huge mistakes will never reoccur. Q.     How lon