Interview Friday: Dennis Marcoux - Children's Picture Book Author

Dennis Marcoux lived in Worcester, Massachusetts for most of his life and now resides in Cape Coral, Florida. He has been writing children stories and poems for many years and is passionate about children reading to expand their imagination. In his spare time, you can find him reading books as a volunteer in elementary schools and children's hospitals. He is a member of the Gulf Coast Writers Association of Fort Myers, Florida

VS: What do you do to help balance your writing life with your family life?

Dennis: I do not have a typical routine. I write whenever ideas and thoughts enter my mind. My imagination is like a jig saw puzzle. Sometimes the pieces do not always fall into place easily.

It has been a humbling experience, especially when children and parents express to me how much they enjoyed my book.

VS: What inspired you to write your book?

Dennis: I was inspired by my Granddaughter Molly's imagination. We often walked together in the woods and the animals there fascinated her...namely the squirrels

VS: Can you share with us a little about your current book?

Dennis: Nutty and his sister Twittles set out to play a fun game of hide "n" seek with their friends. When Twittles is the only one missing, the game quickly changes. Nutty has to find his sister because she may be lost in the dark and dangerous Forrest.

VS: What did you find to be the most challenging part of writing your book?

Dennis: The publishing process. I sent my manuscript to Halo Publishing Int., and received a response from Lisa Umina the CEO. I had no idea what getting a book published entailed and really learned a lot about the process. Lisa guided me through each step of the process beginning with editing, finding an illustrator, marketing and the final print. Lisa went above and beyond my expectations and made the challenges of getting a book published a good experience.

VS: Do you have any other works in progress? Can you share a little about them?

Dennis: I'm currently working on a series of books with Nutty and Twittles that will include a teaching element, as well as open up their imagination and develop their creativity.

VS: What do you feel as parents we need to do to help our children see success?

Dennis: Reading is important because it ultimately leads to greater creativity. I compare my philosophy on reading like playing dominos. Reading leads to imagination, which leads to ideas, and ideas lead to creativity. You can't get to the last domino until you start the first one.

VS: Where can the readers of The Writing Mama find out more about and your writing?

Dennis: Places where available for sale: Halo Publishing International, Amazon and Barnes & Noble

e-Book Available Nook & Kindle

Follow Dennis Marcoux at Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dennis-Marcoux/286869338186554

The Time to Start Writing is Now! (1st published on Utah Children's Writers)

I teach writing for my local college's continuing educational program. I love meeting with beginning writers each week and sharing the basics. However, I'm always surprised to find many of them haven't even sat down to write the story building inside them or at least log the ideas they have for story lines. So my advice to you today if you want to start down the road of becoming a writer...The Time to Start Writing is Now! Some Idea Starters For beginning writers (and something I learned when I studied at the Institute of Children's Literature), I have found using visual aids to spark an idea is always a great way to begin the process of writing. You can do this to draft an actually short story or book for submission to just using it as a writing exercise. Study the pictures I have below or pick one of your own from a magazine, old photo album, etc. Study the pictures and select one that appeals to you most. Also, keep in mind your target readership with pi...

The Multiplied Benefits of Journaling

Do you keep or have you kept a journal or diary? If so, you probably already know some of the benefits of journaling because you've experienced them. You know that your journal helps you make sense of the senseless side of your life. A journal can be an emotional lifesaver when you go through a hard time. But did you know that scientists believe journaling can even keep you physically healthy? The release of pent-up emotions you pour into your journal every day actually helps reduce the symptoms of arthritis and asthma, and strengthens your immune system. This really makes sense if you consider that much illness is exacerbated by stress, and a journal is one of the best stress reducers out there. Journaling gives you a record of your emotional growth like no other. While it can be useful at times to be able to look back and see just when your neighbor moved in or when you started suffering from headaches, the intangible changes in you can be even more fascinating to look back...

Is Research Really Important in Fiction Writing?

In a lot of the writing groups and conferences I've been to the topic of research has come up from time to time. There are many different opinions on the subject, and many will tell you research is only necessary when you are writing about something you know very little to nothing about. But is this really the case and if it is, does your writing suffer from not doing research all the time? After writing many short stories and picture books for young readers, my opinion on doing research might be very different from yours. I have always felt research is critical no matter how much I know or don't know about a certain subject. There is always something I learn each time, even on topics I know a lot about as things are always changing, and changing fast sometimes these days. However, I thought I was just one of the weird writers out there feeling this way until I took a research workshop with James Patterson, who had this to say about research. "Research really he...

VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

Search This Blog