Q & A with Yvonne Blackwood

NOSEY CHARLIE COMES TO TOWN 
The Adventures of Nosey Charlie Book 1001

by Yvonne Blackwood 

Meet Nosey Charlie, a spunky little squirrel who grew up in the country. He became an orphan and moved to the city to live with his aunt, uncle, and his cousin, Pete. Charlie desperately wants to know everything about the people and strange objects in the city, and he doesn’t understand that he can’t always go wherever he likes. 

Mama Leticia (his aunt) tries to teach Charlie to be careful, and asks Cousin Pete to keep on eye on him. But Charlie is too nosey, and curiosity gets the better of him. He goes where he shouldn’t—checking out garbage bags in the park—and this time poor Cousin Pete gets hurt.

The Nosey Charlie adventures will make you laugh and cry, and sometimes cheer Charlie along as he explores his new environment and finds himself in desperate situations. 

Kindle Edition, 24 pages

Published March 14th 2017 by QUILLORATION ENTERPRISE

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Read It & Reap:  January 21, 2018

Yvonne Blackwood is an author, columnist, speaker, world traveler, and retired banker. She has published three adult books―the very successful Into Africa a Personal Journey which ranked # 2 best-selling book under Ghana on Amazon.com in 2002; the hilarious Will That Be Cash or Cuffs? and Into Africa, the Return. Inspired several years ago to write children’s books, she recently published Nosey Charlie Comes To Town, and Nosey Charlie Goes To Court, part of a series of Nosey Charlie Adventures. A third book, Nosey Charlie Chokes On A Wiener is soon to be released. Yvonne is an award winning short story writer and she has written numerous articles for several newspapers including the Toronto Star, and InTouch magazine.

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                                     Q & A with Yvonne Blackwood 

                                            Tell us a little bit about your main characters.

The main character in Nosey Charlie Comes To Town and all stories in the Nosey Charlie Adventure series is a little black squirrel named Charlie. He was raised in the country, however, when his parents died, he moved to live in a big city with his Aunt Letitia, Uncle Harold, and his cousin, Pete. Charlie is three months younger than Pete, therefore they should make good companions for each other. While Pete―born and raised in the city―is well acclimatized to city living and all that it entails, Charlie is just bubbling with excitement to learn all he can about his new environment. He is overly nosey and tends to forget warnings from his aunt to stay away from certain places and things. Because of his nosiness, Charlie gets into trouble often and causes his relatives much anxiety, but somehow he seems to survive unscathed!

Who designs the covers for your books and what is that process like for you as an author?

I hired an illustrator to do all the drawings for the books. I provide him with a mock-up of the stories and precise instructions on the scenes I want him to draw. Based on the drawings he provides I select one that is indicative of the theme of the story, and to it the illustrator adds the title and my name. Because I have used Createspace to publish the books so far, I have selected one of their templates that works well with the cover drawing, therefore all covers have a consistency.

Describe your ideal writing spot.

I use one of the bedrooms in my house as my office. It is set up comfortably with my desk, computer, printer, lamp, bookshelf, filing cabinet, and all the accoutrements one needs for writing. A window is to the left of my desk and I can look out on mother nature when I need a bit of distraction. The evening sun streams in from around three o’clock. Of course, being an art-lover, there are great paintings on all walls.

What is the best advice you have been given?

This is a difficult question to answer because after attending many writing workshops, seminars, and classes, I have received a lot of advice. In addition, I write both adult and children’s books. Here are a few that mainly pertain to children’s books since that is the focus at the moment: Do not talk down to children readers; always build a character bible for your main character; a great way to evoke vivid images in readers’ minds is to infuse prose that engages the senses.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to become a nurse until I attended high school and had to dissect a frog during biology class! I promptly switched my plans from nursing to becoming someone who worked in commerce.

Which do you prefer: hard/paperbacks or ebooks?

I prefer paperbacks; they are flexible and easier to handle, and I can still curl up in bed with them.

If you could have any supernatural power, what would you choose and why?

 I would choose the power to be able to read people’s minds. That way, I would know what they are thinking and how genuine they are.

What book are you reading now?

 I am one of those people who read more than one book at a time. I started reading Secret Daughter some time ago but have not finished it. In the mean time I’m reading The Audacity of Hope. It will be interesting to see which one I complete first.