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 Writing,
as for many writers, is a great release and form of expression. I best
convey my personality through writing and though I cannot verbally
express convictions, feelings and opinions with precise clarity and
conviction, I very much can when writing. I am not a prolific writer by
any means and it is something I have to work at, but it is never
drudgery for me.
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I
was not a fantasy reader at all. I was drawn to stories about real life,
real people and situations. I remember a lot of books making me cry
because they simply tugged at my heart strings. If it was about
struggles of a destitute dog or the plight of the downtrodden I wanted
to read it. The same holds true today. My bookshelf predominately holds
books on theology, biographies of great statesmen, religious figureheads
and trailblazers in business and entertainment.
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Elena Patrice
Hi! We’re ee (“double e”) Elizabeth and Elena. We’re sisters
(in case you can’t tell from
this photo) as well as writers, publishers, and overall
creative-junkie entrepreneurs. And did we mention that we’re
moms on top of all that?
Countless humorous events surround the evolution of our
business. We decided to create the laugh-friendly company® after
being shushed—literally finger-over-pursed- lips, in-our-face
shushed—at some rather notable establishments for being, shall
we say, rather loud in the laughter department. We wondered if
perhaps this occurred due to the pretentious atmosphere of the
aforementioned notable establishments, but when it also
transpired in a local dive, we spotted a surprising trend!
We realized that many places we frequented simply were not
laugh-friendly and we still can’t understand why anyone would be
shushed for laughing. Devoting ourselves professionally to the
cultivation of laughter means that no matter what, we welcome
laughter and find something to laugh about every day. And we’re
not talking just a giggle, but knee-slapping,
milk-coming-through-your-nose, roll-on-the-floor laughter. We
haven’t missed a day yet (although the desire to throw things is
more appealing on occasion…). We want all those we come in
contact with to be greeted and surrounded by laughter, too.
Children are the heartbeat of our work and children are the most
laugh-friendly people in the universe, so we’re in good company!
www.laughfriendly.com
www.NanaStar.com
PageOnelit.com: Where did you grow up and was reading and writing a
part of your life? Who were your earliest influences and why?
Elena Patrice: We grew up in Silver Spring, MD and reading was very
much a part of our lives. We still have so many of our childhood
books with our names written in them, along with scribbles and
notes. For me personally, Shel Silverstein forever stained my mind
as writer. The Giving Tree is still so pivotal in my life. It’s a
gift I give to many people. Dr. Seuss was a staple in our house and
I’d say one that we recall great fondness for, like countless others
no doubt..
PageOnelit.com: Why do you write?
Elena Patrice: Writing, as for many writers, is a great release and
form of expression. I best convey my personality through writing and
though I cannot verbally express convictions, feelings and opinions
with precise clarity and conviction, I very much can when writing. I
am not a prolific writer by any means and it is something I have to
work at, but it is never drudgery for me.
PageOnelit.com: Where did the idea for the Nana Star series (Nana
Star & Nana Star and the Moonman ) come from? Briefly describe the
Nana Star series (Nana Star & Nana Star and the Moonman ) of books.
Elena Patrice: Inspired by my grandmother’s love for her youngest
grandson, Vance, at the time, she made the character Nana Star for
him and Nana Star had many animal friends. She would draw these out
on cards and also make calendars and decorate them with stickers and
glitter too. He lived far away and my grandmother wanted him to feel
close to her always. Sadly, Vance was killed in a car accident and
she put all these items in a shoebox. Years later my sister and I
found them and asked if we could do something with them. We knew
these characters were so special and we felt that we could take my
grandmother’s reason of making Vance always feel close to her and
bring this same purpose in a children’s book series and toys. Hence,
Nana Star was born and so many wonderful and divine events have
taken place. Our mother took my grandmother’s original illustrations
and replicated them and is she is now the illustrator for these
books as well.
PageOnelit.com: In your opinion what makes a great children's book?
What makes Nana Star & Nana Star and the Moonman different from
other children's books on the shelves?
Elena Patrice: A story that both a child and a parent/adult remark
on and say why they like it – what it means to them. If it touches
the child and touches the heart of the child in the adult, you’ve
done something good. Nana Star is unique and special because she
does just this. We have children tell us the most wonderful reasons
they love her and adults tell us what they think certain things mean
or what were trying to do, etc. and it leaves us speechless at times
because of what people come up with. It is these moments we realize
the impact Nana Star has and can have and how she’s truly taken on a
life of her own.
PageOnelit.com: Nana Star & Nana Star and the Moonman was written by
you and another author Elizabeth Sills plus an illustrator, Linda
Saker - How did the three of you work as team to write and
illustrate these books?
Elena Patrice: Elizabeth is my sister and Linda is our mother. It
truly flowed quite easily. My sister and share the same heart when
it comes to writing and children and collaborating on these stories
has been tremendous for both of us. We asked our mother if she felt
she could duplicate our grandmother’s original artwork and, she did
so perfectly. Once we asked her to illustrate the first book, her
art came alive and she had no idea she even had it in her. This
project has given birth too many hidden talents in each of us.
PageOneLit.com: You made a mistake in Nana Star—on purpose? Explain
Elena Patrice: Being completely new to the publishing world only 4
plus years ago, we’ve made plenty of mistakes. We’ve also turned
countless lemons into lemonade (humorously, this has pretty much
become our motto now). We made many mistakes with our first print
run of Nana Star and while discussing all the issues; I believe it
was our mother who said, “Well, just remember only God makes
everything perfect . . ..” Like lightning it hit us – what a great
lesson and boy could we have fun with this, teaching children an
educational with an underlying moral message. This has turned out to
be a wonderful aspect of the Nana Star series. In part, we place
this mistake to encourage parent/child interaction and problem
solving. It also opens up a potential line of conversation about
expectations, making mistakes, etc.. Once the mistake is found,
children write a letter to Nana Star and tell her where it is and
then become honorary members of Nana Star’s Little Twinkles Club -
they receive a membership card, certificate and special surprises.
We have some of the funniest, most beautiful letters from children
and cherish each one! We only take letters to nurture the art of
letter writing, while delaying gratification, to a point, so they
will look forward to receiving their “reward”.
PageOnelit.com: What books do you remember reading as a child?
Elena Patrice: I was not a fantasy reader at all. I was drawn to
stories about real life, real people and situations. I remember a
lot of books making me cry because they simply tugged at my heart
strings. If it was about struggles of a destitute dog or the plight
of the downtrodden I wanted to read it. The same holds true today.
My bookshelf predominately holds books on theology, biographies of
great statesmen, religious figureheads and trailblazers in business
and entertainment. I very much view my reading like I do
relationships – I hold them dear and if there is not substance and
depth, or makes me question my being, my purpose; most likely, I
won’t read it.
PageOnelit.com: What do you hope people will say after
seeing/reading Nana Star & Nana Star and the Moonman? What have
children and parents said after reading Nana Star & Nana Star and
the Moonman?
Elena Patrice: We hope that the Nana Star series will be stories
that an adult will one day recall fondly and say, “I remember the
Nana Star books, they were my favorites!” We hope children now will
feel her kindness and want to help her and the baby star. We believe
Nana Star has staying power and the makings of a classic in many
ways. To have someone tell us what they pulled from the book and it
be nothing we ever thought of when writing or intended is the
greatest gift! Much like the “Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein, so
many different meanings of this book, but it was never originally
written with these in mind perhaps.
PageOnelit.com: What advice would you have for author's wanting to
write a children's book?
Elena Patrice: This is a question posed to us often and what I would
have said four years ago is greatly different than today. Tenacity,
great marketing and creative ability and a having a story bigger
than the actual story is key. The children’s book market is flooded
with books both well written and poorly written. You must be
creative to think of ways to stand out and get noticed or you’ll
just get washed in with all others. You must be honest and realistic
with yourself that this is both a financial and emotional investment
and be committed for the long haul. Do you have the financial
capability and backing to make an overall great quality book? Do you
have the attitude, passion, and drive to do whatever it takes to get
it out there and stay on path? What’s the story behind your story?
And know too, when a book has perhaps ridden the wave as far as it
will go. Be creative and have many branches extend from your book
that will help the book – create toys or a game, an interactive web
site, give to a worthy cause. There are countless creative endeavors
that can help push your book.
PageOnelit.com: What's next?
Elena Patrice: Well, we have at least 10 more characters to
introduce and we’re planning on release 2 stories a year along with
a plushy toy for the character, so this keeps us quite busy. And
with each new book, comes a new song, new VidLit, and more readings.
We have plans to bring the Nana Star series into production and
release her on DVD – we’ll see how this year progresses, we have
very high hopes.
PageOnelit.com: What was the last book you read?
Elena Patrice: The New Strong Willed Child by Dr. James Dobson. I’m
a single mother and my child, Eve is definitely strong willed. This
book was quite helpful and right on spot.
PageOnelit.com: Do you have any hobbies? What are they? How do they
enhance your writing?
Elena Patrice:Baking is one of my hobbies though I don’t do it
nearly as much as I’d like. My child seems to enjoy doing this with
me, so that’s a plus. I also run and always take a daily walk to
keep my mind clear and body healthy. This time in the morning is a
very creative time for me and many ideas for writing and our company
come join my on my path.
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