Illustrator: Joanna Jarc Robinson Ph. D
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Celia is bored. And with everyone in her family busy she doesn’t know what to do...until her dad gives her a task that leads to her best day ever; the day she meets Cedric and their yummy adventures begin!
After a rainy night Celia had a fun idea as usual. Who knew that what started out as mud and grass clippings would turn out to be the most delicious, delectable snack they or anyone else had tasted...yes, even her teenage brother, Jake.
Celia and Cedric meet a new friend! In this new adventure, they meet the little green dragon who becomes a fun playmate and an inspiration for a yummy new recipe. Celia and Cedric enjoy the Little Green Dragon’s smoothie and you can too!
Interview with the Authors
1.
When
did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
Erin - I found that when I was a
teacher I absolutely fell in love with books.
I used them to enhance everything I taught. I also saw that there was a need for a
special type of book in the market that
would teach children positive character traits without being preachy. Basically stories that by osmosis, inspired
children to be inquisitive, self-confident, resilient, empathetic. etc. I think
it was a few years into my teaching career that I claimed my desire to write
these kind of children’s books.
Laara - I have wanted to be a
children’s author since grade 2. I can
still see myself drawing my first book then poking holes through the pages and
tying them with string.
2.
How
long does it take you to write a book?
Erin - Once we
have an idea and a recipe to match our story idea we can write one in about an
hour. Literacy and teaching story
writing was my specialty as a teacher so I’ve got a pretty good structure and
rhythm going. After the basic story is finished, we will work at it for a few
days and then it’s pretty much done.
3.
What
is your work schedule like when you're writing?
Erin - We talk A LOT on Skype
since mom is in Vancouver, Canada and I’m in London, England. Usually when we are ready to write another
book, we schedule a time to meet and decide which recipe we want to focus on.
Then we discuss what kind of situation our characters would have to be in in
order to make or bake the recipe. This
is the fun part!We go back and forth with a couple of ideas and then I usually
write the story and send it to mom to add her ideas. She has such a playful connection to kids, so
she always has great ideas to add.
4.
What
would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Erin - Probably
for us, it’s the fact that we write when it’s 8am in the morning in Vancouver
and 4pm in England! Mom is always having
her morning smoothie and I’m always talking about what I’m making for dinner!
5.
How
do your books get published?
Laara
- We chose to self-publish via Create Space as we have many ideas as to where
we want to take these books and characters.
It would be a shame to have anything dictated to us as to what we could
and could not do. We just adore these little characters!
6.
Where
do you get your information or ideas for your books?
Erin-
It’s usually one of mom’s recipes that inspires us to create an adventurous
story around it.
7.
When
did you write your first book and how old were you?
Erin
- I wrote my first book, “Juggling Family Life” when I was 34, 9 years
ago. Okay, now everyone is doing the
Math!
Laara
- These are my first published books.
8.
What
do you like to do when you're not writing?
Erin
- Both mom and I love to bake or make healthy food. Actually I became passionate about yummy,
healthy food because of the time my mom spent doing this with me when I was a
little girl. We both love to walk and
exercise, read and spend quality time with family. Another big love of mine is
to travel, thus the reason I live in England, where I can travel somewhere
exciting every weekend if I want!
Laara
- Yes, reading, meditating, walking, everything Erin said.
9.
What
does your family think of your writing?
Erin
- My kids absolutely love the books. My
son said to me the other day, “I want you to write more Celia and Cedric books
because I want to know what other adventures they go on.” I loved that.
My daughter loves to make and drink the Little Green Dragon Smoothie
and adores saying “Celia and Cedric!” whenever she sees them on my computer
while I’m working.
Laara
- My husband has been involved in these books too. He actually makes great
suggestions. He was actually the one who
suggested we make the Little Green Dragon hide everywhere in the illustrations
for that book.
10. What was one of the most surprising
things you learned in creating your books?
Laara
- Just how many details there are! From
the website, to social media, to making connections with people to help spread
the word, to actually writing and publishing the books, it took a lot longer
than I expected. But all totally worth
it! We’re so proud of our books.
11. How many books have you written? Which
is your favorite?
Erin
- There are currently 3 books in our series. Ooh, it’s difficult to choose a
favourite as they all have special meaning.
“The Amazing Apples!” story features Celia’s family making the special
meal that they always make for guests and that came from our family. We always made the same meal for first time
guests and I still to this day do that meal with guests. However, the “Eat Dirt Balls!” story features
a recipe that my mom made when I was a little girl and all throughout my
life. I now make them for my kids and
they love them as much as I used do.
Laara
- I love all of them too, but “Little Green Dragon” has that playful edge to
it, which is right up my alley.
12. Do you have any suggestions to help me
become a better writer? If so, what are they?
Erin
- I’ll say what I used to always tell my students, “Write about something you
know a lot about and really enjoy.” This
way, you will be able to add real detail, emotion, atmosphere, etc. and the joy
will be felt by the reader.
13. Do you hear from your readers much?
What kinds of things do they say?
Erin
- Gosh, yes. We are absolutely thrilled
what people are already saying about our books.
As soon as they get the books, they read them and then want to make the
recipes. Moms, teachers, grandparents
and more tell us that the kids love to predict what recipe will be at the back
of the book. They also say that their
kids fall in love with the characters and immediately want to read the next
book. They also mention how unique,
refreshing and fun the books are. Plus,
they have already begun to give us ideas for new adventures - we love the
International idea one person gave us!
It’s just so thrilling to see people as excited about the books as we
are.
14. Do you like to create books for adults?
Erin
- I do, but on very different topics - more non-fiction.
Laara
- I love the playfulness of children’s books.
I’ve always been drawn to create for kids. However, I am currently writing something for
mothers that will help them if they have Picky Eaters at home.
15. What do you think makes a good story?
Laara
- that depends what kind of story, but for ours, our goal is to have fun and
playfulness within the story as well as a few surprises and humour. When the story is finished we want kids to feel happy and then go make
and eat something healthy.
Erin
- Yes, absolutely. We also wanted to create characters that had clear
personalities and positive character traits that were really likeable.
16. As a child, what did you want to do
when you grew up?
Erin
- Since the age of 8 I set out my plan to be a school teacher.
Laara
- I always wanted to write children’s stories and illustrate them.
17. What would you like my readers to know?
Erin
- Our mission with The Yummy Adventures of Celia and Cedric: A Read and Bake
book series is to help kids and their families be happy and healthy. The bonding experience of reading, baking and
eating together definitely creates happiness and the recipes we feature in the
books are so nutrient dense that they will absolutely promote good health.
*Please take a minute and help us reach our goal for the Thunderclap –
we need 100 people before the Thunderclap will go out to the world!
Mother and daughter team Erin Kurt, B.Ed. and mom, Laara Exsnar, B.Ed, RHN, have joined forces to write fun, adventurous stories with their little characters Celia and Cedric. Erin, a former school teacher and mother of two young kiddies, and Laara, a retired school teacher and now nutritionist, have a passion for families, health and yummy food. Bringing their combined experitise together they’ve created a Read and Bake Series they hope will bring families continuous hours of fun and enjoyment.
This interview was a lot of fun! Thank you so very much for helping us to spread the word about our books!
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