Today: Interview With the Thank You, Aunt Tallulah! Author, Carmela LaVigna Coyle

Note: This interview was done by e-mail.

Jason McDonald: Thank you for doing this interview with me. Thank You, Aunt
Tallulah, has won the Book of the Month award for May 2006. Congrats!

    Tell us a little about yourself as a kid. (i.e. talents, likes and dislikes, hobbies, dreams, etc.

 

Carmela Coyle: I loved writing as a child, but reading did not come easy to me.
I was put in remedial reading classes because I was having such difficulty. Example: Words like "island" made absolutely no sense to me.  But Interestingly... the very thing that gave me so much trouble as a child became my career... words!!

    And I do LOVE words!  All kinds of words. Long ones, short ones, tall ones...fat ones. I keep a dictionary in my studio, and beside my bed... in the kitchen, okay, okay, I have a pocket one in my car too. I was a very average girl.  I liked riding bikes (but not too fast.) I liked eating macaroni with marinara sauce!  And ice cream. And watching the clouds form into all sorts of interesting shapes.

    Especially duck shapes... No idea why.

    And playing pretend games outside with my friends. We use to pretend we were stranded on an island...  I liked listening to music. My mom was very big on classical music-  Bach, Vaughn Williams, Sibelius, (sp?) but when I was exposed to contemporary music too- and I loved it also!

Jason McDonald:  When did you first decide you wanted to become an author? How did you get started writing?

 

Carmela Coyle: I knew that I wanted to be a writer when I was about 9 years
old, when I wrote my first children's story "Forget-me-not." It was about a lost bunny. Only thing is... I forget where I put it!  And according to the title, that's just not right.

Jason McDonald: Who or what do you think most inspired you to write?

 

Carmela Coyle: My children inspire me daily... hourly!!  When Annie was two she said, "When me looks at the moon, me sees a white banana." Duh! Everyone sees a white banana, don't they?   My daughter, Annie, asked me the title question of my first book. Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?   And my son, Nick is the scientist, filmmaker, artist, wiz kid! (now 16!!)  Before children, however, I would have to say that nature inspired me to write. I felt as if I was going to burst if I didn't somehow write down what I was seeing in nature.

Jason McDonald: What first gave you the idea for Thank You, Aunt Tallulah.

 

Carmela Coyle: One morning, upon waking, the words "Thank You, Aunt Tallulah" popped into my head.  I thought..."coooool!" The day before I had been thinking about writing a story about thankfulness. So after every one was in school or at work or in the bathroom... I began writing letters back and forth from auntie to niece.  I laughed out loud at some of the wackiness- of the extreme opposites. (My stories have to please my sense of humor first and foremost.)

Jason McDonald: Who is your favorite character in your book?

 

Carmela Coyle: Aunt Tallulah is my fav.  She has a certain wisdom about her.
But Uncle Reginald is a close second because I love how he is a brilliant man, yet he is accident prone. He's my comic relief.  (FYI: Bettina's name is a combination of my mom-in-laws name Bettye, and my mom's name, Tena.

    I have a second story about them, currently titled Tootle-loo, Aunt Tallulah, It takes us to the Amazon and is equally, if not more, zany. All sorts of outrageous things happen to, you guessed it, Uncle Reginald.   Let's keep our fingers crossed that Thank you Aunt Tallulah does well in the stores.  Your Book of the month award certainly will help!! Thanks again!

Jason McDonald: Do you ever talk to your characters?

 

Carmela Coyle: I don't usually talk to my characters,  even though they are very
real to me.  I love how Bruce Macpherson interpreted them!

Jason McDonald: What inspires you to write?

 

Carmela Coyle: The desire to laugh inspires me to write. I love coming up with
silly ideas that also have some meaning, perhaps, behind it all? Multi-layered.

Jason McDonald: Do you have any pictures, songs, etc. that you use for ideas and inspiration?

 

Carmela Coyle: Sometimes other authors inspire me.  AA Milne- The Magic Hill
inspires me in a gentle way.  And anything funny!  Sometimes I listen to music when I am working- but it has to be stuff I really like

Jason McDonald: What was the hardest thing about writing Thank You, Aunt
Tallulah? The most fun?

 

Carmela Coyle: The hardest thing... hmmmm.  Aunt Tallulah came very effortlessly to me... almost as if it was already written inside my head. I know
that sounds odd, but it's hard to explain. Sometimes you feel as though you tap into a creative place where everything is already there.  JK Rowling had an experience with Harry, she said,"(Harry) strolled into my head, fully formed." Hmmmm...

    The most fun was coming up with the silly things that happen to Uncle Reg, placing him in precarious situations.  BUT especially... I had an idea a few years ago to create an outtake page. I thought, "How fun and absolutely absurd!" Because it's obvious that outtakes for books and animated films have to be made especially for it.  I am thrilled that my publisher liked my idea and incorporated it into the ending.

Jason McDonald: What does your workspace look like?

 

Carmela Coyle: My workspace, I lovingly call, my studio, has French doors on one side (leading into the kitchen- very important!) and triple doors leading out to our patio and garden on the other. So I get a terrific view outside and into the kitchen as well. That way I can keep up with all the snacking my kids do!!  Oh... also my studio is a mess!  I am in the process of organizing it. I fill it with all things beautiful to me- my children's artwork, paintings, antiques, a giant geode.
plants... etc.   A mess!!

Jason McDonald: Tell us a little about Thank You, Aunt Tallulah.

 

Carmela Coyle: Tallulah and Bettina, and Reginald have many adventures to go on, as mentioned before, the Amazon Rain forest, and not yet written... an ice hotel!

Jason McDonald: Tell us a little about your writing overall.

 

Carmela Coyle: I love writing all sorts of things. My Princess books are so different from Tallulah... and I have more voices or styles, as well.
   It makes me quite happy to express myself through writing.

Jason McDonald: Tell us a little about your life overall.(i.e. family, hobbies, etc.)

 

Carmela Coyle: I have an adorable family. Nick (16) Annie (now 13!!) my husband, Mike. He's an engineer, but don't let that fool you... he's in a rock 'n roll band with some of the other parents. I have been blessed with a very creative family- my mom and dad, sister and brother.  I have been surrounded by beautiful music and art and very creative people all of my life. I love to garden, visit islands (ooOOoo...maybe there's something
about that pretend island game I use to play as a child!) take long walks along the Highline canal, watch inspiring movies, eat wholesome delicious food... and learn something new everyday.

    My third Princess book will be out in Sept 06 Do Princesses Scrape Their Knees? (a tribute to sports!)  and Do Princesses Count (a board book due next spring 07)
   A line from my second story Do Princesses Really Kiss Frogs?  had a couplet that never made it into the finished book. But I loved it and still do. So I would like to share it with you and your readers How does the path know the right way to bend? Because it already knows the way to the end!

    Thanks, Jason for the opportunity to answer your delightful questions. If you have any more, let me know and good luck!! To words!