All About Middle Grade Interview: Greta Burroughs (Author of Gerald and the Wee People)

This week I am very excited to welcome Greta Burroughs, author of Gerald and the Wee People, to teh blog to discuss her book. I hope that y'all will give her a warm welcome to the blog.

About the Author:

Greta Burroughs loves to read. No matter where she is, there is always a book close at hand. Her love of reading began at an early age and blossomed over time to include many different genres, her favorite now being fantasy.
As a preschool and elementary school teacher, Greta tried to instill the joy of reading in the children she worked with. Books were an important part of her classroom and story time was the highlight of the day.
It has been a while since Greta was in a classroom but she had lots of experience in reading to children of various ages and remembers what they enjoyed listening to. She tries to incorporate that knowledge into her work as an author and believes it makes her a better writer of children's books.

You can haunt Greta Burorughs at-
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Interview:

1. Could you introduce us to Gerald, the main character in Gerald and the Wee People? Why is Gerald so intrigues by the wee people and their village?

Gerald is your typical teenager. He has been best friends with Vernon ever since they were small lads with the usual disagreements, secrets and best buddy fun associated with that type of friendship. They share the same likes/dislikes and where you see one, you will usually find the other.

Gerald has one habit that Vernon doesn’t care for though. He likes to go back into the woods behind his house and spy on a miniature village that only he can see. Gerald tells Vernon about the activities of the Wee People but Vernon believes it’s just an overactive imagination.

Gerald gets more and more obsessed with the Wee People when he ‘sees’ trouble brewing in the village and becomes determined to help. Vernon decides to set his friend straight and prove to him that the Wee People do not really exist but it turns out, Vernon is in for the surprise of his life.

2. Greta, Would mind sharing with us why you chose to write a book featuring the wee people and their miniature village? 

I wish I had a good answer for that! I really don’t know how the idea came about. It was more or less one of those things that popped in my head, I liked it and the characters in the Wee People village came to life as I wrote the story. I am a seat of the pants writer and did not know where the story was going to go until I had it down on paper (monitor).

3. Other than size, what do you think will be the biggest difficulty that Gerald will face when he realizes the wee people are in danger?

The biggest problem for Gerald was how to help. He left bits of scrap metal near the clearing where he envisioned the village so the blacksmith could make weapons. The metal did disappear but whether the Wee People got it or animals dragged it off, he didn’t know.

4. What did you enjoy the most about teaching pre-school and elementary aged children? 

My favorite time of day was story time. The kids loved it too. We made it even better by writing our own stories and making ‘books’ that the children could take home. I’ve always been a fan of reading and I think I made some new converts to the life-long readers club during those years.

5. Since you are a fan of fantasy books, could you share with us three of your favorite fantasy titles and why you like them?

Anne McCaffrey is my all time favorite fantasy author with her Pern series. That was the first series I read where I could picture myself as one of the characters. I have read and reread all those books so many times. I also enjoy David Eddings’ Sparhawk series. Eddings’ humor adds so much to the stories. Third choice would be Asimov’s Foundation series. I don’t know why, but I guess because it was the first fantasy novels I read and got me hooked on the genre.

6. Now is your chance to tell readers what makes your state, South Carolina, so great. What is it about South Carolina that you like the most? Any must see places?

There is a lot of variety in the state of South Carolina. We have any terrain you may want from the rolling countryside, the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the upstate down to the coastal plain along the Atlantic Ocean. There are also a lot of historical landmarks across the state from the Revolutionary War and Civil War eras. That is what interests me - going to a plantation house or watching a reenactment of a historical event and reliving the events that took place. There are many places that draw lots of visitors such as Charleston, with the battery, slave quarters, slave market, waterfront and the beautiful plantations and gardens.

7. Greta, what is it that you like about the fantasy book genre? Anything that you do not like about it?

I love fantasy because it is a great escape from reality. The books vary from the sublime to the ridiculous and cater to every taste. Being able to read a passage and picture the scene in my imagination makes the book come alive. It takes me away from the worries, cares and stress of everyday life and helps to relax and unwind. The only thing I don’t like are the copycats who tend to rewrite books already published and show no initiative to make a story his/her own.

8. The world has fallen to a robot invasion and only one heroine/hero can possibly save the day, who do you choose?

That’s a hard one. Maybe Gerald and Vernon could tackle that problem in a future book…

9. Care to tell us about your writing cave (include picture if you want)?

I’m afraid my writing cave is a very cluttered cubbyhole in one room of our house. I don’t dare include pictures or everyone would see the sloppy housekeeper that I am.  Actually, I write in various places around the house. I want to spend as much time with my family as I can, so my laptop travels from my cubbyhole to the living room couch to the bedroom.

10. Any upcoming projects that you can sure with us?  

I have several manuscripts started but none are very far along. I have another Wee People book, a Patchwork Dog and Calico Cat children’s book and a new one I just started about a young boy during the World War II era.

Greta, thank you so much for stopping by and answering some questions about your book, Gerald and the Wee People. 

Gerald and the Wee People by Greta Burroughs, November 20. 2012.

Gerald and his best friend, Vernon discover a mysterious spot in the woods where Gerald visualizes a miniature village complete with wee inhabitants. He enjoys going back to that spot and watching the day to day activities until trouble starts in the village and he tries to convince Vernon that the "visions" are real and the wee people need help....

Gerald and the Wee People is currently on sale for $.99 at-
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