The Story Behind the Book is one of Literarily Speaking’s most popular features. Here we find out either the inspiration behind authors’ books or how they got published. Today’s guest is Nancy Stewart, author of Sea Turtle Summer (Guardian Angel Publishing).
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Sea Turtle Summer came to me, not on a glorious beach with glimmering white sand, but in a stark utilitarian hospital room. Talk about being led by your muse. She had to work wonders with this one.
My husband was recovering from back surgery (happily, he’s fine now). I sat in his hospital room, net book on lap and waited for her to come calling. And she did, demanding another Bella and Britt book. About sea turtles.
So I began Sea Turtle Summer on a frigid February morning in St. Louis and was instantly transported to Clearwater Beach, where the weather was balmy and the beach was getting busy. A female Loggerhead sea turtle was heading back to the sea, but her nest was in trouble. Enter Bella and Britt, and the girls and I were off and running.
It’s a funny thing, inspiration. Sea Turtle Summer, I know, was a combination of my many early walks walks on Clearwater Beach, all the conversations about the plight of sea turtles and time on my hands that morning, willing my muse to conjure up a worthy story. She hardly ever fails.
Once it began, the book came quickly, and I was able to get the main story in place by the time my husband went home. Some books do that, I find. Some don’t. But whichever way they begin, the end game is the goal. Oh, that and something wonderful and magical in the pages between. Let’s hope my muse worked her magic in Sea Turtle Summer.
After having been both an elementary school teacher, a university professor of education and a consultant for New Options, Inc. in New York City, Nancy Stewart writes children’s books full time. She, her husband and three sons, lived in London for eight years, where she was a consultant to several universities, including Cambridge.
Her travels take her extensively throughout the world, most particularly Africa. Nancy is US chair of a charity in Lamu, Kenya, that places girls in intermediate schools to allow them to further their education.
Nancy is the author of the Bella and Britt picture book series, One Pelican at a Time, Sea Turtle Summer, Bella Saves the Beach and Mystery at Manatee Key. All are published by Guardian Angel Publishing. Pelican was nominated for a Global eBook Award and recently was awarded the Literary Classics Seal of Approval. Both books have been on the Amazon bestsellers list and Sea Turtle Summer appears on their Hot New Release and Most Wished for lists.
She was featured in the PBS Tampa (WEDU) series, Gulfwatch. It concerned the writing of One Pelican at a Time: A Story of the Gulf Oil Spill.
She and her family live in St. Louis and Tampa.
Nancy’s web and blog sites are:
www.nancystewartbooks.blogspot.com
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Writers Association and has published approximately 350 stories in places such as Weird Tales, Whitley Strieber’s Aliens, Fangoria, Galaxy, The Age of Wonders, and the Hot Blood anthology series. John has published twenty books, including SF action/romantic adventure novels such as Beyond Those Distant Stars and Speaker of the Shakk (Mundania Press), A Senseless Act of Beauty (Crossroad Press), and Alien Dreams (Drollerie Press and Crossroad Press). Shorter books include A Mingling of Souls and Music Man (XoXo Publishing), Here Be Dragons(Eternal Press), The Voice of Many Waters (Blue Leaf Publications), Green in Our Souls(Damnation Books), and Bagonoun’s Wonderful Songbird and Childhood’s Day (Gypsy Shadow Publishing). Recent developments: MuseItUp Publishing published two novels, Dark Wizard and
When I was single and working at a high pressure job in Manhattan, it was all a bit overwhelming. I was dating but not in a steady relationship, and had a great group of girlfriends in the same situation. We would meet for coffee and talk about our dates, and the conversations were often more entertaining than the actual dates we dissected in minute detail. But it wasn’t until I found my way to a writing workshop that I was able to explore the truths underlying those conversations.
The Queen’s Gamble is the fourth book in my “Thornleigh” series of Tudor-era novels which focus on a middle-class family I created – the Thornleighs – as they rise up through three turbulent reigns. The historical record is always my jumping-off point for the novels, and The Queen’s Gamble was sparked by some fascinating research I’d done about the first international crisis the young Queen Elizabeth I faced. It was in 1559. Elizabeth was twenty-five and had been queen for less than a year. My fictional family, the Thornleighs, have at this point risen to considerable wealth, with some power in Elizabeth’s government, and they are deeply loyal to her.
In the fall of 2008, I left my job in the hope of something new, something better, something far less stressful than operating a quick-service restaurant. More than anything, I left in the hope of a professional writing career. I’d finally sold my first article for print – and that to a major publication – and figured that my hard work and long-held dream would finally meet face-to-face, that the doors would finally open.
My Dearest Friend is the last book in the Dukes of Lear trilogy. Although all the books are related, they are stand alone novels and can be read in any order. Without realizing it, the trilogy started life over twenty-five years ago when I began to write Consequence, the first book. The idea for the beginning of My Dearest Friend originated from a dream and just grew. It was a classic case of listening to my characters and going wherever they took me. There was one point where I was taken completely by surprise when Sgt. Patterson marched on to the scene and announced that Stefan had an illegitimate daughter – totally unexpected, but added yet another element to enrich the story.
I always tell aspiring writers that the most important thing they can do for their careers is read – and I have no better example of this than my newest novel, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MRS. TOM THUMB.
Renee Hand writes because it is a passion in her heart. She is a homeschool parent and likes to create books that educate and inspire the children of today. She was born in Michigan and still lives there with her husband and two children. She has a degree in Zoology with a minor in Chemistry. Renee is the author of the amazing mystery series known as the Crypto-Capers Series that encourages children to read by incorporating several topics of interest. The reader participates into the story by solving cryptograms and puzzles to solve the case. She is also the author of the Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill Series, which focuses on animal detectives. This series is a great way to teach children about animals in a fun and interesting way that captures the reader’s attention and yet fills them with knowledge they will be learning about in school. All books are great to use in a classroom setting to supplement various topics or to just enjoy. Renee is an award-winning author, receiving awards such as a Best Book Award, a National Literary Award and a Preferred Choice award for her children’s series and adult books. She has just recently won a Seal of Excellence award in Storytelling for her Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill Series. She has been writing for over twenty-five years and has nine books published. When she is not spending time with her family or participating in author events, she is coaching and playing tennis, as well as doing research for her books and many other things that keep her busy. Not quite sure what a cryptogram is and want to learn more? 
Thirty years ago, I wrote Sentiments of Blue while attending Western Michigan University. Back in those ancient times, a writer couldn’t store a story on a computer file. I left the manuscript somewhere in the basement of my first house, and over time, it seemed to vanish.
People of the Book is the fourth and final book in the Extreme Devotion series from New Hope Publishers. Like the other books in the series, People of the Book was birthed through my passion for the persecuted Church. I am a long-time supporter of ministries like Voice of the Martyrs and Open Doors, and I make it a practice to pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ who suffer for their faith daily.
story or person (though Red Ink, set in China, comes closest). With People of the Book, the impetus for my Saudi friend’s willingness to work with me came from an experience with someone she knew in Saudi Arabia, a young woman who was martyred—by her own family—for becoming a Christian. My friend put it this way: “She can no longer speak for herself, so I have promised God I will speak for her—every chance I get.”
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