Amanda Lorenzo Speaks!

Questioner: How do you get the ideas for your Runt Farm stories?

Amanda Lorenzo: Some ideas come from things that happened to me as a kid.

Questioner: Like what?

Amanda Lorenzo, author of the Runt Farm series gives a candid reply:
Well in Beatrice and Blossom, Beatrice cheats Blossom out of all his marbles using phony rules like "rainbows" and "double rainbows." Then Beatrice uses a steel ball bearing as a shooter (which is not at all fair). When I was six or seven years old, the Canaday brothers, who lived down the block from me, got all my marbles just like that -- by using phony rules and a steelie.

Questioner: Did you get them back?

Amanda Lorenzo: I think so. I went crying to Mr. & Mrs. Canaday and they got it all straightened out. Of course then I got called a crybaby. I've never liked being called a crybaby. But what can you do? I was the victim of an all-out, large-scale marble theft. And that sort of thing takes its toll, you know.

Questioner: Why do you always wear a funny hat?

Amanda Lorenzo, author of the Runt Farm series says:
Funny? You think my hat is funny? Then why aren't you laughing? Ha-ha, just kidding. . . Actually this bowler hat -- the one I wear most often -- was my Dad's hat. I wear it to remember him, and it works! Some people call it a derby. But I think just about any kind of hat makes life more fun! And my friends and fans of the Runt Farm series think so, too. Keep scrolling and reading, and you'll see a photo of some of them trying on hats.

Questioner: How long does it take you to write a book?

Amanda Lorenzo, author of the Runt Farm reveals the secrets of publishing an illustrated book:
The writing goes quickly: a few weeks, maybe. But getting from that first set of stories to a real book you can sit down and read with your friends -- well, that takes much longer. More like two years!

Questioner: Why does it take so long?

Amanda Lorenzo: Well, it takes teamwork -- people wearing many hats. After I write a story, my editor takes a look at it. She suggests that I make some changes, then we argue awhile, and then I do what she says (Sometimes I wonder if her hat is on too tight). Next the illustrator does a bunch of tiny little drawings called thumbnails and we "ooh" and "aah" over them. That leads to more and bigger artwork. Then the book designer takes it all and mashes it together and there's more "ooh"-ing and "aah"-ing. The proofreader marks up everything with oodles of red ink, then all the mistakes get fixed, and then the book printer takes it from there and makes the books. When I put on my teaching hat and visit classrooms, sometimes I bring examples of a book in all those stages. And I bring hats, of course. The students just love trying on the Editor, Illustrator, Designer, Proofreader and Printer hats!

Frankly, I didn't think becoming a children's author would change my life. Not that much, anyway. Children's authors are everywhere, just like children's books. I thought nothing of it, really. But then something Extremely Exciting happened. The first book in the Runt Farm series arrived at my door. And what do you know -- my name was on the cover, right in the center of the top sunflower! (The name of our fine illustrator, Mark Evan Walker, is in the other sunflower). Well, it absolutely changed my life, I tell you. I went right out and bought a dandy new hat to celebrate the occasion. I wore that hat to my first TV interview, too. It's the same hat I'm wearing with Polly, the chicken, in the photo at the top of this page. So make no mistake: if you become a children's author, you're bound to feel different than you did before. At the very least you may find yourself sitting beneath a fresh piece of headwear.