Fran Cannon Slayton

I met Fran Cannon Slayton though the kidlit blogosphere.  She is one of the Class of 2009 with her historical YA, When the Whistle Blows. I agree with all the rave reviews for her debut novel. I am happy to give you Fran Cannon Slayton.

When and why did you start writing for children?

I started writing for kids in 1991, just before I entered law school.  While I'd always loved writing, I really didn't make a conscious choice to write for kids.  Rather, an idea for a story hit me and I tried to just flush it out of my mind - after all, I was going to be a lawyer, not a writer - but the idea would not be put to rest.

It hung around and nudged me until I broke down and started writing.  And once I started, it was clear to me that it was a story for kids.  I kept on writing for the next 13 years and wound up with 100 pages of a book manuscript.  When my daughter was born I chose to stay home with her, and that's when I began devoting time to my writing in earnest.  I put that original manuscript away (because I'd put so many years into it that I was afraid I would be discouraged to have it critiqued) and I started writing When the Whistle Blows. And the rest is history!

What is the most valuable advice you can give to a newly published writer?

My most valuable advice is this:  talk with your editor about how many advance copies of your book you are getting.  Sending out advance copies is THE BEST way you can promote your book.  But you can't send out ARCs if you don't have them.  If you are only getting 20 copies, ask your editor if you can pay the cost of additional ARCs.  Get several hundred of them - it will likely be less than $2.00 per copy, and it will be the best money you'll ever spend on promotion.  When you have that many ARCs, you don't have to be stingy with where you send them - you can send them to bloggers to review your book and interview you, you can send them to bookstores as you begin to set up book signings, and you can send them to regional newspapers and magazines (but don't send them to the big newspapers or major reviewers - that's for your publishing house to do).  I happened to luck into learning about this, and I've found it to be absolutely invaluable.

What is one of your favorite children’s books that you'd like to recommend?

Sounder by William Armstrong.  It is one of my all time favorites.  It is beautiful and moving, and it took me to a completely different world and made me feel like I was a part of it.  My philosophy of time was greatly impacted by this book, and I know it has influenced my own writing and thinking.  I last read it a couple of years ago, and oh, did I cry!  Wow.

What are you working on now?

I'm working on a middle grade dystopian fantasy about a girl who wants to be a pirate. The tentative title is Ship's Boy.

What is your favorite dessert and why?

Red Velvet Cake.  (And I like Red Velvet Cake batter ice cream at Maggie Moo's too!)  I like this cake because the icing is to die for (it's got lots o' butter in it), and it has been my birthday cake practically every year of my life. Happy taste, happy memories.

Fran Cannon Slayton spent her childhood growing up in Manassas and Haymarket, Virginia.  She was a mean unicycle rider and pogo stick hopper, and prided herself as an all-around terror on the kickball field.  Other favorite pastimes included exploding caps (with or without the use of a magnifying glass), catching salamanders with her bare hands, and using them as bait when she went fishing.

In high school she played first trumpet in the Bishop Ireton-Saint Mary’s Academy Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and lettered in four varsity sports (soccer, basketball, softball and field hockey – goalies rule!).  In college she went to the Junior Olympics in fencing, played in the Award Winning Virginia Fighting Cavalier Indoor/Outdoor Precision Marching Pep Band and Chowder Society Review Unlimited!!!, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Virginia with a double distinguished major in Psychology and Religious Studies. 

After getting married to her college sweetheart and working on Capitol Hill for a couple of years, she went back to UVA’s Law School where she set a personal record by playing on six different softball teams in one single semester.  After law school Fran became a prosecutor, specializing in child sex abuse cases, and then went on to become a legal publisher and mild-mannered title insurance agency owner.  After her daughter was born, Fran became a stay-at-home mom (“the best job ever”), author, and part-time singer/trumpet player in a rock and roll cover band.

 

Comments

[Fran Cannon Slayton]

Thanks, Tina!

Fran

[Tina Ferraro]

Hey, Tina and Fran, good to see you both here (after having met you at SCBWI).

I bought Fran's book and had her sign it for me at the conference...and I absolutely loved it! I have passed it on to a friend as a recommendation for her book club, as well as garnering interest inside my own home from my reluctant reader sons...

And loved the advice about the ARCS!

Tina Ferraro

[Fran Cannon Slayton]

Ev - full disclosure, I don't know if I could even get up on a unicycle these days! Hmmm, makes me want to try again!

And yes, Alexis, I think you are right, the Virginia Pep Band does have a story in there - or several!!

Thanks for hosting me Tina!! It is MUCH appreciated!

Fran

[Alexis]

Loved the ARC advice! Thanks, Fran! And I love the reference to the Virginia Fighting Cavalier Indoor/Outdoor Precision Marching Pep Band and Chowder Society Review Unlimited. I think there's a book in that somewhere -- don't you? Wishing you much success on your novel.

[Evelyn Christensen]

I loved getting to read this interview with Fran. Thanks, Tina. What an amazing number of impressive things you've done, Fran! Including unicycling. My daughter unicycles, but I'm way too uncoordinated. :) Thanks for the ARC advice. Hopefully, some day I'll be in a position to put it to use. WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS is definitely on my to-read list. Best wishes, Ev