BookView Review

Welcome to BookView Interview, a conversation series where BookView talks to authors.

Recently, we talked to award-winning children’s author Raven Howell about her writing and recently released book, Blink and Glow, a sweet and charming story that entertains and enlightens, encouraging a genuine love and understanding of the natural world. (Read the review here).

What ultimately inspired you to become a writer?

I’ve always been a writer, even in my earliest memories and years. As soon as I learned to write, I kept journals filled with plays and poems and whimsical stories that I wrote.

I’ve expressed writing in various ways over the years depending on the given time in my life. For instance, I worked in the music business as a songwriter and publisher with record companies in the late eighties and early nineties. At that time, my writing was more lyrical.

When I started my own family, I switched to part time work as a writer for greeting cards. Then I found success in writing poetry for children’s magazines. From there, I took on children’s books as well. I’ve been a full-time children’s writer for many years. Much of my work is as a contributing author and journalist, writing features for kids’ magazines and books for educational publishers as well.

What inspired the premise of your new picture book, BLINK AND GLOW?

Illustrator Ann Pilicer and I were dabbling with both story and illustration ideas, kind of bouncing our thoughts back and forth. I think Ann had an image of a firefly kind of evening. It caused me to vividly recall my own early summer childhood evenings of catching fireflies under starry skies. I wondered if many kids today took time to explore the respect and kindness needed from us to maintain a healthy and happy natural environment.

What makes this book important right now?

My magical firefly evenings in a quieter time during my youth were many decades ago. These days, there’s movement toward an awareness of how the earth and everything related to it survives, grows, and works together, considering the climate changes some have noticed.

It was a good time to reacquaint children with the natural phenomenon such as that of the firefly, salamander and luna moth. Bioluminescence is an amazing natural occurrence, and maybe it will trigger a future scientist or just a nature loving child to investigate the possibilities of upholding the preservation of living things. As a book written for children, BLINK AND GLOW is for young readers to, first and foremost, get hooked on the enchantment of nature.

Did the book change drastically as you were creating it?

There were two main changes. One was simply choosing a more non-fictional aspect with insects and bugs we find in our yards, as opposed to having a book with imaginative mermaids. That was at the very onset. The second change was incorporating an actual arts & crafts idea, with instructions and visual directions, into the storyline.

How did you decide on the title?

Funny enough, I usually struggle with book titles. But this one came quickly. I felt BLINK AND GLOW had a nice and easy ring to it. Fun to say and simple enough for a young child to read.

What’s next for you?

I just started my BLINK AND GLOW book tour. I hope to see everyone at upcoming story time and book events! I’ll also be writing feature articles with several publications and will incorporate ideas and themes from BLINK AND GLOW to share.

Also, this summer my picture book, THE FISHERMAN AND THE FRENCH FLOUNDER (Wild Cape Press) is coming out, and that will be loads of fun! It’s about a Flounder who is in fact, a French prince under a spell. With humorous language barrier misadventures between him and a fisherman, the plot incorporates lessons of love and forgiveness.

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