Asheville Strong: Riding the Waves of Change Through Art and Writing

ASHEVILLE STRONG

Riding the Waves of Change Through Art and Writing

Hello Readers and Creatives,

I hope you’re all writing, painting, and getting outside in this beautiful fall. It’s been a while since I last posted on the blog, and I have two main reasons why:

First, I’m knee-deep in writing and revising a spooky middle-grade book. It’s going great! So much fun to write that I get completely caught up in it—and, well, ignore everything else, like laundry and that stack of half-read books.

Second, Hurricane Helene devastated our town over a month ago, and we’re dealing with a painfully slow recovery here in Asheville. Our fence and heating/cooling system were damaged, and just yesterday, our insurance company finally came out to inspect. 

The aftermath of Helene has left a wake of emotions I’m still figuring out. The devastation has been so hard to process—abrupt changes in landscape, in lives, in routines. I find myself saddened by the loss, the confusion, the sheer weight of it all. I’m also surprised to feel a bit of shame for not being as strong as I thought I’d be during all of this. Usually, I can pick myself up and keep going. But this time was different; I’m still finding my balance.

The forced pause from “normal life” has been overwhelming and has made me lean into my art and writing in ways I hadn’t before. Art has become an anchor. Each brushstroke and pencil line seems to carry a piece of the shock, the sadness, and allows me to release these emotions that feel so tangled up. When I draw, paint, or write, I’m not just creating images or crafting words—I’m processing, integrating, making sense of this new inner landscape.

Writing especially seems to move those stagnant energies, helping me explore the complex layers of my own thoughts and emotions. It feels a lot like what Helene did to the landscape here: threw it all around, stirred up things long buried, laid everything bare. The landscape is raw, and maybe I’m a reflection of that process—stripped down, seeing parts of myself in the light that maybe I’d kept in the dark.

Admitting fear isn’t easy. I’ve always been the brave one, the “elephant handler, lifeguard, firefighter, prison psychology teacher”—at least, in one season or another of my life. But now? Right now, I’m just me. Scared, sad, and still finding my way.

Being an introvert means I don’t have a large circle of friends, but I do have ART! And honestly, art is just what I need. Each piece I create, each brushstroke, and each line I write is a small step toward healing and grounding myself amid the strange aftermath of Helene.

So, here’s to sharing this journey with you all—of not just recovery, but also finding deeper self-understanding and connection to the world. Here’s to learning vulnerability without shame, to finding our own ways through, whether by art, by writing, or by whatever brings us back to our balance points. If you’re feeling rattled too, know you’re not alone. And hey, maybe together, we can even find a little light in all this mess.

Write~on,

Angie

As always, if you'd like to be interviewed, contact me.

Middle Grade Author Interview with Melissa Cole Essig

MG KidLit ALERT!

Interview with the brave horror writer

Melissa Cole Essig

Good Day, Readers and Creatives,

We are back with another fantastic interview with another excellent writer, and one I know personally. This week, in fact, we enjoyed the Carolina Mountain Literary Festival, where we heard great authors speak, and soon, we will be off to the SCBWI Carolina's 2024 Fall Conference. It is so exciting to meet fellow writers on this journey and travel to writing gatherings together. 

It literally feeds my soul!

Melissa Cole Essig has journeyed through a diverse career path, from law to arts education and now writing. Her unique background has given her a distinct perspective, blending the analytical with the creative. A passionate advocate for children’s literature, Melissa has brought her love for storytelling to life through her writing and her involvement with projects like the arts initiative at Claxton Elementary. Currently, she’s working on a novel that merges her legal experiences with her love for stories, while also contributing to the middle-grade horror genre with The Haunted States of America. Melissa’s commitment to both creativity and community shines in everything she does, and she’s excited to share her insights with fellow writers here on Teazurs Blogspot.

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Hello, Melissa, and thanks for being here.

Let's start by chatting about your work life. You’ve had an exciting career journey, from law to arts education to writing. How do you think your legal background influences your approach to storytelling and the creative process?

I actually think it’s the other way around! I spent much of my time in law school trying to imagine the stories behind the cases. Legal opinions reduce the messiness of life to “relevant facts,” and I was always much more interested in the messy parts, which probably explains why I’m not a lawyer anymore. I even wrote some short stories based on the cases we read in class. (My Contracts professor very kindly read them with enthusiasm.) When I became a law school professor, I tried to remind my students about the stories behind the cases, because those stories are about real people with real lives, and it’s way too easy to forget that when you’re up in the ether of “legal thinking.”

Now it’s all come full circle for me.

I’m working on a novel

that takes place in law school,

where life gets very messy!

The Arts project at Claxton Elementary was a huge success, bringing students together to create something beautiful. If you could collaborate with any artist (alive or historical) on a new project, who would it be, and what would you create?

True confessions time: I’m a terrible collaborator. Actually, I’m half kidding about that. I like discussing ideas with other writers, and I absolutely love offering and receiving editorial ideas. We think of writing as being so solitary, and in many ways, it is. But it’s also highly collaborative.

No human being has the perspective

to see what others will see in their words;

we all need others in our process.

So, I very much lean into that collaboration when I’m writing.

Of course, I wouldn’t turn down a chance to talk about the writing process with Zadie Smith!

As a mom, writer, and volunteer, you've been around kids and books a lot. How can parents help foster fun reading habits in their children? What could teachers do to help?

Books, books, books! My kids tolerated me lying in bed with them reading out loud for years after they were perfectly able to read to themselves. We did voices and accents, and chose series we loved together. Some of the best moments in my life. Now I take them to independent bookstores wherever we find them, and I’m always up for buying them a book of their choice. It promotes excitement about reading and, it also supports writers and independent bookstores. Win, win, win!

My biggest concern when I look at the direction public education has taken—and this is not coming from teachers, who I’m sure are as frustrated by it as I am—is this idea that kids have to “understand” the information conveyed in what they’re reading instead of reading for the sheer joy of it. It made me crazy when my kids were in elementary school that what they got to read for school was often determined by how they’d performed on a standardized test that reduced all writing to the imparting of information. What a sad world that creates.

As someone who has taught yoga, do you find that yoga and mindfulness practices influence your writing?

Of course, I’m going to say yes! Yoga and mindfulness influence everything in my life! In the specific area of writing, there’s just nothing better than shutting down all the brain chatter and letting a story tell itself to you. I also can get anxious and overwhelmed if I’m doing too much thinking about the plot and where it’s going and what I need to fit in to make that happen and whether I hit x mark, and, and, and. Taking a breath and letting the process take as long as it takes is so helpful for me. All those thoughts bopping around my mind—if they’re important, they’ll come back to me. In the meantime, I try to just follow the first draft where it goes and worry about all the structure/plot/craft issues when I’m revising and can jot down things to follow up on.

 

Do you have any yoga stretches to recommend to fellow writers that help the neck and back after sitting in a chair all day?

Standing up during the day and walking around is key. I tend to get hip tightness even more than shoulder issues, so getting that synovial fluid moving is important for me. I also like to stop while I’m working and just do some twists in my chair, turning to one side and the other to release my spine and let my eyes look across the room.

For shoulders, I love a basic clasping hands behind my back: You can start standing with your elbows bent, clasp hands with fingers interlaced, then gently draw in your abs, press your feet firmly into the floor, and release your shoulders so they aren’t up by your ears. Slowly straighten your arms and lift them a little from your back, feeling the stretch across the front of your chest.

It’s really nice to do a forward fold with bent knees and lift your clasped hands toward the ceiling too. Add an ear to shoulder stretch for your neck and you will be a different person!

Working with young artists must be inspiring. What’s one lesson you’ve learned from your time volunteering that has stayed with you in your writing?

My favorite volunteering memories are working one-on-one with kindergartners just figuring out how to read. Watching that process and their joy in mastering it leaves a person with a lifelong appreciation of the wonders of written language. I think about those kids, who are now teens, reading what I’ve written and finding something to connect to in it.

What's your favorite– drink? Food? Time to write? Book on writing? Book on revision? Writing class? In other words, how do you do what you do?

I’m going to start with the time to write question because what I eat and drink is too healthy to be anything but boring. I’m very much a morning writer. My mind gets too caught up in the real world by the afternoon, though sometimes I delight myself my having an urge to sit down and write late in the day ... and doing it. 

I’m not a big reader of craft books (I know, I know!), though I did find Story by Robert McKee nerdishly fascinating in terms of how to structure a story and scenes within a story. I enjoy reading what great writers have to say about the process of writing—Anne Lamott, Diana Wynne-Jones, George Saunders, Stephen King, and Ray Bradbury all have books of essays that I really enjoyed—but I’m not as keen on how-to craft books. I know they’re tremendously helpful for other writers, so I’m not dismissing them. For me and my brain, though, just reading novels and short stories I admire and figuring out how the writer did what they did works much better.

You have a short story out in a new scary book - The Haunted States of America. What inspired the setting for your story? Is it based on a real location or a real tale, or did you create it purely from imagination or embellish it at all?

The Haunted States of America was a really special experience. The anthology was conceived by the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), which I highly recommend joining for any writers and/or illustrators for children and young adults who haven’t. SCBWI put out a call to all members looking for short stories that were particular to one state and one spooky myth from that state. As a proud resident of Asheville, North Carolina, I wanted to write something about this part of the state, but I didn’t expect it would be chosen for the anthology because when people think of North Carolina, they don’t usually think of this little western corner in the Blue Ridge Mountains. So I really had to sell the setting!

I chose to set the story in the Grove Park Inn because it’s such a cool, old, spooky place. I wrote the story during the pandemic, so I had to do it from memory. When I went back after the book was published, I saw a bunch of things I got wrong ... but that’s okay because it’s fiction!

I talk about how I wrote my story, “The Night I Met F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Ghost,” in a virtual event put on by Malaprop’s, Asheville’s amazing local independent bookstore, as did three other authors from the anthology. I found them all so inspiring and recommend watching it!: https://www.youtube.com/live/4BolUBSI834?feature=shared 

The best scary stories tap into universal fears. What's yours? And what fear or theme did you want to explore in your story, and how did you bring it to life through your characters?

I am SO not a person who likes to be scared! I’m still scarred by seeing the movie Evil Dead my freshman year of college. I don’t think I’ve seen a horror movie or read a horror novel (at least an adult one) since. So I approached writing a horror story for middle-grade readers with a real concern of not making it too scary for more sensitive readers like me. What I tried to tap into were the things that are most important to that age group: becoming independent from one’s family, even though that’s really scary. The story starts with that moment we’ve all experienced of being a pre-teen and hating our family and ends with an appreciation of still being at an age when we can return to them and feel safe and loved. Which I guess makes middle-grade horror my sweet spot. Once you’re an adult, happy endings aren’t guaranteed!

Suspense is key in a good horror story. How did you approach building tension in your story? Was there a particular scene or moment that was especially challenging or rewarding to write?

If you ever want to challenge yourself, try writing a story that has to build and release tension in 1500 words or less! I decided to linger on the spooky part of the story and make the truly scary/dangerous part happen more quickly. It was actually hardest for me to do the latter because I like to linger in words, and I couldn’t.

I had to get her through the danger

and back to safety in just a few sentences!

What advice do you have for newbie writers who want to write scary stories? Any apps that might help or classes or ways to approach this type of writing for kids?

My advice for all writers, newbies or experienced, no matter their genre, is to read as much as you can in your chosen genre. And don’t just read for the sheer pleasure of it. Pay attention to how the writers you really admire do it, from a plot level down to individual lines. Classes are great too, for their reading lists and their opportunity to experiment and to meet other writers.

I personally would find an app distancing; while I write on a computer, I try to keep it simple.

Technology is too organized and linear,

and it takes me out of my creativity.

But I think the most important thing is to figure out what works for you, which means being kind to yourself if you try something that doesn’t work (it’s not time wasted!) or if something that once worked doesn’t work anymore or doesn’t work for this story. My process changes each time I start a new project—not intentionally but because that’s what the particular project asks of me.

I guess what I’m saying is that, as creative types, we’re all so hard on ourselves. There’s this pressure to finish what we’re working on and this pressure to figure out how to get it published and this pressure to “prove” our success through publishing or getting a agent or whatever. It’s way too easy to forget about our love of the creative process itself. That’s going to be different for everyone, and we should embrace that. The rest really isn’t as important.

Did you draw from any personal experiences or local legends (I know you did, but this is for others who don't know) when writing your story? 

The Haunted States of America assignment was to draw on a local legend and local setting, so definitely I did that! But I also cheated a little bit by taking snippets of local lore and blending them together into something that I totally made up. I talk about all the specifics in that Malaprop’s virtual event ...

Have you ever had a ghostly encounter yourself that influenced your writing?

I did have an odd zombie dream once that inspired a short story called “My Zombie Apocalypse Boyfriend.” It was my first fiction publication (in a horror anthology called Fornever After, so for a person who’s not into horror, I sure have ended up publishing a lot of it!). Naturally, it was more funny than frightening, though I did get to describe some pretty gruesome moments (in a delightfully humorous way).

Did writing this short story get your creative juices going? Do any new ideas come from this book for future books?

The process of putting out The Haunted States of America took A LONG time, so it’s hard to say what I was feeling after I wrote “The Night I Met F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Ghost.” But having it accepted and becoming part of a community of the 52 authors in the book and then having Malaprop’s and the larger writing community be so supportive—that was really inspiring. This writing stuff is hard, and there’s so much rejection. We all deserve to revel in our successes, and this experience has definitely given me confidence to keep going. 

I’d also love to remind your readers that there are lots of places to publish that aren’t traditional—online magazines and journals, small-press anthologies, and, of course, blogs. Even sharing your writing in workshops counts. It’s about seeing other people connect to what you’re created, and that definitely doesn’t require it being on the shelf of a bookstore.

What are some of your favorite scary stories or authors? Did any of these influence your writing for The Haunted States of America?

Hahaha! See my answers above about why I’m scared to read scary stories. Honestly, though, I did recently read Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House to see how a master tells a haunted house story. (So I guess my earlier answer about not reading any horror after my freshman year of college isn’t entirely accurate ....) The Haunting of Hill House definitely helped me figure out how to make a building sinister, which was important for the setting of my story. Jackson is really unparalleled at generating fear without showing very much at all. She taps into that creeping sense of unease that every writer reaches for at some point and that I wanted to convey in “The Night I Met F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Ghost.”

Writing scary stories for children can be tricky. How do you balance making a story thrilling and spooky while still ensuring it’s appropriate for a younger audience?

This is such a great question. For me, it was all about what I left unsaid. As adults, we fill in the gaps with our own knowledge of what’s truly horrifying. Kids are going to fill in the gaps with what they can handle. I also used humor, a strong heroine, and a first-person point of view, all very deliberately. So we meet the ghosts through my child narrator’s eyes and don’t dwell on what could happen to her, which is where horror really dwells. An adult would probably find the story a lot scarier than a young reader, at least I hope so!

Beyond the scares, what message or theme do you hope readers take away from your story in The Haunted States of America?

“The Night I Met F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Ghost” is very clearly about family, both how it can feel constraining to a young person and also how, at its best, it’s a safe place that’s waiting for you after a scary adventure. I think that translates to what kids are going through at that age. What I love about the Haunted States anthology is that each story has its own age-appropriate message; it’s a really fun read, and I’m incredibly lucky to have my story be a part of it.

Where will you be next: a conference, a book signing, a writing class? And how can my readers connect with you and support you best?

Thanks so much for asking! I’m drafting a very long adult novel now, so it’ll be a while before anyone sees that. But I’m super excited that one of my very favorite short stories will be appearing this fall in Slippery Elm, a college literary magazine (https://slipperyelm.findlay.edu). The story is called “The Liminality of a Decent Couch,” and it’s also about growing up and (I think) very funny. 

There are more Haunted States events coming up too! I’ll be at the Barnes & Noble in South Asheville on October 23 with some adult horror writers promoting our Halloween reads and at the Write Local, Read Local book fair in Black Mountain, North Carolina on November 10. 

I’m not as great with my online presence, but I’m working on it! I’m on Instagram @MelissaColeIsWriting (I haven’t posted a lot lately, but I promise to get back into it!) and currently have a website at melissa-cole-author.squarespace.com that’s undergoing a big upgrade. I’ll let you know when the real website reveal happens!

Is there anything else you'd like my readers to know about you or your writing? Any final advice or seasoned writer know how?

I think anyone who’s reading your blog is doing the best thing they can for themselves—connecting to other writers and thinking about writing. At the end of the day, that’s why we do this, isn’t it? Feeding our creating spirits and finding community. Thanks so much for letting me join your community, Angie!

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Oh, you are welcome, and thank you for being here!

You allowed us to peer into your writing life, your journey from lawyer to writer, and your fear of horror—even though that's what you write! I just love this interview.

Writing is often a place I go when I can't integrate the experiences of my childhood and, as I grew up, the world around me. So, when you speak of being afraid of horror, and yet that's precisely what you write about, it resonates!!!

As a fellow yoga instructor, I agree with you. Yoga, breath, and mindfulness are part of my life in everything I do, especially writing. Thank you for the examples of how you move and take breaks—great reminders!

I am so thrilled to have you on the Blog, and I'm even more excited to hang out with you in person, on writer's road trips, and at local book fairs. I'm so thankful we met through our mutual writer friend - Amanda! Who will be on the blog soon! I love supporting writers on Teazurs Blog.

Thanks for being here, and thanks for writing those scary tales.

If you would like to support Melissa, please follow her on Instagram and check out her website. Us writers and creatives can help each other grow.

Let's do this together!

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And if you would like to be on Teazurs Blog - reach out. You don't have to be a published author, either. I love hearing about the journey you're on, the classes you've loved about writing, and what your goals are. You are important no matter where you are in your process.

And I want to cheer you on!

Teazurs Kidlit Matchmaker with Author/Illustrator Elizabeth Rawls

Hello Readers and Creatives,

Today, Teazurs is trying something new. I had this idea when I saw Elizabeth's Instagram post stating she is searching for representation. And I wondered...

Might the Teazurs blog help writers

and illustrators out there

searching for an agent or publisher match?

I hope so! This is a call for us creatives to help out another. If you know of an agent or publisher who would be a good fit for Elizabeth's work, let her know.

You can also reach out to me here, and I will make the connection for you.

Let's cheer each other on to more tremendous success in this KidLit Industry!

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Hello, Elizabeth,

How does your background in counseling influence the way you approach writing and illustrating children’s picture books?

I have a unique blend of counseling and fine art degrees that includes teacher certification. As a result, I’ve taught art, been a counselor in private practice and at a University, and volunteered with Hospice where I facilitated grief groups for children.

My goal as an author/illustrator is to create picture books that encourage emotional intelligence and resilience through humor and imagination. To reach this objective, I needed to refine and hone my writing and illustration skills, and I want to thank the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators for helping me through this process 

by providing access to dynamic writer and illustrator groups.

 

What strategies do you use to weave lessons on emotional intelligence and resilience into your stories without making them feel didactic?

I have just finished a 510-word picture book dummy entitled CALAMITY WAYNE.

The description of the book includes: Signing up for a farm talent show is easy. Figuring out what to perform? ‘Udderly’ impossible! But as Calamity Wayne perseveres in finding his talent, he learns that being helpful may be the best ‘act’ of all. Couched in cow-pun humor, this amusing ‘tail’ is for young readers aged 4-8. I like to use humor, including lots of puns, to drive the story and introduce concepts to young readers. In Calamity Wayne’s story he is a purple cow that never looks back to see how his actions impact others in the farmyard. Once he slowly becomes aware, Calamity Wayne learns that helping is his responsibility and with this insight he discovers his talent and wins the talent show. So I guess you’d say I embed the lessons in an engaging, fun narrative. And the best part is creating pictures to support the process. Can you describe your creative process, from the initial idea for a story to the final illustration? What turnaround times do you have for picture book projects?

As you can tell from my book dummy CALAMITY WAYNE I love puns and am a big fan of Tammi Sauer picture books. Initial Idea: I start by creating a character with a lot of personality.

Story Idea/Manuscript:

Then, I keep a notebook where I write down all my ideas, collect kids' jokes about my character, find puns and anything else that can lead to inspiration!

For example, after a lot of research, I came up with a story titled A LOAD OF HOOEY. It’s about an owl named Hooey who happens to be a know-it-OWL. Hooey believes that showing off is the way to make friends, and not surprisingly, his forest friends are constantly shouting, “What a load of Hooey!” Of course, Hooey’s approach has the opposite effect, and he is always alone. Throughout the story, Hooey learns that paying attention to others is the key to friendship.

I submit drafts of my manuscript to my writer's group, Creative Inkers. With their patience and many revisions, I work on the plot, characters, and develop the theme.

While working on the manuscript I work on character sheets that are submitted to my illustrators group, Artsy Authors, along with the first draft thumbnails. This ultimately leads to plotting out the page designs. 

Thumbnail A LOAD OF HOOEY!

Thumbnails to storyboard then onto picture book dummy:

As you can see, the thumbnails are rough, like the first draft of a manuscript. What’s unique about being an author/illustrator is the “dance” between the text of the story and the illustrations. I love the process: As I tweak a drawing I can end up adding or deleting words in the story. 

Storyboards are larger images (4 X 8 inches) where the drawings become more refined. However, this phase allows me to see the overall story at a glance, checking for page turns, redundancy, etc.

Book Dummies are more refined drawings with one or two pages of finished art. When I submit the book dummy to agents, editors, or publishers they can see the story idea and images. If they are interested in the story, revisions can be easily made to illustrations and text.

Turnaround Time:

With a wonderfully supportive husband, I am able to work on my picture books full-time.

As I was finishing up the CALAMITY WAYNE book dummy, I was completing the final manuscript of A LOAD OF HOOEY. Now, I am in the process of thumbnailing this project. While drawing out ideas for HOOEY, I have a new story idea called HOLD THE LINE CLEMENTINE about a giraffe learning about boundaries. I am working on the first draft of the manuscript that I will soon submit to my writer's group.

I work best when my projects overlap. If I get tired or feel stuck, I can work on the next project. Specifically, if all goes well, I figure 4-6 months from the story idea to the finished book dummy.

I love the process of creating a picture book. It is like a puzzle, and I look forward to working on my projects every day.

How do you see your books fitting into the current children’s literature market? What makes your stories and illustrations stand out from others?

I see my books fitting in with picture books like “Mavis the Bravest” by Lu Frasser and illustrated by Sarah Warburton, and “Wordy Birdy” by Tammi Sauer and illustrated by  Dave Mottram. Many picture books these days are digitally produced, and while they can be beautiful, they lack, in my opinion, a personal touch. My illustrations are unique.

I work traditionally-

using watercolor, color pencil, and ink.

My illustrator group tells me they have no difficulty recognizing my style, so I must be doing something right!

 What are your long-term goals as an author-illustrator? 

To continue to create, because I love making books. I learn something new every day, and I relish the collaboration with my critique groups. The challenge of being an author/illustrator is constant, like juggling and keeping many balls up in the air. That keeps me “on my toes” as I’m gaining knowledge. That said, I have learned that I have no control over when I will be published, so my goal is to continue to submit my work and then focus on my next project. I am very hopeful one of these books will be accepted. 

How has being the SCBWI assistant regional advisor helped your writing & illustration Goals?

Currently, I am the Assistant Regional Advisor for the SCBWI Carolinas Region and a SCBWI member since 2006. I love serving those who have a passion for children’s books. My belief is that we cannot have too many good children’s books!

As ARA, I volunteer my time, however the support from SCBWI has allowed me to take advantage of many opportunities such as attending the SCBWI New York City conferences, getting to know art directors, editors and agents in the business. Really learning about the business side of the children’s book industry.

EBRawlsArt.com

This is amazing, Elizabeth! Thank you for sharing your love of children's books and your process on creating a picture book. I hope everyone here feels like they learned something about this amazing Kidlit industry and will pass it on to their creative people circles.

And if anyone has a lead for Elizabeth - please reach out to her!

Here at Teazurs,

I wish you all the luck

and

creative love in the world!

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If you would like to be interviewed for your current book or if like Elizabeth, you are searching for that agent or publisher match - let Teazurs cheer you on! Email me at angazur @ gmail . com or message me on Instagram.