KidLit Alert!
Interview with the Amazing Rebecca W. Wheeler
I am honored and grateful to introduce to you an amazing and prolific children's book author, Rebecca W. Wheeler. We met on Instagram @rebeccawwheeler_author as I searched for artists and writers to follow.
I'm so glad I followed her!
Raised in Virginia, Rebecca was an author from the very start, winning a young author's contest in second grade. Way to go, Rebecca! From there, she became a teacher and then a school counselor and psychology instructor. She's got the energy of a young racehorse. While Rebecca is busy teaching and guiding young people to live their best lives, she's writing stories for them, too -- AND -- answering questions for interviews.
Rebecca is a generous writer to follow.
While reading about her below, I smiled, laughed, and got tears in my eyes.
Enjoy...
Where will fans get to interact with you in person?
Fans are encouraged to follow me on Instagram! I will post local events and interviews on both Instagram and my website, so fans can keep up with me there. Just this week, I had some former high school students, who now have kids of their own, show up for a kids yoga/book signing event. So much fun!
I am available for school visits (virtual anywhere and in-person locally) and family yoga classes with book signings. Interested persons can send me a message through Instagram or my website https://www.rebeccawwheeler.com/
What is the next big writer’s conference you are attending, and why did you choose it?
Right now, I don’t have one scheduled; hopefully, I will within the year!
What was your favorite thing to do when you were five years old?
I grew up in a small town, and all the kids spent a lot of time outside. At five, probably my favorite thing was to swing on our backyard playset.
Tell us about the funniest thing that happened to you when you were a High School Teacher.
I taught creative writing first period. One day before school started, I went into the bathroom in the faculty lounge. As soon as I turned the bathroom door lock, I heard metal drop, and I immediately knew something was wrong. The door was shut tight and wouldn’t open. The metal from the lock had fallen to the floor and was stuck between the door and frame.
I banged on the door and called out. Thankfully an English teacher was in the faculty area. She got my class covered, called the janitor, and slipped the hardest NY Times crossword and a pencil under the bathroom door. She said she didn’t want me to be bored!
When the janitor arrived, he said he wasn’t allowed to dismantle the door, so he had to call maintenance at the Central Office, and we had to wait for them to arrive. In the meantime, I took the pencil and started to lift the metal piece that had fallen up toward the lock, hoping I could scoot in place and free myself. Just as I was about to push the metal piece into place, Central Office maintenance banged on the door, which caused the metal to drop again.
I was so close!
The drills started, and eventually, they took the hinges off the door and freed me. It was like I was being rescued from a cave because when they removed the door, a whole audience of my coworkers were standing on the other side cheering. All told, I was locked in the bathroom for over 90 minutes.
When I got to my classroom, my students had moved on to their next class,
but they left me a top 10 list on the board: “Top ten things to do when you’re locked in a bathroom.”
You’re an elementary school counselor, now, as well as a writer. How do these two careers overlap for you?
So much!
As a counselor, you are trained to ask questions and help people uncover motivations, thinking processes, solve problems, and explore relationships, all questions a writer needs to answer for their characters. Being a counselor teaches you to be observant, noticing small things about body language and how people change with even subtle changes in the environment. For a children’s writer, it’s so helpful to engage with kids on a daily basis in order to say in tune with what being a kid is like!
I see you use yoga and breathwork in your life. What is your favorite pose you can do in a chair for all those writers with stiff necks and backs?
Very simple but critical for alignment: sit with both feet on the floor, relax the shoulders, and soften the jaw. As soon as the teeth clench, I feel my shoulders tense. Being cognizant of alignment helps me so much!
If you were given a megaphone and the whole world would hear you - what one sentence would you shout?
Life’s too short to live it angry, bitter, and bored.
You have a love for nature. Do you have a particular tree, flower, mountain, or waterfall that you enjoy, and what makes it unique and special to you?
I love hydrangeas. My wedding bouquet consisted of hydrangeas and purple roses. When I was growing up, my grandparents lived in Alabama, and we would visit most summers. The last picture I took with my granddaddy before he passed away was standing in front of the hydrangea bushes, which were about seven feet tall. I look at those flowers and think of him.
I also grew up in a very small town in the Tidewater region of Virginia. The town was on a peninsula, so we were surrounded by water. It was such a part of our daily lives. I don’t think I realized just how much water was a part of me until I moved to a landlocked city in North Carolina.
You’ve been quite a busy writer having a PB released in Nov. of 2021, soon a YA in 2023, and a second PB in 2023. What is your advice to other writers on how to finish multiple projects?
Have a lot of material in your arsenal. You never know when something you wrote years ago will carry new meaning.
I’ve been writing fairly consistently for 20 years (with a 5-year dry spell when I had a job that zapped my creative juices). The YA I actually finished the initial draft in 2013 and shelved it for several years before picking it up again. The first picture book I storyboarded for the first time 20 years prior!
Write every day, even if it’s for five minutes, and you are just describing a flower. It’s writing that matters. And most importantly, believe that you have something to say, and surround yourself with people who will build you up and not chip away at your dream.
You live with a husband, two kids, and a cat: What is your secret to keeping them out of your writing space so you can stay focused?
This question made me laugh.
The short answer is that I don’t. Working as an educator for so long, I am used to focusing with a lot of noise around me. I can get myself into a zone, despite the loudness! I also have always been a night owl, and I always feel more creative at night. I often write after the kids go to bed.
The cats are always welcome to hang out with me as I write!
I first joined in 2008. Whether for a hobby or dream of publishing a book, creative writing isn’t a common pastime. SCBWI provides a space for like-minded people to connect and support one another.
Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years? And what is your plan to get there?
I never know how to answer this question (full confession in a job interview, the answer is most likely made up, but I won’t do that here)!
I learned a long time ago that I’m not a Plan A type of girl. I didn’t get into my first choice school. I wasn’t called for an interview for my dream job(s) (yes, that’s plural). I came to realize that Plan A is typically fueled by the “shoulds”, what I “should” be doing based on someone else’s standard.
When a person is so intent that their Plan A will work, and it falls through, despair can set in. I tell the parents I work with one of the most vital things they can teach their child is how to fail well. There will be a lot of potential opportunities laid out in front of you. Some will work out, and some won’t. Some will be a path of “shoulds” that may fit the world but not you. Some paths involve leaping over chasms and crawling through tunnels. Yes, and some will even have flowers. In all the paths, you might find joy. In all paths, you will likely encounter sadness. We’re humans moving, and besides what the cosmetics industry claims, you can’t age backward.
And here we are back to the 5-year question. . . Here’s my approach. . . What do I want more of in my life in 5 years? What do I want less of?
What I know: I will still be teaching yoga, and I will still be writing (I have 5 WIP, and I hope at least one of those will be finished by then!).
I want to be both more time and energy efficient, which will not only improve my & my family’s personal well-being but the planet’s as well. And if Plan T opens up in front of me, I’ll take a look.
If you could give advice to your twenty-year-old self, what would it be?
Don’t try to make yourself invisible. You have something to say.
And you said it well, Rebecca!!!
Thank you for interviewing with me and sharing so much of what makes you an amazing, talented writer!
For more updates and information on Rebecca...
Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill to pre-order and for personalized copies:
https://www.flyleafbooks.com/signed-copies-rebecca-wenrich-wheeler
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccawwheeler_author/
Website: www.rebeccawwheeler.com
Blog: REBECCA W. WHEELER BOOKS - Blog (rebeccawwheeler.com)
Write~on
Angie Azur
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