I had the absolute privilege to set up an interview with author Anna Marie Fritz. She is a real delight to talk with and I hope her words will inspire and encourage all of you who have been interested in publishing your works.  Enjoy!

 Anna Marie Fritz - Author of The Dream Garden, and Anna-Versery

SC: Who is Anna Marie Fritz?

AMF: A lady who lives to write and paint pictures, both in art and with prose and poetry.

SC: Can you give us a description of your books?

AMF: My first published children’s book “Fredi” was almost written ‘spur of the moment’ because of an actual encounter with a tree frog. It has proved to be a popular seller and encouraged me to write more of these types. A second children’s book entitled “Crazy Pen,” is the story of a procrastinating schoolboy who can’t seem to finish a book report, dreams that his pen does it for him, and wakes to the truth with a firm determination to do better. This book is richly illustrated by fine arts artist Vin Libassi, and available in the children’s section of the bookstore, at: http://www.crystaldreamspub.com The book “Anna-Versery” is composed of award-winning poetry gleaned from ten years of ‘the better poems,’ and has a cover I enjoyed designing, plus photos of a gorgeous white Persian, alternating with the poems. This is available at: http://www.bookstotreasure.net/ Or by writing: paperbackwriter@centurytel.net A sample poem may be viewed at: http://arishan.com/poetry/fritz.htm

My romance genre novel, “The Dream Garden,” is available also through the bookstore at: http://www.crystaldreamspub.com It is a 1960s era story.
You can read a short excerpt on the Crystal Dreams Publications page, or a longer one at:
http://www.grannydragon.com/Weyr/books/SoundOff/fritz/Dgexcerpt.html

SC: Where are you currently published, and what can you tell us about those places?

AMF: Crystal Dreams Publications, Dover, TN. The greatest little bookhouse in Tennessee or anywhere else in the country. The people there are easy to work for, and some have become like family. Another one is GAPublications, a brand new co-op publisher of whom I can say the same thing. I also do some cover art there. Star Image Studio, my own imprint, which deals with photographic scenic books, brochures, book covers, etc.

SC: What inspired you to first start writing?

AMF: In grade school, the teacher said she liked how fast I was learning, and especially the way I paid attention to whatever was read in class (this was in third grade). She put me in charge of the school library inventory at that tender age, and it was there my first love affair came into existence…I was head over heels for BOOKS. Couldn’t read enough of them, and, after the year closed, I got to take home all my favorites they were discontinuing. Needless to say, my “coffers” filled quickly. I was especially fond of children’s fantasy, and historical romance books.

SC: Do the same things inspire you now?

AMF: You bet! That is one of the reasons I write them.

SC: How long have you been writing?

AMF: Since I could hold a pencil or pen, and form letters that made sense, I guess…or so my mother tells me. She said I wrote my first poem on the bathroom wall…what a place for inspiration!

SC: Every writer gets writers block at some point. What do you do to get yourself going again?

AMF: I grab a favorite book off the shelf…one that is in the “right mood,” for whatever I am “into” at the time. If I need stimulation for a humor article whose deadline is approaching, and I am dry for ideas…I read Barry, or Bombeck, or Andrew Rooney. If I need a “prod” for a romance novel…I read whoever’s style lends itself to the style I am working in at the moment. For instance, if I am working on my historical novel (the one I am doing presently), I read an author like Nicholas Sparks, or Toni Morrison, or Barbara Delinsky. And when it comes to children’s book stimulation…no one yet beats Dr. Seuss.

SC: How would you describe your style of writing?

AMF: It depends on what I am writing. Children’s books are sort of “get right down there on the floor with the child.” Poetry books are more in the realm of fantasy than anything else. My novels? I think you might describe The Dream Garden style as “sort of down-homey sixties era,” and the next novel will be more in the literary type of vein. In short, I really don’t think I can describe a particular “style” for my writing, as what I do is so eclectic.

SC: Do you find it difficult to write in multiple genres?

AMF: I haven’t yet. It is because of my complex nature, I suppose. I have never visited a shrink, because they might have a more adequate label for me, and I don’t know as I want to find out what that is. I go in “streaks,’ with my work. One time, I will write nothing by kid’s books for several months, then a little clock will go off in some wacky corner of my brain, and I will be in ‘romance mode,’ or ‘poetry mode,’ or ‘humor,’ mode. Most often, it is my associations with a particular person at the time that triggers this clock buzz.

SC: There are several poets on the Stirring the Sky website that are interested in Publishing. What would be your advice to them?

AMF: Read, read, and read. Check your spelling…constantly. I grit my teeth at how even so-called editors and publishers nowadays have some of the worst spelling in both their private and their business correspondence. There is no excuse for this, if one is to call himself or herself a writer. We all make them…but they should never be a regular part of our repertoire.

Turn off the TV and go to the keyboard. Even if the blank monitor stares back at you with a formidable field of white…dare it to change…type something. No mind is a total blank unless it has been vacuumed of every trace of brain. When searching my files for a suitable children’s book to develop, I came up with nothing that stimulated my imagination. I sat back down at the keyboard and typed: “Kids hate to do homework.” That is how “Crazy Pen” was born.

Last but not least, unless you are ready to wait months for replies, and are able to wallpaper your office with rejection slips without thinking about ‘doing yourself in 'Because of depression over it, and don’t mind waiting eighteen months to four years to see the book that finally got “accepted” in print, go to an online publishing site, or co-op publishers, etc. They are spoken of nowadays as the ‘future in publishing.' Thanks so much, Sylence, for allowing me to “spout off” like this! It’s been fun!

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