SR: How did your style of "cryptic rhyme" develop?
VK: It happened when I was at a three-day SCBWI conference. Dayle Ann Dodds was there, selling and signing her picture book, On Our Way To Market. I bought a copy of it, and was absolutely mesmerized by one page that read, "Bad luck. Stuck duck. How will we get to market?" I kept chanting that page over and over. I loved it! Then I thought, "Hmmm. I wonder what would happen if you wrote a whole BOOK with that kind of cryptic rhythm?" And the idea of cryptic rhyme was born.
SR: What were some of your favorite books? What are you reading right now?
VK: As a child, my favorite books were the Oz books, Nancy Drew, The Bobbsey Twins, and anything with magic or science fiction in it. Some of my favorite picture books today are, "Good Knight" by Linda Rymill, "Nell Nugget and the Cow Caper" by Judith Ross Enderle and Stephanie Gordon Tessler, "Bark, George" by Jules Feiffer, and "Louella Mae, She's Run Away!" by Karen Beaumont Alarcon.
SR: What is the hardest part of the writing process for you? How do you deal with this?
VK:The hardest part for me is making sure everything in my books is as accurate to history as I can get it. It takes a lot of research and much rewriting. It seems like just when I think everything is perfect, I find some little detail that I just "knew" was historically correct that isn't correct after all. And often, it's a rhyming word that is incorrect, which means I have to start all over and plan a whole new verse for that scene in my book.
SR: What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most? Why?
VK: The final revision process, where I labor over ever word in my story to make it "sing" to me. It's such a thrill to search for days or weeks or even months, and then finally find one special word that sparkles and titillates the mind that is true to history AND fits into the rhyme and rhythm of the story, too.
SR: What is the most rewarding part of being a successful writer?
VK: The children! Their reactions when I'm reading one of my stories to them is a joy like nothing else I've ever felt. When they come up to me and say, "I didn't know history was fun," then I know I've accomplished the most wonderful thing in the world. I've touched a child's mind.
