Before penning children's books, Hillary wrote and performed sketch comedy in New York in comedy clubs, cabarets and off-Broadway. "I love comedy and my books run with the fish out of water and mixed identities premises." "They are sort of like old-fashioned screwball comedies for kids, with a nice peppering of language play."
Kids who have enjoyed the Captain Underpants series will definitely be ready for clones. However, with boy and girl protagonists, the series will be a magnet to both male and female readers. The chapters alternative between first person narratives, featuring Barton, the human and Beta, his clone.
The series is about two non-identical earth twins, Barton and Nancy Jamison, who have a close encounter of the most wacky kind. They discover that they both have alien clones from a distant planet. The clones want to learn more about life on Earth. Barton and Nancy think that the clones are the coolest thing since sliced bread and, being kids, that it would be neat to use the clones for stuff like chores, homework and hitting homeruns that go out of the stratosphere. That's when things go haywire and when serious laughs ensue. Please check out Hillary's new series and use them as a good road map for writing a good chapter series for 6 to 9 year olds.
1.SR: How did you become interested in writing for children? H.H.: A series of life experiences and events guided me towards my career as a children's writer. I think my earliest reading adventures served as the foundation for my interest. I devoured books and, most importantly, felt like my best self when holding onto a book. Outside of mybookish realm, I was a socially awkward, compliant and passive child who observed more than participated in social activities. However, when leading neighborhood children into the realm of make believe through storytelling and play-acting, I was confident, persistent and active. As a young adult, I tried to forget about all of that make-believe stuff, worked at becoming an extroverted introvert, and headed towards a career in journalism. Not features, mind you, but hard news. The big turning point came when, as a reporter for a radio station in Central Virginia,
