Great Books for Kids by author Kevin McNamee

Kevin McNamee joins us today at Writers in Business. He is a writer and poet living in Yonkers, NY. He primarily writes for the children’s market. He has several children’s picture books published including If I Could Be Anything, The Sister Exchange, and The Soggy Town of Hilltop. These books are available at Guardian Angel Publishing, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble or ask your local bookstore.


When Kevin isn’t writing, he spends his time playing hide and seek, at the insistence of his five year old daughter, and at his day job, at the insistence of his wife. When time permits, Kevin also enjoys fossil hunting, home-brewing beer, and gardening. He is currently engaged in an epic battle against roving gangs of crazed squirrels who are digging up everything in sight. Kevin notes that the squirrels are winning.

Welcome, Kevin. How do you define your writing?

I discovered writing for children by accident. I was watching my nieces fight and it gave me an idea for a sibling rivalry story. I thought it would be fun to write, and it was. There was no looking back.

There seems like an endless supply of topics to write about for children. What messages would you like to convey through your books?

I think that writing for children carries a lot of responsibility and it’s a challenge that I try to rise to. The world can be a confusing enough place as it is for adults, how much more so for children? If I can help children understand the world around them and help them make sense of various situations that effect them, that would be the most rewarding thing of all, for it would be something that they could carry with them long after they have put down my book.

What can we expect when we read one of your books for the first time?

I try to entertain, and whenever possible educate. I also try to incorporate humor into my work whenever possible. My goal is to write for everybody and to create stories that adults as well as children can enjoy.

Can you describe when you realized you were a real writer?

Somewhere along the way, I stopped doubting my ability. A rejection of my manuscript ceased to be a rejection of myself. A rejection letter became an opportunity to send my manuscript somewhere else. Comments and criticism became opportunities to strengthen my story, revise something unworkable, or something to ignore altogether if it didn’t fit with my vision of the story. I was able to refer to myself as a writer without feeling self conscious and … oh yeah, someone was willing to pay me for what I wrote.

How can we learn more about your writing?

To find out more about me, please visit my website at KevinMcNamee.com or my blog. I also have a new child-friendly site with games and activities at KevsChildrensBooks.com.

My daughter is now hooked on your new web site. The Word Jumble game is her favorite. It’s been a pleasure interviewing you and we are looking forward to reading your books. Thanks for joining us today.

Win a free copy of The Fear Within by Shelby Patrick

Shelby Patrick, born and raised in southeastern Michigan, grew up watching classic horror movies of the great Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing. She turned her love of horror into the written word during her senior year in high school when she was introduced to her first writing class.

Since then Shelby has published two creative writing exercise books, Dark Recesses of the Mind and Forbidden Knowledge, as well as various articles throughout the Internet and created several e-books. She’s visiting us today at Writers in Business to announce the release of her newest publication, The Fear Within: A Short Story Collection.

Please tell us about your new book, The Fear Within.

The book contains twenty-five stories of the supernatural and alien encounters -- a romantic getaway that they can’t get away from, a virus that infects the cell phone network and only a small handful of people are uninfected while the rest of the world goes murderously insane, a prison with no bars, no walls, and no escape, dead things that don’t stay dead, a mysterious door in the basement that is to be kept locked at all times, and much more.

Where do you get your ideas?

From everywhere. I’m always in writing mode and it doesn’t take much to spark an idea. One of my stories was based on a paper route I had once; another found its title from a song I heard on the radio. It could be a conversation I overheard or a headline in the news that gives me ideas, and sometimes they just come from my dreams.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and what led you to become a writer?
When I was a kid, I loved to dream and I loved to read. I could play out whole scenes in my mind, like seeing a movie, in which I was the main character and I lived an exciting life. My imagination was my whole world. I didn’t realize how exciting it would turn out to be by penning my fantasies down, but when I was thrown into my first creative writing class, I knew what I was put on this Earth to do – write and share my minds-eye view of the worlds I created with readers. I’ve been writing ever since.

Where can readers go to learn more about your writing?

I have a website at ShelbyPatrick.com. You can join my mailing list, check out blurbs from my novels, get excerpts from my stories, or buy a signed copy of The Fear Within. I also have a blog at WritersHideaway.

I understand you are giving away free copies of The Fear Within.

Yes, I am offering a free signed copy of The Fear Within in a random drawing to anyone who comes and visits me at the following sites on my tour dates of August 29 –September 4, 2010. Please visit my Virtual Book Tour page to learn more.

We wish you all the best with your new book Shelby!