Interview: Alison Neuman, Author of HOME @alison_newman #Interview

Alison Neuman is a writer, author, choreographer, and dance artist, who is passionate about sharing underrepresented voices. She holds a Bachelor’s of Applied Communications Degree, a diploma in Professional Writing, and a Master of Arts degree with a focus on Educational Studies.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: www.alisonneuman.ca
Blog: http://www.alisonneuman.ca/blog/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Alison_Neuman
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/alisonneuman.ca
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4375290.Alison_Neuman

It was a playful neighbourhood dog named Buster, and a winter storm that had brought Fluffy, the Persian cat, to a warehouse where she’d met a little mouse named Levi. Levi had taken his new friend to meet his family who made their home in an old car. Now Fluffy, Levi and his entire mouse family were headed to Fluffy's home, in a swing the cat had made his new little friend to help transport him and his custom-made wheelchair. 

-- From HOME

Welcome to The Writer's Life!  Now that your book has been published, we’d love to find out more about the process.  Can we begin by having you take us at the beginning?  When did you come up with the idea to write your book?

I came up with an idea to write a book when reading children’s books to my mom, who had dementia.

Throughout my entire life, my mom was there through doctors' appointments and my health ups and downs. No matter if I was at home or in the hospital, my mom always kept our routine of reading before bed.

I wanted to share my writing, my love and my appreciation for all she had done. I started the first book in the series called Don't Eat Family, about a cat (Fluffy) who meets a mouse (Levi) experiencing a disability, and they become friends. My mom's childhood pet inspired the cat, and the mouse experiencing a disability is the literary character I wished I had to identify with when I was a child. The follow-up book, Help From Friends, was about ability and adventures between friends. Home explores the journey of memories and friendships as Fluffy brings her friend Levi and his family back to the safety of her home.

Who is your publisher and how did you find them or did you self-publish?

Dream Write Publishing Ltd. is my publisher for the Friends and Family series and contacted me about being an instructor for a character-building workshop at a literary event. Linda and I had a discussion, and she gave me her business card. I contacted her with the Don’t Eat Family manuscript, and she read it and sent me a publishing contract.

Is there anything that surprised you about getting your first book published?

What surprised me about getting my first book published was how many opportunities an author has to interact with their readers. For me, writing is a solitary activity, so attending book signings, author events, and school visits allowed me to connect with my readers.

Do you believe a book cover plays an important role in the selling process?

Yes, I do think a book cover plays a vital role in the selling of a book. I confess that sometimes I see the front cover of a book, and it interests me enough to pick up the book and read the back for content. Having an interest-grabbing book cover might help in the marketing of the product.

How hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make the journey easier for other writers?

Writing children’s literature seems like it should be easier because there are fewer words on the page, but using less wordage can be challenging. The fact that there are less words in the book requires a focus on the specific word choice to describe the actions.

What other books are you working on and when will they be published?

Hindsight, my next book is about a young woman, Olivia, who is experiencing a disability and balancing University and work, grieving the loss of a parent, and searching for love. She researches a story for her university paper and discovers a secret that, when revealed, will threaten not only her life but also her family and love. This book still needs to have a few revisions made, so there is no publishing date.

I am also working on my second memoir, but as of yet don’t have a title for it.

What’s one fact about your book that would surprise people?

All of the artwork in my book Home is comprised of paintings that were done on paper and then scanned into a computer versus creating the work within a computer. The paintings started as pencil sketches on special paper, and then the artist, Katherine Restouiex, filled in all the characters, backgrounds and details with paint.

Finally, what message are you trying to get across with your book?

The message that I’ve been trying to share in Home, and the Friends and Family series, is that no matter what we look like, or how we get around the world, we are all part of a community.

  

Thank you again for this interview!  Do you have any final words?

Thank you for hosting me on your blog. I would like to share that as part of the launch of Home, starting May 1, 2020, we are having a giveaway for a $50 Amazon gift card, and to give back, all COVID-19 frontline workers will get additional entries. To enter the gift card giveaway, check out my blog at http://www.alisonneuman.ca/blog/