About
A Award Winning Writer of Children’s Stories
Born in Queens Village, New York, Rick Quinn learned to read by associating words within captioned photos of baseball players. His education took him through Catholic grammar school and public high school on Long Island and then to Clemson University. Rick’s first published work is Jazzy and Kettle, and he has plans for a series of books coming out later.
How He Started
Author Interview: Rick Quinn
Two things: First, I wanted to have a project I could complete in a reasonable amount of time. I wanted to finish a work and not get frustrated and turn it into a multi-year effort without any result. Secondly, I couldn’t help but notice, in walks trough libraries and bookstores, that the vast majority of children’s books were about animals, not kids. Some of them were about dogs, who were friendly and had human powers, and others, like There’s a Giraffe in My Soup, were about phantasmagoric creatures that wouldn’t be interesting beyond a reading or two. I wanted to write a story that children could see themselves being a part of.
I think many authors of children’s books underestimate their audience. As I mentioned above, kids are kids and, I believe, like to read about kids doing things. Fantasy stories about animals with human or supernatural powers can be fun but when that accounts for a tremendous percentage of all children’s books, I think it becomes tedious. There are also many children’s books that are preachy and attempt to impart social lessons that aren’t needed. Things like ‘Don’t hate the purple cat because he’s different’! Kids don’t need that. Adults do. Kids belong to a strong union: Kids! If another kid shows up in the classroom or the playground, the first reaction is usually ‘Yaayyy! Another Kid’! My book has lessons in it that are learned as Jazzy and Kettle go on their adventure together. Nobody is telling what to do or not to do.
I don’t think they really are unique. I think it seems that way because there are only two of them and, they are unsupervised, and have the freedom to let their imaginations and feet take them where they want to go, stimulated by what their eyes see!
I created them from memories of my own four children (all fully functioning adults now) and some of my own childhood memories. Two of my kids would have dashed right up that tree, and the other two would have been standing on the ground watching what happens. All four of them would have climbed up as the helper though.
Yes!!! I wanted every aspect of the story to be ‘Positive’! There is so much negativity in the world, and so many people criticizing, and, especially, kids getting measured, judged, and graded by adults as if there was timeline for success. That is why, when the parents finally show up in the story, you don’t see their faces. They just ask the kids what they’ve been up to. Every kid’s fantasy!
We’ don’t. Our differences as a civilization disappear through familiarity. From my perspective, there is more blending of cultures among society now than I have seen before. Sadly, there are more people trying to highlight differences, to provoke anger and unrest for personal gain. I think the current generation of children will be wiser than the current generation of adults. I think they will look back on the social infighting today, as many of us look back in disbelief to the era of Jim Crow or Internment Camps.
I, myself, as a little kid, remember looking out my parents living room window, being able to see over the young trees in our new neighborhood of 1950s Long Island. As the sun started to set, and I could see shopping center lights off in the distance, I just imagined ‘tomorrow’ must be out there beyond them, and it was on the way, and if I could get up high enough I would be able to see it! When Jazzy climbs that tree, that’s as high above the earth as she has ever been and tomorrow shows up in the same place as today, so it must be on the way!
Lessons that (hopefully) will be a recurring theme: Don’t be afraid to investigate something new; but always be a little careful. And, you are capable of a lot more than you think, so never give up!
Initially, I reached out to a couple of artist friends of mine because they were both very talented and I thought it would be fun to have a friend as a partner. I learned however, that there is a big difference between a painter and an Illustrator. Sefira was recommended to me by one of those friends who passed. She had a social media page and I was able to look at her work there. One picture, in particular, was of a mother holding her young child. The lines and expressions were beautifully soft, and the colors primary. I got an introduction and it turned into a great combination. Sefira nailed the Jazzy character quickly and I had a couple of tweaks added to Kettle. Sefira also added the squirrel to the story and (hopefully) will be a continuing character as we go along.
I have more Jazzy and Kettle stories in my head. If I do any more children’s books, they will be more Jazzy and Kettle episodes. I don’t consider myself a Children’s Author, just a writer. I write because it’s enjoyable. This book was a lot of work. I had a model in mind that put the text of the book on the left page and the illustrations on the right. That was to make it easy for a pre-reader to look at the picture and look at the words on the left side, then begin to associate the sounds the letters make by the activity in the illustration. Even the word crAck is broken to create a sound/visual effect.
Despite the frustrations of trying to introduce a new children’s Book into the pandemic wave of closed bookstores, libraries, and schools, while also being a self-published author, I am very happy with it. It is, in fact, what I had imagined from the beginning. I still believe it will have its day. They are two great kids!!
Rick has always enjoyed reading, then later in life, writing. He is a father of four children who are now adults. He read to them when they were small, sitting on his lap, as his mother had done to him.
Picture books were the best, and some from his childhood had elaborate pen and ink drawings. It helped to begin to associate the sound of words with the pictures they were describing. Many of the books he read to his children did the same. "Curious George" and "The Man With the Yellow Hat" were good ones.
In looking at children’s books in libraries or booksellers today, Rick couldn’t help but notice the common themes. Many stories were about giant animals in silly situations, like the "There’s a Giraffe in My Soup," and preachy books that are supposed to teach kids about getting along with others. Kids don’t need to be taught that. Adults do!
Rick wanted to write a story primarily about kids having fun with each other, doing things they like to do without instruction or supervision by adults. He wanted to remind their parents that children know how to get along with each other. Rick even uses a device in the book that has the two kids change racial complexion without any notice, verbal or otherwise. This is how kids view each other: as kids!
He also wanted a compelling story and to create a situation of problem and resolution. A story where each character reflects fear and courage, and they both learn about themselves and friendship.
As soon as Rick had the story written and designed as he wanted, he had to find the perfect illustrator. It took him several attempts until he saw the work of Sefira Lightstone, and the bell went off! She had the perfect soft touch, and they work together very well. Rick expects there will be more of Jazzy and Kettle. More adventures told and more cultures reflected.
How He Started
Author Interview: Rick Quinn
Two things: First, I wanted to have a project I could complete in a reasonable amount of time. I wanted to finish a work and not get frustrated and turn it into a multi-year effort without any result. Secondly, I couldn’t help but notice, in walks trough libraries and bookstores, that the vast majority of children’s books were about animals, not kids. Some of them were about dogs, who were friendly and had human powers, and others, like There’s a Giraffe in My Soup, were about phantasmagoric creatures that wouldn’t be interesting beyond a reading or two. I wanted to write a story that children could see themselves being a part of.
I think many authors of children’s books underestimate their audience. As I mentioned above, kids are kids and, I believe, like to read about kids doing things. Fantasy stories about animals with human or supernatural powers can be fun but when that accounts for a tremendous percentage of all children’s books, I think it becomes tedious. There are also many children’s books that are preachy and attempt to impart social lessons that aren’t needed. Things like ‘Don’t hate the purple cat because he’s different’! Kids don’t need that. Adults do. Kids belong to a strong union: Kids! If another kid shows up in the classroom or the playground, the first reaction is usually ‘Yaayyy! Another Kid’! My book has lessons in it that are learned as Jazzy and Kettle go on their adventure together. Nobody is telling what to do or not to do.
I don’t think they really are unique. I think it seems that way because there are only two of them and, they are unsupervised, and have the freedom to let their imaginations and feet take them where they want to go, stimulated by what their eyes see!
I created them from memories of my own four children (all fully functioning adults now) and some of my own childhood memories. Two of my kids would have dashed right up that tree, and the other two would have been standing on the ground watching what happens. All four of them would have climbed up as the helper though.
Yes!!! I wanted every aspect of the story to be ‘Positive’! There is so much negativity in the world, and so many people criticizing, and, especially, kids getting measured, judged, and graded by adults as if there was timeline for success. That is why, when the parents finally show up in the story, you don’t see their faces. They just ask the kids what they’ve been up to. Every kid’s fantasy!
We’ don’t. Our differences as a civilization disappear through familiarity. From my perspective, there is more blending of cultures among society now than I have seen before. Sadly, there are more people trying to highlight differences, to provoke anger and unrest for personal gain. I think the current generation of children will be wiser than the current generation of adults. I think they will look back on the social infighting today, as many of us look back in disbelief to the era of Jim Crow or Internment Camps.
I, myself, as a little kid, remember looking out my parents living room window, being able to see over the young trees in our new neighborhood of 1950s Long Island. As the sun started to set, and I could see shopping center lights off in the distance, I just imagined ‘tomorrow’ must be out there beyond them, and it was on the way, and if I could get up high enough I would be able to see it! When Jazzy climbs that tree, that’s as high above the earth as she has ever been and tomorrow shows up in the same place as today, so it must be on the way!
Lessons that (hopefully) will be a recurring theme: Don’t be afraid to investigate something new; but always be a little careful. And, you are capable of a lot more than you think, so never give up!
Initially, I reached out to a couple of artist friends of mine because they were both very talented and I thought it would be fun to have a friend as a partner. I learned however, that there is a big difference between a painter and an Illustrator. Sefira was recommended to me by one of those friends who passed. She had a social media page and I was able to look at her work there. One picture, in particular, was of a mother holding her young child. The lines and expressions were beautifully soft, and the colors primary. I got an introduction and it turned into a great combination. Sefira nailed the Jazzy character quickly and I had a couple of tweaks added to Kettle. Sefira also added the squirrel to the story and (hopefully) will be a continuing character as we go along.
I have more Jazzy and Kettle stories in my head. If I do any more children’s books, they will be more Jazzy and Kettle episodes. I don’t consider myself a Children’s Author, just a writer. I write because it’s enjoyable. This book was a lot of work. I had a model in mind that put the text of the book on the left page and the illustrations on the right. That was to make it easy for a pre-reader to look at the picture and look at the words on the left side, then begin to associate the sounds the letters make by the activity in the illustration. Even the word crAck is broken to create a sound/visual effect.
Despite the frustrations of trying to introduce a new children’s Book into the pandemic wave of closed bookstores, libraries, and schools, while also being a self-published author, I am very happy with it. It is, in fact, what I had imagined from the beginning. I still believe it will have its day. They are two great kids!!
Rick has always enjoyed reading, then later in life, writing. He is a father of four children who are now adults. He read to them when they were small, sitting on his lap, as his mother had done to him.
Picture books were the best, and some from his childhood had elaborate pen and ink drawings. It helped to begin to associate the sound of words with the pictures they were describing. Many of the books he read to his children did the same. "Curious George" and "The Man With the Yellow Hat" were good ones.
In looking at children’s books in libraries or booksellers today, Rick couldn’t help but notice the common themes. Many stories were about giant animals in silly situations, like the "There’s a Giraffe in My Soup," and preachy books that are supposed to teach kids about getting along with others. Kids don’t need to be taught that. Adults do!
Rick wanted to write a story primarily about kids having fun with each other, doing things they like to do without instruction or supervision by adults. He wanted to remind their parents that children know how to get along with each other. Rick even uses a device in the book that has the two kids change racial complexion without any notice, verbal or otherwise. This is how kids view each other: as kids!
He also wanted a compelling story and to create a situation of problem and resolution. A story where each character reflects fear and courage, and they both learn about themselves and friendship.
As soon as Rick had the story written and designed as he wanted, he had to find the perfect illustrator. It took him several attempts until he saw the work of Sefira Lightstone, and the bell went off! She had the perfect soft touch, and they work together very well. Rick expects there will be more of Jazzy and Kettle. More adventures told and more cultures reflected.
Awards
