Pump Up Your Book! Book Tour -- Interview with the Author, D.C. Blackbird -- And, Giveaway

CLOSED.  Congrats to Teresa!!!!!

Join D.C. Blackbird, author of the children’s book, Jekyll Says…Good Deeds Cats Do That You Should, Too (Campfire Publishing), as he virtually tours the blogosphere February 6 – 29 2012 on his first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book!

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I am lucky enough to be a stop on this fun book tour.  And, I had the pleasure of interviewing D.C. Blackbird, author of the children’s book, Jekyll Says…Good Deeds Cats Do That You Should, Too.  Please enjoy my interview with D.C. below.  And, make sure you enter to win a copy of this new release, at the end of the interview.  Enjoy!!!

About D.C. Blackbird

D.C. Blackbird is an American poet, songwriter, and author, along with being a world-renowned adventurer and traveler to places that stamp passports with bark and tree sap. In case you never heard, D.C. is one of the world’s greatest feather & leaf jugglers and has performed this great skill before Royal Courts throughout Europe as well as in diners throughout New Jersey between snacking on corn muffins.

You probably know that D.C. is the best-selling author of titles that include: Jekyll Says … (Good Deeds Cats Do, That You Should, To!), Jekyll Says More! (Lessons & Trends For Felines & Friends), and Dreaming of Kittyland, but there is more to this remarkable human being, so please don’t just judge D.C. by the pretty words.

Blackbird is one of “those vegans” you have probably heard about and maybe you have even seen hanging out at health stores ordering wheat grass juice. But don’t worry! D.C. does not glow in the dark (except after drinking grape juice), but veganism IS contagious. You have been warned.

Oh, yeah, and D.C. is also one of those animal-loving folks that cares for dogs, cats, birds, and runs into traffic with a cardboard box to save turtles in the middle of the road.

If you ask nicely, D.C. Blackbird may be available to come to your home for Roasted Tempeh and Marzipan treats.

Learn more about D.C. at www.WelcomeToKittyland.com.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon | Kindle | YouTube | Smashwords | Createspace | Official Tour Page

About Jekyll Says…Good Deeds Cats Do That You Should, Too

“Jekyll Says …” (Good Deeds Cats Do That You Should, Too!) is a series of amusing and educational poems told from the perspective of a wise and warm-hearted cat named Jekyll. Each perky poem epitomizes something about Jekyll’s vivacious personality and the lessons he teaches are designed to encourage people of all ages to be healthy and happy.

The poems in “Jekyll Says …” consist of rhyming couplets with equal syllables. They have a merry meter and rip-roaring rhythms which make them lively and lyrical and fun to read (or sometimes sing!) aloud.

More than anything, “Jekyll Says …” is perfect for Cat Lovers of all ages, as well as anyone who has ever known and/or loved a companion animal. This book is also appealing to those who desire a break from their busy lives and who want to read something that is joyous and uplifting.

Profits from the sale of this book benefit animal adoption, care, liberation, rescue, and welfare organizations.

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Author Interview:

Tell me about your book. How did you come up with that (story, angle, idea)?  

On June 9th, 2011 I had to say goodbye to one of the greatest cats I have ever had the honor of knowing. His name was Jekyll and he truly was among the best of the best. But that is the subject of a whole different discussion (and book). That morning I promised him and myself that I would use any abilities I may have to immortalize his name and do my best to let others know how truly special he was. I gave myself a deadline. On December 9th, 2011, a book about him would be published. 

How did you get interested in writing this particular genre?  

When I was a child I read books and stories by Lewis Carroll, Roald Dahl, John Lennon, Edward Lear, Colin West, Ivor Cutler, Mervyn Peake, Ogden Nash, Spike Mulligan, Shel Silverstein, Hillaire Belloc, and of course Dr. Seuss. I understood their writing because what most other children around me considered to be “nonsense” I considered perfectly normal. I was considered to be a bright and creative child (by people I bribed with cupcakes). Speaking in rhymes, or backwards, or in codes, cryptograms, ciphers, symbols, and so on were right up my alley.  I liked when words and sentences were more than they were supposed to be. I always loved words. I like the sound of words. I like unique words. I like tongue twisters. I also like when words are written with a rhythm and beat and rhyme because I think that way normally. SO when it came time to write JEKYLL SAYS … I wanted the stanzas to be singy-songy, poetic, fun to read, fun to remember, and I also wanted to write in such a way that was quite unlike how other people would or could write so that the book can be remembered. After all, I wrote it so that I could immortalize my friend Jekyll. I will never forget him, so I don’t want other people to forget him either. In my mind, the best way to do that was to write in such a way that his name and stories would be associated with a unique style of writing. 

Do you have any favorite authors or favorite books?

Hmmm. I already listed a bunch of authors that most people have probably never heard of. I can probably list 382 more, but I don’t think people have time to read all of that. They need to get back to Facebook or work or get an oil change for their cars sooner or later. As far as favorite books, it is a given that I love books written by my favorite authors, as well as books that promote veganism, animal adoption, care, liberation, and welfare. I am reading a book right now that is so good that I honestly expect it to be within arm’s reach for years and years. It is “The Bloodless Revolution: A Cultural History of Vegetarianism: From 1600 to Modern Times.” But just so you don’t think I am some stuffy kook that you would not want to invite for a birthday party, I will say that I love books about the social history of popcorn.

What's a typical working day like for you? When and where do you write? Do you set a daily writing goal? 

I am not sure if other writers are like this, but I get more work done when I am sleeping than when I am awake. Most writers first need to wake up before they can write. They are obviously Traditionalists and that is fine. But, me, I get a lot done when I am sleeping. Of course, no typing gets done during REM sleep, but that is something I have learned to contend with. I get a lot done when I am not thinking about writing. Once I am in the “zone” of writing nonsense, I think and talk to myself (and to cats, too) in that manner. There have been times when I have woken up at 3:00 a.m. with an entire stanza or story in my head. Sure, it might need to be tweaked here and there but at that point, I simply get up and engage in the physical labor of writing it down. There are plenty of examples of this happening to writers, musicians, and people who make dumplings, so I am not exactly unique. 

A typical working day is as follows. I climb out of the hammock (if that is where I fell asleep for the night) and push aside the mosquito net (if I fell asleep in the woods behind my house), and I make a smoothie. I then have to pet and talk to all of the cats that live with me. This takes awhile. I then grab some frozen grapes out of the freezer and bring them to my writing desk that is now located in the house. I tried writing in the tree house but falcons kept landing on nearby branches and staring at my grapes, so I retreated to the safety of my home. I do set a writing goal each day. I count how many bananas I have on my counter. To be fair, I count the ripe ones and the green unripe ones. If I wrote more sentences than I have bananas, then I will feel that I have reached my goal for the day. The only setback to this is that I always have to have bananas in my home. Once time I didn’t and I tried to write more sentences than I had tomatoes and I was really in trouble. It was a lot of work. I don’t want to have to deal with that again!

What is the hardest part of writing for you?  

Typing with just my thumbs. I used to be good at it, but ever since I got bit by that not-so-friendly Emperor Tamarin during my trip to the southwest Amazon Basin, in east Peru, north Bolivia, it’s been slow going. 

What’s the best thing about being an author?  

Restaurant managers and owners don’t seem to mind it when I just ask for hot water and I seep tea bags from my private stash that I always carry with me when I leave home. They assume I am one of “those eccentric writers” so they cut me some slack, and they usually don’t even charge me for the hot water. 

What are you working on now? 

I am helping my feline companion Jasper write a book that teaches cats how to meow in Yiddish. We’re having trouble finding words with the same syllable count and that will also rhyme with “A glick hot dich getrofen!” It’s not as easy as it seems. If anyone has any ideas, I’d appreciate it if they let me know. It’s keeping us up all night long. 

What advice would you give aspiring writers?  

Don’t eat cheese and don’t drink milk. After all, we’re not 400 lb baby cows. 

What question have you always wanted to be asked in an interview? 

I didn’t know humans could fly like Superman. How on earth did you figure it out?

How would you answer that question? 

If I told you then everyone would be wearing capes like mine. Maybe I’m selfish, but I just don’t want that. Especially not in this lovely shade of fuchsia. 

---GIVEAWAY---

One lucky reader will win a copy of this book, thanks to the author.  To enter, please complete the MANDATORY ENTRY first, and then as many EXTRA ENTRIES as you like.

MANDATORY ENTRY:

Why do you want to win this book? 

What was your favorite part of the trailer above?

EXTRA ENTRIES:

(Please leave separate entries for each, along with your email address)

1) Subscribe to my blog via email (1 entry)

2) Follow me on Facebook (1 entry) 

3) Vote for Inspired by Savannah on Startup Nations 2012 Leading Moms Competition --You can vote one time per day (2 entries) 

4) Enter any of my other giveaways, leaving a comment with the name of the giveaway (1entry per giveaway entered)
5) Blog about this giveaway. It must include a link to this specific post, as well as a link to my blog, http://ctmomreviews.blogspot.com/. (In your comment, please leave a link directly to your post – 3 Entries)
6) Follow me on Twitter (1entry)
7) Tweet about this giveaway (1 entry per tweet, per day; please include link to tweet in comment below)Enter to #win a copy of Jekyll Says... by D.C. Blackbird  @rmccoy1234http://ctmomreviews.blogspot.com/ #giveaway (Ends 3/8)
8) Vote for me on picket fence blogs (See button on right side of blog -- One entry per vote, per day; Note:  You can only your one vote per day on ONEgiveaway; duplicate comments on other giveaways on the same day with be void)
9) Add to a Giveaway Linky site  (5 entries)

Open to US  residents only. Giveaway ends on March 8, 2012 at 11:59PM EST. I will then use Random.org to choose a winner. Winner will have 48 hrs. to respond to my email to claim prize. If I don't hear back from selected winner, I will draw another winner.

Disclosure:  I was not compensated in any way for this post.  The views above are mine and mine alone.