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Back to Featured Interviews >> MEET ALVA I. SACHS
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| Alva I. Sachs |
When I was a child, my sister, Bonny and I loved to play board games. I also collected stamps, shells, loved to read Archie Comic Books. We used to build forts with our blankets and pillows and had flashlights to read books in the dark. Riding my bike and roller skating was on the top of my list too!
What audience did you have in mind for your career as a writer - adult or children?
My audience as a writer was always intended for children, I guess because I taught elementary for so long, I felt I was a kid just like my students.
When you went to college, were you already pursuing a writing career? (or a career in illustrating? or just art in general?)
When I began college, I was thinking of becoming a lawyer. Since I went to a community college my first year, I had extra credits, so I started taking education classes that seemed interesting. In the wink of an eye, I was so absorbed in what I was learning about children, that at night I was already taking graduate classes in education by my junior year. I guess it was destiny for me to become an elementary school teacher. Writing was no where in sight, except for tons of papers that I had to write for classes!
If you didn’t write as a child, then when did you start writing and what inspired you to start?
While I was teaching, I had the opportunity to work within my school district that was seriously looking at the lack of writing within the curriculum. I had the opportunity to train, mentor and help to integrate writing into the vision of interdisciplinary learning. Think as if all the subject areas like reading, math, science, history all collide like stars in the sky! Writing is everywhere!
What was your first job when you graduated from college?
My first job after college, thankfully, was being a 4 th grade teacher…I loved it. Then I passed on to 5 th grade!
When was it published?
CIRCUS FEVER is my first book. I actually created my own self-publishing company, Three Wishes Publishing Company, named for my 3 kids. My story sat on the “shelf” until my own children were out of college and I had the time to revisit my writing that I began as a classroom teacher. So as soon as I polished it up, I self-published it.
What kinds of things inspire you to write?
Life inspires me!
What gave you the idea for CIRCUS FEVER?
Pretty much of my ideas come from my family, friends, events, celebrations, and through the eyes of a mother.
How did your life change when you got married? and had children? Did it make it easier or harder to find time to write?
After 28 years of marriage, this year, my three precious children achieving college degrees, and realizing I had the wonderful opportunity to reinvent myself…I decided to jump into writing again.
Do you enjoy researching or do you prefer working totally from your imagination?
Right now, I simply write from imagination, more like a free spirit. I like to listen to nature, watch people, and feel the need to embrace all that we are. That may change over time and I may begin to research for other works.
Do you work on more than one book at a time?
I do like to concentrate on one story at a time. However, sometimes an idea just “pops” in my head and I jot down a few notes or a starter for the next story.
When is your next book going to be in book stores?
MY plan is to begin working on “laying” out my manuscript that IS ready to go with my illustrator by the end of this year 2008, and hopefully have it completed for the following year.
Do you like to include humor in your stories? Or adventure? Or mystery?
Yes, yes, and yes to all three! I think that humor fuels the soul in all of us!
What do you most want the students to get out of your school visits?
School visits should be inspiring, fun, and hopefully trigger student’s minds to explore, experiment, and experience their own dreams.
Is there anything about yourself that you’d like to share - hobbies, where you were born, special talents other than writing/illustrating.
I was born in Chicago, Illinois. I love music, theatre, sports, reading, and most of all my Chicago pizza and hot dogs!