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MEET MAXINE SCHUR
by Bonnie O'Brian

What did you most like to do when you were a child?

Maxine Schur

When I was a child I most liked to read. I learned to read before I started school and I read everything I could get my hands on.

What books influenced you most when you were growing up?

LITTLE WOMEN was a tremendous influence on me as it was really the first "novel" I read, the sustained and complex story of four young girls. I had no sister so I regarded them as my sisters and loved the authenticity of their feelings and their differences. Another book that I loved and that influenced me was ALICE IN WONDERLAND. I think that book showed me how very imaginative a writer could be and also how writing can be very close to, even arise from our dreams. Lastly, Heidi was a tremendous influence as I had rheumatic fever as a child and for a year, could not walk. I related to Heidi, not the wheelchair-bound Clara because now I see that HEIDI symbolized health and energy and that book ignited a great love for seeing and living in Switzerland which I actually did later.

When you went to college, were you already pursuing a writing career? (or a career in illustrating? or just art in general?)

When I went to college I pursued a career in acting. I loved drama and the theater. Now I see that my love was really for all sorts of storytelling, whether on the stage or on the page. I have used much of my acting training as a writer. It gave me a great understanding of character and how to shape stories for their greatest emotional effect. It also taught me the rhythm of language and its impact when spoken aloud.

If you didn’t write as a child, then when did you start writing and what inspired you to start?

I traveled around the world to many countries when I was young and that journey inspired me to write. I wanted to record everything I saw. My head was filled with wonderful stories and images so I began to write them down for young people and they were published by the Department of Education in New Zealand where I lived. People loved my little stories and that got me thinking of myself as a writer.

What was your first job when you graduated from college?

My very first job was selling vegetables in New Zealand. That was harder than it sounds because many of the vegetables were called by different names or were pronounced differently so it was a learning experience!

How soon after that was your first book published?

My first book was published in New Zealand and it's still in print. It's called WEKA WON'T LEARN and it's a selection of tales about New Zealand's native birds, all of which cannot fly.

Was your first book accepted immediately? or did you experience a number of rejections?

I experienced so many rejections! One of my books, Day of Delight was rejected for 5 years and by 60 publishers then on one day 3 major publishers decided they wanted it. The moral is "Never give up."

What are the topics are some of your books?

I didn't know what the topics of my books are until a 7 year old boy at a school where I was speaking, told me. He said they were all about freedom and that surprised me but I saw he was right! For example SACRED SHADOWS, THE CIRCLEMAKER and WHEN I LEFT MY VILLAGE are all about fleeing oppression.

Do you do other types of writing - for example, educational, nonfiction, magazine work?

What kinds of things inspire you to write?

Everything inspires me from my own family's oral history to some little historical anecdote or an unusual fact I might read to sometimes, simply images.

Do you like to include humor in your stories? Or adventure? Or mystery?

I love to include humor in my stories, even my serious ones. I love to write humor. I just finished a book of funny animal poems and my next book coming out is GULLIBLE GUS, a very funny story, a tall tale about a cowboy who can't help believing every darned thing!

What do you most want the students to get out of your school visits?

I really enjoy talking with kids about writing and about my books. If they read any of my books, we can have great discussions and sometimes the children will tell me just what to put in a sequel! I love to make a class laugh and create a great conversation for us all, and of course, to inspire them to write their own stories.