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MEET NATASHA WING
by Bonnie O'Brian

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

Natasha Wing

I liked to go to the beach, do puzzles, and play teacher with my stuffed animals.

What books influenced you most when you were growing up?

Dr. Seuss made reading fun. I loved the silliness of his words and drawings. I also had a beautiful Cinderella book with a pop-up pumpkin carriage in the back that I thought was magical. It wasn't so much authors or stories that influenced me, it was more about physically owning books, knowing that they were there on the bookshelf when I was ready to escape into another world.

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

I started writing for children when I was 32 years old. I was at a Christmas bazaar in Arizona where I picked up the book, Polar Express. I had a "angels singing" moment where all the people around me seemed to disappear and I was left standing in a white light. When I came out of it, I declared that I wanted make magic for kids, like Chris Van Allsburg does.

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

I was very lucky in that my first book was accepted quickly. But it gave me a false sense of hope that publishing was going to be a piece of cake!

What are the topics are some of your books?

I have a 13 book paperback series based on "The Night Before Christmas." I also wrote a multicultural book called JALAPEÑO BAGELS. My new book is GO TO BED, MONSTER! about a girl who can't go to sleep, and whose active imagination takes over.

Have any of your fiction stories been about real people or events?

JALAPEÑO BAGELS is based on a real bakery in Arcata, California. The main character, Pablo, is based on one of the owners who came from a multicultural family. His mother was Jewish and his father was Latino.

Do you work on more than one book at a time?

Yes, because books are in various stages of development. I usually have a story that needs editing that I can pop in and out of when I'm in a concentrative mood. I typically have a new story in the works that requires research or completion. And I sometimes have a story with an editor that I'm trying to finish up for publication. I like to have many things going at once to feel like I'm being productive.

Which of your books did you most enjoy writing?

My latest favorite is a chapter book about a pragmatic girl named Pearl who has issues with the Tooth Fairy. It's being shopped around and I hope it gets picked up and made into a series. I love Pearl because she's so perplexed by the fantastical world and prefers a fact-based world, and that's where the humor comes in.

Do you write every day and do you have set hours that you work?

My writing time is in the morning when I'm fresh and not too many obligations have slipped into my day yet. Afternoons I use for editing, marketing, or reading.

What other jobs have you had before you became a writer/illustrator?

I was a tennis instructor's assistant, a tour guide at a metropolitan newspaper, a copywriter, and various mundane office jobs as a temp. The best job I ever had is being a writer! I choose the hours, what I want to work on, when to take breaks, plus there are no co-workers interrupting me. My boss is pretty nice, too.

Natasha Wing, Author of Literature for Young Readers

For a list of books go to my new web site:

http://www.natashawing.com

New Kindergarten DVD! A simple introduction to being an author plus a reading of "The Night Before Kindergarten."