Today, as we celebrate Valentine’s Day weekend and all things love, I welcome best selling author, Natasha Wing. Her books include THE NIGHT BEFORE VALENTINE’S DAY and many other NIGHT BEFORE books plus the delightful, BAGEL IN LOVE, a sweet bakery love story. Natasha is generously offering a 15-minute Zoom “Ask the Author” chat where she will answer questions about writing, submitting, her books, etc. Perfect for writers! Comment on this post to be entered in the raffle.
What were you like at the age of your target audience?
I was a quiet, shy girl, well behaved, and I loved school. I still get excited over freshly sharpened yellow #2 pencils! My favorite books were Dr. Seuss (hence the rhyming stories I write now!) and I also liked Disney fairy tales. I grew up in Connecticut with pets: a gerbil named Ribbles, a white mouse with red eyes named Sherman, and a German Shepherd named Nicky. Now I have a cat named Purrsia.
What inspires you?
I’m inspired by celebrations and the marking of time, so things like holidays and first days of school. (I admit I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like to overlap holidays so when I walk into stores that have Valentine’s Day stuff out at Christmas, it gives me the willies.) I’m also inspired by women of strength who fought for something they felt was important to save. Like Jackie Kennedy Onassis when she helped save Grand Central Terminal from destruction. Or a story I’m working on now about a mob of matrons who protested the cutting down of the Japanese cherry trees in Washington, D.C.
What is the one thing you hope your readers take away from your books?
With my Night Before books I hope readers learn about different holidays and different ways to celebrate them. With my non-fictions I hope readers learn about little-known people and historic events. With Bagel In Love and my three joke books, that I like puns and being silly.
What can we look forward to next?
I’ve got four Night Befores coming out: The Night Before Summer Vacation Activity Book (May 2021), The Night Before the Dentist (June 2021), The Night Before Lunar New Year, and The Night Before Second Grade. I also have a fun book for toddlers in the pipeline called Squeak-a-boo!
Natasha can be reached at:
Twitter: @NatashaWing Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natashawingbooks
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natashawing Website: http://www.natashawing.com
Looking forward to chatting with a commenter!
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I also think we shouldn’t have one holiday infringe on another 🙂 And really, I think that’s all about the commercialism aspect that I don’t like. But…love seeing your multicultural Night Before books! You’ve gone gangbusters with that series!! Yahoo!
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Beth, I totally agree! My favorite holidays seem to be squeezed out and I think they should wait their turn! Thanks for reading and happy Valentine’s Day❣️
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Fortunately we love to celebrate so there are more holidays still to write about!
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Thanks for sharing a little bit about your books, yourself and what inspires you — always wonderful to get a peek at the writer behind the scenes!
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Thanks for reading! It’s an impressive list of books! Good luck in the raffle!
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I’m always fascinated by that as well. Thanks for visiting this blog and commenting.
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Can’t wait to see the NIGHT BEFORE SUMMER VACATION ACTIVITY BOOK. What a great idea!
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Thanks for reading! Yes, activity books are so much fun!
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Thank you! Thinking of those kids who are hopefully going to be taking trips this summer. Fingers crossed.
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You just reminded me that I’ve been meaning to read Bagel in Love…..it slipped through the cracks. Thanks for the reminded! And congrats on your new releases!
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I’ve written another adventure with Bagel and Cupcake so please put good mojo out there for the editor to give it the green light.
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Another Bagel and Cupcake adventure? 💕 Looking forward to reading it.
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Yay! I know you will enjoy it!
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Hi Natasha; loved your NF “When Jackie Saved Grand Central” book. Did you envision/pitch The Night Before as a series or just a one-off?
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Thanks for reading and for the great question! Good luck in the giveaway!
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It started as a one-off bunny story, The Night Before Easter. Since it sold well, my editor asked me to do Thanksgiving. Then it keep growing organically, not planned. Now we are treating it more like a brand and using one illustrator to tie the look together.
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That’s so great, Natasha!
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Thank you, the Jackie book is my favorite nonfiction that I’ve written. For the Night Before series it was originally a one-off but then it grew organically as my editor saw how else we could play with The Night Before Christmas structure. I would have been happy with my bunny story, but a series is even better!
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You are the winner! Looking forward to chatting with you.
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Congratulations Ramona! You won 🎉
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Ramona you can reach me at natashawing@gmail.com
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