Let's Gone Fishing on Christmas? :)
13 Random Facts
1. I learned to love poetry by dancing and singing along with nursery rhyme records when I was very young.
2. Now I listen to a wide range of music for rhythm, rhyme, fun, and to get into the writing spirit.
3. Many of the books that I loved as a child are still on my shelves.
4. The Bookmobile used to visit the town where I lived – I loved that library in a bus!
5. Dark chocolate with sea salt is delicious, but penuche fudge is my favorite kind of candy. Yay brown sugar!
6. In my family, we flew kites from the ends of our fishing rods.
7. One of my summer jobs as a kid was pulling weeds from soybean fields. It paid well.
8. In junior high I played basketball and volleyball and in track I was a sprinter, a hurdler, and a high jumper.
9. During a Midwest winter when I was in college, I learned to golf inside a gym, from a football coach, using whiffle-balls. I still golf, but only outdoors when the weather is nice (and I use real golf balls.)
10. I’m a middle kid, which came in handy when I was developing the sibling relationship for GONE FISHING.
11. Like my character Sam, I used to hunt night crawlers with my dad before fishing trips.
12. Like my character, Lucy, I used to bring books with me to read on the boat.
13. When given a choice of sport jerseys, I always chose #13. Having my first book release in 2013 felt very lucky to me.
***
More about Tamera!
Tamera Will Wissinger is a children's author and poet who grew up in Badger, Iowa. She has been reading and writing stories and poetry since she was young. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Sioux Falls College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and her Master of Fine Arts degree in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Tamera thinks she’s very lucky to be able to read and write as part of her job. When she’s not working she might be fishing or boating, watching the interesting wildlife around her neighborhood, or noticing how each day is so beautiful and unique. She also likes to spend time with her family and friends, golf, watch good movies, listen to music, and crochet, (her mom recently taught her how!) Tamera lives with her husband in Vero Beach, Florida. Her book, GONE FISHING, released from Houghton Mifflin Books for Children on March 5, 2013.
Check out Tamera's debut novel!
Gone Fishing
by Tamera Wissinger
Published March 5th 2013 by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Blurb (Goodreads):
Using a wide variety of poetic forms – quatrains, ballads, iambic meter, rhyming lists, concrete poetry, tercets and free verse –this debut author tells the story of a nine-year-old boy’s day of fishing. Sibling rivalry, the bond between father and son, the excitement – and difficulty -- of fishing all add up to a day of adventure any child would want to experience.
Matthew Cordell illuminates this novel-in-verse throughout with his energetic black-and-white line drawings.
While each poem can be read and enjoyed on its own, the poems work together to create a story arc with conflict, crisis, resolution and character growth.
The back matter of this book equips the reader with a Poet's Tackle Box of tools and definitions for understanding the various poetic forms the author uses in this story.
Check out debut author Lisa M. Basso on Oops! I Read A Book Again!
Yesterday: Melanie Crowder (Parched) and Natasha Ngan (The Elites)
Tomorrow: Rachel Waxman (The Crickhowell School for the Muses) and Mindee Arnett (The Nightmare Affair)
Calling YA/NA/MG debut authors of 2014! Want to join us on this fun event? Fill out this form! Don't forget to spread the word with your debuting friends!
GIVEAWAY!
I seem to have a lot in common with Tamara. I too love reading, golfing and just taking in nature.
ReplyDeleteI definitely still collect my fav. childhood stories and one day share them with my nieces and nephews or even with my children.
I especially remember flying kites and trying to get them to fly high in the air during the summer holidays when school was out.
I like how the Gone Fishing stories include themes of parent, child relationship as well as siblings, best of all being back to the basics spending time outdoors being hands-on unlike how kids these days just know how to play everything artificially VIA apps, video games instead of experiencing adventures in person.