At the Candy Shop with Author Aviva Gittle

On this edition of Candy Shop we have a special promotion (Only today 9-5-2013)!! FREE EBOOKS! Make sure to check out the links at the end of the interview!

Tristan Wolf, our imaginative hero is eight years old when his adventure begins. He is as dreamy and clever as only a child can be. We were all Tristan once in our life and maybe now, we have one in it. My guests- smart, creative and inspiring personalities- have accepted the challenge to go back to those years, to go back to when they were around eight or ten to answer some questions about the world around them.

Let me introduce you to author Aviva Gittle, when she was ten. 
 

Mariana: Hi, Aviva, it’s very nice meeting you. Where do you live? And who do you live with?

Aviva: 6 Cliftwood Place, Kings Park, NY. My mom, my stepdad Bob, my sister, our collie dogs, Kimmy and Laddie and our Siamese cat, Muffin. Kimmy and Muffin are smart. Laddie’s pretty dumb. But he’s really cute. He eats melon. What kind of dog eats melon?

Mariana: What’s your sister’s name? Do you two get along?

Aviva: My sister, Barbara, is 4 years older.  I hate her. She’s bigger and taller and mean. Every April Fool’s Day she leaves me notes that say I’m going to win a big prize. I go all over the house reading these stupid notes and the last one always says, “April Fools!” No prize. Nothing. I fall for it every year. Why do I trust her? I’m Charlie Brown; she’s Lucy.

Mariana: What school do you go to? What do you like about it?

Aviva: Parkview Elementary School. I like playing on the monkey bars. I like gym class. Well, I did like gym class. Every year I climb the ropes to the top and touch the ceiling. When you do that you get to be in the Monkey Club. This year I fell. Two stories down onto hard wrestling mats. Hurt my back bad. I don’t get to play in gym anymore. I have a cast that starts at my chest and goes down past my hips.

Mariana: And the worst about school?

Aviva: Most of the other kids. In Kindergarten and first grade, I wet my pants a few times. The first time was on the playground. I’m in 5^th grade now, but I still remember the kids making fun of me. I was sick, but the doctors told Mom there was nothing wrong with me. Dr. Waterhouse yelled at the other doctors ‘cause all they had to do was a simple test. I had a really bad infection.

Jenn and Bev are my best friends, but they’re not in my homeroom, so I have no friends. I’m an easy target. My parents are divorced, my hair’s frizzy, I’m not pretty and everyone makes me nervous. I told Mom the kids were all making fun of me, but she just told me to ignore them. It’s not working.

Mariana: Tell me more about your best friends!

Aviva: Jenn and Bev are both my best friends. Jenn can draw really well and Bev…is just Bev. She’s smart and she puts up with me. I’m different with them. A leader. I’m always coming up with creative projects. Like the time we made these little dolls out of yarn and sold them door-to-door. We record radio shows on my little cassette recorder. I write the scripts and they act them out with me.

Mariana: What is the food that you absolutely dislike eating?

Aviva: I didn’t know tongue really came from a cow’s tongue! I thought they just called it that. It used to taste great until I knew that. And I thought those were grapes on Grandma Pearl’s table. They were olives! Ew; so bitter. I’ll never eat an olive again for as long as I live.

Mariana: Do you have pets?

Aviva: Kimmy and Laddie, like I said. They’re a bit smelly, but I let them lick my face. Muffin, my cat, sleeps with me. He takes up half the bed!

Mariana: Are you scared of the dark?

Aviva: Very scared. When I walk home in the dark from my friend Bev’s house, I sing John Denver songs to keep me calm. Rocky Mountain High…

Mariana: Do you daydream?

Aviva: I daydream so deeply I forget where I am. Sometimes I’m walking home and day dreaming and I realize I’m talking out loud. When I was younger, the school called my parents because all I did was daydream in class. The counselor at the school told them to tell me that Santa Claus wasn’t real. They had my sister tell me. Bet she loved doing that. She’s so mean.

Mariana: Who do you look like, your mom or dad?

Aviva: Wherever we go people always say to my mom, “That one definitely belongs to you.” I think it makes my sister mad. Good.

Mariana: Who is your favorite star?

Aviva: Barbra Streisand. I sing her songs all the time. People, people who need people, are the luckiest…

Mariana: What is the best book you’ve ever read?

Aviva: The Phantom Tollbooth. Once I read that book my mom didn’t have to pay me to read anymore. She used to give me 35 cents a book!

Mariana: Do you think you’ll ever get married or have kids?

Aviva: Of course. Isn’t that what everybody does? I’ll have a house, and a white picket fence, and some kind of a job. It will all be really good.

Mariana: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Aviva: A veterinarian. I love animals.

Mariana: Thanks for sharing with me Aviva. I hope we can be friends for a long time!

And this is Aviva Gittle now:

I live in San Diego, CA with my partner of 16 years,

David. I’m still in touch with both of my best friends, Bev and Jen. I’m a grandma. Which, honestly, beats the heck out of being a parent. I’m older, wiser, calmer and I have more time to give.
In January of this year, I decided to self-publish two children’s stories I had written many years ago. I’ve had an entrepreneurial spirit since childhood, so I decided to be a publisher, too. In a fit of inspiration, I wrote a whole series (7 books) called “Kitten and Friends.” Kitten, who is irresistibly fluffy and cute, makes a new friend in each book. A butterfly, a snake, a koi, a squirrel, a monkey, a litter of kittens and a boy. I’ve written (or co-written) 6 other books. All will be offered in English, Spanish and “Spanish Immersion” (bilingual) versions. By mid-2014 I will have 42 eBooks in the Amazon Kindle library. Several more are actively in development. I’m also starting an animation project called “Blue Guy and Fly” with a young, talented Columbian artist. You can find a list of my published books here: amazon.com/author/avivagittle. Or just search Amazon.com for “Aviva Gittle.” There’s not too many of us. J
Aviva Gittle's free Ebooks, ONLY 9/5/2013...Please leave a review if you enjoyed her stories:

The boy who bounced the moon

 

 

In nana arms

 

 

When I was eight I used to daydream, I played pretend and I loved to write. I still remember my eighth birthday present and the feeling of joy it gave me. What was it? A journal, covered in beige leather, with a writing pad of white satin pages and a black fountain pen that attached to the inside of my elegant and beaming new friend. Oh, yes! A world of words and stories was waiting for me...

 

At the Candy Shop with Author Jo Ann V. Glim

Tristan Wolf, our imaginative hero is eight years old when his adventure begins. He is as dreamy and clever as only a child can be. We were all Tristan once in our life and maybe now, we have one in it. My guests- smart, creative and inspiring personalities- have accepted the challenge to go back to those years, to go back to when they were around eight or ten to answer some questions about the world around them. 

Let me introduce you to author Jo Ann V. Glim, when she was eight.

Hi, Jo Ann, it’s very nice meeting you.  Where does Joanie live?

Thank you so much for this opportunity.  I’m looking forward to doing this interview and introducing you to Joanie.

Joanie grew up in a 3-room, cedar-shingled house that occupied ¾ of an acre of rich farmland in a little town called Anacortes on the Island of Fidalgo in the Pacific Northwest (90-miles north of Seattle).  The house was definitely a fixer-upper.  Dad added an indoor bathroom shortly before his tour of duty in Japan in 1948.  He was career Navy.  He also converted the wood-fueled kitchen stove to oil after Mom put the axe through her shin while splitting logs.

After Dad left, times were difficult!  To help make ends meet, my mother’s aging parents left all they knew in Chicago (including their younger daughter and her family) and moved in with us.  Our home was tiny and furnished only with the bare necessities.

Joanie was raised as an only child.  Her sister, born the year before her, died 3 days after birth; and her brother died in-utero in the 7^th month of pregnancy.  You asked if she had any brothers or sisters…  Let’s see what she has to say about that…

“I wish I did!”  Joanie said as she blew her bangs out of her eyes.  “Mom won’t let me go play with my friends on Sundays.  She says that’s family day.”  Joanie crossed her arms and pursed her lips.  “On Saturday, I have to wait for Carolyn to finish her accordion lesson.  She’s my best friend, you know.”

“Carolyn and I have a secret.  Do you want to know what it is?” Joanie asked as an impish grin settled on her face.  But before Mariana can say anything, the little girl blurted it out, “Carolyn practices outside.  She lives down there,” Joanie added as she pointed over her shoulder.  “Her mom says that noise box is too loud for a house but this is our secret… she plays ‘Lady of Spain’ last, so I know when we can go play.”

What School do you go to?

"I go to Central Grade School.  Miss Davis is my teacher.  She’s very nice!  We had to write a story last week.  Anything we wanted.  I was really happy because I’m going to be a writer when I grow up, and a nurse, and an actress and maybe a teacher or a cowgirl… maybe not a writer.  Mom says I have writer’s block.  She said sometimes it’s contagious, so, don’t sit too close.  Anyway, I couldn’t think of a thing to write.  My friend Susan’s story was voted the best!  Mom said it’s my first rejection and writers get a lot of those.  She told me to never stop trying."

Joanie’s small for her age.  When she sits back in a chair, her feet don’t touch the ground.  Instead, her legs swing out in rapid motion, and today stopped only when she tapped the side of Mariana’s chair.  Her mother gave her that look.  Joanie stopped.

“Mom says I have to act like a lady,” she told Mariana as she smoothed her dress.  Grandma says, ‘if I don’t mind my manners, I’ll never dine with the Queen of England…’  Have you met her?  I wonder what Queen’s eat?”

Is there anything you hate about school?

"I hate report cards!  I don’t like math, either.   I like English and I love geography.  I’m going to travel around the world when I grow up!  I get good grades but I always get into trouble because I talk too much.  Red checks… that’s all I ever see.  Do you think I talk too much?  I don’t think I do… well, maybe… sometimes."

Joanie looked past Mariana’s shoulder toward the kitchen.  “Miss Mariana, Grandma wants to know if you’ll stay for lunch.  She’s a really good cook!”

What is the food you absolutely dislike eating?

"The only time I make a fuss about eating is on Christmas Eve when she makes Luté Fisk!  I can’t open my presents until I finish my dinner.  I hide it in my mashed potatoes and swallow really fast!  She says all good Swedes eat Luté Fisk. Even my dog, Boola, won’t eat it.  Why can’t Grandma be Italian?  I love spaghetti!"

Are you scared of the dark?

“Nooooo...  I don’t think I am…  When I go to sleep the lights are still on ‘cause I sleep on the hide-away sofa in the living room and grown-ups stay up late.  Mom lets me bring all my books to bed with me.  She reads me a chapter every night… the ‘Bobbsey Twins’ is one of my favorites.  I also love ‘Little Britches’ but it makes me toss-n-turn trying to figure out the ending, so, she reads that one to me after lunch.  My bestest memory of reading is from the first grade when I could finally read a story to Mom about Dick and Jane and Spot.  I felt so grown up."

Who is your favorite star?

Joanie’s eyes were wide as she reverently said, “The Lone Ranger… him and Tonto.”

“Would you like to see my favorite toys?” Joanie asked as she pulled them from her toy box.  “Here’s Howdy Doody and Clara Bell the clown marionettes.  Clara Bell can’t talk.  He has a horn I honk when he has something to say.  But I can’t find it… it’s been missing for weeks.  I don’t know what happened to it.”  Joanie didn’t notice the faint smile on her mother’s lips.  “Oh, and my doll, Blondie, whose hair is now brown because I gave her a haircut.  When mom sent her to the doll hospital, they were out of blonde wigs.  Now, I have to ask before I use the scissors.  Carolyn has a doll just like Blondie except her name is Nancy and she still has blonde hair.”

Do you think you’ll ever get married and have kids?

Joanie laughed and twirled around.  A muffled voice could be heard through the hands cupped over her face as she responded, “Someday.”

Thanks for sharing with me, Joanie.  I hope we can be friends for a long time!

“You betcha!”

And this is Jo Ann, now, in her own words:

My husband, Bill, and I live on the Sun Coast of Florida on the gulf

side (north of Sarasota and south of Tampa Bay); a far cry from where Joanie spent her childhood.

We both love Scotties and share our home with, Lucy, a sweet, 2-year-old rescue dog that’s nothing but unconditional love on 4 paws.  We’re both retired and spend our time doing what we love: volunteering in the community; serving in our church; and (for me) writing, (for Bill) singing with the church choir.  One of his biggest honors was singing at the Vatican in Rome for Pope John Paul.

Carolyn and I have remained friends all these years.  Carolyn was my maid of honor; Bill and I are god-parents to Carolyn’s younger son.  We may not play dolls anymore but every once in a while, have been known to play a round of Chutes and Ladders.  Now (ohhhh, help us all), we’re learning how to Skype.

I did become a writer.  My career began as a disc jockey/copywriter in Chicago.  I've written one-liners for well-known comedians, verses for Hallmark Cards, and an award-winning weekly column that appeared in 14 papers in the northern Illinois area (as well as hundreds of articles on an assortment of topics).

My book, “BEGOTTEN: With Love,” is gaining in popularity thanks to venues like Goodreads and bloggers like Mariana.  Thank you, Mariana for your support.

Copies are available in print through www.BEGOTTENtheBook.com

 

 

 

 

 
When I was eight I used to daydream. I played pretend and I loved to write. I still remember my 8^th birthday present and the feeling of joy it gave me. What was it? A journal, covered in beige leather, with a writing pad of white satin pages and a black fountain pen that attached to the inside of my elegant and beaming new friend. And this is me, at that age, when all I wanted to do was to tell stories.

 

 

 

At the Candy Shop with Paul Day

Tristan Wolf, our imaginative hero is eight years old when his adventure begins. He is as dreamy and clever as only a child can be. We were all Tristan once in our life and maybe now, we have one in it. My guests- smart, creative and inspiring personalities- have accepted the challenge to go back to those years, to go back to when they were around eight or ten to answer some questions about the world around them.  

Let me introduce you to Australian author Paul Day, when he was eight.

Mariana: Hi, Paul, it’s very nice meeting you. Where do you live? And who do you live with?

Paul: Hi Marian, I mean Mariana. Is that right? I have an Aunt Marian so it’s a bit confusing. It’s nice to meet you too. I live in a big house with my family in Bendigo on McColl Street, just down the road from the mines. It’s not a very big house and I have to share my bedroom with my six brothers. I even have to share my bed cause there isn’t enough room. We only have a black and white TV too and we have to share that also. My Mum and Dad and my two sisters have their own room cause they are girls. Not my Dad though, he’s a man.

M: How do you get along with your siblings? What do you fight about?

P: I don’t get on very well with my brothers, except for Aaron. He’s

 the youngest and we do everything together. My other brothers pick on me a little bit cause I’m small. Plus, they call me dummy and stupid and I don’t like that so I get upset, a little bit. My oldest brother is ok, but he is always busy. We fight a lot, me and my brothers, mostly about nothing. Once, my brother went to hit me and I dodged and he missed and broke his thumb when his hand whacked into the window. He cried like a baby but I got in trouble cause he dobbed and Dad thought it was my fault. But it wasn’t.

M: What school do you go to? What do you like to do at school the most?

P: I got to Leura Public School in the Blue Mountains in NSW Australia. I’m in the third grade and my favorite teacher is Miss Simons. She’s the Music and Art teacher and she is really pretty and nice too. She doesn’t like it when the other kids pick on me and I spend recess and lunch in the Art room drawing and playing the trombone. I like camping and hiking and sometimes we get to do that at school. I also like music and art cause Miss Simons takes it and she is very pretty.

M: And the worst about school?

P: I don’t like some of the big kids. They steal my lunch and pick fights and that. I also don’t like Math because I’m no good at it.

M: What’s your best friend’s name?

P: My best friend is Daryl. He’s a bit silly and gets into trouble, but not because he’s naughty. He gets stuck in things and is always late for class. Once he got stuck in the drain chasing a stray cat and the teachers couldn’t get him out so they had to call the ambilians. When they got him out he giggled and said that they tickled him. It was so funny. But his mummy wasn’t laughing. She was crying. She yelled at him for getting stuck again. He’s my best friend cause he’s the only one that doesn’t call me shorty.

M: What is the food that you absolutely dislike eating? How does it taste like?

P: I hate brussel sprouts and broad beans. They are yucky. Mummy makes me eat them. I chew them then I ask to leave the table to go to the toilet and when I’m in there I spit them out and flush them down the dunny. Mum doesn’t know though so please don’t tell her.

M: Do you have pets?

P: I have a very special little dog. His name is Latch. I called him Latch cause he followed me home one day and latched onto me and he never lets me out of his sight. He’s my only other friend in the whole world, besides Daryl. Latch is funny and silly and he barks at the wall and chases Sally, our cat. She doesn’t like him, but he likes her, which is why he chases her all the time. I tried to tell her but she just hisses at him and if he gets too close she scratches his nose and then he yelps.

M: Are you scared of the dark?

P: No, not really. Well, maybe a little. I don’t like dark places, like when me and my brothers went down to the caves and we got stuck half way along and then my younger brother screamed because he thought he saw a hand sticking up from the bottom. It turned out to be just some roots or something. It was so funny.

M: Do you dream a lot? Do you daydream?

P: I dream all the time. Sometimes I dream I am a little bird stuck in a small cage and suddenly the door is open and I am free. Only, I don’t want to leave. Sometimes I dream I am flying like superman. Sometimes I have bad dreams that the world is ending and everything is exploding around me and I don’t know where my family is or anything. I can’t even find Latch and that worries me a lot. Most of the time I like to dream, but I don’t want the world to end. My teacher told my Mum and Dad I daydream. But I don’t know about that, cause I rarely sleep during the day so how can I dream?

M: Who do you look like, your mom or dad?

P: I look like my Dad. But I sound like my Mum. One day I will look and sound like my dad, like Peter does. He’s big and tall and he has muscles and he sounds grumpy all the time, just like Dad.

M: Who is your favorite artist?

P: I like ABBA. I love the blonde singer best. She’s beautiful and pretty like Miss Simons. Sometimes I go over to next doors and me and Sandy pretend we are in ABBA and we sing all their songs with microphones we made by ourselves.

M: What is the best book that you’ve ever read?

P: My very favorite book is the Loaded Dog. It’s really funny how the dog runs around the mines with dynamite in its mouth and doesn’t know the fuse is lit and all the men go running in all directions. The dog is black like Latch and the Policeman chasing him reminds me of Daryl cause he trips over everything all the time when he chases the dog. It’s so funny. The dog doesn’t blow up though, but the buildings do.

M: Do you think you’ll ever get married?

P: My brothers don’t think I will. They tease me all the time and say mean things like, “You’re too ugly to get married”. I would like to marry Sandy, but she’s a little bit older than me by thirteen months. She’s pretty and me and her play together sometimes. I think she would like the blonde singer from ABBA to be her bridesmaid and I think I would like my youngest brother to be my best man when he is old enough. He’s only four now though.

M: What do you want to be when you grow up?

P: I want to be a writer and write funny stories about little dogs doing silly things and getting into trouble. I like writing stories and Miss Simons, who is also my English teacher, thinks my stories are really good.

M: Thanks for sharing with me Paul. I hope we can be friends for a long time!

P: Thanks. If we are friends, then I can have three friends instead of 2, Lucky, Daryl and now you. That’s more friends than I have ever had in all my life. I like you cause you remind me of my teacher Miss Simons.

This is Paul Day nowadays, in his own words: 

"My wife Jennifer and I have been married for 25 years (last January) and are still very much in love. We have 2 children, both now adults. Our son, Josh, now lives away from home, but our daughter, Beck, is still at home and wants to be a writer also.

Right now I have 13 books published on Amazon (more if you count the print versions). I mainly write Children’s Books and YA Fiction. I am a Qualified Teacher and have worked in Public High Schools for the past eleven years. Before that I was a Motor Mechanic with 13 years experience. I studied at University for 6 years in between careers.

We live on a property out in the country with our 2 horses, one dog (Soxy), one cat (Toby) and 2 birds (Cocky and Teal)"

When I was eight I used to daydream, I played pretend and I loved to write. I still remember my 8^th birthday present and the feeling of
joy it gave me. What was it? A journal, covered in
beige leather, with a writing pad of white satin pages and a black fountain pen that attached to the inside of my elegant and beaming new friend. And this is me, at that age, smiling at the world that I knew…oh, yes, I knew, someday would me mine!
Mariana Llanos