Interview with Moira Donohue

Today on the couch (and I need to stop saying that because it’s making me sound like a shrink) we have Moira Rose Donohue, author of two books about punctuation. And that, I’m afraid, makes her sound kind of  boring. Which she most definitely is NOT. What’s more, Moira makes punctuation Not Boring. She makes it fun, because she’s telling a story. And by the end of it, it turns out, you just happen to know exactly what an apostrophe — or dash, or question mark, or period — does. Moira is another member of my critque group. Maybe it’s because she’s a lawyer, but I never have to ask her what she’s thinking; she always speaks her mind (and I absolutely love her for it). But today, we’re digging a little so I’m peppering her with questions. When I’m done, you can find out how to become eligible to win a copy of Penny and the Punctuation Bee. But first you have to

Me: We’re here today because your punctuation books, Alfie the Apostrophe and Penny and the Punctuation Bee, are now in paperback. Paperback! So does that mean that, since the books are cheaper  ($6.99, people) they will therefore be more accessible and we’ll soon find it in homes and classrooms across the country, as prevalent as peanut butter?

Moira: Well, I certainly hope that you’re right.  When Scholastic Book Clubs first published ALFIE THE APOSTROPHE in paperback, it appeared in the hands of a lot of kids and teachers around the country.  I hope that PENNY will have a similar fate. (Note: This month’s release means Alfie is now available outside of the book club.)

Me: I know you made up the punctuation bee. Were you ever a bee participant as a kid? Spelling? Geography? And how did you do?

Moira: My elementary school didn’t have bees.  But I have always wanted to be in one, so I decided to use that as a starting point for my punctuation bee concept.

Me: Tell us how you feel about cheerleaders, really?

Moira: In high school, I was in the Latin Club.  Sports?  The It’s Academic team.  My main activity was Glee Club.  If you watch the wonderful new TV show Glee!, you know that glee club members are not generally compatible with cheerleaders.  Enough said.

Me: What’s your favorite part of being a published author?

Moira: OK, this will sound corny, but I really love it when a kid tells me he really loves one of my books and reads it every night or, even better, sleeps with it under his pillow.  Books we read as kids stay with us throughout life, so if a few children really like mine, I am very happy.

Me: Not corny at all! When you do school visits, what do you do with the kids?

Moira: LOVE school visits.  My two favorite things to do are to talk about what punctuation marks the kids would be and why (always hear some really interesting answers) and to do punctuation magic tricks with audience volunteers.  I’m not a magician, but thanks to the help of a reading teacher/writer friend Carla Heymsfeld, I can do a couple of cool tricks!

Me: (We are putting this in the Things You Didn’t Know About Your Friends category. I’ve known Carla for four and a half years. I didn’t know she could do magic! I think our next critique meeting just got a little more theatrical. And speaking of theater…) Talk a little about your interest in theater and how that comes into play in your picture books.

Moira: I should have been on the stage.  Really.  But instead, I went to law school and encouraged my sister to be an actress (she is, and is also a theater professor at a university).  She is my consultant for a mid-grade theater story I am working on.

Me: Since one of the things I want to talk about on this blog is the road to publication, I thought I’d ask you to describe your road. Was it a highway? Cobblestone? A country lane?

Moira: Wish I could use one of those words to describe my road, but it was more like jumping hurdles in track.  I didn’t take any creative writing classes in college (although I was the only non-English major in my grammar class), and in my career as a lawyer, although I learned to write precisely (I drafted banking legislation), I didn’t know how to “tell a story.”  So I’ve had to take classes to learn how to write dialog, how to “show, not tell” and how to give depth to my characters.  And before I sold a picture book, I sold magazine articles, poems and plays.

Each area has been like a hurdle, and sadly, I have not yet finished the track.

Me: The best way to deal with frustration, publishing and otherwise?

Moira: The best way is to send a rejected manuscript to another publisher immediately – someone out there will eventually see the value in your quirky work.  But personally, to get up my courage to do that, I eat half a loaf of warm, buttered French bread first.

Me: (To hear Moira talk more about the Healing Powers of French Bread, visit her diet blog.) I was hoping you would also talk a bit about the importance of punctuation. It seems to me it would be gaining importance because of the amount of communicating we do now via writing, using the Internet. But then, we don’t always use punctuation (or even capital letters) when we communicate, especially if we’re texting. Thoughts?

Moira: I’m not a stickler, but I think punctuation is important for the sake of clarity in communication and to express the emotion of the writer.  Think of a text from a mother to a teenage son or daughter.  There’s a world of difference between “Be home at 5!” and “Be home at 5?”

Me: What do you think about the emoticon becoming a punctuation mark? Is that something you’d fight for or against?

Moira: I am a fan of evolving language conventions, so I support the use of emoticons.  But I would like to see someone write some rules for how to use them so we have consistency.

Me: What’s your biggest punctuation peeve?

Moira: Hmmm, I don’t really have one!  But I do hate pronoun/verb disagreement.  “Everyone has their lunch?”  No, everyone has his or her lunch.  Or, since the boys probably don’t, how about “Everyone has her lunch?”

Me: What’s your favorite punctuation mark?

Moira: The asterisk – a twinkly, sparkly *star* like I want to be!

Me: Because you also blog about food (or lack of it), I thought I’d combine that with punctuation and ask: What punctuation mark would make the best dinner and how would you serve it?

Moira: The question mark, with steak sauce and a side of French fried slashes.

Me: What punctuation mark would you serve if you were on a diet?

Moira: The dash – sparse and it uses a lot of energy.

Me: What’s your secret talent? For example, Kathy Erskine can take a bunch of disparate items and turn them into a cohesive dinner, Jackie Jules can sing and make up songs, and Tom Angleberger is a square dance caller.

Moira: I know song lyrics to almost every show tune every written.  I sometimes have to restrain the “song in my heart” in polite conversation.

Me: And TAP DANCING. HOW CAN YOU FAIL TO MENTION TAP DANCING??? How about in writing; do you have a superpower there?

Moira: The only superpower I have is to be able to cut fat from OTHER people’s writing

Me: I would add Moira’s sense of humor, and her ability to write a wicked cover letter.

In honor of Moira’s paperback releases, I’m giving away a signed copy of PENNY. It’s a great book for early elementary-aged kids and also for teachers. To enter, leave a note in comments telling us your favorite punctuation mark. I’ll draw one name from a hat I picked out just for this occasion. You have from today, Graham Coxon’s birthday, until the end of the day on March 16th, Flavor Flav’s birthday, to enter.

More about Moira (ooh, that kind of sounds like the title of a show tune, doesn’t it?) is available at:
moirarosedonohue.net
dietersdoldrums.blogspot.com
punctuationplayground.blogspot.com