Today I'd like to welcome a new author. Niki why don't you start by introducing yourself.
Hi! My name is Niki Lenz and I live in Kansas City, Missouri, with
my husband and children. I studied elementary education at Southwest Baptist
University and taught kindergarten for six years. I enjoy reading, travel,
glamping, polka dots, red lipstick, and oldies music. Bernice Buttman, Model
Citizen is my first novel.
Congrats on finishing your first novel. It is an amazing accomplishment. Will you share a short excerpt from your novel?
Here are things
that I, Bernice Buttman, was awesome at. One: burping the alphabet. Two:
blowing up stuff with firecrackers. Three: wearing the teachers and puny kids
of Oak Grove Elementary School into nubs. I was less great at knowing what to
do with myself at recess.
I sat on top of the monkey bars, feeling like a booger on a cheese
ball . . . out of place and unwelcome. Kids whirled all around me, talking to
their buddies and playing games, but nobody came within arm’s length of me.
That was probably real smart. There was only one kid in this whole mess who I
didn’t want to clobber.
Which do you
prefer: print books or ebooks?
I love print books ! All the print books! I have never
gotten the hang of reading things off of a screen. Now, I do love audiobooks, and I pretty much
am always listening to something.
I love audiobooks too! They are especially great to listen to when I exercise. Will you eell us a little
bit about your main characters
Bernice Buttman is a girl who was raised in a house of
bullies. She has a tough mom, and four
mean, stinky, older brothers. Bernice
has never quite figured out how to make friends and keep them. But when one of her pranks goes a little too
far, her mom ships her off to live with her Aunt (who happens to be a nun) and
Bernice gets a chance to start over.
Niki, what brought about
the idea for your book?
I used to teach Kindergarten in a very low-income
area. I had a student one year who was a
huge bully- a scrappy little girl! When I met with her mother to discuss her problems
at school, the woman proceeded to bully me! I understood that little girl a lot
better after that. And it made me wonder… are we all doomed to repeat our
parent’s mistakes? Or do we get to make our own choices about the kind of
people we become?
Wow a Kindergarten teacher. I am always in awe of Kindergarten. Anyone who can wrangle 20 to 30 five years old is awesome in my book. What was your
writing process like?
I like to curl up on my couch with my laptop and a cup of
coffee! That’s all I need really. Oh,
and silence helps. I am not one of those
people who can listen to music when I write because my brain really latches
onto lyrics and pretty soon, I am typing them.
Silence. I wouldn't know what that sounded like. With three kids there is always a lot of noise in my house.What are your
hobbies aside from writing, if any?
I love to play the guitar and sing. Quite badly, actually. But it gives my brain a little break and
keeps my hands busy. I love oldies music
in particular.
In your novels,
which character is your favorite?
I have a soft spot of Sister Angela Clarence, one of the
nuns at the abbey who only speaks in book quotes. I think she is a love letter
to all the great books that have shaped me.
Since you wrote in
this genre, do you think you will ever write in other genres?
So far, all that the world has seen of my work is
contemporary middle grade, but I love to write some fantasy and sci-fi
elements, too. I wouldn’t be surprised
if someday you read a book from me with a little bit of magic in it.
What advice would
you give someone who is considering publishing? Should they consider
traditional or self-publishing?
If you are passionate about books and love to lose
yourself in a story, then you should definitely work on getting your voice out
in the world, however seems best to you.
Publishing can be a hard path, so you have to have thick skin and a
steely will. But as long as you love it,
you should do it.
Niki, thanks for sharing with us! Happy Reading!!
You can order
Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen here.
To learn more
about Niki Lenz and her books and appearances check out www.NikiLenz.com
