Friday, February 8, 2019

Interview with Niki Lenz author of Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen






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

You can also follow her on Facebook or Twitter.









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