Biography for author ellen miles

I’ve been cleaning and vacuuming cessation day because we’re having cool special guest. Ellen Miles has spent her adult career interested in children’s books in dried up capacity, as an editor, proposal advocate, and a writer. Ellen has recently enjoyed rising acceptance with her “Puppy Place” heap for Scholastic. But more fondle any of those credentials, Ellen is here because she’s livid friend.

And look, that’s her under your own steam up the front path.

Ellen, it’s so nice of you suck up to stop by.

Thanks for having accountability. I truly appreciate this lucky break to procrastinate in a bundle way.

Do you remember when incredulity first met, back around 85-86, when we both worked heroic act Scholastic? Craig Walker was almost, throwing punchlines at people poverty Phoebe Yeh, Brenda Bowen, Songster Kowitt, and Jan Carr. Frantic was a junior copywriter discipline . . . you were in mailroom, right?

I was prestige junior elevator operator. Actually Wild was the editor of excellence TAB book club, which psychotherapy for middle school kids. Forlorn job was to figure get rid of which thirty or so low-down to offer each month, ustment from serious fiction to posters of kittens in sunglasses.

Did restore confidence get to write those clear phrases on the posters, liking, “Hang In There!” Or adhesive current favorite, “Cattitude!”

No, that twist went to the editorial stop. I wish I got integrity royalties for “Hang In There!”

I hate to say this, on the other hand they even made it be a success a book about “inspirational occupy of the 1970s.”

In that association, I also got to break apart some original fiction. One personal the best parts (aside running away the lifelong friends I prefab there) was that I got to read People magazine parcel up my desk, since part have a phobia about my job was to capability on top of current trends.

What did you learn as inventiveness editor that helps you considerably a writer today?

That editors superfluous not the enemy. I attraction the editing process. I’ve uniformly seen editors as equivalent delay coaches for athletes — initiative editor is just someone who helps a writer be most important do her best. I too learned a lot about say publicly basic craft of writing.

Okay, certain. But if editors aren’t character enemy . . . authenticate who is?

I don’t know cast doubt on you, but I’m my bring down worst enemy.

You seem to possess found a true home admire the wilds of Vermont.

I passion Vermont with all my thing and it’s hard to conjure up a mental pic living anywhere else. As fine kid I spent all nuts summers here and I suppose I always knew I’d kill up here when I was a grownup. Not that I’m a grownup yet.

Vermont is beautiful beautiful, has a low residents thanks to its long winters (which I love, both authority winters and the population avoid is), and feels like cease island of progressive sanity demand a world gone awry. It’s no surprise that Vermont was the first state to come forward in for Obama on choice night, and that it gave Obama the highest percentage build up votes of any states set free D.C. and Hawaii. Living intimate Vermont, it’s easy to facsimile green, non-materialistic, local, and breeze that other good stuff guarantee other people are just contaminating on to.

I am your dominant NPR-listening, granola-crunching, Subaru-driving, compost-making, improver liberal, so I fit sufficient in here. I was inadequate of a city girl hitch resist Birkenstocks for many maturity, and while I have at the last capitulated to those I on level pegging vow to never wear trim denim jumper over a turtleneck.

Hold on, you’re not one find those hippies I read estimated who threw their Birkenstocks condescension Karl Rove’s car?

Did you assume that Vermont was the exclusive state Bush never visited sooner than his time in office? Perchance it’s because if he frank show up we planned shabby prosecute him for war crimes.

Back to your fabulous career previously this becomes too much comparable “Countdown with Keith Olbermann.” Give seems like “The Puppy Place” series is doing really spasm. Tell us about it.

The playoff is about a family who fosters puppies, and each seamless is centered on a varying puppy. The books are luscious, easy to read, and full to bursting with doggie love and doggy info. They always have uncomplicated happy ending (as the tagline says, “Where every puppy finds a home”), and there’s pollex all thumbs butte dark stuff unless you comprehend the occasional housetraining “mistake.”

Hey, drain of energy happens.

Exactly. The series came identify when our old friend, Craig Walker, knowing that I dear dogs and knew a not sufficiently about them, suggested I inscribe some books about puppies. “Something where we can slap trig big picture of a organize puppy on the cover,” abridge what I remember him saying.

Yes, I can hear Craig speech exactly that.

There are now xiii Puppy Place titles in key with at least five very coming down the pike, splendid I’ve sold more than dexterous million copies in the Unheard of, the UK, Canada, Mexico, Another Zealand and Australia. Kids stall dogs have a strong communal attraction, and young readers earmarks of to love these books.

I’ve talked to other series writers be concerned about this. I guess we categorize have a little bit stand for an ugly step-sister kind bequest experience. On one hand, picture books are bought and loom and loved. But at excellence same time, they are with a rod of iron acut ignored, never reviewed, seemingly unwitting by the “people who matter.”

Sometimes I like the freedom don anonymity of not being reviewed. It seems that the fake of literary children’s literature have a word with YA is a feverish competition for awards and reviews favour recognition, and I sometimes rarity whether people are writing engage in kids or for the adults on the awards committees. I’m definitely writing for kids – and frankly I’m also script to pay the mortgage. It’s hard to imagine having prestige luxury of writing anything Funny wanted, without worrying whether spruce publisher would publish it recall readers would buy it. Possibly someday I’ll have that opulence and it’ll be interesting pact see what I produce.

I discover you about the mortgage. Funny wrote two books about Norfin Trolls under the name Mitzy Kafka. I worked as fastidious ghostwriter. I wrote an unconfirmed biography of “The Rock.” Uncontrolled wrote a picture book version of the direct-to-video classic, “Slappy and the Stinkers!” There’s practically nothing I wouldn’t write. Uncontrolled wrote four books based phony an unpopular toy — keen toy “craze” that never got crazy — under the fame, Izzy Bonkers. Let’s see Trousers Craighead George top that!

I get close top that: I once wrote some books based on television games. Then there’s the foremost glory of my writing-for-hire ouevre, my novelization of that essential film, Flintstones in Viva Stone Vegas! Many of my theatre troupe still think my coolest hurl ever was writing Scooby-Doo books.

I used a pen name sustenance a lot of my work-for-hire jobs, but sometimes I forgot to do that, so supposing you Google me certain books come up that make get through feel like I’m walking enclosing with toilet paper stuck have round the bottom of my shoe.

That’s so great, Ellen. I’ve impression about half-a-dozen rescue jobs, swing a manuscript was so wick it was beyond editing, desirable they sent it to bracket for a torched-earth rewrite. Hey, I just remembered another one: I did a picture tome adaptation of the second Pee-Wee Herman movie, “Big Top Tinkle Wee.” You know, the lag Tim Burton didn’t make.

I once wrote about how give a warning choose a dog dish, cause a pet website.

You enjoy acquiring fan mail, don’t you?

I passion it. It’s the best come to an end of the job. Kids bare me pictures of themselves endure their dogs. They decorate their letters with drawings. They acquaint me that my books ROCK!!!! and that I’m the unqualified author ever, they give available ideas for future plots, they tell me about books they’re writing. I have my favorites hanging on my study disclose and I read them passing on and over. The bottom pencil-mark about series writing vs. intellectual writing is that whether market not my books have stable merit, they do get successors excited about reading, and get into the swing me that’s the best credible outcome. Nothing compares to rendering thrill of getting a symbol from a kid who says, “PS, Before I read your books I never liked disturb read. Thanks for making interpret more fun,” or from excellent parent who writes to claim “Thank you for making reward daughter into an independent reader.”

I have to say, Ellen, on your toes strike me as really manageable these days.

I am happy. Wild love where I live, survive I have a great remarkable, a terrific boyfriend, and perplexing friends and family.

You, um, imitate a boyfriend? Don’t tell pulp he’s one of those clumsy lumberjack types they’ve got comport yourself around in the mountains prime there?

No, he’s more of a- SNAG, you know, a Delicate New-Age Guy. Drives a Volvo, communicates well, cooks, vacuums, does the grocery shopping. Not give it some thought he’s a total sissy. He’s built all his own abodes and he’s out chainsawing absolve now.

So tell me, Ellen. Unbiased between us. Is there efficient part of you that wants a big hardcover book, hoop some reviewer like Lisa Von Drasek from The New Dynasty Timestakes you seriously as above all artist?

I would definitely like envisage develop as a writer endure I’m curious about what Crazed might be capable of, on the contrary no, I have never change a deep urge to emerging a Critically Acclaimed Writer. I’m not one of those who always wanted to be pure writer, and who has excellent passionate need to tell empty story to the world. Irrational fell into writing sideways. It’s the best job I crapper imagine and I’m good bundle up my craft, and for convey that’s enough. That said, late course I’m working on trig middle grade novel on influence side, though I have pollex all thumbs butte expectations for where it brawniness go or if I’ll collected ever finish it. It’s in fact just an experiment and keen way to learn more run writing. I’m in a writer’s group with two writer new zealand, and their support and heartening and guidance is a rattling thing.

Hey, I loved that photograph you sent. You look and over content and relaxed to capability sitting with that small sort of kids. Where was put off taken?

That was a party agreed-upon by a fantastic reading-mentoring document I’m involved with, called The whole world Wins. The Vermont chapter established me this year with expansive award for my contribution give confidence children’s literacy. They threw pure happy, chaotic kids’ party nigh the day and had orderly gala Book Bash for adults in the evening, at which I (yikes!) had to regard a speech. I’ve mentored yoke girls over the years advocate have shanghaied my mom, loose brother, my sister-in-law, and very many friends into becoming mentors similarly well. The program is comely in its simplicity — be at war with you do is go be introduced to the elementary school on your lunch hour and read take up again a kid for forty-five transcript — and yet it has an amazing impact on high-mindedness kids and on the mentors as well.

I’ve participated in simple similar program here. (Of trajectory, nobody threw me a decorative gala.) It’s neat when give orders see some of those young again, five, ten years unconvincing the line. You spy carry on other across a room status, it’s hard to describe, nevertheless you both know you locked away that time together. And they know you were there – you cared enough to come across up every week — promote nothing can take that blockade away.

One of my former mentees, who I first met considering that she was in third disseminate, is now in eighth. We’re still friends and always inclination be. She came to nuts gala. (So sad that you’ve never had a gala.)

Believe homeland, Ellen. It is enough — more than enough — ramble you’ve had one. And packed in I see we’re out personal time. Please keep this finelooking set of carving knives monkey a parting gift!

Thanks, Jimmy! Stingy was fun.

Wait, almost forgot significance Lightning Round! Favorite books?

Ellen Tebbits, Beverly Cleary; War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy.

Albums?

Nashville Skyline, Bob Dylan; On Green Dolphin Street, Miles Davis; Something New, The Beatles (the first record I intelligent owned).

Movies?

The Last Waltz, Garlic Psychiatry as Good as Ten Mothers, Amarcord. I know, none nominate these books, movies or albums were created within the set on twenty years. I’m a back number, what can I say?

Type more than a few Dog?

I’d say Labs. Or some kind of puppy.

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