Hi Cassandra and fellow book lovers!
Cassandra, thanks so much for interviewing me as
part of the blog tour for our new children’s book, All is Assuredly Well.
With
the tendency for authors to have many favorite books, what’s a favorite book of
yours?
Oh my. That’s
like asking what my favorite dessert is.
Today it’s custard pie (and I have one in the oven right now!) eaten
with a spoon. Tomorrow, it might be
thinly-sliced banana with heavy cream and cinnamon served in a crystal stemmed
dessert glass. The next day, maybe it’s
pecan pie cooked until the pecans are caramelized, the pecans eaten first with
my fingers.
If I have to pick only one book, today I’ll say
John Irwin’s A Prayer for Owen Meany. But I have to tell you that I got spanked twice
in eighth grade for hiding a copy of Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield behind my science textbook during class. So in some respects, that will always be my
favorite book because I had to pay a high price for reading it.
Besides
reading/writing, what do you like to do for fun?
From reading your marvelous book, A Beautiful Girl, I assume that you’re a
musician. I’m a musician, too, who has
played clarinet off and on for 55 years.
For the last five years since I retired, I have played in two bands
every week, the celebrated Hot Springs Concert Band (an audition-only
organization) and Hot Springs New Horizons Band (a no-audition band for less
skilled musicians). And like paying a
price for reading David Copperfield,
I had to pay a price to play clarinet.
My dad put my brother in band when my brother was
in fifth grade and I in second. I said
wanted to be in band when I got to fifth grade, too, but my dad said no, that
band was for boys. My dad said that
piano was a more appropriate musical aspiration for a girl than band was.
I continued to beg to be allowed to be in band, so
Daddy said that if I completed two
years of piano, he would consider
letting me study either clarinet or flute privately (those being the only two
instruments appropriate for a girl to play if she were to play in band). Then,
if after six months of instruction, my private teacher recommended it, my dad
would consider letting me join band.
So from January of fourth grade through December
of sixth grade, I took piano from the most uninspiring teacher imaginable, but
the one who was my lawyer-daddy’s client, so the only one he would
consider. I’d completed my end of the
contract; therefore, for Christmas, my parents gave me a used clarinet, and on
January 4, 1964 at 11:30 in the morning, Daddy took me to the junior high band
hall and enrolled me in private lessons with Maestro Wilson, who became like a
second father to me, and is my co-author on this book.
He strongly recommended to my father that I be
allowed to start band in seventh grade, so I did, two years behind my band
peers. I hated being the only kid in
seventh grade band who had never been in band, didn’t know how it worked, what
to do. Heck, I didn’t even know that you
had assigned seating based on tryouts! I
didn’t know how to follow a conductor because I had only studied privately. I was a whiz at reading music because I’d had
two years of piano, and six months of private clarinet lessons, but I was a
stranger in a strange land as far as band went, and yet I knew I’d found my
tribe.
What/Who
inspired you to write?
Nobody inspired me to write. I’m a writer.
Writing is what I do. It’s who I
am. But Maestro Wilson was first to
recognize my talent as a wordsmith and encourage it. Because I came from a family of
literati/public speakers/writers, nobody thought my verbal talents
exceptional. But Maestro Wilson saw that
compared to my peers, my verbal skills were exceptional, so he encouraged them
by playing word games with me when I was hanging around the band hall with the
other kids after school.
How
many projects have you completed/published?
I was a college professor for 20 years, and a
public school teacher for 16. As a
professor, I wrote or was the first author of five books for teachers and
parents, one of which was translated into French. I was a major or minor contributor to other
books on education.
When I retired, my five books in English were
shelved in more than 1,200 libraries around the world on every continent except
Antarctica.
Years ago I was published in Western Horseman, Farm Woman News, etc.
I frequently write short stories, and when I was
submitting them to contests, did well. The first national contest I placed in
was decades ago in The American Kennel
Club Gazette. I won second place in a national competition on WOW
Women-on-Writing a couple of years ago. http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/67-FE1-Summer15Contest.html
I was sick and crazy on prescription cold
medication when WOW asked me to send a photo immediately, so I had my friend
take my picture without thinking about how I looked. My eyes looked wild from the medication, and
my hair was so crazy that someone put my picture up on Pintrest under BAD
HAIR. I’m still laughing.
What
are their genres?
The previous books are all non-fiction for parents
and teachers. Our new book, All is Assuredly Well, is a picture book,
a fairytale bedtime story for the children of same-sex parents, although we
hope that many parents will want to share it with their children to show that
families come in many forms.
What’s
your most/least favorite thing about being a writer?
I love writing fiction because it allows me to
live a thousand lives and transcend time and space. Be a human, or an alien, or
an octopus if I want. In fact, I have
been an octopus in a book for adults that I haven’t found an agent for yet.
Most hated? The lousy, rotten, sucky internet service
where I live.
What
do you consider as the biggest lesson learned from being a published writer?
Some people will love what you write. Some people will hate it. Write anyway.
Any
final words?
For writers?
The unoriginal “Put your butt in the chair and your fingers on the
keyboard.”
For parents of young children? Buy our book and read it to your child at
bedtime. Teach them that families come
in every form imaginable. Love, not
shared DNA, makes a family.
Where
can readers find your writings? (online and brick/mortar bookstores)
Right now, All
is Assuredly Well is available in paper and as an e-book on Amazon. (For a
limited time, it’s on Amazon Unlimited.)
Because we won a Kirkus star, I’m told that we’ll end up in brick/mortar
stores and libraries in time. We’ll see.
Where
can fans find you online? (Give links to social media, web site, etc.)
I have a wonderful marketing director who runs our
website, www.allisassuredlywell.com
or www.childrenslgbtbooks.com Both are the same site.
We’re also on Facebook, so search for us there. Dannet’s also set us up with a Twitter and
Youtube accounts, but we haven’t done anything with them yet.
Thank you so much, Cassandra, for hosting us on
our blog tour!
Professor Gore (AKA Millie)
Professor M. C. Gore holds the doctorate in
education from the University of Arkansas.
She taught first grade through graduate school for 36 years in New
Mexico, Missouri, and Texas. She was a
professional horse wrangler and wilderness guide and continues to play clarinet
in two community bands. She is Professor
Emeritus from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas where she
held two distinguished professorships. Her books for teachers and parents are
shelved in over a thousand libraries throughout the world. She is retired and lives in Hot Springs
Village, Arkansas.
Maestro Phillip Wilson was a public-school band
director, music teacher, composer, and arranger for 28 years. His primary instrument is the trumpet, and he
is also a campañero (bell ringer).
Although he is over 80, he continues to serve as Music Director and Cantor at
his church. He is a life-long resident
of New Mexico and was born in Santa Fe. Although his genotype is Dutch and
Scotch-Irish, his soul is Hispanic. He
was Professor Gore’s music teacher and band director, and although the loving
biological father of seven musical children, he is a soul-father of the
hundreds of students he has taught.
Artist Angie F. M. Trotter holds a BA in Religion
and Fine Art. Her pen and ink illustrations are a fusion of icons, illuminated
manuscripts, stained glass window design, and her spiritual life. She is also a
chronic migraine suffer and her art helps calm her symptoms. Her mother was a
folk artist; her father was an architect and fine artist, so she has been
surrounded by art her whole life. Her work has been compared to the masters of
the Golden Age of British book illustration.
She lives in Arkansas.
Book
Summary
King Phillip the Good and his husband, The Most Excellent Don Carlos Emiliano Felipe de Compañero y Campañero, live sedate, uneventful lives until King Phillip dreams of having a baby girl. Structured around The Hero's Journey, King Phillip must follow his mentor, the Blue Star, and encounter allies (a newt and a bluejay) and overcome gatekeepers (a biting fish and a bear) as he completes a series of tasks to prove himself worthy of becoming a father. Once proven, the Blue Star presents him with a baby girl in the middle of a fairy circle of a thousand different flowers in a thousand brilliant hues. He returns home to present Baby Milliflora to his husband, and the loving husbands joyfully become loving fathers.
Genre: Children’s
Books
Publisher: Camille
Lancaster Literary Children’s Books
ISBN:
978-0-9998880-0-1
About the author, Professor Gore
Professor Gore's proudest hours were spent in Federal Court
testifying as an expert witness and plaintiff against the city she loved. The
city commission had passed an amendment that banned Heather Has Two
Mommies and Daddy's Roommate from the children's
section of the public library. A storyteller, Professor Gore is delighted to
contribute to the canon she once defended.
About
the Author, Maestro Wilson
Co-author Maestro Phillip Wilson is a retired band director, music teacher, composer, and arranger. A poet at heart, his love for word play and ear for rhythm and meter lend themselves well to the lyrical art of storytelling.
About
the Illustrator, Angie F. M. Trotter
Artist Angie F. M. Trotter holds a BA in Religion and Fine Art. Her pen and ink illustrations are an amalgamation of icons, illuminated manuscripts, stained glass window design, and her spiritual life. Her work has been compared to the masters of the Golden Age of British book illustration.
You can find more about All is Assuredly Well and
the authors and the illustrator online:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AssuredlyWell
-
Blog Tour Dates (in Chronological Order)
July 2nd @ The
Muffin
Grab a morning treat
over at Women on Writing's blog The Muffin and read our interview author
Professor M.C. Gore and enter to win a copy of the book All is
Assuredly Well.
July 3rd @ Mari's
#JournalingPower Blog
Author Professor M.C.
Gore will be a guest writer over at Mari's #JournalingPower blog where she
talks about writing the hero's journey.
July 5th @ Mommy
Daze: Say What??
Come by Ashley's blog Mommy
Daze: Say What?? where she shares her thoughts on Professor Gore and Maestro
Wilson's book All is Assuredly Well.
July 6th @ Coffee With
Lacey
Get your coffee over at
Lacey's blog Coffee With Lacey where she shares her thoughts on the book All
is Assuredly Well.
July 7th @ Cassandra's Journey
Stop by Cassandra's blog where she interviews author Professor Gore about her book All is Assuredly Well.
http://cassandraulrich.blogspot.com/
July 8th @ Madeline
Sharples Blog
Author Professor Gore is
a guest writer over at Madeline Sharples blog where she shares her thoughts on
alchemical literature and how it affects her thinking as a writer.
July 9th @ Bri's Book
Nook
Stop by Briennai's
blog Bri's Book Nook where reviews Professor Gore and Maestro Wilson's
book All is Assuredly Well.
July 10th @ Break
Even Books
Come by Erik McManus'
blog Break Even Books to find out what he had to say about the book All
is Assuredly Well.
https://breakevenbooks.com/
July 10th @ Georgia Ball's Author Blog
Come by Georgia's blog where she features a blog post written by Professor Gore about how the author found her illustrator and who she is.
http://georgiaballauthor.com/category/book-review/
https://breakevenbooks.com/
July 10th @ Georgia Ball's Author Blog
Come by Georgia's blog where she features a blog post written by Professor Gore about how the author found her illustrator and who she is.
http://georgiaballauthor.com/category/book-review/
July 12th @ Mommy
Daze: Say What??
Professor M.C. Gore will
be a guest writer over at Ashley's blog Mommy Daze: Say What?? where
the author describes her experience on the witness stand as an expert witness
when the city of Wichita Falls, Texas banned Heather Has Two Mommies and Daddy's
Roommate.
http://adayinthelifeofmom.com/
July 12th @ George Ball's Author Blog
Come by George Ball's blog where she shares her thoughts about Professor Gore & Maestro Wilson's book All is Assuredly Well.
http://georgiaballauthor.com/category/book-review/
July 12th @ George Ball's Author Blog
Come by George Ball's blog where she shares her thoughts about Professor Gore & Maestro Wilson's book All is Assuredly Well.
http://georgiaballauthor.com/category/book-review/
July 14th @ A Storybook
World
Professor Gore is a
guest writer over at Dierdra's blog A Storybook World and she'll be writing
about how her local writers’ club convinced her to self-publish, and
why/how she started her own micro-publishing company (including how a MAJOR
publishing company editor she pitched to told her that she would buy the
manuscript, but not the illustrations because she had a “completely different
vision” for the book).
July 15th @ The Late
Bloomers Blog
Come by Gigi's blog The
Late Bloomers blog where she shares her thoughts on Professsor Gore and Maestro
Wilson's book All is Assuredly Well.
http://thelatebloomersbookblog.blogspot.com/
July 16th @ Auden Johnson's Blog
Stop by Auden Johnson blog to read Professor Gore's guest post on her supernatural experience involving her Advanced Graduate Statistics professor and how that relates to this book.
https://www.audenjohnson.com/
July 17th @ Coffee With Lacey
Come by Lacey's blog and read her interview with Professor Gore, one of the authors for All is Assuredly Well as well as with the illustrator of the series, Angie F. M. Trotter.
http://www.coffeewithlacey.wordpress.com/
July 16th @ Auden Johnson's Blog
Stop by Auden Johnson blog to read Professor Gore's guest post on her supernatural experience involving her Advanced Graduate Statistics professor and how that relates to this book.
https://www.audenjohnson.com/
July 17th @ Coffee With Lacey
Come by Lacey's blog and read her interview with Professor Gore, one of the authors for All is Assuredly Well as well as with the illustrator of the series, Angie F. M. Trotter.
http://www.coffeewithlacey.wordpress.com/
July 19th @ The Writing
Dreamer
Come by Jessica's blog where Professor Gore will be a guest writer and will be talking about how a workshop on screenwriting made her a better story writer.
http://wolfdreamer25-myjourney.blogspot.com
July 22nd @ Just a Place to Drop My Thoughts
Stephanie will be reviewing Professor Gore & Maestro Wilson's book All is Assuredly Well. Come by and see what she thought about this impactful book!
https://stephaniemathis.blogspot.com/
July 23rd @ Cassandra's Writing World
Check out Cassandra's blog to find out her thoughts on Professor Gore & Maestro Wilson's book All is Assuredly Well. Professor Gore will also be discussing her thoughts on why attending conferences and workshops are worth the money (and how to make the best use of your time at one).
http://cassandra-mywritingworld.blogspot.com/?m=0
July 24th @ Author Anthony Avina Blog
Come by Anthony Avina's blog where he shares his thoughts on Professor Gore & Maestro Wilson's book All is Assuredly Well.
https://authoranthonyavinablog.com/
July 26th @ Author Anthony Avina Blog
Check out Anthony Avina's blog where he will be sharing Professor Gore's guest post on why she
selected Maestro Wilson as her co-author and how they worked together.
https://authoranthonyavinablog.com/
July 27th @ The Faerie Review
Come by Lily Shadowlyn's blog The Faerie Review where she reviews the book All is Assuredly Well.
www.thefaeriereview.com
Come by Jessica's blog where Professor Gore will be a guest writer and will be talking about how a workshop on screenwriting made her a better story writer.
http://wolfdreamer25-myjourney.blogspot.com
July 22nd @ Just a Place to Drop My Thoughts
Stephanie will be reviewing Professor Gore & Maestro Wilson's book All is Assuredly Well. Come by and see what she thought about this impactful book!
https://stephaniemathis.blogspot.com/
July 23rd @ Cassandra's Writing World
Check out Cassandra's blog to find out her thoughts on Professor Gore & Maestro Wilson's book All is Assuredly Well. Professor Gore will also be discussing her thoughts on why attending conferences and workshops are worth the money (and how to make the best use of your time at one).
http://cassandra-mywritingworld.blogspot.com/?m=0
July 24th @ Author Anthony Avina Blog
Come by Anthony Avina's blog where he shares his thoughts on Professor Gore & Maestro Wilson's book All is Assuredly Well.
https://authoranthonyavinablog.com/
July 26th @ Author Anthony Avina Blog
Check out Anthony Avina's blog where he will be sharing Professor Gore's guest post on why she
selected Maestro Wilson as her co-author and how they worked together.
https://authoranthonyavinablog.com/
July 27th @ The Faerie Review
Come by Lily Shadowlyn's blog The Faerie Review where she reviews the book All is Assuredly Well.
www.thefaeriereview.com
July 28th @ The Faerie
Review
Make sure to catch
Lily's interview with author Professor Gore, one of the co-authors of All
is Assuredly Well.
www.thefaeriereview.com
July 30th @ Books and Motivation
Come by Prakash Vir Sharma blog and read his interview with author Professor Gore.
www.booksandmotivation.wordpress.com
July 30th @ The Faerie Review
Come by Lily's blog where author Professor Gore writes about fighting academic freedom after a student complained about Professor Gore's class material about LGBQT class material.
www.thefaeriereview.com
July 30th @ Books and Motivation
Come by Prakash Vir Sharma blog and read his interview with author Professor Gore.
www.booksandmotivation.wordpress.com
July 30th @ The Faerie Review
Come by Lily's blog where author Professor Gore writes about fighting academic freedom after a student complained about Professor Gore's class material about LGBQT class material.
www.thefaeriereview.com
