Three Times A Charm With Nancy Sharpe

Three Times a Charm is a weekly feature that spotlights authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the publishing industry.

This week children’s author, Nancy Sharpe, who joins us to talk about her newest release, a picture book called, If Wishes Were Fishes. Let’s learn a little about Nancy:

N.A. Sharpe was born in Wilmington, Delaware and attended the University of Delaware studying Psychology and Elementary Education.  She is a single mom and currently lives in central Florida with her son and three dogs, Xena (a German Shepherd), NaNu (a Morkie) and Figment (a Yorkie).

Throughout high school and college, she volunteered in the elementary school system, and, after receiving her degree, taught autistic and schizophrenic children in a private school in Pennsylvania for five years before moving on to an administrative career. 

She has always had a deep rooted love of storytelling and children's literature. This is her first picture book. She has one fantasy book published and is currently writing a Young Adult fantasy adventure series in collaboration with her son.

Wow, Nancy, I’ve known you for a number of years now and I didn’t know you worked with authistic and schizophrenic children. That’s really admirable.

Tell us more about your newest release, If Wishes Were Fishes.

JT Trumanowski is a six-year old with a BIG problem…his grandparents! How do you survive a whole weekend alone with them when you do exactly what they say and still end up in so much trouble?!

            JT adores his grandparents and is thrilled to be invited to spend the weekend with them. He tries hard to follow their requests to a “T” with one disastrously humorous result after another. “Why can’t they just say what they mean?” he wonders. Talk about a failure to communicate! Join JT as he discovers people may mean what they say, they just don’t always say what they mean…clearly.

If Wishes Were Fishes, from 4RV Publishing is my first picture book. It is illustrated by the very talented Ginger Nielson and was awarded second place in the Preditors and Editors readers’ poll. I am very excited to announce this book has recently been released in Kindle and Nook format for those who prefer their books electronically, and, of course, is available in paperback format on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and bookstores everywhere. I am more than happy to send autographed bookplates for readers who would like to have them.

Now, for the Threes. Share with us your top 3’s to help us know you a little better.

·    Top 3 pieces of advice for people just starting in your business.
           
* Read. Really, read as much as possible to keep up with current trends.
            *Write. It’s fun, helps to build good writing practices and develops your natural voice. Take the opportunity to think outside the box - occasionally stray away             from your comfort zone and try something new - a different genre, a different             point of view. It keeps things fresh and, who knows, you may find a new niche or             genre that you enjoy.
      *Workshops. I love workshops - you can always learn something new. I particularly like online workshops - the internet is an amazing place that can open up new horizons and networking opportunities. One of my favorite sources is the Muse Online Writing Conference. It’s in October, it’s free, and extremely fun. I highly recommend this conference. (You must pre-register) It’s a great experience with many wonderful opportunities to network and learn no matter what stage your career is at - hopefully I’ll see you there!

·    Top 3 snacks to munch on while working.
           
* I absolutely must have a nice tall glass of sweet iced tea to sip on while working.
            * My favorite crunchy snack is popcorn.
            * My favorite sweet snack is chocolate, mmmmm chocolate what can I say … <3

·    Top 3 leisure activities.
           
* I love fantasy and read and write as much as I can.
* I love to visit the theme parks and have fun with the attractions, shows, parades, and all the other fans.
* Movies. I love storytelling in all its forms and get lost in a good movie.
           
Oh my gosh, recently I came to the conclusion that I love the old rock group Kansas because of the storytelling in their songs. Point of No Return, Portrait (one of my all time faves!), Carry On Wayward Son…all really good stories!

Where can our readers learn more about you, If Wishes Were Fishes and your other published work?

My author site:  NA Sharpe
My fun site:         The Cybrarie
My blogs:           Realms of Thought     and    The Cybrarian’s Book Reviews
Facebook:          NASharpe
Email:                 NASharpe@yahoo.com

If Wishes Were Fishes is available at:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Books a Million

Nancy, thank you for visiting Strands of Thought and sharing more of YOU and Fishes with us. I hope your writing finds its way into the hands of readers everywhere!

THANKS!

Comments

  1. N A SharpeAugust 24, 2011 at 5:10 PM

    Kai, thank you so much. It's been a lot of fun and I really appreciate it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Linda Jo MartinAugust 24, 2011 at 6:30 PM

    Fascinating! I loved reading about you, Nancy!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beverly Stowe McClureAugust 24, 2011 at 6:48 PM

    It's so much fun to learn more about you, Nancy. The iced tea and chocolate sound yummy, except I drink my tea straight, no sweetener. :)

    And I'm waiting to read your next book.

    ReplyDelete
  4. N A SharpeAugust 24, 2011 at 7:25 PM

    It's funny, I think sweet tea is a geographical thing. When we lived in California it seemed like everyone drank it without sweetener or with fruit flavoring. I loved Cali but couldn't wait to get back to Florida for sweet tea, lol.

    Thanks, Bev. I have a couple of projects I'm working on. By the way, I loved Frankie! Can't wait for your next release.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Aidana WillowRavenAugust 24, 2011 at 7:59 PM

    I don't know. In PA, Virginia, Texas, and Memphis sweet tea is a standard beverage. Maybe it was just a Cali thing?

    Great interview. It was fun!

    ReplyDelete
  6. N A SharpeAugust 24, 2011 at 8:13 PM

    Thanks for stopping Linda and Aidana - I appreciate it. Thanks so much for having me Kai

    Maybe it is just a Cali thing, lol at any rate, I definitely love my sweet tea!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kai Strand, AuthorAugust 24, 2011 at 8:59 PM

    Nancy, it's a pleasure having you here! Funny thing about sweet tea. I grew up in Wisconsin, moved to California. Never heard of the stuff. Got a job for a company that sent me to Georgia for 2 mths for training. The first time I went to lunch with a girl who ordered "sweet tea" I was like "what?" Her accent was so strong I couldn't even make out what she was ordering. A girl with a softer drawl told me what it was. Then I tasted it. Not my thing, Nancy. WAY too sweet. Very regional, I think.

    Thanks for stopping in Beverly, Linda and Aidana. Always great to hear from you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Vivian ZabelAugust 25, 2011 at 8:09 AM

    One place not mentioned where this book can be found is the 4RV Bookstore: http://4rvpublishingcatalog.yolasite.com.

    Great interview.

    ReplyDelete
  9. N A SharpeAugust 25, 2011 at 9:45 AM

    Thanks Vivian, I am so sorry for that slip. There are so many great books published through 4RV and available on their site - I have read many of the books from fellow 4RV authors and can honestly give a very high recommendation. This is great place to shop for any of your book needs, there is definitely something for everyone...and Christmas is coming, lol!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Kai Strand, AuthorAugust 25, 2011 at 11:37 AM

    Thanks for mentioning that, Vivian. Probably the best place to get it too! I've read several 4RV books and am impressed with the quality of them.

    ReplyDelete

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