Welcome Author/Publisher VS Grenier

VS Grenier is an Award-winning author & editor with over 30 short stories, articles, and crafts for children along with newsletter articles for writers. She also has multiple titles published in the Best of Stories for Children Magazine Volume 1 anthology. She learned how to hone her writing skills at the Institute of Children’s Literature. She’s also the Editor-in-Chief of Stories for Children Magazine.


ATTENTION!!! KATHY, I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER YOUR READERS TWO FREE BACK ISSUES OF STORIES FOR CHILDREN MAGAZINE ALONG WITH THE EDUCATOR'S PAGES THAT GO WITH THEM. IF THEY EMAIL ME AT vsgrenier@storiesforchildrenpublishing.com WITH "FREE-SFCMag/Ed" IN THE SUBJECT LINE, I'LL SEND THEM THE SEPTEMBER 2009 AND OCTOBER 2009 ISSUES.
Thank you, Virginia, I know my readers will love them. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

First Kathy, I want to thank you for having me on your blog. Well . . . I live in Southern Utah about 2 hours north of Las Vegas. So, if I ever get tired looking at all the red mountains or the laid-back life style, I can hop in my car and head to one of the cities that never sleep for some fun. Let’s see . . . I have been married for almost eight years. I also have three beautiful children ranging in age from fourteen to six months old. J The kids keep me very busy.

What tips can you give parents looking to share the love of reading and writing with their children?

· Visit the library often. Let your child pick out her own books.
· Ask your librarian to suggest favorites.
· Make book time a special time just for you and your little one.
· Let your child see you reading.
· Stop for a while if your child loses interest or gets upset. Reading should always be enjoyable.

Children who enjoy books will want to learn how to read and write!

Children learn new words by doing things with you, like talking with you. Talk about how things work, feelings, and ideas.

Reading informational books on subjects your children like helps increase their vocabulary. Children with bigger vocabularies become better readers and can more quickly understand the meaning of words in context.

The first words children learn to write often have emotional content. Ignore the niceties of spelling and penmanship . . . for now, at least. The mechanics of writing are taught in elementary school and if your little one isn’t learning this in school yet, don’t worry about it. If they are, then get a children’s dictionary and look up a few of the words together. Pointing out mistakes may make a preschooler or young elementary student self-conscious and reluctant to write.

What was the first thing you ever had published?

A short story about my father as a kid called Flying Upside Down. It was published in the Ezine Fandangle Magazine back in 2006.

Can you share with us a little about your most recent book?

My most recent book is Babysitting SugarPaw. This is also my first picture book. It’s a picture book about a little bear named SugarPaw who hopes to get rid of his babysitter, Bonnie Whiskers, by getting her into trouble after making changes to his rules chart. As this loving story unfolds, SugarPaw learns about honesty and friendship.

Babysitting SugarPaw, with its child-centered plot on getting to know others, is the perfect book for little ones scared of being left alone with a babysitter for the first time and is endorsed by MommyPR.com. You can read the review at http://www.mommypr.com/index.php/2009/08/babysitting-sugarpaw-book-review-giveaway/
Your readers can find out more about Babysitting SugarPaw at http://vsgrenier.com/BabysittingSugarPaw.aspx

Take a Look at the Trailer!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

What prompted you to start Stories for Children Magazine?

Stories for Children Magazine was going to be a hobby of mine as I worked on my own writing. I thought it would be fun to have a free site where parents, children, teachers, and librarians could come and read some stories, crafts, articles, and poems. Of course, like all my hobbies, Stories for Children Magazine took on a life of its own and has become the Ezine everyone knows today. It is also now one of many divisions to the parent company, Stories for Children Publishing, LLC.


To learn more about Stanley Bookman, the SFC mascot in the World of Ink visit us at http://storiesforchildrenmagazine.org. The magazine is on hiatus until April 2011, but we have book reviews, tips, fun links, and some other free stuff currently on the site.

Do you have any other works in progress?

I have two picture books and two YA novels I’m working on in whatever spare time I get throughout the week. One of the picture books is almost ready for submission. It’s about a little girl who can’t whistle. The story is based off my childhood. The others are still being fine-tuned so I don’t want to say anything about them in case I make some major changes.

What would we be surprised to learn about you?

I went to college to be a fashion buyer and did that for just over 10 years before giving it up to stay home with my children. I’ve worked for some really interesting places like Motherhood Maternity, Frederick’s of Hollywood, Hot Topic, Inc. (I opened the first 5 Torrid stores and helped design them.), L’Occitane, and Brighten Collectibles to name a few.

For those who love to write and want to learn, they can visit our newest site Stories for Children Publishing, LLC at http://storiesforchildrenpublishing.com. Your readers can also sign up for our FREE newsletter, SFC Newsletter for Writers which is sent out monthly and is full of articles on writing, markets, contest, workshops, conference, and much much more. It was voted one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers in 2009 by Writer’s Digest.

If your readers would like to learn more about my writing services, school visits, and books . . . they can visit me at http://vsgrenier.com.

And lastly, there is the SFC: Families Matter blog at http://familiesmatter2us.blogspot.com/

Thank you for visiting us today, Virginia. You are a very creative and productive author. We look forward to your future books and magazines.

Kathy, it was a pleasure sharing Babysitting SugarPaw, my writing, and Stories for Children Publishing with you and your readers.

TOMORROW'S TOUR STOP: Nancy Famolari is featuring Robert Medak

Kathy Stemke's websites:
Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#http://www.helium.com/users/406242.htmlhttp://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.htmlhttp://kathystemke.weebly.comFollow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/kathystemkeFollow me on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=6147172660&topic=4910#!/kathymarescomatthews.stemke?ref=profile