DAWN:
Thank you Gail, for offering me the chance for this interview. I have been a
member of SinC for about 4 years. I tried to arrange speakers who would be of
interest to both writers and readers, not necessarily on the subject of
mysteries, although we did have those. We do have members who write other
genres; hopefully all our members found the speakers interesting.
GAIL:
You are employed with
the Hawaii State Library in Honolulu. In March, you coordinated a special program for the writers's groups on O'ahu and moderated the talks for each group. What experience or education led you to a
position as a librarian?
DAWN: I
had worked in libraries for about seven years before I returned to school to
obtain my masters in library studies. This degree is necessary to become a
librarian.
GAIL:
Changing trends in the
publishing industry has led to an explosion of independent and self-published
authors, in print and electronic format. How has this evolution affected the
library system?
DAWN:
The change in the publishing industry has changed the library scene. For
instance in the Serials Section, where I work, we have many electronic
databases. These are available to all libraries in the Hawaii State Library
System. Some of the databases have full-text articles, and because of this
availability, the trend is not to have so many hard copy periodicals. Of
course, the downsized budget also influenced the number of periodicals
available.
Self-published
authors may find it difficult to get their books into libraries because librarians
like to order from wholesalers or distribution companies. Ordering this way
means many titles may go on one order and this saves paperwork. It is therefore
essential for self-publishers to get their books to a distributor. This is
particularly true for print-on-demand.
GAIL:
As the author of a
children’s book, The Hawaiian Christmas
Tree, what was your experience with writing and publishing your first book?
DAWN: It
was an awesome experience because I knew nothing about writing or publishing. After
I finished the story, The Hawaiian
Christmas Tree, I submitted it to Island Heritage, and they offered me a
contract to place my story in a collection of Christmas stories for children. I
felt my story should stand alone so I refused, but I would have made more money
if I had accepted their offer. I decided to self-publish, but then had to find
the necessary people to fill the roles of editor, artist, book designer, plus a
company to print it. This was before print-on-demand. I found a teacher who
checked in as editor. I went on a search for an illustrator and came across a
print by Susan Brooks in a shop. I actually went to this shop to look at
another artist’s work, but it was too much use of caricature. I felt Hawaiians
were already depicted too much in this way.
When
I saw Susan Brooks print of a beautiful proud Hawaiian woman, I knew I had
found the artist for my book. I asked Susan to please create a child’s face
similar to the young women in the print. This she did and I loved it so much I
put it on the cover of the book. She made about twelve illustrations for the
book, and I was very pleased with her work.
Jim
Rumsford put me on to Dick Lyday, a representative for a company in China for
printing, and Dick gave me the name of my book designer, Bud Linschoten. The whole process took quite a time, but I
was pleased with the final results and the book has been a success.
GAIL:
With the success of your first book, you continued writing, though your current Work in Progress involves a genre
distinctly different from children’s literature. Can you share details of the
story and your research process?
DAWN:
The title for my latest novel is Journey to Mecca and it takes place,
for the most part, in Arabia in the 1850’s. It is a fictionalized version of a
true story: Richard Burton’s adventure, traveling to Medina and Mecca disguised
as a Moslem. If discovered he would have been put to death.
This
man had an adventurous life and at first I was going to write about his entire
life, but I found it was too much, so I concentrated on his venture into Mecca.
I read his biography, Rage to Live, then I read his own writings. He was
a prolific writer and he spoke twenty-eight languages. I became fascinated with
this man more than twenty years ago when I watched a program on PBS.
I write children's books under the name Dawn
Adrienne. I rewrote the book THE HAWAIIAN CHRISTMAS TREE in
the form of a play. I did this for use in classroom so teachers could produce
their own little play.
Both the JOURNEY TO MECCA and THE HAWAIIAN
CHRISTMAS TREE are historical novels.
GAIL:
Journey to Mecca has a fascinating story line that I look forward to reading.
Thank you for visiting today, Dawn, and for sharing information about your
work, both as a librarian and as an author.
Sisters
in Crime/Hawaii meets most third Wednesdays of the month. Announcements of
meeting can be found in the Honolulu Star Advertiser and at the SinC/Hawaii
website:
http://www.sistersincrimehawaii.org/index.html
We
also have a new Facebook page where upcoming events announcements and
discussions take place daily. Please visit us at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/230590617061379/
and
“Like” us at:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/SinC-Hawaii/417953084915351
Also,
please plan to attend a meeting soon at:
The
Makiki Community Library on Ke’eaumoku Street in Honolulu
