Review by Lu Ann Staheli. Original review at luannsbookreview.blogspot.com used with permission

Recently I had the opportunity to interview author Tamra Norton, whose previous novel, Make Me a Memory, was selected by the Utah Commission on Literacy as the state’s prestigious ‘Book of the Month’ for April 2006. This time, our topic of conversation was her new book, a sequel to that previous one, titled Make Me a Home.

Make Me a Home is the story of sixth-grader Allie Claybrook, who is the new kid at Edna Elementary School after she and her Mom move to Grandma’s while Allie’s dad is deployed in Iraq. When another new girl comes to town, Allie works to become her best friend, giving them a united front against the most popular girl in their class and her mean friends.

Norton tells me, “Allie is a combination of so many people. Her name came from my youngest daughter (I borrow a lot of names for my writing). Allie is also part of me, as all of my main characters are. I always write first person to really get into the head of my main characters, and a little (or sometimes a lot) of me always comes out—often personality traits. But most of all, I’d like to think that Allie is every child who has had to go through some sort of separation from a parent.

Even though Allie is a fictional character, Norton says she still does some research to get the character and the experiences just right, although she bases many of Allie’s experiences on how Norton thinks she would feel if she were separated from someone she loved. “These military families aren’t super-human,” she adds. “They are like you and me—they laugh and cry, and they worry about the ones they love. They have been given a unique set of circumstances and must deal with them every day.”

“Over the past few years, through school visits and email exchanges regarding both books, I’ve had the honor of meeting many children dealing with the deployment of a loved one,” Norton says. “I am constantly amazed and humbled by these strong and resilient children. Through this difficult situation, they courageously carry on, much like their deployed parent.” The story idea itself originated while Norton was watching the news. “I was sitting in my Houston suburb family room watching TV as a military group based at Fort Hood near Killeen, TX, was being deployed to Iraq for a year. I watched as these families said good-bye. I saw children hugging their soldier-fathers or mothers for the last time in an entire year—they were crying, I was crying, and I instantly knew there was a story to tell. . . from the home front. How would these children be doing a week, month, or six months? A story was born.” When asked if there will be more books about Allie, Norton says, “When I talk to children—especially military children—who have read the stories, they’d really like to see more. Because their lives are so mobile, they’d like to see Allie move to various Army bases around the country. They’ve also told me though, that they’d like to see Allie return to Edna, Idaho—perhaps to visit her grandma for a summer so she can reunite with characters such as Ivy, Ty and even Celeste.”

“When Mrs. Huntsman and The Utah Commission on Literacy selected Make Me a Memory as a Book of the Month, I was deeply touched and honored,” Norton says. “Not only did it mean that every school library in the state would receive a copy of my book, but it opened doors for me to come to Utah and visit about two dozen schools. School visits are by far my favorite part of being an author because I get to meet face-to-face with children and talk about my two favorite things: reading and writing. I truly believe that if a child has a strong foundation in these two areas, anything is possible.” Although Norton’s previous novels were written for teens, she admits, “To be honest, my favorite books to read are middle-grade novels—perhaps because I didn’t read a lot as a kid and I’m playing catch-up, but maybe because there are just so many wonderfully written children’s novels out there. After reading so many of these, I knew that I wanted to write one and extend out to a national audience at the same time.” “My main goal in writing a story is that the reader enjoys the experience. The best feeling ever is to get an email from a child or teen that says, ‘I’m not much of a reader, but I picked up your book and couldn’t put it down. I want to read more.’ It doesn’t get much better than that.” Balance is the key to any good book, and Norton agrees. “Even though some of my books deal with some serious issues, I try to bring a lot of humor into my stories. I really think we need to laugh a little more. It’s good medicine!” Because I work with young writers, I asked Tamra Norton what she knows now that she wished she had known when she started. She says, “It might have been nice to know a little more about the business side of writing—especially marketing. Writing is only part of the equation. Unless you’re a rare phenomenon like J.K. Rowling or Stephenie Meyer, there’s a whole lot more you’ll need to know to help your book get noticed.” Her advice to new writers also includes, “Read, read and read some more—especially the genre you’re interested in writing. Then apply the BIC technique: Bum in Chair! I have to make a date with my computer every day (or night) and keep it. Even if I only write a page a day, after two-hundred days, I have a manuscript.” She also encourages writers to, “Join a writer’s group, a critique group, or find other writers online through blogs or yahoogroups and ask lots of questions. Read books on writing and attend writing conferences. There’s so much an aspiring writer needs to learn before sending out that manuscript but the information is readily available.” Despite her busy life as a mother of seven, Norton continues to plan her writing career into the future. “I’m currently working on a fairy tale for the national children’s market as well as a YA novel for the LDS market. Also, for the past few years I’ve been involved in developing The Bearubs with artist David Lindsley. (www.bearubs.com) We have picture book manuscripts and television scripts written, and an entire cartoon series mapped out. Things are moving right along with this project, and I’m very excited about the future of The Bearubs.” And as an avid reader, I’m excited too. If you’d like to know more about Tamra or her books, visit her website at: www.tamranorton.com.

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