Kevin McNamee is a writer and poet living in Yonkers, NY.   He primarily writes for the children’s market.  His work has appeared in Beyond Centauri and he has several children’s picture books being published by Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.  His first book, “If I Could Be Anything” is available at www.amazon.com, or ask your local bookstore.  Look for other titles by Kevin including The Sister Exchange, The Soggy Town of Hilltop, Lightning Strikes, Papa’s Suns, and more.

Thanks for being my first guest of the New Year, Kevin. I’m sure everyone would like to know more about you and your life as a writer.

1. Can you describe the time you realized you were indeed a “real” writer?

Somewhere along the way, I stopped doubting my ability.  A rejection of my manuscript ceased to be a rejection of myself.  A rejection letter became an opportunity to send my manuscript somewhere else.  Comments and criticism became opportunities to strengthen my story, revise something unworkable, or something to ignore altogether if it didn’t fit with my vision of the story.  I was able to refer to myself as a writer without feeling self conscious and … oh yeah, someone was willing to pay me for what I wrote.

Tell us about how you got started writing.

I first started writing in the second grade.  I wrote a poem that was displayed outside the classroom and I liked seeing my poem and my name in public like that.  I found that I took to writing naturally.  Growing up, I was a constant daydreamer and would construct stories in my head all the time.  Eventually, I started writing them down.  Throughout my teenage years and throughout adulthood I always felt compelled to write.  Although there were many, many times that I put creative writing on the back burner, I found that I was still writing at my day job; memos, procedures, proposals, requests, and I was receiving recognition for it.  I realized that writing had been a constant in my life, but I wasn’t writing what I wanted to write.  Now I make sure that I write what I want as well.

Tell us about your childrens book, If I Could be Anything.   

Print ISBN: 978-1-61633- 011-8; 1-61633-011- 2
eBook ISBN: 978-1-61633- 012-5; 1-61633-012- 0

If I could be anything, what would I be?

I think that eventually I would be me.

What are you currently working on?

Right now, I have several stories in various stages of completion, one story that has been finalized and critiqued and needs a final revision, and a few that are finished and have been sent out to various publishers.

This book is available from guardianangelpublishing.com, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, or ask your local bookstore.

We look forward to seeing more of your books. How can someone find out more about you and your books?

To find out more about me, please visit my website at www.kevinmcnamee.com or my blog at www.kevinmcnameechildrensauthor.blogspot.com I also have a new child-friendly site with games and activities at www.kevschildrensbooks.com

Author: diannegsagan

Dianne G. Sagan has written over 25 books and more than 300 articles in her 20 years as a ghostwriter and published her own work traditionally and indie. She writes fiction and nonfiction. She's an experienced speaker at writers' conferences in the region and an experienced facilitator for writers classes and workshops.