Though children’s author R.W. Starr has enjoyed writing poetry and storytelling since he was in high school, it wasn’t until he retired from U.S. Federal Service and met his fiancé that his passion for the written word was rekindled, sparking his foray into children’s books. The result are his six animal-themed stories for children, including A Journey Down Under: Some of Australia’s Amazing Creatures, inspired by his current hometown of Perth, Australia.
Starr believes a great kids’ book is one with loveable characters, artwork that brings the story to life, and shares knowledge. He hopes his young readers come away from his stories having learned fun facts about animals around the world and with a joy of reading that stays with them long after the book is closed.
A cancer survivor, when he isn’t busy writing children’s books, Starr enjoys fly fishing, exercising, stargazing with his fiancé, Jade, and taking care of their three dogs. Originally hailing from Maine, Starr has lived in San Diego, California, Seattle, Washington, and Washington, D.C., before calling Perth, Australia his home.
A Journey Down Under: Some of Australia’s Amazing Creatures synopsis
Why do you write in the genre(s) that you do?
I enjoy writing children’s picture books about animals. I grew up in Maine, and I have fond memories of my parents reading to me as a young boy.
We lived in the small rural town of Rumford Center which was a great place to grow up in the late 1960’s and 70’s. There were tons of kids from the baby boom generation and a brand-new elementary school behind our house.
I spent a lot of time exploring the surrounding woodlands and mountains and fell in love with the outdoors and all that it had to offer. I would spend hours looking for animals and trying to outsmart them, but of course I rarely did.
When my daughter was born a lifetime or so later, I carried on the tradition by reading books to her and with her. In fact, I am proud to say, she has since gone on to become a writer herself.
Do you keep a notebook of ideas?
I do keep a notebook of ideas, but I don’t always carry it around with me. Sometimes I have my best thoughts or ideas when I am out for my morning walk. So, as soon as I get home, I will jot them down, as best as I can remember them.
I will come back to those ideas a few hours or a few days later to see if those ideas are as good as they seemed to be at the time and go from there. If I still think they are good, I will expand on them as a short story or if they don’t still ring true, I will discard them.
Do you have a muse?
Yes, my fiancée Jade. When I was in high school, I loved to write poetry. It was usually related to a girl I was dating at the time but not always.
As the years passed, I got away from writing and my other creative endeavors like pottery and drawing. Life got busy you might say. In 2020, as Covid was taking over the world, I met Jade, my fiancé, online and it awakened my creative spirit which had been “dead” for 35 some years.
Because of the emotions she brought back to life, I started writing love poems again, and the verses would just come to me. It’s amazing how things just flow when all the stars are aligned so to speak.
Anyway, my love of writing came back, and as our relationship matured, it morphed from writing love poems to writing children’s picture books. So, I give all the credit to my fiancé Jade for giving me back my creative spark.
Fill in the blank: People will like your book if they like stories about…”
Animals! I love writing about animals because I have always had a fascination with the outdoors and the animals that live there. Whether it was the animals in Maine, California, Washington or in Germany, Pakistan, or Australia I try to learn about the native wildlife. I figure there are plenty of kids out there that are as fascinated as I was and am about the different and unique animals that live all over the world.
I write nonfiction as well as fiction. My nonfiction books tend to be in rhyming verse with fun facts about each animal. My fictional books usually have a pair of animals which are portrayed in a way to bring up issues like kindness, forgiveness and understanding. I hope the books I write will inspire discussions at home and be a steppingstone to learn more or take action whatever the case may be.
What are your thoughts on typewriters?
I love old typewriters, but do I use them? No. I did use typewriters growing up and I even took a typewriter class in 8th or 9th grade I believe. I think I got up to about 40 words per minute or so. I don’t remember what grade I received in the class, but it was probably a B or a C at the worst.
One of my favorite typewriters is the old Royal Model 10 from the 1920’s and 30’s. It’s such a classic and a piece of art for that matter.
I have a soft spot for anything antique or nostalgic. Unfortunately, we have become a throw-away society. I miss the old days when things were built to last and if they did break down there was someone that could actually repair it.
Would you rather own a bookstore or run a library?
I would love to run an old used bookstore that has a small coffee shop tucked away somewhere inside. There is something wonderful about a used bookstore that is inviting and warm. It should have small cozy reading nooks where customers can curl up and enjoy an escape from everyday life. It is not so much about making money but providing a memorable experience for people that love reading and being surrounded by books.
On a side note, I got a digital newsletter recently from my old university in Vermont, and they are thinking about taking the library totally digital – can you imagine? A college library with no books! I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job of embracing the times but that is a bit too much. I love physical books and the feeling of holding one.
How do you name your characters? Or, if you write non-fiction and had to change names, how did you change the names?
I like names that are whimsical and fun, and I try to fit the name to the character’s personality and even where the character is located. For example, I am working on a book about a physically challenged rhinoceros, so I am choosing names that are African in origin. I have also used the names of two of our dogs as characters in my book, The Adventures of Kimie and Kobie – Two Little Owls.
What is your favorite social media platform?
I must admit I am fairly new to social media and only embraced it in 2020 during Covid. I enjoy Facebook which seems to be the best platform for me to stay in touch with friends and family.
Instagram is useful to get information about topics of interest and I am learning how to use it as a marketing platform. I haven’t used TikTok at all yet. I am starting to use X (Twitter) although there seems to be a lot of noise on this platform, but I am still learning.
So overall my favorite platform is Facebook because it keeps me in touch with the people I care about. For business it appears that Instagram and probably TikTok will be the most useful.
Who is your dream audiobook narrator?
I actually have three favorites. My dream audiobook narrators have to be Morgan Freeman, Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart. The tone, texture and richness of their voices is unmatched.
How many words or pages do you typically write in one writing session?
When I write my nonfiction rhyming verse books, I’ll start by identifying the animals I want to write about and jot down five to ten fun facts that kids might be interested in knowing. I use these fun facts about each animal as a starting point. Then I’ll do a brainstorming session to come up with different rhyming verses.
I usually have two columns on each page. In the bottom of the left-hand column, I’ll have my fun facts. In the right-hand column, I’ll start jotting down my draft verses.
Once I have the verses I am happy with, I will put them at the top of the page in the left-hand column. Using this method, I can get through about five pages in a productive day and maybe only two-three on a not so productive day.
Sometimes the verses just flow, but on other days it can be a struggle and I’ll have to come back to them a few times to get it just right. It’s not just about the rhyming but the verses need to have a matching rhythm and tempo as well to sound right.
Have you ever gone away to work on a piece of writing? If not, where would you go if you could?
I have not had the opportunity to go away and write anywhere but would relish the opportunity to have a three-to-six-month sabbatical. My dream would be to spend three months in the Austrian/Swiss Alps in the winter and perhaps the Cook Islands off the coast of Eastern Australia for the other three months. The time spent in the Alps during the winter would inspire stories about alpine creatures while the time in the Cook Islands would generate stories about the sea and the creatures that live there.
How do you measure the success of your book?
Just seeing something I have created with the collaboration of my artist in final form on Amazon is success for me. Although it would be nice to have the recognition of the literary community and be a “best-selling author” with a big publishing house, just knowing that something I created will be out there forever is quite satisfying. Of course, it is important that my family, friends, and loved ones enjoy my books as well.
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