Author Interview – Mother Melania Salem – picture book

Book Details:

 

Book Title: Best Buddies: What’s in a Name? by Mother Melania Salem
Category:  Children’s Fictions (ages 3-7), 32 pages
Genre:  Children’s Picture Book
Publisher:  Holy Assumption Monastery
Release date:   December, 2022
Content Rating:  G – This is a children’s picture book. It does deal with homelessness, but in a way that is appropriate for young children. There is nothing graphic and no bad language. 

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Book Description:

 

​What happens when a homeless dog befriends a homeless teen? Join them and find out!

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Mother Melania is giving away PDF copies of the book via BookFunnel. Anyone who clicks on the link can download the book for FREE!

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Meet the Author – Mother Melania:

 

Mother Melania is the Abbess of Holy Assumption Monastery in Calistoga, CA. She grew up in a house that always had tons of children around, her poor parents had to read to her till they were hoarse, and from the moment she learned to read, she always had her nose in a book. So, it was only natural for her to grow up to write children’s books.

She has written three series of specifically Orthodox children’s books – all in verse – which celebrate the high points of God’s work of salvation in the Person of Christ. Her remaining series teach children the virtues in a fun, non-preachy way.

Fearless and Friends chronicles the lives of Fearless the Fireduck (think ‘fireman,’ except that he’s a DUCK) and Charity the Church Mouse and their friends, who get in and out of trouble based on the wisdom (or lack thereof) of their actions.

The Adventures of Kenny and Scooter is a minimal-word series featuring six-year-old Kenny and his irrepressible Boston Terrier Scooter, who take turns getting into trouble and rescuing each other from their foolish antics.

​With all her books, Mother Melania is trying to celebrate virtue and God’s saving work in our lives.

connect with the author: website 

Author Interview with Mother Melania

When did you first know you wanted to be an author? 
– I’ve always enjoyed writing stories and poetry, but never thought of being a published author. When I joined the monastery, I took a theological course that required an educational project. For my first project, I taught elementary school students about the 12 Great Feasts of the Church (Christmas, Ascension, Pentecost, etc.) and wrote poems to go with the lessons. Somebody suggested that we get them illustrated, and that was the start of my being a published author.
When you are not writing, what other hats do you wear? What do you do for fun?
– I am the abbess of Holy Assumption Monastery (an Orthodox Christian women’s monastery). My main role is to be the spiritual mother of our community, but I also give retreats, do some online teaching, etc. We also sell cookies in our gift store, and I’m one of the bakers, mostly because EVERYONE in my family loves to bake. So, I came by that one naturally, and it’s one of the things I do for fun.
What is your favorite genre to read? What about that genre draws you?
– I don’t think I have a favorite genre. I have authors whom I love, but they are wide-ranging. For example, Alexandre Dumas perè, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Temple Grandin, Victor Davis Hansen… I’m not sure what they all have in common other than that they are all brilliant in their own way and all touch some deep truth in their writings, although the truths they touch can be quite different. Maybe that’s what draws me. As a Christian, I believe that Christ is the Truth, and therefore everything true reflects Him and enriches our knowledge of His world. So, the more wide-ranging the truths, the more I see of Christ and the world He created.
What is your favorite thing about this time of year? And why?
– As I’m writing this, we are nearing the Feast of the Ascension of Christ. From Easter until the day before Ascension, the Orthodox greet each other with “Christ is risen!” and reply “He is risen indeed!” I love this greeting because what can be more joyous than Christ being risen and us risen with Him? We don’t say it all year, though, which I think is wise. If we did, it would be much too easy to take this astonishing good news for granted.
What historical figure do you admire and why?
– It’s hard to choose one because I admire so many historical figures. St. Helen (the mother of St. Constantine), St. Athanasius the Great, St. John Chrysostom, Joan of Arc, Sir Thomas More, Edmund Burke, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Queen Elizabeth II … I think the main thing I admire about them is their commitment to truth. In some of these cases, that commitment to truth led to their deaths. And you can’t be any more committed than that!
Who did you have in mind as you wrote the book?
– I wrote the story as an attempt to collaborate with our friend Michael (who is homeless but is also an amazing artist). We had tried several ideas, but he was having trouble connecting with them. So, it made sense to write a book about a homeless person. Unfortunately, he ended up not illustrating the book because he’s a perfectionist. I couldn’t find anybody else interested in illustrating the book. So, I spent some time learning how to illustrate books without any real talent for it, and this book is the result!

As a former K-12 school librarian I have to ask – what is your favorite children’s book?
– Another hard one to answer. I love so many children’s books. But this time, I will give ONE book. Fox in Socks. I love the brilliant silliness of it and getting tripped up over the words. When I am taking myself too seriously, I read this book out loud. It usually cures me of what ails me!
What advice would you give to a child or teen who wants to be a writer?
– It would depend on the specific child or teen. Some may need to expand their horizons. Others may need to drill down into something particular. Some may need to hone their basic writing skills. Others may be ready to start breaking some rules (once they KNOW them!). If I were giving generic advice, probably the best advice I could give is to find a mentor that knows them well enough to give them the specific advice they need.

Thank you so much for joining us today. It interesting to learn more about the lives of authors

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BEST BUDDIES: WHAT’S IN A NAME? Book Tour Giveaway
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Views expressed in this interview/guest post do not necessarily reflect the views of this blog host.