I’m thrilled to introduce my friend and nonfiction author Clare Hodgson Meeker! The Winged Pen is delighted to help her celebrate the release of GROWING UP GORILLA. Gorillas are one of my favorite animals and this story took place right at our local zoo. It’s a gorgeous picture book full of facts and pictures and one that elementary school children will ask for again and again. Keep reading for details on how you can win a copy of this sweet story about a gorilla whose journey to motherhood had some unexpected ups and downs.

Julie: You’ve published many books for children over the years. How was the process for Growing Up Gorilla different? 

Clare: For most of my nonfiction books, the publishing process started with submitting a proposal to the publisher including a summary of the story, a chapter outline, a market comparison, and a sample chapter or two. 

But the Growing Up Gorilla book involved an extra challenge. The Woodland Park Zoo required that I secure a publisher before I could interview their gorilla keeper staff and care team. This meant that I had to write a full draft of the story based on my limited observations and research and what I hoped would be the successful bonding of gorilla baby Yola and her mother Nadiri. Luckily, the editor at Millbrook Press responded positively to my proposal and rough draft so I could complete the interviews and deepen the story using their direct knowledge and insights into the gorillas they had devoted years to working with.

Julie: Do your story ideas start with a specific species of animal or is it the story itself that inspires you to write about a particular animal? 

Clare: I would say both. It is often the story involving a particular animal that draws me. The story needs to be compelling.  But I also have to be curious and excited about my main animal character and the challenges it faces to sustain me through the time it takes to research and write the book. 

Julie: The research for Growing Up Gorilla could happen at the very local level, but how do you go about your research when the animals are further afield than the local zoo?

Clare: In my previous nonfiction book, Rhino Rescue! published by National Geographic Kids, I wrote about several true endangered wild animal rescues around the world. For the first story about a Hawaiian monk seal who was injured by an abandoned fishing hook and line floating in the ocean, I contacted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA staff in Hawaii who are in charge of protecting these critically endangered marine animals. I was able to travel there to interview them and observe the monk seals in their native habitat, which helped me visualize and describe the story events in much greater detail.

For the second story about two orphaned Amur tiger cubs in the far east of Russia,  I happened to read a New York Times article about one of the tigers’ amazing journeys into China after being released. The photo caption for the article credited the International Fund for Animal Welfare so I cold called the IFAW office in Massachusetts and was lucky to be given the email contact for Amur tiger expert, Dale Miquelle. Dale lived in Russia and had tracked and helped rescue the two orphaned tiger cubs. I ended up doing a skype interview with Dale who shared his exciting story of tracking down the cubs and later monitoring them after their release back in to the wild once they were old enough to fend for themselves.

The third story was about the airlifting of a group of endangered rhinos from South Africa to a secret location in Botswana. It was spearheaded by National Geographic explorers Derek and Beverly Joubert whom I interviewed for the book. As with all of my true animal stories, I try to getlearn as much as I can from the animal care specialists who helped rescue these animals.  

Julie: The close-up picture of Yola’s face on the cover really draws us in. Can you talk a little bit about the production and layout process that led to such a gorgeous balance of words and pictures?

Clare: I was thrilled when I received my author copies of the book! The close up of Yola’s face in that photo really jumps off the page. And Millbrook Press also used an interesting square shape and size for the book which is different from the standard picture book. Most of the photos in the book were taken by Woodland Park Zoo’s staff photographer, Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren. But a few were taken by Judy Ryan, a zoo volunteer whom I met while observing the Yola and her family at the gorilla exhibit. When the publisher asked me to send photos for them to choose among, I included Judy’s which captured Yola intensely watching her mother eat a flower and was taken right through the exhibit glass.    

Julie: What’s up next for you? Any new projects you can tell us about?

Clare: I have a proposal for a book about raising a service dog which also explores the science of dog behavior and cognition or ‘dognition’. 

Julie: Most writers experience a lot of rejection on their path to success. Can you share a little about your own writer’s journey and path to publication? 

Clare: Rejection is an unfortunate part of this profession. But these ‘war stories’ as I call them offer important lessons in not giving up which is essential to being a working writer. I’ve had a book contract cancelled when a publisher went belly up, submitted several manuscripts that were not published and still sit in my file drawer waiting for me to submit them again when the time is right. Never throw out your earliest draft which holds your story idea when it first burned bright. And never give up!

Lightning Round:

Coffee or Tea? Coffee for sure!

Scrivener or Word? Word so far, but I’m open. 

Sunshine or Rain? Sunshine. 

Dog or Cat? Dogs forever. 

Julie: Thanks so much for joining us on The Winged Pen, Clare. Best of luck with your writing!

Comment below with your contact email and one lucky winner will receive a copy of GROWING UP GORILLA by Clare Hodgson Meeker.