Modo grrrls, please welcome Chloe JonPaul, author of This Business of Children, a book about:Four elementary school teachers in the fictional town of Blevins, Maine whose private lives dramatically change.
About to retire, Vera vents her anger during a Board of Education meeting. Deidre, an exceptional teacher, leaves the job she loves to become a corporate trainer down South. Then Mark what he's always wanted, a corporate position with more prestige and pay, but turns it down. Stu, a popular teacher, struggles with a dark secret that he can only share with Deidre.
All four teachers are eager to share their intriguing secrets and entangled lives with you. Read This Business of Children today!
Not only was Chloe kind enough to answer my top three questions for her, but she also wanted to treat my grrrls to the opportunity to win a $10 Amazon.com gift card!
To enter to win the $10 Amazon gift card, just shoot me an email at jocelynmodo (at) hotmail (dot) com with "Chloe" in the subject line. The winner will be selected randomly and the gift card emailed to the address you use to enter the contest.
Now check out what Chloe has to say about the wonderful world of writing:
Tell me a little about the character development for this novel.
It was a real challenge to develop the male characters in this story because I had never written from a male point of view. Capturing their thoughts, mannerisms, language (which in a few scenes is somewhat coarse) required real effort. These characters are not based on real people I knew; rather, they are probably a composite of different people I’ve known through the years – and not necessarily teachers.
I must admit that there’s a little bit of me in both female characters. Vera’s maternal instincts and Deidre’s fiery union activism are reflections of me in a way.
Deidre’s decision to break her relationship with Mark is similar to something I experienced many years ago.
What made you become a writer after teaching?
I have always loved to write – even as a young child but I never really thought about doing it seriously. As an adult, I wrote occasional articles for small magazines and newspapers. I started writing my first book in 2002.
This novel came about as a result of having experienced the joys and sorrows of being a classroom teacher as well as the union activist I had been in the past… and as Vera says in the Prologue: “ because the story that claws at my brain and keeps me awake nights has to be told.”
I had lived much of what your readers will discover in reading about the problems teachers face in the classroom.
I have three published books since 2003: 2 non-fiction, 1 fiction.
What have you've learned about yourself through your writing?
I’ve learned that I have more determination and optimism than I thought I possessed. I’ve also been able to reinforce in my mind something I’ve known for years: that every mistake can be a perfect opportunity for learning something new.
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Thanks again, Chloe, for stopping by Meta Modo to give us all insight into your world. And congrats on your new novel, This Business of Children.
Love, light, and laughter!
Jocelyn Modo
