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Barb Huff is the author of the On Tour series about a group of teens that come together in their faith to form a Christian band called Second Rate. Ms. Huff's website is filled with photos and personal experiences as well as links to website pages for the On Tour book series.
WoW: First I would like to thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions for the WomenOnWriting.com Author Spotlight. I know you are busy working away on the On Tour series. What was it that let you know that this band's story would require being told in a series instead of an individual book?
B.H.: Thanks, Karen, for having me. This idea was created as a series in part because I had a once-in-a-million opportunity to pitch a series in short notice. I had sent a proposal to Barbour for another manuscript, and my editor and I spoke about it a number of times before deciding it wasn't right for them.
Then, she literally said to me, "This is what I'm looking for-- a strong series about Christian girls of varying levels of faith that can be the backbone of our young adult line. What can you give me out of that?"
I had recently attended a Christian music festival (and I think I was probably listening to some in the background as well.) I seized the moment and blurted out the first thing that came to mind-- "What about a series that follows a teen band from beginning to stardom and how they deal with life as a teen in that backdrop?"
Her response was "Get me a proposal for the series including marketing ideas and other books on the market similar, highlighting how this would be different. Give me the plots for at least four of them." So, while it started out as an unbelievable moment for a writer, it was still very hard work putting it together and selling the idea.
The idea works well as a series-- better than it would as a single book. It's a long, hard road for most from garage band to the top of the charts, and I wanted to document that journey. More importantly, though, the series is about the members, how they grow as people and how they grow in their faith.
WoW: What inspired the choice for the band's name?
B.H.: There's a lot of myself in Jenna Rose-- especially at her age. My younger sister and my cousins all listened to Christian music when we were growing up-- Petra, Stryper, Michael W. Smith, Carman. I hounded them for it. I was among the population that saw Christian musicians as "second rate."
I was still trying to decide on a name-- I had a couple in mind-- when Jenna Rose spoke those words about the music being "rip-offs" of mainstream music, and it went from there.
WoW: What can the readers expect in the future from this series?
B.H.: I don't want to give too much away, but I think by reading the books, the reader will get a sense of what is to happen. I'm trying to weave all the stories together and do my best to overlap plots to mirror real life. In the real world, the issues kids deal with don't wait neatly in the wings for their friends' problems to get solved, and neither will my characters'. In the third book, THE SECRET, Parker will have to face his player past, and his feelings for Jenna Rose and how they fit into his faith. THE SONGWRITER, the fourth book, will look deeper into Darby McKennitt's creative thought process as she struggles to define love while watching her parents' relationship crumble and her sister's blossom.
All in all, its my desire to create characters that represent real Christian teens. Faults, weaknesses, strengths, secrets, and all.
WoW: What words of wisdom would you like to share with other writers that are considering writing a series of books especially those for children or young adult audiences?
B.H.: Series are a hot commodity for publishers. When kids find likeable characters, they want more and more from them. So, on that line, I think the most important part has to be your characters-- they have to be real, believable, and likeable. Give them depth.
Second, pitch the series in the proposal. Don't pitch a story and then say "and I think this would make a great series if you'd be interested." Show them right up front that your proposal is for a series, why it needs to be series
instead of a stand-alone, and who the audience is going to be. If you're pitching a series about a group of girls who are looking for babysitting jobs, then by all means mention THE BABYSITTERS CLUB books, but don't forget to highlight what your series would bring to that audience that B.C. is lacking.
They don't want to make the book that's already available on the shelves, but if they can make a similar product that can tap into an existing audience, they'll be interested in how you can make it different.
WoW: Where else can readers find your writing?
B.H.: I've pretty much stopped writing nonfiction for the time being. I've been published in CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE MOTHER AND DAUGHTER SOUL, Encounter magazine, Devo'zine, Celebrate!, and I already have a number of upcoming pieces in various teen and children Christian publications in '04 and another possible Chicken Soup book. I don't write the parenting articles that I once did unless it has to do with the two subjects closest to my heart-- foster care and adoption.
And, of course, books 3 and 4, THE SECRET and THE SONGWRITER, respectively, will
be out in the fall of '04.
WoW: On your website, you mention that your writing career began from a sixth grade writing assignment. Your teacher was impressed enough with your talent to give you an A on that paper. What other encouragement did you receive regarding your writing during your own youth?
B.H.: Mr. DiDonato was both my sixth grade and eighth grade teacher in English, and he really did give me a lot of encouragement and a lot of discipline in the mechanics of writing. I went on to high school with a reputation that preceeded me, not only in my school but in the county as well. I won every writing contest I entered as a kid and went to the Young Authors' conferences every year. My parents were supportive but practical. Small-town people don't grow up to write novels-- if they're lucky, they make town reporter.
Now, don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with news reporting, but that was never in my plans. To my parents, that-- or teaching English-- was my only option.
WoW: Where would you like to see your writing in five years?
B.H.: My only desire is that my words are a good witness for my Savior and pleasing to Him. I hope that the series is going well and that I have a couple other stand-alone titles under my belt-- hopefully a picture book or two, but as long as my writing honors Him, I'll be more than happy.
WoW: Your website shows the honest friendly side of you. It also shows your passion for helping youth. What got you involved in youth programs?
B.H.: When I was twelve, my sister was put into aqua therapy. She was supposed to swim five times a week to help her muscles relax (she has cerebral palsy.) My parents could not afford a YMCA membership, but Mr. Patton, the greatest Y director ever, offered her a family membership through the back-a-youth program if we would volunteer for the summer. My brothers and sisters often times pulled weeds, stapled and folded flyers, or stuffed envelopes for about a half an hour after their lessons. I got to be a CIT-- counselor-in-training-- for the day camp program. There's something in the water at YMCA's. You work for one and you're never the same again. It gets in your blood and you can't completely leave it. I've never left the Y-- for eighteen years I have been a volunteer or an employee of a YMCA. I love the inner-city Y's the best.
WoW: With a hectic schedule like yours, what do you do to just relax?
B.H.: It may sound really weird, but I am most in my element in the middle of a bunch of excited, loud kids. I would just as well load a van up with kids who might never make it to a museum and head to Cleveland before I'd spend a day at a spa or something.
WoW: Who is Barb Huff, the woman, mother, and volunteer?
B.H.: She's a person that, for a long time, was looking to "buy" her way into heaven by being a good person and giving back in the way so many had touched her life as a child. But, I'd hope now, she's a person that believes with her every ounce of soul that we are called to be the Hands and Feet of Jesus, and if one person comes to Christ through wanting to know more about why she is the way she is, then she's done her job.
WoW: You obviously come into contact with a variety of people. What would you most prefer them to remember about you?
B.H.: That I wasn't too afraid of what people would think of me to show up in my favorite flare-leg jeans and a do-rag. That everything about me was real and genuine, and that Christ shone through me.
WoW: Thank you, once again, for taking the time out of your busy schedule for this interview. What final words of wisdom would you like to share about Barb Huff, the writer?
B.H.: I didn't get lucky finding my editor the way I did. God has a plan, and when we surrender ourselves to that plan, big things happen. I struggled for a long time trying to do things my way, trying to emulate the next big thing, follow the markets that were making my writer-friends some money, but I wasn't happy. When I gave my talent over to Christ, my career took off. Do what your heart tells you to do when it comes to your work, not what everyone else is doing. If it doesn't bring you peace, what good is it anyway?
Interviews
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