Kinsman: One theme I see running through everything that I write is how creativity helps us see the world at a deeper level. Newman: Do those same hopes and dreams from childhood appear in your stories today? I remember hearing my own voice in my ears, having my class look at me, and saying to myself you can do the impossible thing. No one thought I would do it, but I sang. One day in class the girl who was the ladybug was sick, and the teacher asked for volunteers. We did that day after day, and we got louder and louder. “The wind will be so loud I won’t be able to hear you,” she said. She got me to sing while we were alone on the swings. I admitted to my friend that I wanted the part.

I had my heart set on being the ladybug, but I couldn’t bring myself to audition. Around the same time our school was doing a musical called “Totally Buggy.” There was this character, a ladybug, who had this beautiful jazzy solo. When I was in second grade, my mom took me to see a production of Annie, and I saw this little girl up on stage and she was exuberant and boisterous and I wanted that opportunity to try on a different personality. Naomi Kinsman: I was a very, very shy child. Patricia Newman: Is there a childhood memory that sticks out in your mind? I spoke to Naomi by telephone to find out more about her creative process. Her devotion to her craft is both inspirational and instructive. Naomi and I are represented by the same literary agency, and our paths frequently cross in the writing world. Tolkien’s Inklings group-to help children find their voices as writers.

She started the Society of Young Inklings about eight years ago-named for C.S. Not only plumbing the depths of creativity for her middle-grade novels, but in teaching children and adults to find their passion for their stories. Naomi Kinsman weaves her life around the creative process.

Flickering Hope by Naomi Kinsman