Trillium Sisters Blog

05/12/2023

Trillium Sisters – Author Interview Questions with Laura Brown and Elly Kramer

Q1: How did you get started writing children’s books?

A1: We met at Nickelodeon years ago where we collaborated on many preschool television shows. We started to co-write scripts on a series called “Corn and Peg” in 2017. We loved writing together and began to explore original ideas, one of which became Trillium Sisters.

Q2: Have you ever written with a partner before?  

A2: Nope! However, we had both participated in numerous writer’s rooms for various shows where we learned a great deal about creative collaboration. We leaned heavily on those experiences when we developed our own co-writing process.

Q3: What made you decide to write together?

A3: Like many great partnerships, ours was formed in the ladies room!  About six years ago, we were  in Toronto, participating in a writer’s room to kick off a new television series. Elly was serving as Development Executive and Laura was Curriculum and Research Director.

We loved our roles, but we both secretly dreamed of writing our own scripts. When we ended up together in the ladies room during a break, Elly popped the question, “Do you want to write scripts with me?” The answer was “Yes!” We sealed the deal and were fortunate to write four scripts together on that series.

Q4: How did writing with a partner work?

4a. Do you each voice a specific character?

4b. And how does the workflow differ from writing on your own?

A4: We begin by brainstorming story ideas together. Because we live far apart, this often involves a zoom meeting and a whole lot of coffee. Laura’s dog, Charlie Brown, likes to sit in, tooJ

Once we find an idea we both love, we outline the story together. This is a long process and involves a great deal of revising, sitting with the outline, and then revising some more.

When we feel we know the main beats of the story, one of us takes primary responsibility for writing that book. This works well because we’re writing a series. We each take primary writing responsibility for half the books. While one person writes, the other acts like an editor, reading and revising what’s produced. The editor may punch up the dialogue, work to distinguish character voices, suggest a plot turn, or help the primary author get “unstuck” when she reaches an unexpected obstacle.

One nice thing about writing with a partner is the accountability. Though we set goals and deadlines whether we’re writing solo or in partnership, it’s harder to miss a deadline when someone else is waiting for the material. It’s also more social and fun to write with a partner in our opinion.  Writing solo can be lonely, but with a partner, there’s always someone to cheer you on, help you think flexibly, or just laugh and find the joy in the work.

Q5: What inspired you to write the Trillium Sisters Series?

A5: It all began when Laura went skiing in Colorado. She happens to be the weakest skier in her family and she found herself alone one beautiful spring morning on the mountain. She came upon a majestic stand of Douglas Firs.  The scene was so beautiful that she found herself imagining living right there, on the mountain! Maybe she’d live in a treehouse, zipline to work, and completely connect with the animals and nature on the mountain. Laura wanted every child to experience this alpine world.

When she returned and told Elly about the setting, Elly built on the idea. Elly always loved the idea of telling stories about families - because everyone has one! Plus, we know how grounding family is for our readers. Elly is the eldest of three. She has a younger sister with whom she is incredibly close. Growing up, they  had their own language, songs, games, etc. So a story about sisters felt compelling. Including Zee as the younger brother was an homage to Elly’s younger brother, David.

We both were excited to explore what we call modern princess magic –strong girls solving their own problems. But we wanted there to be strong men and boys, too, because we all rise together. That’s why we created a family with three sisters and a little brother headed by a nurturing father.

Q6: What did you both learn when writing the Series?

A6: So much! Since we were used to working in television, a very visual medium, we had to get used to describing things that the visual would normally show on television.

We worked hard, too, to find a distinct role for each sister. The girls are a team and can’t succeed without one another so we really had three heroines in each story. It was sometimes challenging to make each of their voices  and roles unique in the stories. Since we were writing a series, we also had to learn how to pace the reveal of information across the series. Our editor helped us with that a great deal. Finally, we are working hard to get the word out about the books. Author and school visits were new to us, but we love them! There’s nothing like talking to readers face to face to understand what’s most compelling - and also what might not be as interesting as you imagined - about your story.

Q7: You have both worked in Television and children’s programing for years. What medium do you prefer?

7a. Where do you feel you can create the biggest impact on children?

A7: That’s a hard one! Both mediums have their strong points and they’re very different.

Laura loves books because there’s more room for readers to imagine the characters and the world. Elly likes both mediums for different reasons. She likes the number of stories that TV ideally allows you tell but the depth that you can go into with books.

In terms of impact, we think it’s about what you create rather than medium. We hope that whatever we’re lucky enough to create resonates with our intended audience!

Q8: What do you want readers to take away from your books?

A8: We hope Trillium Sisters helps children fall in love with nature and become passionate guardians of the earth. We want our readers to see that everything is connected in the natural world. We must consider how our actions ripple beyond ourselves.

Of course, it’s no mistake that this is a series about sisters who save the day. We want girls to see themselves as heroes of their own stories. But we also were quite intentional to include strong male characters in the stories. Our message is both boys and girls are strong and most importantly,  we all rise together. 

Finally, we want kids to enjoy reading! We are both avid readers and have spent countless hours transported, inspired and comforted by stories.  We want these adventures to excite our young readers so they are itching to read the next story, whatever it is. 

Q9: Will there be more Trillium Sisters?

A9: There are no firm plans yet for more Trillium Sisters, but we would love to continue the series!

In our school visits, children most frequently ask what happened to the sisters’ mother. That is a story we dream of telling in a future book!

Click here to check out the Trillium Sisters Series on our Penworthy Website!

Laura Brown:

 

Elly Kramer: