SOOP asked our Dear Author Meredith Mast 15 Questions, to know more about her writing journey and the correlation of her passion for writing and dancing.
I was born in Bermuda and spent most of my childhood in Miami, FL. I moved to Houston, Texas, at the age of 16 to dance with the Houston Ballet. I met my husband in Austin, Texas, and we moved to Wisconsin (where he was raised).
I danced with the Houston Ballet from age 17 to age 22. I then decided to pursue a college education and moved to Austin. I earned my Bachelor of Liberal Arts (Psychology) from the University of Texas at Austin. There I met my husband, Jeff. We lived briefly in California and then moved to Wisconsin when we decided to marry. We have four boys (ages range from 11-17) and we live out in the country north of Madison, WI.
My latest news is that I published my first book, Willow Rose Learns Honesty, with SOOP in 2018. I have been spreading the news of my book by reading at elementary schools and dancing the story within my ballet school, Storybook Ballet.
My mother and I decided to collaborate and create a series of children’s books that could, initially, be danced within my ballet school. Each story would not only lend itself to movement, but the story would incorporate a message or a virtue.
I first considered myself a writer when Willow Rose was published!
At my ballet school, we read fairytales within our classes for 3-6 year olds. My mother and I decided to write our OWN stories- stories that incorporated a virtue such as honesty, patience, kindness, etc- but that also tied in imagination and movement. The stories would be colorful, concise, and have a clear message. We feel that with dancing, telling the story, and acting out the virtue- our students will gain a better understanding of the virtue.
We have written our books with children in mind (ages 2-7).
We came up with the title as our main character is a rose bush, and we thought Willow Rose had a nice sound to it. The main message of the story is how Willow learns the importance of being honest- and we wanted that to be conveyed in the title.
We hope that children will grasp the importance of telling the truth.
No- it is not based on someone I know or an experience I had. We are just hoping to teach the children about being honest.
My mother has always dabbled in writing and has always enjoyed the writing process. I have enjoyed writing here and there but did not initially envision it as a career.
Our interest in writing these books originated from my ballet classes and my hope of teaching our students not only about ballet, but about virtues as well.
It was challenging to keep the writing simple and the word choice simple such that it would appeal to a young child.
We have learned that writing a book is the easy part! The hard part is getting the book published and then marketing the book!
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