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In 2019, I had the chance to go to St. Davids Christian Writers’ Conference. God used that conference—the first time I’d ever been that surrounded by Christian writers—to bring clarity and purpose to my writing.
One of my favorite sessions was “Children’s Writers’ Boot Camp” with Taryn Souders. Taryn’s passion for writing for children was clear from the moment she started teaching. And her sense of humor made our classes a lot more fun!
Taryn is a Christian writer for the general market—in other words, while she’s not overtly sharing the gospel in her books, she shows the characteristics of Christ through her stories. Her heart for exposing as many kids as possible to Christ is inspiring.
And also, her stories are a LOT of fun.
Taryn’s newest book, Coop Knows the Scoop (Amazon Affiliate Link), was published in July.
In this southern middle-grade mystery, a skeleton is unearthed by construction at the local playground in Windy Bottom, Georgia. When Coop’s grandfather becomes a person of interest in the crime, Coop determines to get to the bottom of the mystery—even if Gramps turns out to be guilty.
In the interview questions below, Taryn talks about everything from how she started, to why stories matter. Stories comfort us, they make us laugh, they help us learn about forgiveness, and so much more.
Read on to learn more about Taryn and her writing!
What inspired you to begin your writing journey?
Taryn: “I used to be a teacher and when we had kids, I stayed home to be with them. I still wanted to be involved with math (that’s what I used to teach) so I decided to try my hand at a kid’s math picture book—Whole-y Cow! Fractions Are Fun (Amazon Affiliate Link). Sleeping Bear Press bought it and then Scholastic bought the paperback rights! I thought, that was fun—let’s try it again. So, I wrote a middle grade book, Dead Possums Are Fair Game (Amazon Affiliate Link), which also contains a mathematics element to it. But I didn’t want to be a one-trick-pony and just write math-related stories. I decided to drop the “educational” element and wrote How to (Almost) Ruin Your Summer (Amazon Affiliate Link). I loved that story because that’s where I first learned about fainting goats!”
What inspired your most recent story?
Taryn: “My most recent story is a murder mystery titled Coop Knows the Scoop. It’s for a middle grade audience, which is typically 4th grade through 8th grade. I love reading mysteries and so after I finished my third book, I decided to try my hand at a mystery. I’m not really into blood and gore, so I wanted to do a murder that was “not messy.” I figured the best way to do that was to have the discovery of a skeleton. But I also wanted to make it interesting and unpredictable, so I decided to put the skeleton someplace where no one would ever expect to find one . . . the local playground! I would say my inspiration for doing a mystery stems from my love of puzzles and riddles. I’ve also been a huge fan of police crime dramas. As a kid I read all the Nancy Drew books, the Hardy Boys, the Boxcar Children, Encyclopedia Brown, Harriet the Spy… and much more! I love the idea of a kid being the detective and the one who solves the crime. The hard part was making sure I didn’t paint the adults as dumb or incompetent. That seems to be done a lot lately and I’m just not a fan.”
Why do stories matter?
Taryn: “Because they give us an opportunity to escape, and escaping is a necessity sometimes. It’s a privilege to be able to pick up a piece of fiction and to wander off into the lives of other people. Sometimes it’s comforting when we read stories where characters are going through similar struggles that we are. Realizing, through their story, that we’re not alone can be a comfort. Stories give us a chance to laugh, and humor is very important. Stories give us a chance to view things from someone else’s POV. In reality, it’s very easy to get caught up in an argument because someone is there to spew words right back at you. However, in a book, that’s not the case, and even though we’re reading we’re also, in a sense, listening to someone else.”
What is a message you’re particularly passionate about sharing with your readers?
Taryn: “One of the themes I tend to repeat in my stories is the concept that none of us are perfect. There’s only been one perfect man to walk this earth and it’s not you, it’s not me, and it’s none of my characters! We all make mistakes, and we all have the ability to take something good and turn it into something bad. We also have the opposite ability to take a bad situation and look for the good. It’s also through this theme of imperfection that we also learn about forgiveness. I believe knowing how to forgive someone can solve a lot of problems!”
What is one of your greatest dreams or goals for the future?
“I have goals that don’t necessarily correspond to writing dreams. So, one of my dreams would be to travel to Europe with my family. I think that would be so much fun! I love history and while I’ve been to Germany and Great Britain, I would love to return and show my family. One of my writing goals though however, would be for one of my books to one day make the Texas Bluebonnet Reading list. The Bluebonnet is one of the largest reading lists in the country, and I’m from Texas, so to have my books be read by school kids in my home state would be AWESOME. I also think it’s important as Christians that we write stories that embody characteristics of Christ: characters who show grace, forgiveness, love, joy, peace, patience, etc. As a Christian writer for the general market, I’m not overtly sharing the gospel in my books. But I’m showing how, through my stories, these characteristics of Christ. The more kids who are exposed to that, the better. Whether it’s through reading my books or someone else’s, I hope kids learn about the saving grace of Christ.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Taryn’s stories have taken part in Battle of the Books, been named to state reading lists, including the Georgia Children’s Book Awards and the Sunshine State Young Readers Awards, and have been Crystal Kite Finalists. She is a member of both SCBWI and Word Weavers International, and is represented by Sally Apokedak of Apokedak Literary Agency. Taryn currently lives in Sorrento, Florida with her husband, David, their three children, and two cats—an overly fuzzy Ragdoll named Mordecai and a polydactyl Hemingway named Sebastian—who like to terrorize flies. While she’s somewhat decent at math, she is terrible at science and has an intense dislike of tarantulas.
Connect with Taryn on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and on her website, www.TarynSouders.com.
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