Guest Post & Blog Tour: Author Shelly Nicholson (Jake the Snake and the Stupid Time-Out Chair)

Please welcome Shelly Nicholson to My Reading Room today - she is my first ever author guest post!   Thanks for being here today Shelly.  

I am the author of Jake the Snake and the Stupid Time-Out Chair and A Stinky Surprise for Jake the Snake (to be released early in 2010) as well as several short stories and articles for children’s magazines including Kid Zone, Fun for Kidz, Jack and Jill, and a popular e-zine Stories for Children‘s Magazine (www.storiesforchildrensmagazine.org).  The inspiration for most of my stories comes from my four children.  The inspiration for my Jake the Snake early chapter books came from my now 8-year-old son, Jacob William Nicholson.   I got the ideas for these books when he was about 4-years-old and because of his (let’s just say, “energetic spirit”) the inspiration has never stopped!

In my writing it is my intention to get early readers interested in reading with laugh out loud humor and relatable characters. But I also want to instill a valuable lesson in each of my books.  In my book Jake the Snake and the Stupid Time-Out Chair, the lessons I tried to instill were thinking of others first and sibling camaraderie, with the hopes that children will be laughing the whole way through and will be able to relate to the sibling rivalry Jake shares with his older brother as the plot unfolds revealing what happens to Jake the Snake on Christmas morning.  Will he get a “stupid lump of coal” or will he not???


If your child is a fan of Junie B. Jones or the Fudge series, I think Jake the Snake’s voice is similar.  My books are written in the voice of a five-and-three-quarters year old.  And he is a very candid character, indeed! He always says it like he means it. 

My favorite part about writing for children is seeing their reaction when I read my stories to them.  Whether it be for a classroom or for my own kids, Jake the Snake is one of those books in which I can’t stop laughing right along with the kids. 

If you are an aspiring writer, I would suggest that you look around at everyday situations for inspiration.  Because I am a children’s writer, I always get ideas from my own children, as I think many children’s writers do.  Keep a journal.  Jot down your ideas, no matter where you are or what you are doing.  Someday, an idea might spark into a wonderful story.

Thank you again, Crystal for hosting me on your blog!   If you would like to find out more about the many adventures of “Jake the Snake,” please stop by my website, www.booksbyshelly.com.  Have a great day! And as always, Happy Reading!

Thank you Shelly for visiting my blog - I am very excited to read and review Jake the Snake and the Stupid Time-Out Chair with my boys.  I think it will be a hit in my family.