nwht_2016-01-24

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: GAIL WELLS

1•24•16

NWHerald.com

Day

of a

knight Crystal Lake’s Robert Idrizi, who found his dream job training and fighting at Medieval Times, takes us inside the castle

WINTER GARDEN

Artificial light keeps plants green all year

BREATHE & DRINK: New trend pairs yoga, craft beer

NWHerald.com • Sunday, January 24, 2016

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“I FEEL LIKE IT’S IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT MY HEALTH, WHICH IS FINE, AND MY SIZE BECAUSE THERE ARE YOUNG GIRLS WHO SEE SOMEONE LIKE ME AND CAN VALIDATE THEIR OWN EXISTENCE.” – Tess Holliday, plus-size model

Style is published each Sunday

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CELEBRATIONS

Births, engagements, weddings and anniversaries are printed every Sunday in the Style section in the Northwest Herald.

Engagement announcements must be received no later than three weeks before the wedding date. Wedding announcements are accepted up to six months after the wedding date.

We will accept one color photo for weddings and engagements. We will accept two color photos – wedding and current – for anniversaries.

Photos not accompanied with a self-addressed, stamped envelope will not be returned. They may be picked up at the Crystal Lake office after publication.

To complete a form online, visit NWHerald.com/forms or email celebrations@nwherald. com. Call 877-264-2527 for information.

ON THE COVER Robert Idrizi of Crystal Lake performs at Medieval Times in Schaumburg Photo by Matthew Apgar mapgar@shawmedia.com

‘The booty wins’ Model Tess Holliday promotes clothing line, body positivity

By LEANNE ITALIE The Associated Press

With accolades for her People magazine cover and the upcoming launch of her first clothing line, things are next level for Tess Holliday.

The plus-size model and social media phenom who regularly shakes off haters has been reveling in the mainstream since May, when she donned a designer friend’s black lace bodysuit to pose for People’s 2015 body issue.

“It’s been crazy,” the 30-year-old Holliday said after a recent panel chat on fat acceptance hosted by Refinery29.com.

“My audience changed so much because it’s a universal magazine. Everyone of all ages and backgrounds reads it and, all of a sudden, I was in every grocery store.”

Behind the scenes, she found herself in flux, shedding unsupportive loved ones and making adjustments at home in Los Angeles. Holliday, whose real name is Ryann Maegen Hoven, moved in both her disabled mother and her Australian fiancé. Her 10-year-old son is adjusting to mom’s higher profile as well.

“When we’re out in public, people stop me. He rolls his eyes,” Holliday said. “He gets it, but it’s still really weird for him.

When he tells his friends, ‘My mom’s a model,’ they kind of pick on him a little.”

Why? Because at 5-foot-5 and size 22, Holliday doesn’t fit the ultra-thin mold.

Fat and proud, covered in colorful tattoos – each with its own story of love and empowerment – that’s just fine with her.

“I feel like I’m learning who I am again because of the new media attention,” Holliday said. “To people who had never heard the words ‘body positive,’ or who had never shopped at a plus-size clothing store and weren’t plus-size themselves, it’s been an adjustment for them, too.”

She’s learned she can’t educate all, including those who insist her size compromises her health. And there are the usual trolls she’s been dealing with for years on Instagram and elsewhere online, including Tumblr, the place where she grew her own hashtag rallying cry that lives on today: #EffYourBeautyStandards.

As the first model of her size and height to be signed by a prominent agency, Milk Management in London, Holliday was thrust further into the role of body positive activist. The burgeoning body positive movement has the usual growing pains and disagreements from

within and without, including whether use of the word “fat” is OK. As far as Holliday is concerned, people should use the word or not use the word.

Acceptance means acceptance – at any size.

Among other adjustments for Holliday has come a new approach to handling haters.

“Before, I would have just gone after somebody if they said something and attacked me,” she said. “I’m not going to change their minds by one comment so why even bother? Why waste my energy.”

She fights back in other ways.

“When I’m having a bad day, that’s when I usually take naked photos and post them online, which hasn’t happened often because my mom moved in with us and she doesn’t really appreciate that that much. I don’t know why,” Holliday laughed.

But it has happened, and Holliday is unapologetic. The nude pic was her most popular photo on Instagram. “Seems like the booty wins,” she joked in the comments.

Life wasn’t always easy for Holliday.

As a child, she moved nearly 50 times before fifth grade at the behest of her father.

Her parents divorced and she hasn’t spoken to her dad in three years. She was bullied relentlessly as a kid because of her size and other issues, finally dropping out on the first day of 11th grade after receiving death threats.

Holliday earned her GED and continued to pursue her dreams of modeling while working as a bank teller in Laurel, Mississippi, where she moved with her mom after her mom was shot twice in the head by a boyfriend and was left partly paralyzed.

“I was bullied from fifth grade on,” she said.

“They started

making fun of me because my mom was in a wheelchair, then they started making fun of me because I was poor and then it evolved to my size.”

The Internet beckoned, and she started posting pictures of herself, building a social media following over the past six or so years.

One thing she hadn’t anticipated was the intense scrutiny of her health.

“It was so frustrating because I felt like I had worked so hard to get to this point and then people were taking away what I did and making it about my health and my size. And they still do,” she said.

“I feel like it’s important to talk about my health, which is fine, and my size because there are young girls who see someone like me and can validate their own existence.”

What’s in store for Holliday? There’s her clothing line launching in March.

Her goal was to provide plus-size clothes women could live in at a reasonable price without being beholden to shapewear.

“Everything is under $100 and it starts at $30,” Holliday said. “It’s mostly casual. I just know it’s what I wanted to wear and saw lacking in the industry. All I want is to feel good and really own my body, and that’s what I tried to create.”

Tess Holliday Photo provided

By LEE REICH

The Associated Press Short days put sunlight at a premium. Even houseplants feel it.

Mostly, they just sit and wait for better growing conditions. But for indoor gardeners who want plants to keep growing and even flowering this time of year, artificial light is the answer.

Visible light is only a small slice of the electromagnetic wave spectrum, which runs from the very short gamma and X-rays (with wavelengths measured in millionths of a meter) to the long radio waves (with wavelengths measured in kilometers). Plants utilize and respond to that part of the spectrum that is visible to us (390 to 780 millionths of a meter), except for a portion in the middle. That portion, which is green, is reflected rather than absorbed. That’s why grass is green. Plants can’t “see” it; we can.

Make light for plants

Fluorescent light is rich in blue and the shorter wavelengths of red light, important for healthy foliage; incandescent light is rich in “far-red” – the longer wavelengths of red light – and is important for flowering.

Without belaboring all the pros and cons of different lights, let’s just say plants can be grown to perfection indoors with a combination of run-of-the-mill, cool-white, fluorescent bulbs and screw-in incandescent bulbs. A good balance of light is achieved with one 15-watt incandescent bulb for every 40-watt fluorescent bulb.

Plant growth is almost as good if you use fluorescent bulbs alone, especially if only foliage houseplants are grown.

But incandescent bulbs, besides affecting flowering, cast a light that gives plants a warmer, more pleasant appearance.

Still in the experimental stage, but with a lot of potential

for offering specific wavelengths and low energy use, are LED lights.

Some 2-by-4s, light fixtures and electrical equipment are all you need to build a steppeddown version of the phytotrons – research greenhouses – used by botanists.

In a home, a small, functional phytotron need take up only a few square feet in the corner of a basement, spare room or even a closet. Use your phytotron as a recuperation area for light-starved plants, for bringing houseplants into flower before moving them for display, and for growing seedlings. With attention to design and craftsmanship, you could build a permanently displayed habitat of healthy plants.

But it’s not sunlight

How much light is there under one standard two-tube, 4-foot fluorescent light fixture?

The unit of measure for light recalls the days before electricity: one foot-candle (abbreviated fc) is the amount of light a foot away from a candle. On a bright, sunny day outdoors, plants are showered with 10,000 fc. On a cloudy winter day, 500 fc. At 6 inches below the middle of the fluorescent fixture, 900 fc.

The illumination drops by about half for each additional 6 inches distance from the tubes.

Dust and age further diminish the light.

Plants vary in their light needs. Cast-iron plant, baby’s tears and other foliage plants grow happily with less than 250 fc. Real flowers, so welcome this time of year, can be coaxed from flowering maple (this is Abutilon species, no relation to the tree maples outside), crown-of-thorns, African violet and oxalis with 600 fc. Put on your sunglasses and crank the intensity up to 1,400 fc for flowers on tuberous begonias, and Christmas cherries and peppers.

Artificial lights will make your plants feel you have taken them on a winter trip to the Caribbean.

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| Style | Sunday, January 24, 2016 • NWHerald.com

Artificial lights can keep houseplants growing in winter

NWHerald.com • Sunday, January 24, 2016

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4 Barrymore sets new

sights for beauty brand

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO The Associated Press

NEW YORK – Hollywood actress, director and author Drew Barrymore soon may add a new title to her résumé: international retailer.

Barrymore launched her Flower brand of affordable cosmetics exclusively at WalMart in 2013. Now she says she’s in talks with retailers overseas to sell the cosmetics in places such as China, South America, Australia and the United Kingdom. She’ll also be launching her own e-commerce business later this year.

Last year, she started selling an eyewear collection, also exclusively with Wal-Mart. And Barrymore said she wants to expand into clothing, though it’s unlikely it will be with Wal-Mart, even though she said she always will give the Bentonville, Arkansas-based discounter “first right of refusal.”

Barrymore didn’t want to use her name for the brand, saying she’s aware of the perils of slapping a celebrity name on a product.

“The name of the game is about how you financially succeed fast enough so somebody doesn’t dump you, and grow slowly and thoughtfully so that you are just not a flash in the pan,” said Barrymore, 40, in a one-hour

Drew Barrymore poses for a portrait to promote her new book “Wildflower.”

AP photo

address at the annual Financo CEO forum, an industry forum sponsored by the investment bank.

Barrymore, the mother of two toddlers, has found a successful niche in the beauty business. Unlike other cosmetic brands that spend a big portion of their money on advertising, the Flower brand spends most of its money on formulations and packaging. That results in premium makeup quality, she said.

Flower Beauty, launched in 1,600 stores, is now in 2,500 stores, Wal-Mart spokeswoman Molly Blakeman said.

Neither Barrymore nor WalMart offered sales volume.

The Flower Beauty line, which includes fragrances, ranges from $5 for lip gloss to about $14 for foundation.

Barrymore’s message is about self-empowerment and inner beauty, with messages like, “Happiness is the best makeup.”

Wal-Mart, she said, has been a “great” partner. But, she added, “at the end of the day, it is business. It is not friendship. They will drop us like a hot potato if we are not doing well.” As for her clothing venture, Barrymore, known for her Bohemian chic style, noted she won’t be offering expensive clothes.

“It’s not the way I shop,” she said.

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Knight’s Story by OLIVIA MORRISSEY editorial@nwherald.com

Photos by MATT APGAR mapgar@shawmedia.com

T

TIME

his knight’s tale begins

probably four times,” said Robert Id-

not with fearless joust-

rizi, head knight at Medieval Times in

ing matches or rescuing

Schaumburg. “I just could not stay on,

a damsel in distress, but rather as a

and there were definitely times when I

young squire who could barely stay on

thought I would never be able to.”

his steed.

“My first day, I fell off the horse

• Continued on page 6

Robert Idrizi of Crystal Lake performs as a herald at Medieval Times in Schaumburg. Idrizi (inset) auditioned as an entry-level squire 13 years ago and said he “discovered a dream I never knew I had.”

| Style | Sunday, January 24, 2016 • NWHerald.com

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NWHerald.com • Sunday, January 24, 2016

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knight, you can’t just do onething.You have to be in goodphysical shape,beable

ABOVE: Audience members watch the show Jan. 18 at Medieval Times in Schaumburg. RIGHT: Robert Idrizi of Crystal Lake performs as a herald during the show. FAR RIGHT: Idrizi heads downstairs after getting dressed for his part before the show. BELOW: Idrizi (center) instructs squires and knights during practice Jan. 18.

• Continued from page 5

torideahorse and handle weapons confidently,and act. You have to do it all.”

– Robert Idrizi

ABOVE: Idrizi keeps track of practice maneuvers as he is in charge of training new squires and overseeing show quality. RIGHT: Idrizi practices with coworkers in preparation for that night’s show. The horseriding, jousting knight engages in gladiatorial combat about 15 times a week in an arena packed with screaming fans. “When the curtain goes up and the crowd’s roaring, there’s nothing else like it,” he said.

Those days of poor horsemanship are long behind him. Idrizi, a Crystal Lake resident, now oversees the training of both horses and knights, helping to ensure each show dazzles the crowd at the King’s Battle of Champions.

But when Idrizi began his career 13 years ago, he was a 21-year-old squire who had never hoisted a sword or saddled up a horse in his life. He applied and auditioned for the role on a whim after a friend’s mother attended a show and told him he resembled one of the brawny knights.

“At the time, I didn’t really have a clear path in my life. I already had the long hair, and I’m kind of a bigger guy,” Idrizi said.

“I really didn’t think I’d get a callback. I thought they were looking

for a professional stuntman.”

But Idrizi soon found himself, along with several other squires, including now-assistant head knight Scott Madden, engrossed in months of grueling training.

They learned sword fighting sequences with real, albeit dull, swords. They gained the trust of horses and practiced stunts, including dismounting at top speeds. Most of all, they learned to put on a show for the thousands of guests who visit Medieval Times each year.

“To be a good knight, you can’t just do one thing. You have to be in good physical shape, be able to ride a horse and handle weapons confidently, and act. You have to do it all,” Idrizi said.

Much of the training remains the same today with Idrizi and Madden leading the charge.

Squires still must master the basics of horsemanship and sword fighting before moving on to the role of knight, but the approach is markedly different. When Idrizi and Madden began their training, more experienced knights were tough on young squires. Over the years, training has become safer and encouraging, with more detailed instructions on executing complicated stunts.

“Back when we started, no news was good news. Not getting yelled at after a show meant we did a good job,” Madden said.

“Now, Robert and I try to be a lot more encouraging with the new guys, because what we’re asking them to do is very challenging and we want them to succeed.”

Idrizi adds that self-motivation is key to success as a knight.

“Training now is definitely not easier, but it is better,” Idrizi said.

“It’s really up to the individual.

You have to be tough, willing to work this schedule, and motivated to push yourself beyond your comfort zone.”

Medieval Times in Schaumburg is one of nine castles in the country. The castle operates year-round and, in addition to performances, offers a display of medieval artifacts, a museum and a four-course dinner that accompanies every show. The longrunning, family-friendly dinner show draws guests from across the country and is a popular area attraction for large groups. The castle accommodates birthday parties, scout troop outings and corporate events.

The busy season at Medieval Times begins at the end of Febru-

ary and stretches until the end of August. During this time, knights perform between 12 to 16 shows a week, entertaining schoolchildren on field trips and summer campers. Between showdays and during the off-season, knights practice fight scenes and horse riding to continue to hone their craft. The troupe currently includes 12 full-time knights, six of whom are considered “veteran” knights.

Idrizi and Madden still perform in many of the shows, but their roles primarily center around training, overseeing show quality, and, in Idrizi’s case, administrative duties.

“Those are the parts I don’t like very much – checking time cards, making schedules,” Idrizi said with a laugh. “But I truly enjoy my work. When I see an average Joe who doesn’t know anything about horseback riding, sword fighting or acting, and six months later, the crowd is cheering like crazy for him, it is very rewarding.”

Even after many rough landings, physical exhaustion, disobedient horses and a few moments of stage fright, Idrizi still can say he loves his job. He said the challenges have only motivated him to keep learning and growing as both a performer and teacher, and the moments before the curtain rises on another show haven’t lost their thrill.

“To do this job, you have to love it. Every show, even after 13 years, I still want to give 100 percent effort. When the curtain goes up and the crowd’s roaring, there’s nothing else like it.”

| Style | Sunday, January 24, 2016 • NWHerald.com

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6 “Tobeagood

Bend and a beer

Yoga classes and craft breweries team up

By KELLI KENNEDY The Associated Press

NWHerald.com • Sunday, January 24, 2016

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AP photo

Reed Patterson practices yoga next to a beer at the Platform Beer Co. in Cleveland. Craft breweries are partnering up with yoga studios around the country as more breweries are hosting classes to attract a new crowd to the bars and yoga studios are using the beer to get more men to try yoga.

MIAMI – Call it detox and retox: Around the country, yogis are jumping up from savasana and hopping onto a barstool as yoga classes are making their way into breweries.

While the teaching is traditional, the classes tend to attract newbies, especially men, says Beth Cosi, founder of Bendy Brewski in Charleston, South Carolina, and Memphis.

“We get the men in the door mostly because it’s in a brewery and they get a beer afterward.

That’s the carrot. A lot of them come with girlfriends, wives, sisters,” Cosi said.

Her $15 classes are 45 minutes, compared to a typical 90-minute class. The room isn’t heated to near 100-degree temperature and the partnering breweries typically offer a tour of the facility after or the chance to drink a flight of several beers.

“They both lead to relaxation. And they both have a little bit of a social aspect, you know. And it’s a very relaxing place to do yoga. So, you know, very unpretentious,” Jason Crafts, 43-year-old IT project manager, said after a recent class at Raleigh Brewing Co. in

Raleigh, North Carolina.

While traditional yoga tends to encourage a navel-gazing focus on oneself, individual breathing and controlling one’s thoughts, the yoga beer classes are all about community.

“This gives you the opportunity to come to your mat, to connect with yourself ... and then to socialize after class and get to know people,” said Mikki Trowbridge, whose free classes in the Salem, Oregon, area draw between 75 and 150 people two or three times a month.

Trowbridge’s business plan wasn’t calculated. She and her husband just liked a strong, sweaty yoga class and a nice craft beer and figured they weren’t alone. “[Beer] is part of our culture here. We have breweries everywhere and so breweries are where we gather for social time,” she said.

The trend has caught on quickly with yoga-beer partnerships throughout Florida, New York and California. Cosi has been mentoring yoga teachers across the country looking to host beer yoga events. Beer maker Dogfish Head created a Namaste beer, Belgian-style white with dried organic orange flesh and fresh-cut lemongrass; and Lululemon, the athletic ap-

parel line, partnered with Stanley Park Brewing on a limitededition style with Chinook and Lemondrop hops.

The classes also offer a friendlier environment than yoga studios where many run out after namaste without talking to anyone.

“There’s a lot of (single) people that come in with the goal of talking to someone new and they already know they have beer and yoga in common,” said Melissa Klimo-Major, who started teaching yoga classes in breweries around Cleveland in 2014.

Trowbridge and Klimt drew notable crowds after hosting two beer yoga events in New York City over the summer.

The duo, who met on Instagram, is taking their business on the road with a west coast tour planned for the spring and several Midwest stops over the summer.

Breweries say the collaborations also are offering up a bonus for them.

“The majority of our yogis are usually girls and the majority of people in the brewery are men, so it’s kind of helped cross that chasm of getting girls into craft beer,” said Chris Gove, president of the SaltWater Brewery in Delray Beach.

Jeanne Phillips

Questions? Visit dearabby.com

Husband makes a scene when wife breastfeeds baby Dear Abby: I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl three months ago. I had breastfed my 15-year-old as a baby, so it was natural for me to do the same with my new daughter.

The problem is my husband, “Jerry,” does not support me breastfeeding in public.

I’m somewhat largechested, so I always cover up for fear of offending strangers. The last time we went shopping and the baby got hungry, when I tried to feed her in a dressing room, Jerry got so upset he stormed out of the store and took the baby bag and stroller with him.

I had a receiving blanket tucked into my tank top and had covered my breast so no one would see anything. I asked him what the problem was, and he said just because I thought it was OK didn’t mean some kid trying on clothes would think so. He told me I should breastfeed in the car or a bathroom. (Jerry doesn’t eat in restrooms, so why should our baby girl?)

I don’t plan to stop breastfeeding or going for outings with my baby girl, so how do I approach the situation without a fight? – Trying To Make Him Understand Dear Trying: How about

this: Go without Jerry. Your husband is behind the times.

Breastfeeding is nothing to be ashamed of and is promoted by pediatricians as one of the best ways of keeping a baby healthy. There is nothing shameful about this normal function, and you shouldn’t be banished to a car in a parking lot or a public bathroom in order to carry it out. The dressing room should have offered sufficient privacy.

Jerry should stop wor-

rying about other kids and concentrate on his own. If a parent had felt her child needed to be protected from the sight of a mother nursing her baby, she would have been perfectly free to shield the child’s eyes and usher him or her from the dressing room. If you are unable to get through to Jerry, or your husband cannot grasp this concept, your child’s doctor should explain it to him in simple English.

Dear Abby: How does one “break up” with a hairdresser? I’m not unhappy with “Flossie,” my current one, but I’d like to try someone else for a change of pace.

I know people of both sexes who have stayed with a hairstylist they are unhappy with because they can’t bring themselves to break up, so I know I’m not alone with this dilemma. I’d love to hear from hairdressers how they would prefer this be handled.

Do they take it personally? –

Trendsetter In California Dear Trendsetter: Some do

take it personally, I’m sure.

If you have a personal as well as a business relationship with Flossie, she may feel hurt you’re leaving. However, it is not a sin to want to try someone else. It happens all the time in that business.

My advice is to call Flossie in advance and let her know you won’t be coming so she can schedule someone else in that time slot. Then try the other stylist. That way, if you don’t like that stylist’s work, you can return to Flossie with no hard feelings.

• Write Dear Abby at www.dearabby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

| Style | Sunday, January 24, 2016 • NWHerald.com

DearAbby

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NWHerald.com • Sunday, January 24, 2016

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StraightTalk Rick Atwater

Questions? Visit northwestcommunitycounseling.com

For man reeling from grief, friends bring AA to him “Tom” was in his 30s and several years sober when he lost his wife in a car accident.

At first, he was in shock; he couldn’t believe it. He had the kids, a boy, 6, and a girl, 10, to worry about, and that kept his mind occupied for the first days and weeks until after the funeral.

He began to notice he was acting as though she were still there – making plans, having conversations in his head, assuming the help he’d always had with making decisions was still there. She had been his rock in many ways, his friend and go-to person when things got rough.

It was then that her loss really started to hit him, and it was about that same time family and friends who had been there for the rough beginning started to fade back into their lives and assume Tom was getting over it. The nights were the worst, Tom would say. There was no one to call at 3 in the morning and nothing to do but think. Then the first thought of drinking started sneaking back in, “just to help you sleep,” it would whisper.

He was over the initial shock, which is where most people would think Tom would have been at his most vulnerable, but actually alcoholics generally are pretty good with the big stuff, the tragedies and the chaos. It’s when it starts to get quiet and the real feelings of loss and grief start to sink in the going gets tougher. As if the current losses weren’t enough, Tom’s unresolved grief and leftover trauma from loss found an opening to be relived.

Tom had been raised by his mom, having been

abandoned by his dad when he was his son’s age. Angry and unforgiving toward this “mystery man,” Tom had never let those feeling go. He had lost a sister as an adult to an overdose of heroin and had buried her a year before he got sober, never shedding a tear.

Now, facing a potentially catastrophic flood of feelings he didn’t understand, Tom had some choices to make. He knew he could find support from his AA brothers and sisters, and he knew these people had become his family of choice, but he had a hard time reaching for those outstretched hands, so deep was his despair. So two guys who knew him best and had stayed in close contact decided to bring AA to Tom. They organized two meetings a week at Tom’s house and another at a friend’s nearby that Tom was picked up and delivered to. They set up a call schedule so Tom got regular calls from his “family” until he was able to start reaching out again.

It took six months of intensive work, but Tom began to see daylight. He started seeing a therapist who helped guide him through the past traumas, and between that and the loving arms of his AA family, Tom was able to stay sober, grieve his past and begin the process of accepting the loss of his dear wife.

• Rick Atwater is a licensed clinical professional counselor. He hosts the weekly radio show Straight Stuff on Addictions at recoveryinternetradio.com. He can reached by email at rickatwater@northwestcommunitycounseling.com.

Author Spotlight

11 | Style | Sunday, January 24, 2016 • NWHerald.com

GAIL WELLS

Latest Book: “Wish” Publisher: CreateSpace Release Date: Oct. 8, 2015

Where can we find it?

Read Between the Lynes in Woodstock, Amazon, Firehouse Depot in Harvard, Norton’s USA in Barrington and Arcadia Bookstore in Spring Green, Wisconsin.

What’s it about?

This tale is told by Will, who has been watching Mary Iris since she was born and feels a deep connection to her. Mary Iris is raised by the wise yet free-spirited Yulianna, aka Yumi, who originally is from Guatemala and of Mayan ancestry. One fateful night as Christmas nears, Mary Iris makes a wish on a star at the same time a boy named Chris a thousand miles away also makes a wish on the same star. That sets Will in motion to make sure these wishes are granted.

Where did the idea come from?

This is like answering, “What came first the chicken or the egg?” because I had wanted to write a book for more than 30 years. About 10 years ago, I decided I wanted to write a book for all ages that would be inspirational, educational and creative. I wanted to tell a magical story about believing in one’s own uniqueness, and I’d have to say that came from being a parent and a dance teacher.

What genre is your book, and why were you drawn to it?

It is fiction, told like a fable or fairy tale with a holiday theme. I love holiday stories and magical classical tales. Who isn’t drawn to “A Christmas Carol,” “Miracle on 34th Street,” “The Wizard of OZ” or “The Little Prince”?

Who is the intended audience?

Fourth grade and older, yet “Wish” is wonderful to read aloud to younger children, and adults have enjoyed it, as well. The story has a little something for everyone and is familyfriendly.

Why is this story important to you?

I gave myself a challenge to write the best story I could that would entertain, hopefully spark curiosity within the reader and also give many lessons on life. I want people to enjoy reading and learning. I want people to believe

in themselves and know it can happen at any age.

How long did it take you to write? What was your process?

The actual writing only took a few months, but the collection of what I call the puzzle pieces took years. I collected ideas and would write them down, not in any order. I knew what the big picture needed to look like. When I felt like I had all the pieces, I started putting it together, and they fit.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book? What was the hardest part?

I loved being creative and using my imagination along with research of actual facts, like about stingless bees or a bee’s waggle dance.

I’m sure most people have never heard of stingless bees, but to the Mayans of Guatemala, they are considered sacred. They also have been kept as pets. As far as the waggle dance goes, well, I taught dance, so why not try to mimic a bee’s waggle dance? For the bee, it’s language. The hardest part was starting to write. Even though I always wanted to write a book, I felt challenged with words.

How are you publishing this book and why (traditional/indie/self-publishing)?

After two years of sending out queries, I told myself that if I did not have a literary agent by 2015 I would self-publish. So that’s what I did.

It came out on Amazon.com as an ebook in July, which was a little easier to do. Then in October it became available on Amazon as a paperback book and now is available at various locations in Illinois and Wisconsin.

What is your education/background?

I have a little college education in various different subjects, and my background is dance. I was a dance teacher for 25 years.

How/why did you decide to write a book?

Deciding on “Wish” was like a dare to myself, to not let more time go by without acting on it.

Then I asked myself, “If you only write one book, what would it be?” There is a George Eliot quote on the dedication page: “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” I love that quote, and I love that George Eliot was a woman who said that. She used George Eliot as a pen name.

Who are your favorite authors?

Charles Dickens, Frances Hodgson Burnett,

Harper Lee, Elizabeth Gilbert, Nicholas Sparks Pick one: Danielle Steel or John Grisham?

John Grisham Pick one: Stephen King or Nicholas Sparks?

Nicholas Sparks – I actually lived in New Bern, North Carolina, for a while ,which is where Nicholas Sparks lives. I enjoy knowing the places he writes about.

Pick one: Ebooks or hard/paperbacks?

A real book that I can turn the pages of.

Have you written anything else?

I dabble in poetry, and I was in journalism in high school many moons ago.

What’s next for you?

I’m working on a memoir on just how “Wish” came to be, the story within the story. All those puzzle pieces and just how nonfiction fiction really is. Then a novel. I already know the story, but lots of reading and research are left to be done.

It might be a five-year plan for that one, but I promise it will be good.

“WISH” RELEASE: Oct. 8, 2015 PUBLISHER: CreateSpace ABOUT: One fateful night as Christmas nears, Mary Iris makes a wish on a star at the same time a boy named Chris a thousand miles away also makes a wish on the same star. That sets Mary Iris’ admirer, Will, in motion to make sure these wishes are granted.

INFO: Available at Read Between the Lynes in Woodstock, Amazon, Firehouse Depot in Harvard, Norton’s USA in Barrington and Arcadia Bookstore in Spring Green, Wisconsin.

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NWHerald.com • Sunday, January 24, 2016

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