AN INTERVIEW WITH J. ADAY KENNEDY

Thiis month, I’m chatting with multi-published author, J. Aday Kennedy, who calls herself “The Differently-Abled Writer.”

Welcome Aday, I’m so pleased to be able to interview you for my Web site.

To start, your Web site mentions that you were adopted at twenty-one years old. Can you expound on how that came to be?

My mom’s been married five times. She’s a slow learner, but an incredible woman. My father was an alcoholic and chose not to take an active part in my life. He was her second husband. Husbands three and four were not viable father candidates either. They had drinking problems. Steve, her fifth and final husband was a “fashion victim” geek from Arkansas.

My instant reaction was negative. “Great. Here we go again.” I teased him for over three years and wasn’t willing to give Steve a chance. Slowly he won me over.

After I spent 6 months lying to him, failed almost all of my classes my junior year of high school and got into a lot of trouble, he continued to love me. When I made the decision to go to junior college, he was my cheerleader. He pushed me to do my best and tutored me in Algebra and economics. “You can do this.” and “I’m proud of you.” were always on the tip of his tongue. For the first time in my life I had a real father. On my 21st birthday I asked him to adopt me.

I was terrified he would say, no, but his answer was a firm, yes. Everyday he showed me that he loves me and supports me. It took 21 years to find a dad, but it was worth the wait.

You are a ventilator-dependant quadriplegic and multi-talented writer; you speak, teach workshops, as well as crafts, and co-write songs, among other things—how do you pull it all together in an organized way?

I struggle with doing so many things at once. I am scatter brained and must have a regimented schedule or I bounce around and get nothing accomplished. What I do is have one primary project. It’s open on my computer’s desktop. This was the project open on my desktop until I completed it. I have a list of tasks each day. As I complete one, I return to my “primary’ project. I work on my primary project until I get stuck. Then I work on the next item on my list.
It took me a while to find something that works for me. Now that I’ve figured that out, I’m much more productive.

Aday, will you explain about all the types of writing you do?
I write inspirational and Christian pieces for adults. When I’m not writing for Christian magazines, I write for inspirational anthologies like Chicken Soup for the Soul. They’ve published five of my essays.
I write for children and teens, too. Right now I have eight books under publishing contracts with Guardian Angel Publishing. I have several books in progress. They’re geared for children, tweens and teens.

Tell us about you children’s book series, Klutzy Kantor?

The entire series can be described as

Book I Klutzy Kantor
Like Aday, Klutzy Kantor, the riddle-solving, klutzy Pegasus, is not afraid of facing adversity. He utilizes his greatest strength, his mind. Kantor flies to a rainbow and challenges a tricky leprechaun to a mental duel.  If Kantor solves Cobbledom Leprechaun’s riddle, the leprechaun will end Kantor’s klutzy ways. Children learn the benefit of practice and to focus on their strengths.

Book II Cobbledom’s Curse
Kantor cursed by the tricky leprechaun becomes clumsy again. Cobbledom agrees to give Kantor and his friend, Sprystar a wish. The two wash his dingy rainbow, but when they finish Cobbledom reveals it is one wish, not a wish for each they will receive. Kantor must make a choice between Sprystar’s wish and his own being granted. Through an entertaining tale children are taught a lesson about friendship and putting someone else’s needs above his own.

Book III The Itcha Itcha Goo Goo Blues
Jensen elf lost her hair due to a reaction to the medicinal cure for the Itcha Itcha Goo Goo disease, elf cancer. Klutzy Kantor Pegasus learns the bitter sweetness of self sacrifice when he must choose between losing his tail and easing Jenson’s suffering.

The main character has a blog (http://klutzykantor.blogspot.com), and sometimes interviews guests. Will you share with us about some of them?
Kantor is open to interview all types of guests. He prefers picture book characters and artists.

Horace from A Horse of Course by Shari Lyle-Soffe is a horse that’s given to a boy for his birthday. Horace lives in the human’s house and all sorts of things happen as a result.

Spirit from Andy and the Albino Horse by Mary Jean Kelso works as a therapy horse. He works with a paralyzed boy to become more confident.

What inspired you to write this series?
My sister is a total klutz, but really smart. My respiratory therapist and friend shared the riddle with me. I was trying to write a book for reluctant readers. Humor is a great way to reach them. Home schoolers and teachers are other groups I wanted to reach. I combined all elements and Klutzy Kantor the humorous, reluctant reader book with teacher’s guide was born.

What can we expect from you next?
Seven of my picture books are geared to attract reluctant readers. All of my books include a teacher’s guide. One is a Christian picture book that focuses on an uncle who is a disabled war veteran and his nephew‘s dealing with his uncle’s new disability and why God allowed him to become disabled.

I have several picture books making the rounds to different publishing houses. I am doing my best to complete a tween novel, After Patty Killed Her Daddy. That will be part of a fiction series, K-MAD (Kids Make a Difference). When that’s completed I will focus on my memoir 101 Ways to Torture a Quadriplegic: A Journey of Laughter Through Tears. I’m writing my memoir for a young adult audience.

Where can readers find you on the internet?
Website: The Differently-Abled Author www.jadaykennedy.com
Writing & Marketing Blog: http://jadaykennedy.blogspot.com
Character Blog: Klutzy Kantor’s Character Blog http://klutzykantor.blogspot.com

If you weren’t “differently-abled,” Aday, do you think you still somehow would have become a writer despite your desire to be a history teacher?
No. I had no desire or inclination to write. I might have pursued public speaking, because I love to talk. I only began writing, because I was desperate for something to do. I took a class on the internet and found out I loved writing and people didn’t see my disabilities. I was just me.

Last question that I hope you don’t mind answering: On your Web site, you mention the interesting names of your three older sisters—Tomorrow, Yestraday, and Taday. Will you share the story behind these names (and your own), if there is one?
Confession time – My sisters and my name are spelled differently than shown. Our names are Mary Tamora, Yestrada Marie, Tada Renelle and Jessica Ada. All our names are pronounced as “day”.
My oldest sister was named Tamora after a Russian ballerina. When my next sister was born, my dad thought it would be funny to name her yesterday, but my mom’s first name is Ada. So, that’s why the names are spelled differently. Her name is in each of our names. The trend continued with Tada’s and my name.

Thanks so much for visiting, Aday. It’s been a pleasure chatting with you. I wish you all the best with all of your writing projects.

If you would like to win a copy of Klutzy Kantor, use my Contact page, and type “drawing” in the comments box. The deadline to enter is August 24th.

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