Marti Dumas - Magical Stories for Children

Marti Dumas is a mom, teacher, and writer from New Orleans. She knows, not thinks, that all kids are smart and does her best to show it in the stories she writes. So far she has written 9 books for children including the Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest series, the Seeds of Magic series, and The Little Human, but her goal is to write 49 or 50. (She can't decide which. 50 is such a nice, round number, but 49 is a perfect square...) And, not that you asked, but she also makes a killer bean pie and shares the recipe freely. As our Author of the Day, Dumas tells us all about her latest book, The Little Human.

Please give us a short introduction to what The Little Human is about.

The Little Human the story of a girl who has always longed to swim in the sea and have an adventure on her very own. When she finally gets her wish, there is more in store for her than she could have imagined.

What inspired you to write this story?

The Hans Christian Anderson version of The Little Mermaid has a whimsical yet gloomy aesthetic that has inspired many adaptions, but I felt like most of the adaptations try to remove the gloom and, as a result, sometimes remove the depth of feeling. Children are human and have a full range of feelings. I wanted a chance to explore that in a whimsical setting without making it feel like a cautionary tale.

What fascinates you about the original Little Mermaid story by Hans Christian Andersen?

The darkness and the whimsy make a striking contrast. I love it. Don’t get me wrong. I love the Disney adaption of The Little Mermaid as well and do not miss a chance to belt out Ursula’s villain song, “Poor, Unfortunate Souls”.

Tell us more about Amaya. What makes her so special?

Without giving spoilers that would be hard to do, so I’ll take the opposite stance and say that she isn’t. She is what many of us take for granted as ordinary. A smart girl from a loving family. But the things that make her ordinary in our world make her extraordinary under the sea.

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

Secret skills? Lol. I’m not very secretive, do probably not many. Since the quarantine started, my children and I have been taking online piano lessons together, and I’m proud to say that I’ve worked my way up to being able to play a simple version of Scarborough Fair, thank you very much. ;-) I also started playing the ukulele and am working on a very poor rendition of Dolly Parton’s Jolene. I don’t know if we can actually call either of those talents, though.

This is the first book in a series. Can it be read as a standalone? How do the other books in the series tie in with this one?

It’s not. It’s a standalone book. The publisher was originally going to release it in three parts, but eventually, we decided that it would be better without cliffhangers so it was released as one volume.

Do any of your characters ever take off on their own tangent, refusing to do what you had planned for them?

Yes, but never when I’m writing. I have a lot of stories that play around in my head. In those stories, the characters romp around doing whatever they please and I’m sure if I tried to write them like that they’d be very uncooperative. I learned a long time ago that I needed to let each story settle down in my head before I sit down to write it. So once I’m sitting at a computer, I know the characters pretty well and I know where they want to go.

Please tell us more about the cover and how it came about.

Stephanie Parcus is a genius. Full story. Follow her on Instagram. She’s @steph_parcus_wildpets.

Is there something that compels you to write? And do you find that writing helps you achieve clarity about yourself or ideas you've been struggling with?

I have always been a person who loves stories and maybe even wrote them on occasion, but what compelled me to be a writer is the desire to be helpful. There are stories that are missing. As a classroom teacher, I had a really hard time finding stories where children of color got to be the hero unless the story was about slavery, racism, or the civil rights movement. That’s not to say those stories aren’t important. They are. It’s also not to say that there were no happy books about kids of color. There were. But what was true then and is still true now is that those books were difficult to find. There just weren’t enough of them and there still aren’t, so I’m writing to fill the gap. I can’t tell you how wonderful it feels when parents or teachers or librarians tell me that the work I’m doing is helping. It may only be helping a little, but I’ll keep doing what I can do for as long as I can do it.

Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why?

Octavia Butler. Her body of work is extraordinary.

What is the best writing advice you’ve received?

Write. Don’t worry about if it’s good or bad, just write. You can’t get better if you don’t write. You can’t finish a story if you don’t write. You can’t be published if you don’t write. So, write.

Do you have any interesting writing habits? What is an average writing day like for you?

I write almost every day and since I’m an early bird, I write in the morning while my brain is still fresh. I used to write at home but, since the quarantine, our little house is crowded and distracting even when everyone is being quiet, so I write in a tent on a rooftop. It's very cool.

What are you working on right now?

Right now I’m finishing up the last book in The Seeds of Magic trilogy. The first book, Jupiter Storm, begins with a little girl named Jackie discovering something magical in her garden. Saying goodbye will be bittersweet. I’ve loved every moment of writing these books. But as sad as I’ll be to let Jackie go, I’ll also be excited to see her fulfill her destiny.

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

I love getting messages from teachers and kids and families. I’m on Instagram and Facebook as MomTeacherWriter. Or you can send me a message through my website: www.MartiDumasBooks.com.