The love of writing

 

Shores woman never tires of penning stories

 

By Julie Stevens

C & G Staff Writer

     Christine Tricarico has written many children’s stories, but not one has been published.

     But it’s not because she doesn’t want her whimsical tales available to the masses. After all, she is still able to tell her tales.

     Last week, Tricarico was invited to read her latest fable “Boe Tries Something New!” during the PTA-sponsored Family Reading Night at Elmwood Elementary School on Feb. 12.

     Like “Boe,” Tricarico’s tales are very interactive.

     While reading one of her latest stories, “Imagine If,” Tricarico asked children questions like, “Imagine if dogs could fly/ What would they do way up high?”

     “They come up with some of the best answers, too,” Tricarico said. “I just love hearing the answers and they really enjoy it.”

     Which is why Tricarico, the mother of a 6-year-old Elmwood student, is always asked to read her work during such events.

     Principal Tim Jalkanen said Family Reading Night, held once a month and features varied guest readers such as teachers and other parents, is a great way to entertain the children and keep their minds working — especially close to their bedtimes.

     “The idea is that they hear a story and they’re ready to go to bed,” he said. “At least that’s what is hoped.”

     Tricarico hopes the intent registers as well, but at the same time, she hopes the children simply enjoy her creations.

     A writer of children’s stories for the past two years, Tricarico is admittedly obsessed when it comes to feeding her creative hunger.

     “I have always loved to write,” she said. “In grade school I was into poetry. In college I loved creative writing, and wrote a lot of  ‘darker’ poetry.”

     While living in California, Tricarico, a dog breeder when she’s not a writer, became interested in songwriting, a venture that didn’t last too long.

     “The lyrics were good, but I couldn’t carry a beat — so that wasn’t a good match,” she said.

     It was after the adoption of her and husband Steve’s daughter Fallon that Tricarico turned her interests toward the children’s genre.

     “Fallon was such a source of inspiration, that it just came naturally to me — and that’s when I knew ‘I had found my niche,’” Tricarico said. “I also have an un-relenting dream to reach young children throughout the world by creating picture books that speak to them in a way they can fully understand. And stories that evoke inspiration, self-esteem and acceptance of others from the children who read them.”

     Currently, Tricarico has 20 completed manuscripts and another six stories that she’s working on. She also has another dozen more that are works inside her imagination.

     “She’s always writing,” said Steve Tricarico. “We expect to get some published real soon, which would be good because they’re all useful stories and they’re humorous.”

     “Boe Tries Something New” is about a little bear that will not try new things, which Tricarico said is not unlike a lot of children. The short story, which Tricarico calls her “best story,” has songs throughout that the children can easily learn and sing along with.

     “I have received very positive responses from the children and the (critique) groups I am involved with,” she said.

     “Boe” will be featured in an upcoming issue of “The World Around Us,” a multicultural children’s E-zine.

     While each of her stories have special meaning to her, Tricarico’s favorite of the moment is a tale called “Moonie the Moon Moth.”

     “(It’s a favorite) probably because it has been my most challenging to write and revise,” she said. “I’m trying to make it shine, so it has a chance of being published. This is a whimsical story — the characters are moths, believe it or not. It has an underlying message of how we all have our own unique gifts and talents. We may not always know exactly what they are, and that’s OK.  As long as you follow your heart and stay true to yourself, your dreams will come true.”

     Tricarico said that while some of her stories have been inspired by Fallon, her own dogs, or even by other children, she insists that she has no idea why or when an idea will hit — and some do at “the most inopportune times.”

     “Ideas have woke me up in the middle of the night and kept me up all night,” said Tricarico, 39. “While I’m driving, then I have to pull over to the side of the road or get off the freeway to write it down quickly.

     “The best story ideas are not the ones you try to ‘come up’ with, but rather the ideas that come out of nowhere and hit you like a tidal wave,” she said.

     Tricarico said she receives many joys out of writing, but the one thing she has enjoyed least has been the rejections over getting her stories published.

     “I realize now just how competitive this market is, especially for children’s picture book authors,” she said. “It’s extremely hard to break into unless you have notoriety. I wish one editor would give me half a chance; I would prove to them that I’m in this for the long haul and for all right reasons — children and literacy.”

     In the meantime, Tricarico said she would continue her attempts in getting her stories published for all children to enjoy.

     “Children love ‘Boe the Bear,’” she said. “More children should hear this story. I’m just waiting. People just tell me ‘Tow the line. Wait your turn.’ That’s what I’m doing.”

     Look for Tricarico’s stories at The World Around Us Web site at www.theworldaroundus.net.

     You can reach Julie Stevens at jstevens@candgnews.com