About the Author
Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Renée is the oldest of four children, and a proud mother of two and grandmother of three. When speaking of her family, she affectionately says, “I love every precious moment even if it’s a virtual visit.” Having attended grade school through college in New Orleans, Renée found focusing on studies challenging in her early years and never dreamed of attending college.
However, in 1982 she thought it would be fun to take a writing course for children by mail. She remembers thinking, “How hard can that be?” Then six years later she received a diploma and said, “I thought I’d never complete that course, but I actually looked forward to every critique.”
Encouraged by her husband, Renée enrolled in nursing school at age 34 and eight years later attended graduate school. Renée says, being a nurse is an honorable gift having patients trust you during their most vulnerable health conditions.
Renée said the past few years have truly sparked her writing interest. Today she writes stories from her childhood journeys, a little bit of city and a little bit of country. She currently has one book published, one in production and two more in the early stages of writing. But for now, Renée hopes you and your family enjoy reading her playful story over and over, again and again - together.
Slidell-Independent
LOCAL AUTHOR RELEASES 'THREE PURPLE FROGS'
Thursday, March 26, 2020
SLIDELL-- Renée Mancini is a nurse, a mother, a grandmother and a new children's book author of "Three Purple Frogs."
Mancini loves to write stories of city children visiting the country. She grew up in New Orleans and has lived in Slidell for 33 years.
As a child, Mancini spent many weekends visiting her great grandmother on the farm and was fascinated that just a short-two-hour drive from her home life was so different. Drawing from her childhood visits to the farm, she has written an adventure story filled with colors, animals, numbers rhyming and action for the entire family to enjoy. It is perfect for ages 3-7 years.
One excerpt from the book shows how easily children will connect:
"Hopping, skipping and running with three purple frogs was a lot of fun. Along the way, I laugh and giggle a lot. Eventually, the three purple frogs hop faster than me and are soon out of sight. With the help of a little brown puppy, I go on a vibrant adventure to find the three purple frogs. We come upon colorful farm animals and objects that make our journey to find the three purple frogs very exciting. Won't you come along?"
Mancini's book is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Books-a-Million websites as a hardback, paperback or Kindle.
It is also available in paperback at Ochsner Northshore Hospital's gift shop.
Mancini has been writing short stories and poems for years.
"I have no regrets for waiting to get this book finished since I was a working mom and wife, all of which was my number one priority. Now I am finally making time to fulfill my dream, to write more and share my writer's passion in words. I hope you will enjoy the journey to find the 'Three Purple Frogs,'" she said.
Any retailer interested in carrying the book can contact Mancini by email at: Renee@reneemanciniauthor.com
INTERVIEW with RENÉE
A creative writing journey to publication
by The Institute of Children's Literature
Give us a short summary of your book or article.
It's a story of a young child visiting their grandma who lives on a farm. Once Grandma reads a bedtime story the child falls asleep and begins a colorful adventurous dream hopping, skipping and jumping with three purple frogs. Eventually the frogs hop faster and are soon out of sight. With the help of a little brown puppy, the child goes on a vibrant journey on grandma’s farm to find the three purple frogs.
Tell us a bit about your path to publishing, from idea to submission to published.
As a first time author, the path to publishing was overwhelming. I googled all the top publishers for childrens books and they wanted submissions from a literary agent only. I spent days scanning the internet even going to bookstores to note publishers of other childrens books. I began following authors on Facebook and Instagram to learn more. I joined a local writer’s guild for more insight. I even searched literary agents. What I decided was the route of an independent publisher. I was not trusting of literary agents and wanted one book under my belt. I figured no matter what, I was going to have to pay someone to help me. So I negotiated a contract I was comfortable with and followed their path. It took nine months from contract signing to publication. I have been satisfied with my choice. I’m published and they are doing the majority of marketing and I help with local contacts. My big issue came as my book was published January 31, 2020. COVID19 shut many businesses down and people were out of work. This was not good as I had book signings lined up at book stores and special gift shops ready to buy my book. So I started advertising to all my friends, Facebook, Instagram and co-workers. My book is on the majority of online shopping sites.
How long have you been writing?
I began writing when I was about twelve. I still have some of the stories I’ve written. I was writing from emotion at that time, if someone died or was hurt I expressed my feelings by writing. I do the same today, except most of my writing is happy. A word or idea would come to mind, I’d grab a pen and paper and write till I had nothing else to say. Then I’d continue revising or adding more information another day. Writing was therapeutic.
What's your favorite genre to write and why?
I love writing for children because I love colorful playful stories. I read to my children every night and they looked forward to hearing stories and looking at the pictures. Children are great critics.
Please list the course or courses you've taken with us.
In 1982, I began the course, Writing for Children and Teenagers by mail. My diploma is dated June 13, 1988. It took a while to complete as I was a young mom working a full time job with two little ones and a husband. But I finished the course and was very glad I did.
How has taking our course/s helped your writing and/or career?
My instructor was very thorough with my writing as well as my spelling. He directed me to rework the stories so they made sense to others and not just myself. The lesson topics were not always my favorite but I drew from my happiest times as a child. It was challenging to stay within a word limit and still get your story across the way you intended, it actually helps you become a better writer. I’m a fluffy writer, then I have to revisit and get to the meat of the story.
Have any of your class assignments been published? If so, where and when?
None of my stories from class have been submitted for publication but I do have plans to revisit those stories and publish. They are all of my childhood and that was a very happy time for me.
Do you have a favorite writing tip you'd like to share?
I’ve learned so many tips. Always date and time your stories or thoughts. If an idea or word come to mind and you think "WOW, that would be a great story," write it down immediately because you may never recall it the same way. Keep a journal or small notebook close for those "A-ha!" moments. Always let several people read your story, so they can provide honest feedback.
If you could travel back in time and give yourself one piece of writing advice, how far back would you go, and what would you tell yourself?
I would return to twelve years of age when I began writing with emotion. I wish I had shared my stories with my English teacher or even my mom. Mom was an unpublished writer and she had such a lovely way of expressing her thoughts. Instead of sharing and learning how to grow my thoughts on paper, I kept my writings in a personal folder. Actually, I was shy and afraid of being told my story was not good.
Please tell us the best or most valuable thing you learned from your experience with us (i.e. why a course or contest was so educational for you, changed your writing habits, etc.)
The most valuable thing I learned was to stick with the course no matter how challenging. Sometimes I felt so dumb when my lessons came back marked up. If I’d had this kind of grooming at twelve, I may have published much sooner in my life. Also, don’t be shy about sharing your work. Not everyone is going to like what you write, but what you say may be powerful to the next person.
Make up a question you want to answer and then answer it here!
Why has it taken you so long to get serious about writing and publishing? Great question. I began writing off and on at age twelve, I was still a child and loved playing outdoors more. When I took this course I thought I was ready to write and publish. Needless to say, I still had a lot of writing to learn. Then family and my job kept me busy until now. I’m retiring soon, my children are married and now I have time to pursue a lifelong passion of writing. I love words. Words are colorful, emotional and you will always have someone who needs your story. Fifty-four years later, I'm ready.
