Melissa Ann Goodwin

Melissa Ann Goodwin

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Guest Post from Greg Allen, Author of Chicken Boy: The Amazing Adventures of a Super Hero With Autism

Today, author Greg Allen and I are swapping blogs. Greg is a multi-facted writer who writes in a variety of genres. The themes he covers are diverse, but a common thread, whether he is writing for grown-ups or for kids, is the theme of overcoming adversity through perseverence. Today, he's telling us about the inspiration for his children's book,
Chicken Boy, The Amazing Adventures of a Super Hero with Autism.

Heeeeeeeeere's GREG!



Inspiration in the Eyes of my Godson

As an author, I find inspiration in so many places when I’m writing. A dream. A situation that pops inside my head. A tour guide on a vacation can become a character in a book. Something I’ve lived through in my past and want to work through it in a fictionalized way.

With my children’s book, it was something completely different.

I have a long history of working and writing in children’s theater. The first musical I ever wrote for the stage was a children’s show when I was 14. I went on to write two others in high school. When I moved to NY, I toured in every children’s show imaginable including the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – so performing and writing for children was in my blood.

Last summer, the idea of Chicken Boy: The Amazing Adventures of a Super Hero with Autism came to me while having my weekly dinner with my godson and his sister. She and I were watching him eat his chicken fingers (that he must have every week) and this children’s picture book was born. I submitted it to a few publishers, but then it really took off in the fall when it was entered in the MeeGenius Author Challenge. They are a leading eBook publisher and received 400 manuscripts in the fall. The public was able to vote and we were thrilled when it received over 2,000 votes. Now it is in the final week of the last round where only 13 remain and all have been edited and illustrated. It has been an amazing lesson in gratitude for me.

I knew I wanted to tell a story from the perspective of the child with autism. So many are from a sibling or friend and this was a simple way to say “don’t be fearful of who I am…get to know me.” Naturally, I used my godson as who was in my mind – but I’ve heard from so many people that read the book in round one and said “that is my child!” It has touched me beyond words and now the book is about all the children with autism that are super heroes – each living in their own minds and are wonderful, creative, smart people.

Who knows where my next inspiration will come from, but for now – I’m thankful that Gabe not only inspired me, but that I followed through and we’re hoping this book will see publication soon. (Feel free to click on the link to read it and put in your own vote as well! CLICK HERE TO VOTE

I wish great inspiration on everyone reading this blog. You never know where you’ll find it!

And for a video about my inspiration – well HERE he is.

For more on Gregory G. Allen - visit his website at www.ggallen.net or see Melissa's guest post on his BLOG



That's Greg, right there!

25 comments:

  1. Amazing where you can find inspiration - great idea for a book - look forward to reading it.

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    1. Thanks so much! Hoping it makes it through this competition and that MeeGenius publishes it. And a huge thank you to Melissa for hosting me on her site today. Loved swapping blogs with her and hosting her on my site today.

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  2. That's a great idea for a book, I just read it and voted. Gona get my lil sis to read it she could learn a lot form it :)

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  3. Thanks so much, Anna. Really appreciate the words...and the vote! ;-)

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  4. Wow! How cool is that! Keep up that great work.


    Lee
    Wrote By Rote
    An A to Z Co-host blog
    Twitter: @AprilA2Z
    #atozchallenge

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    1. Thank you, Arlee. We have one week of voting left and I'm doing all I can to get it published!

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  5. A brilliant idea. I will read it in a little. Thank you. Have you come across 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' by Mark Haddon? This books is also told from the perspective of a boy with autism. I devoured it when it came out and it has a cherished spot in my heart and book shelves.

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    1. Hi, back again. I have just read your book and loved it. Thank you. Mark Haddon's book is written for an older age group. If you get the chance it is still worth chasing up.

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    2. I will definitely look up that book! Thank you. When I was researching, I couldn't find one for a younger child - but I will check out Mr. Haddon's book. Thanks for reading mine. We need the votes/shares in order to get it published with MeeGenius.

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  6. Fantastic post Greg! I love reading about how writers get their inspiration for books so I really enjoyed reading your thoughts. Thanks for sharing.

    Megan @ Storybook Love Affair

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    1. Thanks so much, Megan. It is amazing where inspiration can come from. (I was at the theater last night and something started to form in my brain for a book down the road.) And I will get a copy of "The Curious Incident..."

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  7. Oh and by the way The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time is one of my all-time fave books :)

    Megan @ Storybook Love Affair

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  8. Great post, Greg - I love hearing how you got your inspiration!

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  9. Hi everyone, thanks for letting Greg know you came by and for sharing your thoughts!

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  10. Anonymous2/12/2012

    This books looks like one I would love to read! Thanks, Melissa, for introducing me to it.

    I just finished yours and loved it, too! I'll put up a (of course) 5-star review today or tomorrow on Amazon!! I would also love to try turning it into a screenplay for you. Don't know if you'd be interested... When my son was majoring in film about 13 years ago, when we were all living in Salt Lake City, since I have always loved movies and he was in the thick of it all, I began learning all I could about screenwriting from talking to him and reading books on the subject, and using this as an excuse to almost constantly watch movies - I did come up with two screenplays. Paid for a review on one of them from a screenwriter in California. She said it has potential for an interesting script. I've been thinking now about going back to it because I feel like I can now see more clearly how to translate a story from the printed page to the screen - you have to think visually. I think I could do it - if you're interested in letting me try. If you are, my email: annbest37 at yahoo dot com. And I would need an MSWord copy of the book so I could print it out to see it more clearly.

    It looks like you had a wonderful time at the Andover Bookstore. I LOVE local bookstores and hope they don't all fall by the wayside. And I hope you're having good sales with the print book as well as the ebook.
    Ann Best, Author of In the Mirror & Other Memoirs

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  11. Ann, thank you so much for your kind words. I'm SO Thrilled that you loved the book and I greatly appreciate the reviews. And I'm glad you see the film possibilities in it too - quite a few people say they can "see it as a movie". I'll email you. Again, many thanks.

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  12. Dear Greg,
    I so enjoyed your book. I have a nephew who's fifty now and has a mild form of autism. It's affected his whole life. A book like yours could have made a great difference for him. Thank you in advance for all the help you will give children and families through this book.

    Peace.

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    1. Dee, thank you so much for your words! I'm hoping this book wins the contest (publication) so that ALL our super heroes can share it with classmates and other children. All the best!

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  13. Anonymous2/13/2012

    It really IS a very visual book. I'm going to get a review of it up this week on Amazon!
    Ann Best, Author of In the Mirror & Other Memoirs

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  14. Wonderful post, Greg. I loved hearing about how you got your inspiration, and your book sounds excellent. Great to meet you!

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    1. Thank you, Julie. Really appreciate it. Thanks for reading the blog. (Melissa was great to host me with this!)

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