Summer is here! I bet you’re feeling the heat already. Time for a great read for your little ones. Here’s a brilliant picture book that grabbed my heart. “Tony The Theater Dog: Puttin’ On A Show”. It’s the first of a series that introduces children to the behind the scenes of theater. Playwright and author Glen C. Kinnaird wrote this book as a story to teach children about live theater. He lives in New York with the real Tony the Theater Dog. He developed the story from experiences backstage at a national tour of a Broadway show. I had a chance to interview Mr. Kinnaird about his picture book series, authors that influenced him, and what future projects he has in store for us.

• What is your favorite memory from reading as a child?

Glen C. Kinnaird: My favorite book from my childhood that really sticks in my mind was a book called Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls. The book is set on a Cherokee farm at the end of the 1800s and it tells the story of Jay Berry, a young boy from a poor family, as he tries to capture a group of runaway circus monkeys. I was captured from the first pages and as a boy who struggled with identity as a child and found it hard to make friends, books became a way for me to imagine I was friends with the characters in the books, going on the adventures with them.

• Who was your favorite author and how did they influence you?

Glen C. Kinnaird: Now that is a tough question. I think C.S. Lewis is my favorite author of all time. Lewis writes in both rational argument and imaginative analogy that helps me consider more deeply my faith. I remember thinking to myself it was the first time I had read someone who was both an intellectual and spiritual at the same time.

• Do you have a writing routine? Share what works for you.

Glen C. Kinnaird: I am shamed to say I am a writer who goes with inspiration. I do not have a set routine yet, although I did not find my interest in becoming an author until 2012 when I began another young adult trilogy called, The Legend of the Crystal Lotus. It has been a story that has taken me almost eight years to develop the world, the characters and I have revised the plot lines about four times over the years. “Tony the Theatre Dog” took almost two years to write and had three different plots and story lines when we started. The illustrator began her drawings as I was doing the final editing on the book. I would bring her images and a description of what I wanted on the page. She did not see the actual text until I showed her the first draft summer of 2017.

• What subjects would you like to write about in future projects?

Glen C. Kinnaird: I would like to find my Southern Voice as a writer. I feel that my childhood was kind of odd and I think there are a ton of kids that need to hear a voice that understands. So, this means I need to dive into those memories and some of them may be painful. It took time to explore those memories. I think I suppressed a lot of the pain. Now that I am almost fifty coming up in August, 2019, I see joy in my childhood where in years past the only thing I could see looking back was painful memories.

• What is writing to you in one sentence?

Glen C. Kinnaird: Writing is like flying for me, looking for new worlds.

Tony The Theater Dog series starts with the book “Puttin’ On A Show”. Tony takes the reader through the preparation of a theater production. Kids are introduced to the jobs that help put a theater show together. Different locations are explored, and Tony even brings peace to the cast and producer inspiring everyone to work together as a team.

 

“Tony the Theater Dog: Puttin’ On A Show” is available at Amazon.com.

It is due to release on July 15, 2019. Pre-order is available.

For more information on Glen C. Kinnaird, please visit his website at: https://www.tonythetheatredog.com/.