Book Details:
Book Title: The New Adventures of A.R. Achnid (Revised Edition)
Author: Sandi Smith
Illustrator: Kathy Lee
Category: Children’s Fiction, 126 pages
Genre: Children’s Chapter Book, Animals, Bugs & Spiders
Publisher: Mindstir Media
Release date: January 3, 2017
Tour dates: June 18 to July 13, 2018
Content Rating: G
Author Interview THE ADVENTURES OF A.R.ACHNID Sandi Smith
Where do you get inspiration for your stories? All of my writing began about ten years ago, when I had an encounter with a spider. After that, I started getting words constantly, but, aside from the spider, I have never had anything that inspired me to write my stories. Every single story that I wrote came to me while I was sleeping. Sometimes it would be a paragraph that I would build on. Sometimes it would be a title (the title for one of my novels sat in my computer for nine months before I got any words for that story). So, there was no real inspiration, just words that came unexpectedly.
There are many books out there about spiders, what makes your different? My A.R. Achnid book is unique. First of all, because it is a children’s story, and secondly, because he doesn’t see himself as a regular old spider. Of course, it definitely is a story about a spider, but A.R. is not ordinary. He lives with his mother, his father, and his brother, Bo, and they have taken up residence with two humans – Harold and Beth. A.R. is not just a spider, he actually thinks he is human, and wants so much to be accepted and loved by his human friends. In my book, A.R. is dressed and wearing socks, sneakers, a shirt, and a hat, ready and anxious to go for a ride with Harold, or he is trying to get Beth to be friends with him, which is definitely not your usual book about spiders.
What advice would you give budding writers? I would tell them to relax. When I first started writing, especially one of my novels, if the words and ideas stopped coming, I would obsess over it and worry. Finally, I just decided that the words would come sooner or later, and I closed my computer and walked away. Enjoy your writing process and take a step back when it becomes to stressful.
Your book is set in (name place). Have you ever been there? Any town in this book would be fictional, but none are based on a real town or city.
In your book, you state that “…seeing you and your wonderful smile”. Why is that? When I first started writing my A.R. books, there was just the one story. Once more and more stories came along, I wanted some continuity and connection between all of my stories, something that was familiar for the reader to relate to, and feel comfortable. Also, I wanted the reader to feel special after reading each story. So after giving it a lot of thought, I decided to end each chapter the same, and that is how I came up with a similar ending for each story – …seeing you and your wonderful smile.
Book Description:
Harold! There goes that spider! See, he is running on the floor! That spider has to go. He cannot live here anymore!!! Oh, no! Beth looks very, very angry. What has A.R. Achnid done now? Well, before A.R. got into big trouble with Beth, he had a lot of wonderful adventures.
There are ten different adventures in this book. There is the time he went to the circus and rode on a balloon, and then had some shoo fly pie. Another day, A.R. and Rex (a Great Dane, who is A.R.’s best friend) decided to walk all the way into town, and they had such a wonderful time. Then, A.R. and his family went to New York City for the biggest craft fair ever (which was for spiders only), plus many, many other adventures.
Unfortunately, in the tenth story, A.R.’s current living situation is going to need an adjustment. Something changes in the lives of Harold and Beth (the humans) that will make things very difficult for A.R. Come along with A.R. for some fun, and find out what small bundle will cause problems for A.R. and his family.
As A.R. says, “Spiders rule!”
To follow the tour, please visit Sandi Smith’s page on iRead Book Tours.
Sandi Smith spent her time as a young girl combing the shelves of the public library. She has always enjoyed the magic that books have to offer and was inspired by her high school English teacher, Mr. Coolidge to embrace the arts. The author found her calling as a writer early one morning as her first story came to her in the form of a poem. Since then she has written more than 15 children’s books, with her most popular series about the adventures of an adorable spider in the A.R. Achnid series.
Sandi is happily married to her inspiration and husband of 40 years, John. She continues to write for her two precious grandchildren. When she’s not penning a new story, Sandi and John like to camp, kayak and to enjoy the simple life in their home in Pembroke, NH.
Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Pinterest
This sounds like a fun read for young readers! Thanks for sharing!