Meet Our Newest Judge - Brenda Reeves Sturgis!
We are pleased to announce our newest Rate Your Story Judge - multi-published, award-winning author Brenda Reeves Sturgis who will be giving Ratings and Feedback on rhyming manuscripts.
Rate Your Story Members get 18 Ratings and Feedback from published Rate Your Story Judges and Guest Gurus per Membership Year (January 7, 2025 - November 15, 2025) and MORE. If not a Member, you are invited to sign up here: www.rateyourstory.org/become-a-member
You can check out Brenda’s rhyming and non-rhyming picture books here: https://amzn.to/41bmZP3
Q: What did you love about being a child?
A: I loved that my mother cooked dinner every night at 5:00, she took us to church on Sundays and had a big dinner at noon. I loved laying back-to-back with my mother and taking naps, and Christmas mornings were always magical with white powdered donuts and orange juice. I loved reading Little Golden books, and it is my dream to have one someday.
Q: What brought you to children’s books?
A: I attended an author visit when my daughter was 5. She is 26 now. I love writing and I especially love writing in rhyme. I asked the author “How do I become published?” She told me, and I followed her blueprint and “Viola” here I am with my fifth book due out in the spring of 2025.
Q: What do you love about children’s books?
A: I love the magic of writing them. I love the magic of reading them. I am particularly fond of rhyme. I love the lessons you can learn and the hearts they can touch.
Q: Share a little bit about your most recently published book. How long was its path to publication? What did you learn from this experience? What is your favorite thing about this book?
A: My most recent book, BroomMates: A Brewing Boundary Battle, co-authored with Lynne Marie, was a dual labor of love that she brought to me and asked if I would like to co-write it with her in rhyme. This is a story of two witch sisters, based on Lynne’s childhood with her sisters. We worked on it together for a long time, (not sure exactly how long) but we are perfectionists so we wanted it to be as perfect as it could be. I learned so very much about myself in this writing and publishing process, mostly how incredibly grateful that I am to Lynne for choosing me to be part of her passion project. I also learned a lot about compromise which is the theme of the book.
Q: Share a little bit about another book you wrote and how you drew upon your interests or experience to research / write it.
A: The newest book that I have coming out, After the Shelter, published by Albert Whitman, (April 2025) is a follow-up story to my Still a Family, (a story about childhood homelessness). This story is about a mom and her daughter, Lily, how they rise up from poverty and make a
new life, after living in a homeless shelter. Amy Everson illustrated it, and I am so hopeful this story will help parents, children and social workers explain and understand the process of overcoming adversity.
Q: What do you love about poetry?
A: I love the structure of it, the joy of finding words that fit perfectly in meter. Rhyme zone is my best friend. In BroomMates, Lynne and I selected the word “bedazzling” and it was amazing to get it to fit perfectly in the storyline. Finding the exact perfect word is like discovering a timeless treasure.
Q: What does a story need to make it a favorite for you?
A: Rhyme, and if not rhyme it has to have an element of heart. I do enjoy funny manuscripts but really what I look for is a manuscript that makes me think, makes me toss and turn at night hashing over it, and re-read ability.
Q: Share a story that you love and why.
A: This is a controversial one for sure, but, I LOVE The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein. I gave it to my children on their 18th birthdays. To me; this is a life story, and the selflessness of a parent, and a child, the phases of life, how we are always looking for something else to make us happy, when really we just need to sit in the moment. It is a powerful story.
Q: What is a common issue you see in the manuscripts you critique?
A: I often see rhyming manuscripts that rhyme simple words at the end, which can be done successfully, but there has to be a more complex word in one of the sentences to make it stand out.
A lot of people feel that rhyme is so easy to do, which is an untruth really. It is difficult to do well. If you want to rhyme a story; my advice is to always write it out in prose first, then convert it into rhyme. I will give you an example. Lynne wrote BroomMates first in prose and sorted out the characters, plot and the overall story elements. Then, she asked me to come in on the project and we converted it to rhyme. After we converted it, we went back in line by line to make sure the plot moved forward and there was no near rhyme. We are both sticklers on that point. Then we add an internal rhyme for spice. One of my favorite stanzas is as follows,
In a creaky rundown house,
in an itty-bitty room,
lived witchy mismatched sisters,
forced to share a room and broom.
In the first line we used onomatopoeia with the word creaky. The second line has internal rhyme with itty bitty, and internal rhyme again on the fourth line.
Q: Please share a Submission Tip with our Members.
A: I would always say to follow guidelines; but don’t stress if you hit send and you find something isn’t exactly perfect. People that critique, (at least speaking for myself) I’m not looking for perfection, I am looking for heart and natural talent.
Q: Please share a Revision Tip for our Members.
A: Revise. Sit on it. Revise again. Look for word choice with a thesaurus or rhyme zone.
Q: Name subjects you would like to read about.
A: I am a huge biography reader, I love facts, I love real people stories.
Q: Name subjects you would not like to read about.
A: As far as adult books, I am not big on horror stories, they stick in my mind too long, and I overthink.
Q: Share a fun fact about YOU!
A: I weighed 3.5 pounds at birth so that is like 3.5 packages of hot dogs. I wore 20-inch doll clothes and fit in a shoe box.
Brenda Reeves Sturgis is a multi-published-award-winning writer who lives in Maine at the edge of the woods. She began her writing career in 2005 after attending an author visit at her child’s school. She is the author of several picture books, including Still a Family (a book about childhood homelessness). This story was named a top 100 book by the New York Public library in 2017. She was featured on the PBS NYC show “Let’s Learn” where there was a one-million reach.
Learn more about her at: https://www.brendareevessturgis.com/
She is honored to be a part of Rate Your Story and is looking forward to reading your rhyming manuscripts.
Brenda's Books include:
Two Lions Publishing
Islandport Press.
Still a Family, Albert Whitman
Thanks for sharing! I loved learning more about you, Brenda. I love the advice to write a story in prose before attemptin rhyme. And full discloser...I LOVE 10 Turkeys in the Road!!
I hope someday I'll have rhyming PB to submit for your rating!! Thanks for all the helpful tips.
Nice to "meet" Brenda! I enjoyed this interview and learning more about Brenda, her background and books. 😊