More about Kevin McNamee

Welcome back for part two about Kevin McNamee. I wish I had been the interviewer for the following interview continued from Presenting Kevin McNamee, but I wasn't. Therefore, I've enjoyed it as much as anyone.

What is your most precious memory?

Recently, I came home from work and I was completely exhausted.My four year old daughter wanted me to play our usual games, tag, hide and seek, and some other game of her own creation which involves me chasing her while she’s wearing a plastic firefighter’s helmet and carrying a beach ball.

I was tired and really wanted no part of it. But my daughter was insistent, and I found myself losing patience, and I yelled at her.

She climbed up on the couch, threw her arms around me and said, “I love you Daddy. Now you can be so happy.”

I melted.

What is your most embarrassing memory?

My most precious memory and my most embarrassing memory are the same, when I think of how selfish I was being.

If you weren’t a writer, what would you be doing with your life?

Right now, I still have a day job. Unfortunately, writing hasn’t been my means to self-sufficiency yet. I’m still trying to find that balance between work/family/writing/everything else. It’s a challenging juggling act, but so far, I’ve been able to keep all the balls in the air.

In two paragraphs or less write your obituary.

Sorry, I’m much too busy trying to live my life to worry about how my obituary will read. My life, like some of my writing is still a work in progress.

Can you describe the time you realized you were indeed a “real” writer?

Somewhere along the way, I stopped doubting my ability. A rejection of my manuscript ceased to be a rejection of myself. A rejection letter became an opportunity to send my manuscript somewhere else.

Comments and criticism became opportunities to strengthen my story, revise something unworkable, or something to ignore altogether if it didn’t fit with my vision of the story.

I was able to refer to myself as a writer without feeling self conscious and … oh yeah, someone was willing to pay me for what I wrote.

What is going on with your writing these days?

Right now, I have several stories in various stages of completion, one story that has been finalized and critiqued and needs a final revision, and a few that are finished and have been sent out to various publishers.

What are your future goals for your writing?

I’ve been focusing primarily on picture books and I would like to branch out to middle readers and Young Adult novels.

I have two middle readers in various stages of completion.


Kevin, thanks for posting that interview so that I was able to access and share it with my readers.

We'll watch for the release of your book The Sister Exchange, which I understand should come out soon.

Kevin's Website
Kevin's Blog


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Presenting Kevin McNamee

Kevin McNamee is a writer and poet living in Yonkers, New York. He primarily writes for the children’s market. His work has appeared in Beyond Centauri, and he has several children’s picture books being published by Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.

His first book, The Sister Exchange is due to be released in 2009. He is also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

When Kevin isn’t writing, he spends his time playing hide and seek, at the insistence of his four-year-old daughter, and at his day job, at the insistence of his wife.

When time permits, Kevin also enjoys fossil hunting, home-brewing beer, and gardening.

He is currently engaged in an epic battle against roving gangs of crazed squirrels who are digging up everything in sight. Kevin notes that the squirrels are winning.

To find out more about Kevin, visit his website or visit his blog.

Now, Kevin answers a few questions:

Is there a place where readers can reach you?

Readers can always email me from my website or blog. I’d love to hear from them.

Will you list all your upcoming book titles so people can look for them once they are released?

Sure, my titles are as follows:

Title Genre Publication Date
The Sister Exchange Picture Book Early 2009
The Soggy Town of Hilltop Picture Book To be determined
Lightning Strikes Picture/Counting Book To be determined
What Is That Thing? Picture Book To be determined

For new readers—what can they expect when they read your books?

I try to entertain, and whenever possible educate. I also try to incorporate humor into my work whenever possible. My goal is to write for everybody and to create stories that adults as well as children can enjoy.

Finally, what would you like readers to know about you and your writing?

I think that writing for children carries a lot of responsibility and it’s a challenge that I try to rise to. The world can be a confusing enough place as it is for adults, how much more so for children? If I can help children understand the world around them and help them make sense of various situations that effect them, that would be the most rewarding thing of all, for it would be something that they could carry with them long after they have put down my book.

Thank you, Kevin, for visiting with us today. Tuesday, I'll post some more of your interview.


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