How do you pronounce your name?
Say "cannon," and then add another "en" at the end. It's a three syllable word with the emphasis on the first syllable. Kanninen is a Finnish name and "inen" is a common Finnish ending. Now that you know that, I bet you'll start seeing "inen" names all over the place.
What's new?
Well, I'm hoping to have something big to tell you soon... but for now, what's new is the new year, which means a new haircut and fresh ideas that I'm finally finding time to address. Here's to the creative process!
What kinds of things to you write?
In addition to my work in economics, I write picture books, short stories, easy readers, nonfiction and poetry for children. Many of these are published in children's magazines such as Highlights for Children, Ladybug and Fun for Kids. Here's something scary. Highlights has re-sold several of my stories to educational testing companies. Eek! Some poor kids are going to have to read my stories on tests! Sorry about that, kids!
What are you working on right now?
I just finished several projects, including a picture book biography, a new Jake book for Kaeden, a short story for the Highlights fiction contest and an activity book for a soon-to-be-named client (I can't announce until it's published due to confidentiality -- stay tuned).
What are you reading right now?
I've got so many books going, I can't keep them straight. Let's see: I'm currently reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, Travel Team by Mike Lupica, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and The John McPhee Reader. I need some snow days to catch up!
What are you playing on your i-pod?
My current favorites are k.d. lang's cover of "Hallelujah" and anything by James Morrison, Johnny Cash and Girlyman.
Does anyone actually think you're successful?
Hey, I'm glad you asked! As a matter of fact, I was Ms. November in author Ellen Jackson's "Secrets of Success" column. Click on the link and scroll down to find November 2005.
Got questions? Click on "Contact Me" and ask!
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