Down at the Depot with Children's Author Karen Kulinski

FINDING A CHARACTER

Discovering characters for your book happens in many different ways for a writer. Often, these ways will end up surprising you.

Below, you will meet two of the characters in my middle grade historical novel that found me.

Lily is pictured to the right, a female Asian elephant, favored by circuses because of their docile nature and the fact that female Asians do not grow tusks.

I first saw this elephant at one of the several circuses I attended while doing research for my book. What set her apart from the other elephants was her tattered ear and heavily speckled pink trunk.

I knew at once that she was "my" Lily, and that that ear and those pink speckles belonged in my book.

I knew, too, that her photo belonged on my desk, where it has sat for years, while I wrote the book, revised the book, and now did a total rewrite of the book.

Lily's picture kept me going, looking at me, calmly telling me to take heart and keep the faith. I would, Lily assured me, finally find the right way to tell her story.

Chickens, however, had never entered my mind when I began writing Lily's story.

Then I went to Kentucky, to visit my friend, Regina Abney's hometown, and Fayree, pictured below Lily, entered my life.

Regina's family welcomed my husband and me with what I can only think is the "southern hospitality" that region is famous for. They invited us into their homes, fed us wonderful home-cooked meals each day and took us sightseeing.

One night, as the family gathered with us after dinner, they gave me Fayree.

Regina's brother, Ronnie Bennett, is a great storyteller. One of the stories involved his grandfather, Lasley Fayree Bennett, and the chickens he trained to ride on his shoulder.

I was immediately enchanted with the story, wanted it for my book, and named my chicken, Fayree, after Mr. Bennett.

And so a character was born.

A picture of a banty who became my Fayree.

Contact me

Indiana Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators

Authors Guild Directory

A compendium of members' websites

Griffith Historical Park & Museum, Griffith, Indiana

My Books

MY HISTORICAL ELEPHANT ADVENTURE NOVEL IS OUT ON SUBMISSION!

This is MY Lily, and how I found her is in the story to the left.

Lily's story is a middle grade historical adventure set in 1916 Tennessee. It tells the tale of how Anna, a rule-following almost-12-year-old girl must become the adverturess she never imagined she could be when, Lily, the circus elephant she loves is wrongly condemned to death for killing a man. Only Anna knows what really happened, but when no one will believe and save Lily from the hangman's noose, she decides she will save Lily herself, and teams up with a circus boy, her annoying older brother, and two hobos to steal Lily and get her on a freight train headed out of town.

The Medal With a Heart

The Medal With a Heart tells the story of how the Purple Heart military award came to be, and goes back to the days of George Washington and the Revolutionary War. Below is a sample of the original water color painting that illustrate the book.

Winter at Valley Forge, illustration, pg. 13

THE CABOOSEMAN'S GARDEN

Watching the freight trains that pass by his family's farm makes life more bearable for 10-year-old Jack Taylor. Especially after The Cabooseman, a train crew member, shows him great kindness. Determined to thank the man, Jack decides to grow him a garden, and that's when his troubles begin.

HISTORICAL CHAPTER BOOK inspired by information Griffith residents shared with me.