In Wishes, Dares, and How to Stand Up to a Bully, a boy named Jack catches a fish that seems to grant wishes. It’s an oddly perfect premise not just for this book, told through the eyes of a boy missing his faraway soldier father, but also about author Darlene Beck Jacobson’s journey in finding this story. It came to her in a dream, almost as if she’d wished on a fish for it; every day she went back to Jack and asked him to share his story about wishes, dares and bullies with her.

Darlene is a former teacher and speech therapist who has loved writing since she was a girl.  She is also a lover of history and can often be found mining dusty closets and drawers in search of skeletons from her past. She enjoys adding these bits of her ancestry to stories such as her award-winning middle grade historical novel Wheels of Change (Creston 2014). She lives and writes her stories in New Jersey with her family and a house full of dust bunnies. Be sure to check out her wonderful Darlene Beck-Jacobson website, with a blog that features recipes, activities, crafts, articles on nature, book reviews, and interviews with children’s book authors and illustrators.

I found your book surprising, inspiring, lyrical and profound. In your Author’s Note, you say you woke in early June 2018 with the name JACK, the premise “of a boy who is missing his father who is at war” and the conviction that you would write it in free verse. What do you think inspired your dream of this character, this story and your certainty of how to write it?

I’ve wondered this myself and the more I ponder it, the more I realize divine intervention was at work. I had completed several projects since my debut book Wheels of Change (Creston) in 2014, but for one reason or another, they didn’t become books. I had finished a draft of an MG historical, but it didn’t feel ready to send out and I wasn’t ready to do any more revisions on it. There was nothing else percolating in my head, no grand idea, no voice crying out to be heard, nothing that excited me. I was empty of ideas. Until. When I woke up with Jack’s voice in my head, I tingled, and nearly vibrated with excitement. The more he talked to me, the more I realized I had to listen. For those out there who believe in God or a spiritual entity, you will know that when you leave space, when you are quiet and listening, there is room to hear. That moment of awakening, before anything can intrude, is a wonderful open window of possibility. Jack’s voice, so loud and strong, so raw and unfiltered, so sad and emotional, cried out to be heard. And I wanted to write his words the way I heard them, which ended up being a stream-of-consciousness style, perfect for the free verse format.

Can you tell us about the book’s journey? How many drafts did you write? At what point did you share it with your critique partners and your agent?

The first thing I did after Jack’s introduction, was develop a list of four letter words (The working title for the book was FISH, WISH, AND OTHER FOUR LETTER WORDS, hence the list). Each day I’d choose from the list and sit down with Jack and ask “What do you want to tell me about FEAR, DARK, KATY, JILL, SAFE, or whatever the word might be. When I was about 15 or so poems into the story I read the entries with two critique buddies at an impromptu sharing session. I just wanted feedback to see if it was something I should continue to pursue. They were excited and encouraged me to keep at it. I completed the first draft in a little over three months. I sent it to a couple of Beta readers for feedback, most of which had to do with rearranging some of the poems, keeping the main storyline of Jack making the right wish front and center, adding some scenes of tension and suspense, and ramping up the stakes for Jack and his friend Jill. After that series of revisions, I sent it to my agent, Liza Fleissig, less than six months after that wake-up call.

Did you always know it would take place in the 1960s and largely over the space of one summer?

When Jack began telling me his story, I wasn’t sure when and where it was taking place. As I got further into it, and his sister Katy and new friend Jill became larger and more fleshed out, I knew the story had to be during a more “innocent” — yet still modern — era of the past. No cell phones or electronic gadgets, no worry about kids being out all day unsupervised. A time when it was okay to be out riding bikes, playing, fishing, and hanging out without adults nearby. But also a time where exciting new things were on the horizon. Polio vaccines, space travel, Instamatic cameras, color television, were a few examples of the latest technology. The early sixties – the era that I grew up in — fit that criteria.

How long did it take you to find your editor and publisher? How much did the manuscript change along the way?

After I sent the manuscript to my agent, she sent it to her two editor/readers for immediate feedback. There were two differing opinions on it. One suggested that if I kept the free-verse format, I should try and expand on it and consider a contemporary time period for the story. The other editor suggested I try writing the story in prose. Frustrating to say the least. But while I pondered whether or not to make any changes, my agent suggest we send the manuscript to Marissa Moss at Creston Books since she’d published my debut novel and was looking for another one from me. It was now October of 2018. In early December my agent called and said Marissa wanted the story. I asked, “In historical free-verse, just as it is?” Absolutely, she said. And that was it. Eight months from idea to sale…the fastest turn-around I’d ever experienced in publishing.

What was your reaction to the book cover illustration? Was it what you envisioned?

I think the notebook idea is brilliant and all the credit for that goes to Simon Stahl, the art director and designer at Creston. He was very open to my feedback regarding what to include in the drawings and the colors as well. The notebook ties together Jack and his poems about the summer he spends with Gran and Pops, and also the notebook his dad wrote when he was Jack’s age. And the winking one-eyed fish A.K.A. FRED, who grants the wishes, was the perfect addition. Every time I look at it, with that sly smile, I wonder just what that fish is thinking, something Jack wondered too.

What are the challenges and rewards of writing in free verse? Are there chapters you labored over more than others?

The novel-in-verse format really gets to the heart of the matter. It allows the characters to bring conflict/worries/problems out into the open without a lot of scene setting and back story. Dialogue doesn’t have to be in quotes, and words can be laid out in unusual ways on the page. For me that was liberating, rather than confining. I felt like I was listening to Jack read his diary, since the things he spoke of were so personal and life-changing. There was also a freedom in re-arranging poems to be sure they were moving the story along at the right pace. I love the free-verse format and hope to work with it again.

One of the many things I love about Wishes, Dares, and How To Stand Up to a Bully is the way we learn about ourselves and the world along with Jack — with twists that make sense in retrospect. Did you know where you were going all along with the characters or were you yourself surprised as you were writing?

When I began, I knew about Jack and the journey he was going to take regarding how to cope with his dad’s MIA status. I knew he was upset having to spend the whole summer with his grandparents, instead of at home where things were at least familiar. I also knew this was going to be a friendship story. But, it wasn’t until Jack met Jill that I realized it was also about Jill’s struggles with her recently-turned-bully brother Cody. And, more deeply, how those struggles were part of Jack’s own struggles as well. Jack and Jill’s shared journey through the events of summer became clearer as they got to know one another. As I got further into the writing, it also became clear that five-year-old Katy would have a bigger role. And it wasn’t until half way through the story that I realized Jack needed something from Dad’s past to help him on his present journey – the notebook.

One of the most profound revelations for Jack is that people may be bullies because of insecurity and unhappiness and that they can change. What do you hope kids will take away from Jack’s journey?

I hope kids will realize that bullies can’t rule over us unless we give them our permission. That each of us has the power to stop someone from being bullied. That being kind is a powerful thing. That treating others the way we want to be treated means walking in someone else’s shoes and understanding how that feels. That talking about issues like bullying and loss of a parent is one way of shining a light on a difficult thing. Whenever we shine light on a problem, we give it meaning and a chance to be heard, and a chance to work toward a solution. As Jack says in the story, “Do the right thing, not the easy thing”.

You’ve created such a rich tapestry of characters and relationships. Are there any you relate to more than others? Any that borrow from people you know or have known?

Thank so much Nancy, for the kind words about the book! I think one of the reasons this story was easier to write than many others I’ve worked on is because I was able to channel my own childhood. I spent many summers with my younger sister in the 1960’s, doing the things the characters are doing in the story. Even with the undercurrent of serious social change and conflict, summer seemed like a carefree and mostly happy time. I wanted the story to reflect that, despite all the challenges and emotional issues that Jack, Jill, and their families experienced. Katy, Jack’s five-year-old sister, is one of my favorites because she sees everyone as family and reaches out with kindness, even when Jack, or the rest of us, might not think kindness is deserved. She understands on a basic, untainted-by-age level, that kindness always matters.

What’s up next for you?

I am working on a couple projects. One is an MG historical set in the 1920’s and my current WIP is a contemporary middle grade novel in verse.

Is there anything you would like to add?

Yes. Teachers should know there are activity sheets, curriculum guides, word search puzzles for both my books on my website.

Visit Darlene on social media!

On her website: www.darlenebeckjacobson.com

On Twitter: @DBeckJacobson

On Facebook: Darlene Jacobson