This past October, Florida Writers Association (FWA) was pleased to announce the winners for the Royal Palm Literary Awards (RPLA) at a special banquet during the Florida WritersCon conference. RPLA is a prestigious writing competition that recognizes extraordinary writing and is exclusive to FWA members. The winners represented over 28 genres and included both published and unpublished works.
As part of the annual RPLA Showcase, FWA interviewed the winners of the grand awards (Published Book of the Year; Unpublished Book of the Year; Best Children’s Book; and the Candice Coghill Memorial Award for Youth) to learn more about their writing journey, advice for other writers, and favorite things to do in Florida.
Best Children’s Book: Susan Koehler
Susan Koehler is an author, veteran educator, and consultant specializing in the teaching of reading and writing. Over 36 years, she taught grades kindergarten through middle school and served as a reading coach and adjunct professor.
An educator at heart, Susan travels across the country providing professional development and is the author of four books for teachers and five non-fiction books for children. She was the 2004 Leon County Teacher of the Year and the 2005 recipient of Florida’s Mary Brogan Award for Excellence in Education.
She is also the author of two middle grade novels including Dahlia in Bloom which was released in August 2019 and named among the “Best of 2019” by Kirkus Reviews. Her second novel, Nobody Kills Uncle Buster and Gets Away With It, was released in August 2021 and won the 2022 RPLA Best Children’s Book.
FWA chats with Susan about her book, her writing journey, advice to other writers, and her favorite thing to do in Florida.
Tell us about your book and why you felt compelled to write this story.
This story rattled around in my mind for several years. I had a few notes and some snippets of ideas, but I didn’t know the characters very well, and I didn’t know who was going to tell the story. I also didn’t know what kind of tone it would take or who my target audience was.
And then in March 2018, two big things happened. The first one was that I was diagnosed with breast cancer. That obviously shook my world. But after muddling through emotions for a few days, I decided I needed a project to focus on so that my journey of healing would also be a journey of creating. That’s when the second big thing happened.
One morning, I woke up with the voice of 12-year-old Sam Parsons in my head, and he was telling me the story. I headed straight to the computer, and the first chapter poured out onto the page. After that, I was able to begin each day with something fun and exciting. The quirky characters materialized on the page, providing humor to balance some of the heavier elements in the book. And they did the same for me in my life at that time as well.
What did it feel like to hear you won Best Children’s Book?
Winning this award was a joy and an affirmation. It was a thrill for me to hear someone else read a snippet from the text, and I was so humbled and gratified to think that what was fun and intriguing and pleasing to me, was also appreciated by others.
Can you tell us about your writing journey?
I have been writing for as long as I can remember. As a child, I made up stories, poems, songs…you name it! At some point – I think around fourth grade – I joined an after-school poetry club with a wonderful teacher, and she helped us create poetry books. We bound them by covering cardboard with green cloth, and the teacher stitched the pages together with white thread. I felt like a real author, and that feeling stayed with me!
I continued to write throughout school, and won several awards for poetry when I was in high school. After college, I continued to write some, but my focus turned to raising kids who developed an appreciation for books and nurturing students who came to see themselves as readers and writers.
As a teacher and consultant in the teaching of writing, I became acquainted with Maupin House Publishing, Inc., a wonderful, family-owned educational publishing company out of Gainesville, Florida. They published my first book in 2007. (Well, my first book since that poetry book in fourth grade.) I wrote and co-wrote a few more books for them, and it was a great experience. The lovely owners decided to retire and sold their company to Capstone Publishing, but I will always appreciate an independent publisher’s willingness to take a chance on me.
I stayed in the professional realm for a while, and I did some nonfiction writing-for-hire, but fiction was tugging at my heartstrings. I tried out some ideas and exercises, but I hadn’t found the right story yet. Then, my mom was hospitalized, and I was at her bedside. She talked about memories of her childhood, and even though I’d heard the stories so many times, I realized that unless I wrote them down, the details would be lost.
So I took notes. I asked questions. I captured details and could picture the setting of her childhood so clearly. And suddenly, a character popped into it! Her name was Dahlia, and I began to write her story. I submitted Dahlia In Bloom to a small, local publisher, and worked with Turtle Cove Press, Inc. to develop my story into a book.
Dahlia In Bloom was given a starred review by Kirkus Reviews, it was featured in the Kirkus Magazine, and Kirkus named it among the Best Books of 2019. We had a huge turnout for the book launch at a local independent bookstore. (If you’re ever in Tallahassee, stop by Midtown Reader. You’ll love it!) Suddenly, I was an author of middle grade fiction, and it felt so right.
Nobody Kills Uncle Buster and Gets Away With It came next, and my very talented step-daughter, Shelby Koehler, created the fantastic cover art. She has a degree in Studio Art and is an aspiring illustrator. She’s already had a few professional projects, and I’m so glad my publisher was willing to hire her for this book. The cover definitely gets attention!
Along the way, I’ve received so much valuable advice and great support from my local community, from state organizations like Florida Writers Association, from small in-person and online writing groups, and from larger groups like the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
At this point, I am writing full time. I’m working on new books, writing for hire, and writing curriculum. I spend a lot of time at the keyboard. But that fourth grader who wrote a book is still inside me, and wow, is she ever excited about this life!
What advice would you give to your past self or other writers?
Go easy on yourself. Writing is something to enjoy. Carve out time to write because it feeds your soul and helps you process your world. There’s nothing you have to achieve or prove. And if some of your work never develops into anything other than personal musings, that’s okay. If some of your writing seemed great at the time but pales in the light of day, that’s okay too.
If you were brave enough to put yourself out there, and you got rejected or you didn’t win a contest, don’t let that stop you. Someone else’s opinion does not determine the worth of your writing. If you love it, continue to love it. If you’re learning, continue to learn. No writing time is ever wasted. With every word, you are practicing, you are training, you are refining your process and your craft. Write for the sake of writing, and enjoy the journey without having to know the destination.
Something fun: what’s your favorite thing to do in Florida?
I love history and nature, and Florida has so much of both to offer! I guess that’s why one of my favorite things to do is visit historic sites. St. Augustine is an obvious choice, but there are many others beyond that. A few of my favorite Tallahassee sites are the Florida Museum of History, the Old Capitol, and Mission San Luis.
I’m awed by the fact that at Bayfront Park in my hometown Miami, there’s a marker commemorating a failed assassination attempt on then President-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt in February 1933. (Dahlia In Bloom begins with a discussion of his March 4, 1933 Inaugural Address.) I also love that we can step back in time and tour a beloved Florida author’s restored house and farm at Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings State Park.
And that brings me to my other favorite thing – visiting our state parks. Maclay Gardens, St. George Island, Anastasia, Torreya, Wakulla Springs, the Everglades…the list goes on. There are so many sites to explore and so much ecological diversity in this state! My favorite things to do in Florida definitely involve history and our unique natural environment.
Where can we learn more about you and your writing?
My online author existence can generally be found by searching “Susan Koehler Writes.” My website is susankoehlerwrites.com, and on Instagram and Facebook. I’d love for you to follow me! I also have author pages on both Amazon and Goodreads. I’m pretty easy to find online, and I appreciate being found.
