[00:00:00] Dori Durbin: Parents without using bribery threats or pleading, how do you get a nine to 12 year old to read books willingly? You get them to meet Benji and the Belsnickel. Welcome to the Power of Kids Books, where we believe books empower and inspire change. I'm your host, Dori Durbin. Today's guest is a wife, a mom, and a dad.
[00:00:25] Dori Durbin: And also a Christian historical middle grade fiction novelist, a speaker, a presenter, and a teacher. Previously, she created and edited the Watershed Weekly and was later a full time staff writer for three newspapers until a car accident in 2007. Now she has a series with her character, Benji. So welcome to the show, Bonnie Swinehart.
[00:00:51] Bonnie Swinehart: Thank you. I'm glad to be
[00:00:53] Dori Durbin: here. Oh, we're so happy to have you. And I just love saying that name, the Belsnickel.[00:01:00] We were chatting a little bit right before the podcast and you said it was one of your most popular books. And I said, it's that name, that word. So curious. So I'll let you tell us a little bit later about what that is, because we are going to read an excerpt.
[00:01:17] Dori Durbin: But I also wanted to ask you as a mom, especially when I have moms on the show, who also happened to be authors. I always wonder, does your character Benji have any semblance to your kids or could it have possibly come around because of your children?
[00:01:40] Bonnie Swinehart: Actually, no it's more my father. Oh, wow.
[00:01:45] Dori Durbin: Yeah.
[00:01:47] Dori Durbin: So is it named after him or is the character just more like his personality? Yeah,
[00:01:52] Bonnie Swinehart: the character the traits of the character and the name is my father's name was [00:02:00] William. So I'm sure when he was young, they probably called him Billy. So I didn't really want to use Billy, but Benji just. It sounded, close to, I don't know, it just sounded right.
[00:02:11] Bonnie Swinehart: You just get a feeling and that's what happened.
[00:02:16] Dori Durbin: So what kind of traits did your father have that you've used and embodied in Benji?
[00:02:21] Bonnie Swinehart: All three of my books are historic fiction and they take place in the 1930s in Pennsylvania, Dutch country. I of course was raised in Pennsylvania, Dutch country and my parents.
[00:02:33] Bonnie Swinehart: He, both my parents went to one room schoolhouses and that's the setting for the Belsnickel book. And my dad used to tell me stories about the pranks they pulled on their teacher. Of course, when I was young, I thought it was hilarious. So those pranks are in that book. That's why it, my dad has such a strong influence and also one of my mom's stories, I was able to sneak in there.
[00:02:57] Bonnie Swinehart: So that's how it came about. [00:03:00]
[00:03:00] Dori Durbin: That's really neat. And I noticed that it was historical fiction, and I thought it was really interesting because, reading, I haven't read the book, obviously, I've read just the covers, but they sound fun and adventurous and mysterious. And so when I, my little brain thinks of historical fiction, I always go to factual.
[00:03:22] Dori Durbin: So these sound great. They sound entertaining and fun.
[00:03:25] Bonnie Swinehart: They're very entertaining and very fun. Very fun and adventurous and there, but there is a lot of history that runs through the books, but more fun facts that the kids would find really adults find it really interesting too, because this book is popular with adults as well.
[00:03:44] Bonnie Swinehart: They just, everybody Belschnickel.
[00:03:46] Dori Durbin: All right, I'll just go ahead and ask now. So what is a Belschnickl?
[00:03:50] Bonnie Swinehart: Okay the Belsnickel was first of all, the Belsnickel originated in the southern part of Germany and came over with the Pennsylvania Dutch [00:04:00] people. And it's really not like any one person. It can be anybody. It's the role they play and the way they dress.
[00:04:11] Bonnie Swinehart: My Belsnickel, different people have different interpretations, but my Belsnickel is all dressed in fur and black and wears a hat with porcupine quills and bells and carries a small whip and also a scroll and a bag over his shoulder. That's what my Belsnickel looks like.
[00:04:36] Dori Durbin: So those are very specific items.
[00:04:39] Dori Durbin: Why did you incorporate some of those?
[00:04:41] Bonnie Swinehart: Through research I just got, different ideas of what the Belsnickel looked like and so that's how I created him. And I actually have the Belsnickel hat that I made. And when I do kids programs, I wear black and I put the hat on and I do a little skit [00:05:00] with me being the Belschnickel.
[00:05:02] Dori Durbin: That's got to be so fun to watch. And so is the Belichnikel a lot like a boogeyman? Is that kind
[00:05:09] Bonnie Swinehart: of? He's actually the opposite of Santa Claus. He visits kids that need a little help behaving. He does not hurt them. I always make sure that I tell the parents and the kids that he does not hurt them, but he does put a scare into them.
[00:05:24] Bonnie Swinehart: Benji is a big time prankster. That's where the pranks come in. He has a lot of imagination as do I and he keeps coming up with pranks. And even though he knows he shouldn't do it and It's wrong. He just can't help himself and he does it anyway. That's where the Belschnickel comes in. He gets threatened by a visit from the Belsnickel.
[00:05:49] Dori Durbin: Okay. That makes a lot of sense because I think on your cover, don't you, do you have a
[00:05:54] Bonnie Swinehart: shadowy figure? I do. I don't know if you can see that. I can. This is the [00:06:00] Belsnickel in
[00:06:00] Dori Durbin: the background. Okay. Okay. That's what I was thinking. So yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I'm sorry, but they're just going to have to get the book to see the cover.
[00:06:09] Dori Durbin: That's all there is to it.
[00:06:10] Bonnie Swinehart: Okay. So it is a Christmas book because the Belsnickel visits, because he's the opposite of Santa Claus. He visits kids close to Christmas.
[00:06:21] Dori Durbin: And so Benji's pranks I grew up on stories of my dad when he was in a one room schoolhouse and he used to tell me that they would use like they dip girl's hair into ink and things like that.
[00:06:38] Dori Durbin: So is this kind of the same kinds of pranks are these like the kind of harmless, naughty pranks kind of thing?
[00:06:46] Bonnie Swinehart: Yeah, a lot of them are just harmless and funny but he does manage to pull one or two that could have gone worse, but it overall, there's nothing bad happens [00:07:00] other than that, but Benji gets in trouble.
[00:07:04] Bonnie Swinehart: And is scared. He, at first he's I don't have, it's not real. And then the closer it gets to Christmas, the more scared he gets, and that's when the fear takes over.
[00:07:15] Dori Durbin: Very good. Okay, I won't make you ruin it. But, I think this would be an excellent spot for you to read some of it if you're willing to do that
[00:07:22] Bonnie Swinehart: for us.
[00:07:24] Bonnie Swinehart: I will do that. So back in the time period, they, the schools would have an inspector come once a year to inspect the school to make sure that there's nothing Loose floorboards or something that need, would need repair. He would check the records to make sure that the teacher was keeping the correct records and he would test the children to see, if they are learning what they should be learning.
[00:07:51] Bonnie Swinehart: So prior to this he I'm gonna start with, his name is Mr. Lewis, so I'm just gonna start with his arrival. [00:08:00] Okay. After another hour and a half of Mr. Lewis's questioning, Miss Nettie announced, lunchtime everyone. Her voice filled the room. Would Sarah, Daniel, Lucy, and Benji please lend me a hand? She makes a big, the teacher, Miss Nettie, makes a big pot of soup, vegetable soup for his, this occasion, along with bread and, okay.
[00:08:26] Bonnie Swinehart: They all hurried forward. Daniel, you can pass out a spoon to each student. Lucy, you may pass out a slice of bread to everyone. Benji, you may ladle the soup into the bowls while I carry them to each student's desk. And Sarah, you can give everybody one of your delicious looking sugar cookies. Go ahead, class.
[00:08:49] Bonnie Swinehart: Eat up. Then you may all go outside for recess. But, what about you and Mr. Lewis? Can I ladle each of you a bowl of soup? Benji asked. Why, [00:09:00] thank you, Benji. That's very thoughtful of you, Miss Nettie said. Standing behind the wood stove, Benji quickly slipped a shaker of pepper as black as the Belchnickle's boots from his pocket and dumped a fair amount into one of the bowls.
[00:09:17] Bonnie Swinehart: Then he delivered a bowl to Miss Nettie and one to Mr. Lewis.
[00:09:21] Bonnie Swinehart: Okay, then he gulped down his soup and joined the other kids outdoors. Only a few minutes passed before the students heard loud noises. Achoo! Achoo! Achoo! The sneezes were followed by a high pitched squeal coming from Miss Nettie. The children raced back into the classroom only to find a red faced Mr.
[00:09:42] Bonnie Swinehart: Lewis holding a handkerchief to his runny nose. Look, Daniel said. Tears are running from his eyes. A stream of sneezes followed the air. He's not looking too good, Sarah said. What should we do? W Water, Mr. Lewis hollered. [00:10:00] Water! Water! Somebody please bring some water, Miss Nettie wailed. Frankie, who sat closest to the water bucket, dipped a ladle full.
[00:10:09] Bonnie Swinehart: I'm coming, Frankie said. He hurried up front. Mr. Lewis gulped down the water. More! More! Again! Frankie ran back, filled the ladle, and handed it to Mr. Lewis. Again, he gulped it down. Bring the Achoo! Achoo! The bucket! Benji ran for the bucket. Mr. Lewis immediately held the bucket to his mouth. Gulp! Gulp! He drank even more water, making loud choking noises.
[00:10:36] Bonnie Swinehart: Water dribbled down his chin and onto his suit coat. Whoa! You sure drank a lot of water, Frankie said. Are you all right, Mr. Lewis? Miss Nettie's voice shook. Who made the soup, he asked. I did, Miss Nettie said. I don't understand why yours was so hot. She watches as he fans his mouth with a piece of paper.
[00:10:59] Bonnie Swinehart: The [00:11:00] children and I are all fine. Pepper, team up, bunch, pepper, he roared. Benjamin Clemens, Miss Nettie shouted. Benji jumped at the loudness of her voice. Yes, Miss Nettie. He knows he's been had.
[00:11:17] Dori Durbin: Oh, boy. That's great. I can totally see the whole scene taking place with your description. That's wonderful.
[00:11:27] Bonnie Swinehart: Thank you. So that, it is fun. It's not, the thing is that when I, my goal when writing the books was to have fun, adventure, but also to instill good values and help kids make better decisions on some things. And of course, kids, when they pull a prank, they think it's funny. But the receiver doesn't always think it's funny.
[00:11:55] Bonnie Swinehart: And so there are consequences. There's just little things like that weave through the book.[00:12:00] they're Christian books. And Benji says simple prayers like God help me be a better boy, but as the books progress his like in the last book, then he's almost 13 and he's, he starts using scripture. He's trying to solve this mystery and he, sometimes he just feels like he needs guidance and then he'll remember something that he learned like in Sunday school and he'll go to his Bible and pull up that verse and then that helps him to make a decision about where to go from there. Just little things to help kids think. But not have it ground into them.
[00:12:39] Dori Durbin: So you're teaching without preaching.
[00:12:42] Bonnie Swinehart: Exactly.
[00:12:43] Dori Durbin: I love it. And I think that, if kids can laugh at a fictitional character's mistakes, I And have that image in their mind so that, if they're in a spot where they're like, I could try this this might be a great idea.
[00:12:58] Dori Durbin: And then think about the [00:13:00] repercussions of that fictitional characters actions. Maybe it'll keep them from doing the same thing.
[00:13:05] Bonnie Swinehart: Exactly. Yeah
[00:13:07] Dori Durbin: Okay this kind of genre, you have three middle grade books so different from what you were doing before, which was journalism, right?
[00:13:18] Dori Durbin: So how has that switch been for you, changing from one avenue, one genre, to something completely different?
[00:13:26] Bonnie Swinehart: Years ago before any of that I had taken a course through the Institute of Children's Literature, so I did have some experience in writing children's stories, and anyway After my accident and feeling like lost and not sure where my life was headed one day I just pulled out, which I kept a lot of things.
[00:13:49] Bonnie Swinehart: I pulled out every writing I ever did. And one of the last lessons in that course that I took was to write the first chapter [00:14:00] of a book and I found it and it was about the bell snickle. And I thought, this has possibilities.
[00:14:10] Dori Durbin: Oh, I'm losing you, Bonnie. I'm not sure why he's still
[00:14:14] Bonnie Swinehart: there. I'm trying. Oh, there I am. I don't know what
[00:14:18] Dori Durbin: happened. There you are. That's okay. So you said this has
[00:14:21] Bonnie Swinehart: possibilities. Yes, this has possi I thought, this has possibilities. And I just... I don't know. I just said, I'm not, they, I don't know, if you ever heard that there's two kinds of writers and one's a plotter and one's a pantser.
[00:14:37] Bonnie Swinehart: Have you ever heard that expression? A plotter is a person that like outlines everything like chapter by chapter. That's not me. I'm a pantser. I write by the seat of my pants. I just start writing and this is how I wrote all three of my books. The story comes to me as I'm writing. [00:15:00] Now, I have vague ideas, what I want to incorporate into the book, but the storyline, it basically just comes to me.
[00:15:08] Dori Durbin: And you have quite a bit of dialogue in your story, too. So that same kind of thing, like you're actually hearing the characters speaking in your mind's eye? Yep. That is so fun. So you don't even know when you start exactly where your story might twist and turn.
[00:15:24] Bonnie Swinehart: No, I don't. Especially... I had a vague idea with the Belschnackl book.
[00:15:28] Bonnie Swinehart: I didn't really have an idea at all with the goat book, the county fair book, and the last book I really didn't know. And that book went places I never even thought about. And the ending was like it, people that have read the book say they never saw it coming. That's probably because I never saw it coming.
[00:15:54] Bonnie Swinehart: So yeah, it's a It's an exciting book. That's really fun.
[00:15:59] Dori Durbin: Complete mystery, [00:16:00] yeah. I know there's three in that series. Are you planning for a fourth or a fifth?
[00:16:06] Bonnie Swinehart: Actually, no. The last book was, the third book was supposed to be the last book. And I have had a few comments made that people would like a fourth book.
[00:16:19] Bonnie Swinehart: But, he's getting older now. He ages with the books. And so I would probably have to bump it up to a young adult book, which is possible, but I just have other projects I would like to move on to.
[00:16:34] Dori Durbin: Yeah, and you mentioned, maybe some children's books in there,
[00:16:39] Bonnie Swinehart: some picture books, and I've also been mulling over a young adult book in my mind for several years now.
[00:16:48] Bonnie Swinehart: And I. I think maybe it's just time I sit down and see where it goes. It's, yeah, it's loosely based on, based on my life. I have an [00:17:00] interesting background. I was raised in the carnival. So it's an experience that not many people have. And so the book would be, that would be basically the setting growing up, things that happened growing up.
[00:17:15] Bonnie Swinehart: As a child, and then I'm a young woman in the carnival. Oh, wow.
[00:17:22] Dori Durbin: So I hesitate to ask, but so did you have a job in the carnival?
[00:17:28] Bonnie Swinehart: Oh, yeah. By the time I was able to make change, I started with making snow cones and cotton candy. I have made so many things, ice cream, the walk away sundaes, I don't know if you know where they are, the cones dipped in chocolate and peanuts and, yeah and pizza I can't think of everything, but I also just went around and sometimes I think I sold some tickets and I jumped on and off the rides a lot.
[00:17:57] Bonnie Swinehart: Yeah.
[00:17:58] Dori Durbin: Yeah. You do a lot [00:18:00] of observational hours in there, too.
[00:18:02] Bonnie Swinehart: I do. And there's actually a bit of a love story in there, too. Oh, interesting.
[00:18:10] Dori Durbin: I think that would be a really interesting young adult novel then.
[00:18:14] Bonnie Swinehart: Yeah, and I don't, I've checked, and there's like really nothing like that out there.
[00:18:19] Dori Durbin: Okay, so we're going to look forward to that from you in the future. Hopefully. Then tell us about your picture books.
[00:18:27] Bonnie Swinehart: My family, we have two sons, they're grown men now, but when they were in junior high and high school, we took in exchange students.
[00:18:41] Bonnie Swinehart: We had two boys from Ecuador, a boy and a girl from Brazil, and a boy from Colombia. Those were the main ones that we had. My first picture which I'm Is the one I'm trying to get illustrated right now is takes place in Ecuador [00:19:00] and it's just, it's an Easter story and it's just a cute little kid's story, but it also teaches the kids about a different culture, what their, like our thing for Easter is Easter eggs, making colored Easter eggs that's not their big thing and Ecuador.
[00:19:18] Bonnie Swinehart: So
[00:19:19] Dori Durbin: interesting. So it's giving that cultural background and okay. Oh, that's really neat. And so you said you're getting an illustrator right now. So it's the actual manuscript is done of the book. It's just getting the art
[00:19:35] Bonnie Swinehart: done now. I have three of them, three picture books done and a fourth one that's I think very close to done.
[00:19:42] Bonnie Swinehart: It's just that I had them on back burners because I was busy with the Belsnickle books, the Benji books. And
[00:19:50] Dori Durbin: then do you go to schools and read to the kids?
[00:19:53] Bonnie Swinehart: I do. Yes. I, this year this summer I did six children's programs. And I have [00:20:00] schools that are looking at my books right now.
[00:20:02] Bonnie Swinehart: So hopefully I'll get some more lined up here.
[00:20:07] Dori Durbin: Oh, that's great. You'll have to spend the whole day because you'll be able to span the whole elementary through middle school. Yeah.
[00:20:13] Bonnie Swinehart: Yeah.
[00:20:14] Dori Durbin: So if there were three things that you'd want kids to know about writing or creativity earlier in life, what would those three things be?
[00:20:24] Dori Durbin: Yeah. Absolutely.
[00:20:25] Bonnie Swinehart: One of the first things that I like to express to the kids, and it's not necessarily about writing, but about life, is that if you have a dream, don't let anybody stop you. Don't, just don't give up. I just, this was my dream and I just fought through pain and obstacles and I just tell the, I just never gave up.
[00:20:50] Bonnie Swinehart: And so that's my first advice. Secondly, I always tell the kids, if you like to write save everything that you've ever written, [00:21:00] because sometime that might be like me, where I went back and I found something that ended up being my first book. So I always tell them to save, make sure they save it. And the third thing is just a general thing is that write about what you know.
[00:21:17] Bonnie Swinehart: If you're just starting writing stories, write about, like, how you spent the summer. Maybe you went to summer camp, or you love soccer, or write about what you like and what you know.
[00:21:28] Dori Durbin: That's great advice. Yeah, I think sometimes authors try to write about things that they wish they knew about, and it's so much
[00:21:36] Bonnie Swinehart: harder.
[00:21:37] Bonnie Swinehart: Yeah I did a lot of research on mine, the historical element, I had to make sure that was correct for the time period.
[00:21:44] Dori Durbin: But you had a lot of personal stories that you could incorporate with that too. Yes,
[00:21:50] Bonnie Swinehart: yes. The second book, that I wrote about the county fair with goats, I knew nothing about goats.
[00:21:55] Bonnie Swinehart: Nothing. I wasn't even a farm girl. But I did a lot [00:22:00] of research and again, that book just took off in my head. And that's a very funny book. I know because when I wrote the ending, I was laughing out loud.
[00:22:10] Dori Durbin: It's good if you're writing it and laughing at it, right? Yeah. Yeah. Making yourself laugh.
[00:22:15] Dori Durbin: Good. Good. And then what about as far as parents, what do you hope that by reading your books, parents and kids will be able to
[00:22:25] Bonnie Swinehart: talk about? Yeah, definitely. In fact, I just had a parent email me and she bought all three of my books. And she thanked me, first of all, for writing. She said she's always leery about buying books because she, it's hard to find things that are wholesome and, safe reading.
[00:22:45] Bonnie Swinehart: She said that, she appreciated that my books were, safe and that they did have messages behind the books, but they were also fun.
[00:22:54] Dori Durbin: Yeah that's great. That's great. Bonnie, where are the best places for people to find you and [00:23:00] your books?
[00:23:01] Bonnie Swinehart: I encourage people to go to my website. Right now I'm in the process of setting up my website so that people can push, purchase them directly through my website. Until I get that totally set up.
[00:23:13] Bonnie Swinehart: My website then sends them to Amazon or, but I'm going to start trying to just sell direct from my website so they don't have to make that one more step. Great.
[00:23:26] Dori Durbin: Great. And then you have right now your website is bonnie swineheart. com. Is that right?
[00:23:31] Bonnie Swinehart: It's, no, it's AuthorBonnieSweinhart. com.
[00:23:34] Bonnie Swinehart: Okay,
[00:23:35] Dori Durbin: AuthorBonnieSweinhart. com. Okay, we'll make sure that we include the link so they can find you. That would be great, yeah. Bonnie I just want to thank you for your time and again I'm going to say people need to find your book, they need to check out and see what a belchnickle is, and they need to start reading there so that they'll get hooked on you so they can read the picture books too.
[00:23:58] Bonnie Swinehart: That would be wonderful.[00:24:00]
[00:24:00] Dori Durbin: Thank you so much for your time today, Bonnie.
[00:24:03] Bonnie Swinehart: You're welcome, and thank you again for having me. It was a pleasure talking to you.
