Breaking In – Simone Mets and the “Very Christmas” Book

You’ve got to love this time of year. While you may not be a fan of chillier weather, or having to bundle up every time you walk outside, the holiday season brings out something truly wonderful in the world, and in us. Maybe it’s all the colorful lights, or the catchy songs, or the smell of gingerbread in the air, or the gift exchanges. Yet, the real moral of the holiday season is a simple one that we can sometimes forget – the greatest gift of all is giving, not getting. Thankfully, Very Christmas by Simone Mets joyfully, and sometimes tearfully, reminds us of that message.

This beautifully written children’s story, with an equally enchanting and colorful layout, is an important reminder of the real wonder and joy of the holidays. Here is the official synopsis:

When Santa’s workshop is destroyed by a ferocious storm, even the richest man in the world is stumped for a way to save Christmas.  Just when everyone seems to give up all hope, the unstumpable Ava Buttons, together with her friends, discover a way to make Christmas wishes come true.  Motivated by a desire to help others, Ava converts even her naughtiest friend, Rowdy Meyers, from an enthusiastic getter to a champion giver.

Very Christmas is available to purchase at VeryChristmasBook.com, Amazon, Walmart and the Farmhouse Store in Princeton, NJ. You can follow Simone Mets and her Very Christmas story on Facebook and Instagram.

Winner of the 2016 Gold eLit Award for Best Holiday Story, Very Christmas is a tale you should be reading to the kids or grandkids this time of year (or any time of year, for that matter), and Simone Mets has a story of her own that is definitely worth sharing. I had the chance to talk with Simone about her inspiration behind the children’s book, as well as her own path to breaking in:

NJIB: When did you contract the artsy bug, the writing bug? What made you realize, ‘this is what I will be doing for the rest of my life?’
Simone: Writing has been a big component in all three of my careers. I started out as a criminal offense attorney. I also did a ton of ghost writing for other lawyers. I just wrote in a different way than other attorney’s did. My thinking was you really are telling your side of a story in all these legal briefs, and mine were really interesting. I think the biggest compliment I got was from a judge who said, ‘you know on a real loser of a case I won,’ because the story I wrote was so compelling. He really enjoyed it, which is kind of a funny thing to hear on a legal matter.

From there I did a ton of volunteer work, I’ve done that my whole life, too. I worked with the Make a Wish foundation of New Jersey and, once I did that, I caught the event bug. Doing creative pitches again, you need really strong writing skills, so it translated there. Once I stopped writing creative briefs, I was doing some consulting work for a children’s hospital.

During Hurricane Sandy I broke my back. It really inspired this particular book. I couldn’t sleep or sit for many months. I was watching a lot of things having to do with hurricane Sandy and, when you’re not asleep at night, you can either google horrible things about back injuries or you can spend your time doing other things. So I picked up a french app and polished up my french and I started to write this story.

It was a creative outlet for me during a really tough time of recovery with a really bad injury that still bugs me to this day. It’s been a skill that is translatable in anything that you do. If you love to read, it means you’re probably going to be a pretty good writer. For me it’s been a wonderful skill to have. I can thank my mom for introducing me to reading so early on in my life. I just enjoy it, it doesn’t matter the subject matter really.

NJIB: You mentioned emotional and situational influences, and you said your mom is also a major influence, do you have any other influences – writers or artists particularly?
Simone: Yes.  I’ve been inspired by people that take action and do things. I think when I started to volunteer for Make a Wish, that’s when I met my personal heroes.

These were kids that were facing really difficult things and I remember there was a little boy who was having treatment for a tumor in his head. This little boy was probably 7 years old and he recognized another kid in the hospital that was terrified of wearing this headgear you had to wear to get your treatment done. On his own initiative he went in and calmed the other child down. He made a game out of it so the other little boy wasn’t afraid to wear the headgear. You see that and I’m like, ‘you’re 7 and you can do that?’ It’s magic, you know.

I think seeing people that can do those types of things, whether it’s in business or any other facet of life, are people that I’m drawn to. They inspire me to try and do better. I think you kind of see that all over the place. Sometimes you see it in catastrophes. I’m a newly minted Red Cross volunteer now. Now I want to do Red Cross stuff so you kind of shift and change on where you think your capabilities are and the people that are in your wingspan when you’re doing those things are the people that you find the most inspiring stories from and you kind of want to be just like them. They have attributes that you aspire to have. That’s kind of where I look.

NJIB: To get into the book specifically, Very Christmas, can you tell us just about the writing process and how you were able to get it published.

Simone: I got the story out first. I got a good handle on the kind of characters that I wanted to write about. Most of the things I like to write, there really isn’t your classic villain. In real life the rich guy isn’t necessarily a bad guy. In this story, I see myself in nearly all the characters – I can be a little Rowdy, I can be a little Ava, and I hope that people can see themselves in those characters depending on who they are and what circumstances they’re in.

I was losing my mom at the same time this book was getting published, and going through doors and meeting with people and talking to them about it. It’s hard to explain what kind of things propel you forward instead of sink you. She had read the book and loved it because it really speaks to our values. I was sort of committed to getting this out there. I got into some important door through persistence and a really good network of people. I worked at Turner Broadcasting, I mentored a ton of people and I used all of those contacts to kind of gain advice and see what I can do. I self published the book, I retained the illustrator to do the cover art. I knew I was going to do one image only and then I set about designing the interior and making it different.

Instead of using an illustrator I used a graphic designer. Instead of doing chapters, I did color block pages. I did a mix of vocabulary. All of that stuff was intentional. When you go through the book, I want kids to remember the funky font instead of the page number. When I go and visit schools and asked if I’m ever going to have the book illustrated, my answer is always, ‘I have no idea what experiences you’re bringing to the pages.’ I have the kids pause and either describe those characters or draw them. It’s astonishing the great stuff you get back. Who knew Ava had purple hair? I had no idea that one character was Asian or one was Latin American. I love that.

I think it encourages imagination. You don’t have to have a book where the stories kind of let you skip through it. I’m not saying books with images are bad, I love them. I think sometimes you want to have books that aren’t consumed so quickly and you can actually spend a bunch of nights as a family reading a story. It doesn’t have to be consumed in a few minutes and then cast aside. I try to be thoughtful not only in the story itself, but how it’s presented.

NJIB: How long did it take you from concept all the way to publishing?
Simone: It probably took me 9 months to be finished with it and send it off to have it edited. From there it probably took another year to get all the other pieces together – artwork and interior design and all that kind of stuff. I published it October 2015.  My vision is that on Christmas Eve, on the website for the book, you’ll click on it and there will be an image of an old fashioned radio, and you can have the story read to you. That’s a goal I had a long time ago and I’m so happy that it’s happening.

NJIB: Are you working on anything new, another children’s story, another novel?
Simone: I’m working on two stories right now. I understand with a holiday this time of year I’m going to be completely saturated with Christmas. I’m going to build and build and build this little book so it can go it’s own way. Then the first part of the new year I can resume being a writer again. I am working on one other children’s book and a Y.A. mystery thriller.
NJIB: Final question. What advice can you give any artist be it a children’s book author a filmmaker any artist or entertainer trying to break into their respective industry?
Simone: Don’t be afraid, talk to as many people as you can and listen for advice. I think there are more people out there that want to help then there are people out there that will say no you can’t do this. I think attention spans are short nowadays so you have to be prepared for people to say no thank you and move on. There’s plenty of people out there who are eager to help and eager to share how they got to where they are. Just seek them out and don’t give up.

You hear that and it’s kind of cliché, but it really is true. I’ve gone through two careers and found that out to be true in both of them. You need to try to do – here’s where I am – point A. And here’s where I want to be – point B. Then map out the little dots between. There may be lots and lots of dots or just a few. I think if you pause every now and then you’d be surprised at who you know. It’s just a matter of getting from A to B.

Author: Michael Fromm

Michael Fromm is a writer for New Jersey Isn’t Boring who focuses on featuring independent authors, musicians, and artists living in New Jersey.