Stories for Children Magazine

Born December 24, 1979 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, C.J. Pumpkins grew up in an area where positive choices for young African-American males were slim. Unlike other children who were immersed in sports, C.J. Pumpkins found himself spending time after school at the local library practicing illustrations and creating characters. He began writing his first novel, The Dream Stowaway, at the tender age of eight. When he was 20, C.J. Pumpkins began a successful acting career. He has made appearances on Law and Order, MTV, and a series of independent movies and commercials. But even after his success as an actor, he chose to go back to his love of writing children's books.

The Dream Stowaway was inspired by great works of fiction from the past such as Peter Pan, Little Nemo, and Dr. Seuss books. Pumpkins has always been a fan of these timeless classics, and a piece of them appears in each of his works.

"I hope my books inspire other writers in the same way that these works have inspired me," he says.

C.J. Pumpkins currently lives just outside of Baltimore, Maryland.

CJ, I know many authors have different reasons they started writing, but why did you start writing for children?

I first began writing children's books when I realized that books written for children were more interesting than those written for adults. Children go through a lot of emotional changes during their younger years, which allows for a more interesting adventure.

My three year old daughter loved your book, The Dream Stowaway. In fact she had me read it three times to her the first night. What inspired you to write this story?

The Dream Stowaway was inspired by Peter Pan. I remember reading the book over and over, night after night and just knew that if I worked hard enough I too could create a legendary character.

The illustrations in The Dream Stowaway are incredible. When I first saw the cover I had to see who illustrated it. I was so surprised that I knew the name of the illustrator, Feras Nouf. He just happens to be one of our SFC contributing illustrators. Did you contact Feras or did your publisher contact him? And did you get to have any input on the type of illustrations he did for the book?

I first noticed Feras Nouf in an illustrator talent pool which was provided by Trafford Publishing Company. I was a little nervous at first about contacting him because he lives so far away, but I am very happy I did. Feras was very interested in the project form day one and has been a huge supporter of The Dream Stowaway. We went through each illustration one by one and he made sure that he was capturing exactly what I wanted in each image. It was great working with him and I look forward to working with him on other projects in the future.

My daughter loves the part in the book where the young main character builds a trap to catch the Dream Stowaway. Can you tell us your favorite part in the book?

My favorite part in the book would have to be when Mary sees that there are children from all over the world that travel to Dream Land. Feras did an excellent job of capturing the many 

different races and ethnic backgrounds. This shows children that it doesn't matter what race or color you are as long as you are good, The Dream Stowaway will come for you and take you to Dream Land.

How did you come up with your characters?

The Dream Stowaway is a combination of Santa Claus and Peter Pan. He is similar to Santa Claus in that he has a list of children whom he goes to visit, and he is similar to Peter Pan in that he flies children to a magical place. The Dream Stowaway's clothing has some inspiration as well. His hat is a combination of a pirate and witch's hat. His jacket was created using the style of a Captain's jacket. Next are his shoes which come from the very famous legend Santa Claus. And last but not least, his face and hair resemble the very famous Leprechaun known for good luck and wishes.

I love reading to my two children. My parents didn’t read much to me when I was younger and I value the time I get to spend with my kids reading. Did your parents read to you when you were little? If you have children, do you read to them?

Growing up, my mother encouraged my siblings and me to be creative and to use our imaginations. She always said, "Why would you read stories when you can create them?" I see now what she meant. Creating The Dream Stowaway has been quite the adventure. Ten years in the making and now I think I am finally ready to release the full novel.

I loved all of Dr. Seuss’s books when I was a child and The Dream Stowaway is written in a fun rhyme like his books. Was Dr. Seuss one of your favorite authors growing up? What were your favorite books as a kid?

I have always admired the works of Dr. Seuss because of his unique rhyming style and the fun that you have whenever you read one of his books. One of my favorite books I can remember reading as a child is Where The Wild Things Are. There is something very mysterious about that book that I still can't quite seem to figure out.

Can you tell us a funny story about writing your book?

A funny story about The Dream Stowaway is that during the time that I was writing the book, I was turned down by many publishers due to the fact that many of them believed that if they represented The Dream Stowaway readers would compare it to Harry Potter, but clearly there is no comparison.

Most kids like to read so they can escape their everyday lives. At SFC magazine we like to make sure each issue is loaded with stories to help children journey into the World of Ink. If you could live in any story, which one would you choose and why?

If I could live in any story it would be The Cat in the Hat. It would be fun to disappear into the imagination of Dr. Seuss.

What do you do when you’re not writing or promoting your books?

When I am not writing books, I enjoy writing plays. I have just finished my second play entitled The Wish and The Wisp.

If you had to pick a character in your books that is most like you in personality, which would you choose?

If I had to choose a character from my books that best represents me I would have to say Christopher or should I say The Dream Stowaway. He is very friendly and warm but also a little mysterious. We both have a love for children but also believe in hard work.

A lot of teachers read our magazine. If a teacher’s class or some of our readers write you letters, will you respond?

I absolutely would respond to any letters that I receive about The Dream Stowaway. Mail questions or comments to the following address: 

C.J.'s Pumpkin Patch

P.O. Box 4553

Lutherville, MD 21094

Can you share with us some advice you would give to new writers?

My advice would be that no story is a bad story and no character is a bad character. You only need to find the who, what, where, why, and how.

CJ, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions. I know our readers will enjoy reading your book and they can find out more about The Dream Stowaway in our review section on the SFC site. But before we go is there anything else you would like to share with us and our readers?

Thank you again for choosing me to be your featured guest author. Here is my website so your readers can learn more about The Dream Stowaway. 

Website: www.cjpumpkinsworld.com

C.J. Pumpkins’ Book:

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