Newspaper Interviews and/or Articles:

Bedford Bulletin - April 3, 2003
Bedford, NH

Coshocton Tribune - November 10, 2002
Coshocton, Ohio

Union Leader Newspaper - July 2001
Manchester, NH

Coshocton Tribune - May 2, 2001
Coshocton, Ohio

New Hampshire Magazine - October 2000 Issue

Mansfield News Journal - December 9, 2000
Mansfield, Ohio

Bedford Journal - July 6, 2000
Bedford, NH

Coshocton Tribune - August 9, 2000
Coshocton, Ohio

Union Leader Newspaper - August 27, 2000
Manchester, NH

The Globe - November 10, 2000
Camp Lejeune, NC

Argus-Champion - November 22, 2000
Kearsarge-Lake Sunapee Region, NH


(**Note: for copies of interviews/articles, contact CJ at cjheck@barkingspiderspoetry.com)

Radio Interviews:

November 9, 2002 - 9:00 a.m.
WTNS Radio
Book Fair - Interview
With host, Mike Bectol
Coshocton, Ohio

May 1, 2001 - 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.
WTNS Radio
Talk Show Guest
With host, Mike Bectol
Coshocton, Ohio

November 6, 2000 - 8:00 a.m.
WZID Radio
With host, Charlie O'Brien
Manchester, NH

September 11, 2000 - 9:00 a.m.
WKXE Radio
"Breakfast at the Hanover Inn"
With host, Ray Reed
Hanover, NH

Author Interviews:

Author's Note: I got the nicest letter from Matt Wells, a student at Florida State requesting an interview for a poetry class. They were to do an assignment, a project, on the author of their choice. I felt very honored to have been Matt's choice. Here is the interview:
~C.J.

Interview with Author, C.J. Heck
by Matt Wells, Student at Florida State University, March 2001:

1~ What inspired you as a writer? In other words, do you have a certain place you like to go to write or a certain music you like to listen to when you write? Any habits at all that help you focus when you?re writing?

My inspiration comes from many places, depending upon the subject matter. By this, I mean whether I?m writing a story for adults or children or poetry for adults or children.

My children?s stories originally came about as bedtime stories I made up for my own three daughters when they were small. The subject usually revolved around a particular event or situation that happened during that day.

Like most children, at times they said things in anger to hurt each other -- things they really didn?t mean. The situation was over and done with by bedtime, and everyone was happy and loving again, but I felt I could subtly reinforce my positive life-lesson by incorporating it into a bedtime story. The Magic Banana was born one night after one of the girls ?wished? her younger sister would disappear because she was being annoying.

With The Little Umbrella, the point was a little more obvious. One of my daughters was feeling left out with her friends in the neighborhood and ?wished? she could be more like them. I knew, and wanted her to see, that she was already special just the way she was.

It isn?t too much different with my other poetry for children. Everyone wants to have their problems or fears validated. Children are just small people, after all. Their problems and fears are no less significant to them than ours are to us, as grownups. A lot of what I write is humorous, yes, but it?s the validation of their fears and problems that I like most to address ... and to have children identify with.

One example: as a child, I was particularly afraid of the Boogie Man. This went on day after day and my parents were becoming concerned. My mother was very wise. She handled the situation by ?inviting? the Boogie Man to our house. A place was set at the kitchen table every night. He was included in our nightly prayers, and when we went on family outings, he was asked to go along. Eventually, of course, it was unnecessary because he had become a non-issue. I came to understand he wasn?t bad at all -- only very lonely. As a direct result, To The Boogie Man ... was written.

Another example is the poem, My Dragon. I have a large brown birthmark on the front of my neck. It?s quite visible and as a child, it concerned me very much. My wise mother?s way of handling it was to tell me God put it there because I was so cute. The end result? Instead of feeling embarrassed and self-conscious about the birthmark, I felt special (and not just a little proud) to have been singled out. I hope when children read or hear this poem, they think of their own imperfections and how unique it makes them as a person.

Do I have a certain place I like to go to or certain music I like to listen to when I write? Not really, for the children?s poetry. When the muse hits me, I write WHEREVER I am! I've been known to scribble down thoughts or ideas on a napkin in a restaurant, the back of my grocery list in a checkout line, or even on the palm of my hand when no paper is available!

With the adult poetry, it?s quite different. Sometimes, it does help to be in a special place or listen to a favorite CD. A special favorite is the soundtrack for the movie, Somewhere In Time, with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. I also love to listen to anything by Enya. Her music is wonderful and at the same time, beautifully haunting.

One of my favorite places to go is a lighthouse in Maine, Nubble Light. When the world and its problems seem large and overbearing, it?s the place where I want to be. Often the muse hits me while I?m sitting there on those house-sized boulders, the vast ocean surrounding me, the expanse of sky overhead, feeling the sea spray on my cheeks and the wind in my hair.

2~ How did you get into poetry? What turned you onto it?

I guess I'd have to say I?ve had a very interesting life. Most of what I write comes directly from life's experiences, either in trying to ?find? myself, or in expressing feelings. Some are totally new perspectives gained along the way. Still others come from memory.

I?ve worked in many different jobs, i.e., a life guard, waitress in an ice cream shop, sandwich maker in a deli, secretary, flight attendant, school bus van driver for special needs children, a records clerk for the detective division of a police department, insurance sales, radio advertising, a newspaper columnist, and I?ve owned a small business.

Some of the poetry is sad -- very private and personal. I?ve been married three times. My first husband, Doug, was an army medic in Viet Nam. He was killed in action in 1969 and decorated with seven medals posthumously. This happened eight months after we were married, when I was only twenty-one. It was very painful. I wrote a lot of poetry during that time. It helped me to cope with the devastation I was feeling.

Other poems are softly sensual. Still others came about as a result of the writing challenges I encountered in the poetry forums I frequented when I got my first computer and went online.

3~ Do you have a favorite poem of your own, or a group of favorites?

Difficult question. I would have to say that each poem is a favorite -- at least for as long as I am writing it. When I?m struck by the muse it?s exhilarating trying to find just the right words to express the thoughts and ideas swirling around in my mind. Sometimes I look up and say to my Higher Power,

?Ok, You have to help me with this. You know what I?m trying to say. Please help me to find the right words. Help me to say it like You would want to have it said.?

Joking aside, when I look at my work as a whole, I do have favorites that stand out -- both from Barking Spiders and Other Such Stuff, my first book, and from the sequel which is finished.

My favorites tend to be those that came from my own experiences as a child -- poignant little memories which made me feel I was loved as a child and cherished as a person by my parents. Some of those are:

Mama, Am I Pretty?
My Dragon
Child?s Masterpiece
Children of the Rainbow
To The Boogie Man
The Quarter
Teddy Bear
The Clown
Pretty Flower
Butterfly Lesson

4~ Do you favor rhyming over not rhyming in your poetry? Is there one technique you like better than the other, or is it simply whatever comes to mind at the time?

Excellent question! I?ve asked myself the very same question. I would have to say, ?It depends?. With the children?s poetry, I almost always use rhyme and meter. I feel it makes it simpler for children to not only recite and identify with, but to remember. Think back to when you were a child. Remember the Mother Goose nursery rhymes? I used to love them. All of them employed both rhyme and meter.

With the adult poetry, I have a tendency to more often rhyme the lighthearted and humorous while taking a more serious free verse approach to the more serious ones. It?s just my way. Of course, if you line up fifty poets and ask them the same question, you?d probably get at least twenty-five different approaches.

5~ Why do you love writing about children so much? Is it just for sheer fun or just your favorite topic? Personally, I love it.

Originally, my poetry for children was intended to be a personal and private gift to my three daughters. After all, it was a composium of poignant little slices of life -- mine and theirs -- a love-legacy, of sorts, to be given to them upon my death.

For years, I had been jotting down my poems in notebooks, dozens of them. One day, my middle daughter, Bethany, caught me hurriedly scribbling a poem while she was over for a visit. After much pleading, I agreed to let her take a peek. I never expected the response I got from her.

?Mom, why are you hiding these? You should do something with them! These are wonderful and should be shared.?

At about the same time, my husband and I bought our first computer. Once online, I started going to writers? forums and joined in by posting both my adult poetry and the poetry for children. It was a give and take kind of thing, very much a learning experience. You critique the poetry of other poets and, in turn, they critique yours. I loved it, and I grew as a writer as a result. I guess you could say, the rest sort of took off from there.

After much thought, I went to geocities and signed up for one of their do-it-yourself website builders. Once the initial website was up and running, I did a lot of research to learn the nearly impossible html coding and then redid the website to reflect my own personal style -- the one that is now online and what came to be the beginning: I finally knew what I wanted to be when I grew up ...

6~ Are you writing for money or does that even matter to you?

I?m sitting here smiling ... while I do consider my writing to be a labor of love, I did quit a full-time job to pursue a career in writing, once I decided that was what I wanted to do. Yes, it would be nice to make a living at it.

I began promoting Barking Spiders and Other Such Stuff soon after its release in 2000 by doing book readings and by autographing books at bookstores and libraries. You can charge an honorarium to speak at a library, but it?s usually just a token amount.

What?s fun is, I?m now invited to schools to talk to the students and teachers from K through 8th grade -- this is what makes the money for a writer. I don?t want to burst anyone?s bubble, but you don't make much on the sale of books.

7~ Is there any certain response you?re going for from your audience?

Good question -- and there isn?t a simple answer. In my case, there are several forms of ?audience? ...

The first kind is a peer audience. I have some of my work posted at Lovestories.com. It?s a website for poets in general, and one of the places online where I first started sharing my work. The response I have gotten from my peers at Lovestories.com has been in the form of acceptance, as well as respect, as a writer.

Another form of audience: the readers who visit my website. I love reading the emails and guest book entries from parents, teachers, grandparents, or elementary education students. They have been heartwarming and more positive than I had ever dreamed possible.

My favorite audience, though, hands down, is the real-time audience -- the kind I have when I?m doing a storytime book reading or a school visit, or any time I?m speaking to a large group of children or adults.

The highest high of all for me is to look into the sea of happy smiling faces. It?s that one instant when I ?connect? with them through a poem that's the best and most welcomed response of all. There is no greater compliment, not only as a writer, but as a person.

8~ Do you intend for your poetry to be read by adults as much as you do by children?

Yes, I do. Well, maybe not at first. At the outset, I wrote the poetry for children and intended it to be read by children. What came as a tremendous surprise to me was the overwhelming response from adults. Most tell me they were taken back to their own memories of childhood through the poems ... while reading them to the children in their lives.

For some special, wonderful reason, the poetry seems to transcend all age barriers. Again, nothing could make me happier.

9~ Do you focus any of your poetry on adults? I mean, do you write any of these children?s poems for adults to read, as a release from adulthood?

I would have to say no. But ... I am very pleased if their temporary ?release from adulthood? has come about as a side effect of my poetry for children ...

10~ Does writing for adults (your other poetry) have any comparison with how much you enjoy writing for children?

Oh boy. Those two forms of poetry are such different animals!

As I mentioned earlier, the poetry for children was originally intended for only my own three daughters. In that respect, the poetry for children has always been from the real me -- the way down deep inside of me. I do have a genuine love for children -- not just my own, but all children. I know I'll always have a tender spot for writing the poetry for children. It has always been, and will always be, very dear to me.

On the flip side, writing an adult poem has always been from the real me, too. Hmmm. I hadn?t thought of it that way before.

11~ Do you enjoy the works of Shel Silverstein?

Yes! I?ve always loved Shel Silverstein. I used to love reading his books to my daughters and now, to my grandsons. His poetic humor is/was unique and his books are already classics which will be enjoyed by generations to come.

12~ Does Shel Silverstein?s poetry remind you of your own?

I have been compared to Shel by several well-meaning people and I?ve felt very flattered by it, but my own opinion is ... she who flies with sparrows bows to one who soars with eagles ... Shel Silverstein is in a class by himself.

How much of your poetry is related to your own childhood experiences? Is it a toss up, or do you write more now as you see your children and grandchildren growing up?

A lot of the poetry I write for children is based on either my own childhood or that of my siblings. Some is written as a result of something observed or heard, maybe in a checkout line or at a mall. The rest come from my children and now my five grandsons. With all of the children in the world, I should have a never-ending supply of great ideas, right?

What are these ?cookbooks? that you have your poetry printed in?

(laughing) Oh those? Three schools in different parts of the country asked my permission to use my poetry in cookbooks they were going to print for a fundraiser.

I was invited by teachers who read my first tentative postings of children?s poetry over at Lovestories.com. I was told many of the elementary schools around the country do a similar fundraiser each year to make money for their school.

That particular year, the idea was to do a class cookbook to sell to residents of their town. In each class, the children were to bring in their favorite recipe. Then a class photograph was taken for the front of the cookbook. It was a lot of fun for me and each of the schools sent me a copy when they were done.

What kind of work did you do in your column, ?Through the Eyes of a Child?? Poetry, short stories, or what?

I guess you could say it was a combination of a poem and an essay. I had carte blanch, really -- I could use anywhere between 600-700 words. The story piece, intended for the adults, usually centered on the main theme of the poem, i.e., where the idea for the poem came from in my mind, the subtle message for children that was contained in the poem, etc.

For instance, one column was about racial prejudice. The poem I used was Children of The Rainbow, which is about a young girl whose best friend was black. In the poem, she has a conversation with her grandmother about how the other children in school won?t play with her friend because she?s different.

Other columns dealt with issues such as the death of a parent or grandparent. For those columns I used Windows in Heaven and Gramma?s Apron.

I will always extend a special thanks to the editors of The Bedford Journal Newspaper for entrusting this green writer with a column and allowing me the freedom to grow and spread my wings.

16~ How do you get yourself in the mind of a child like it seems that you do?

Fun question! I remember back to when I was a child, I guess. I remember seeing something or hearing something when I was little and at the time, wondering, ?Why?? Had I asked them, I?m sure my parents would have bent over backwards to give me the best answer -- and they probably did, at the time.

Thankfully, I just seem to have an ability to look at most situations around me and get in there under it, seeing it as a child would see it. Or maybe it?s a case of just being more in tune with the little girl who still lives down inside me. After all is said and done, aren?t we all just little children with a few more years on top?

April 2002 Poet of the Month: Lovestories.com
CJ Heck (CaribeBlue)

CJ: First of all, to Alanna who wears many hats here at LS: You are our mother hen, taking each of us under your wing from time to time when we, as writers, get to feeling needy or just need a big hug. Thank you, most sincerely. You are also our firewoman, running around putting out all the little fires that crop up. Again, I say thank you. You're a good friend and you are lovingly appreciated.

To all my poet and writer friends: I feel a bit like the sparrow who flies among the eagles who soar here at LoveStories -- so very much talent. Thank you so much for this honor.

Ok ... now to the hard part.

LS: What person influenced your writing the most?

CJ: When my children were small, I read to them from a lot of the children's poetry greats, i.e., Ogden Nash, Dr. Seuss, and of course, Shel Silverstein. I've always loved their style -- and so did my daughters.

I would have to say the one person who influenced me most in my more adult writing is someone I met years ago at The Arcanum Cafe, Jim Hartsell. You all know him as wintersong. It was a critique-type forum there and brutal at times. Jim was always fair, always helpful, and was the one who taught me that poetry didn't have to rhyme. He taught me to listen and trust what was inside -- really listen to my own inner voice. Thank you, Jim, I love ya!

LS: If you were selected for the Survivor show and could only take 3 items with you, what would they be?

CJ: Since I've never watched the Survivor Show, I hope you don't mind that I juggle the question somewhat to mean the three things most important in my life -- I consider myself to be a survivor. The three things that have helped me most in becoming a survivor and those that I would take with me on a deserted island are:

(A) My family. They have helped me through some really tough times and I wouldn't be here without their love and support.

(B) My writing. Like with most writers, my writing was at times a catharsis allowing me to face pain and vent emotions, of course, but more importantly, an avenue where I could be introspective and gain insights into those emotions by seeing them in black and white. Somewhere along the way, writing became my lifeline -- I finally knew what I wanted to be when I ... er ... grew up.

(C) My husband. Hey, there may be snow on the roof, but there's still a fire in the furnace ... (wink)

LS: What is your favorite pizza topping?

CJ: I l o v e pizza ... just hand me two slices with anything on top but anchovies, please. (Pizza is sooo bad for me and I don't allow myself that treat very often -- I figure it would save time if I skip the eating part and just slap a slice on each of my cheeks on my behind ... that's where it'll probably end up in the long run anyway.)

LS: What is one thing about you that would surprise your fellow poets?

CJ: Oooo ... tell all time, is it? (heh heh heh) One thing that surprises a lot of people is that I've been married three times. They always want to know if I'm going to try until I get it right, but it isn't like that. I've been widowed once, divorced once -- after trying to make something broken work for 20 years, and now married ten years to a gentle, kind man who treats me wonderfully.

.... oh, and (shhhhhh) ... I sit in my bathroom sink to put on my make-up.

LS: Do you prefer dogs or cats?

CJ: I love both dogs and cats. Two years ago, we had to put our adored 15-year old Cairn Terrior, Sadie Arfenbark, to sleep. She had become both deaf and blind and was dying from cancer. It broke our hearts and I vowed I wouldn't ever go through it again. We have since inherited two male cats, Sydney and Bruce, from two of my daughters and have fallen in love all over again.

LS: What TV show do you just love to watch that you hate to admit to?

CJ: The Golden Girls reruns. I was too young back when it first aired to even care about watching an episode -- now I can identify and I nearly fall off the couch laughing so hard.

LS: Do you prefer to write your poetry online or using pen & paper?

CJ: I write wherever I am when the muse hits me. I've been known to write on napkins and menus in restaurants, on the programs in church or at a play, and even in ink on my arm once. On a long trip last year in my car, I was driving along with a notebook on the seat beside me and scribbling a poem without looking. When I arrived where I was going, I couldn't read the doggone thing it was so messy.

LS: What is your favorite flower?

CJ: Roses ... any color at all. I'm a romantic through and through.

LS: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

CJ: The Caribbean, of course. That's why I chose the nickname that I have here at LS -- CaribeBlue. There is nothing quite like the aquamarine color of the Caribbean water. It's so romantic, too. I figure I had to have been a pirate's moll in a past life.

LS: Is there any advice you'd like to give new poets?

CJ: Writing for children is so much different than writing for the public as a whole. I'm certainly no expert, but a mistake I see a lot of writers make in writing for children is they write what they think children want to read. You can't do that. It just doesn't work. Our tastes change as we get older, just like our tastes for foods change.

I believe to write successfully for children, you have to first get in touch with your own child within again. Think back ... what things made you double up in laughter? What things tugged at your heart? What questions did you have that no one seemed to answer in a way you could understand? Once you can do that, you'll write good poetry for children.

Now, you wanna know how I write my sensual poetry? ... huh uh, no way! (wink)

LS: Thank you, CJ, for sharing your thoughts and endulging our curiousity!

Poet of the Month is selected by fellow paid members.

Publisher's Catalog Interview: SterlingHouse Publisher, Inc.

An Interview with Author, C.J. Heck:

CJH ~ I've always written. When I was in school, I wrote because I HAD to for assignments. Later, my writing became a means of dealing with my grief after my first husband, an army medic, was killed in Vietnam.

STAFF ~ How much influence did your upbringing have on your work, and what aspects of your personal life do you bring to your work?

CJH ~ I grew up in a large, mid-western family where I was the oldest of five children. My parents always felt there was room for one more, and when I was about twelve, we began to take in foster children. One of my younger siblings or one of the foster children was always cracking me up with their antics and funny views on life ~~ something I just never forgot ~~ and I began to write them all down.

STAFF ~ Your poems cover a wide range of subject matter. Where do you get material for your poetry?

CJH ~ Most of my poems are based on things my own children did when they were younger. "Scissors" was inspired by my oldest daughter, Carrie. My youngest, Heather, really DID think kids at school would make fun of her when she talked funny after losing a tooth, thus, "My Tooth" was born. And Beth, my middle daughter, loved the sand in the sandbox and the poem, "Sandbox" was written about her.

STAFF ~ Judging from the response you've gotten, your poetry seems to have a positive effect on all who read it. I've seen e-mails from teachers, parents, children, and adults singing the praises of your work. What would you like readers to take from your poetry?

CJH ~ I am always happiest when I hear someone tell me ~~ while reading my poetry with their child ~~ that they, too, were taken back to a more simple and gentle time. I've always had a fascination with children and their view of the world. Children often see the world in such simple terms. I hope that my poetry takes all people back to a gentler, more simple time when the world was either black or white. When things didn't make sense, that was 'okay', too. A time when love was a hug, belly buttons were funny, Gramma's apron could do many things, and you felt loved ~~ "just because".

Publisher's Note: Although C. J. Heck writes fiction, non-fiction, and adult poetry, writing children's poetry is what she loves most. She has received many awards for her poetry and her website, (also named Barking Spiders and Other Such Stuff), has been featured in Poetry Today Online.