Several years after Rebecca J. Carlson wrote “Barley & Rye,” a 12,000-word story intended as a gift for her son’s 9th birthday, she said she found a publisher called Fiction Vortex who agreed to publish her story. Upon the publisher’s request, Carlson expanded the story to 50,000 words.
Carlson, an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Sciences, said reading books was a joyful experience for her growing up, and she writes stories to help children today feel the same excitement she did.
Children at Laie Elementary School are fascinated by Carlson’s children’s book, “Barley & Rye,” said Stephanie Robertson, a librarian from Laie Elementary School. After Carlson came to visit the school, Robertson said she donated a signed copy of the book. Students would run to the library each day to see if they could have a turn to check out the book to read, Robertson added.
“Students could not wait to meet a real-life, published author who actually lived in the same town as them. I could see that this fact alone helped them to imagine new possibilities for themselves someday if they wanted to chase their big dreams too. The palpable enthusiasm students had about this event in the library was a thrill to witness,” she said.
From present to publication
“I’ve always enjoyed writing books,” Carlson shared. When her son, Daniel, was about to turn 9 years old, she said she decided to write him a story for his birthday.
Carlson said she asked her son, “If you could read any kind of story you want, what would be in it?” Her son said he wanted a story about two brothers who go on an adventure together, have a magic sword and a map of where the story happens.
She said the story she wrote ended up being very short. “I printed it out, I stapled it together, I illustrated the front cover with a watercolor marker and I gave it to him for his birthday. Then I thought I was done,” she shared.
Daniel Carlson said, “When I was younger … [“Barley & Rye”] was like my favorite thing ever. I mean, it was a book written for me.”
Rebecca Carlson said several years after she wrote the story, she found a publishing company on the internet that was looking for children’s stories. “They wanted people who could write serial fiction for children, which means it would be published one chapter at a time on the internet,” she explained.
Readers would have a subscription to a reading app where they could follow the story as it came out. When the book is completed, the publisher would print the book and sell it, she shared.
“So, I signed up with them. I sent them some samples of my writing,” she said. Carlson said she sent “Barley & Rye” and another story she wrote for older readers.
The publisher decided to go with “Barley & Rye” she shared. The story was short with only 12,000 words, and the publisher wanted it to be longer, she said. “When [the book] was done, it was about 50,000 words. The story I wrote for my son is only the first three sections of the published book,” she added.
“I made the initial short story the kick-off for their further adventures,” Carlson explained.
“One of the reasons the book worked so well was each section is its own little story, but they are all connected together.” In her mind, Carlson said she saw it as an animated television series.
“From the time I signed the contract until it was published was about two years, when I wrote the sequel ... it [only] took me about three and half months,” she said. By then, she added she had the characters established and had more experience writing.
Inspiration for “Barley & Rye”
“I love folktales from all over the world,” Carlson said. For her book, Carlson explained she took inspiration from European folktales and some Asian folklore. For example, “the dragon in the first book was based on a Korean folktale called ‘Sim Chung and the River Dragon’ that I used to love to read with my children as a picture book. In that story, a dragon kidnaps a girl and takes her down into his underwater kingdom to live with him,” she said.
Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty,” “Snow White” and “Beauty and the Beast” have been widely shared with the world, but there are other, less well-known stories that are just as magical, she said. “I like having a way to share some of those stories and ideas with children.”
Carlson said many of her readers are fans of the brothers’ relationship in her story. Although the two characters are not based off of her sons, the way they interact is, she stated. “I try to make it feel authentic to what I’ve seen between my own sons. I have four boys in my family so they provided a lot of inspiration.”
Writing takes courage.
Carlson said the character Rye reminds her of her uncle Mark because he always played tricks on his loved ones. Her family has a lot of funny stories about her uncle’s shenanigans, she recalled, and Rye is very much a trickster in her book.
If a reader likes stories about dragons, wizards, knights and farm boys turned heroes, then this book is the one for them, Carlson said.
“There are two brothers who lived in a village at the edge of the forest. In this forest, there’s a band of brigands who sometimes kidnap children and take them as slaves. So, when Rye gets captured, his younger brother, Barley, goes out to try and rescue him,” Carlson explained.
Carlson’s son Daniel added, “It’s a charming story that’s based on a lot of old folklore but kind of shifted to make a remix of it, like you would make a remix of a song. It’s got all the parts of it, but it’s put together in a new way.”
Fans and readers
Yvonne Ah Sue, a teacher at Laie Elementary School who reads “Barley & Rye” to her students, said, “It’s not every day that you have a friend or acquaintance that authors a book.” She said she was excited to hear about the book and became even more excited to find it on Amazon.
Ah Sue said her class becomes very quiet as she reads. “I allow the kids to draw quietly as I read aloud, but some just stare at me and listen very intently,” she said.
Robertson said, “I became a huge fan of Carlson’s writing over a year ago when she hired me to edit a novel she was developing at the time.”
Robertson said she asked Carlson to visit Laie Elementary School to discuss her experiences with writing and publishing the novel.
During the visit, Robertson said Carlson read an exciting excerpt from “Barley & Rye” to the students, asked about the audience’s favorite books and talked about what it takes to write a novel.
She also used a laptop to show the children on the library’s big screen what her book looked like before it was published, and Carlson also answered all of the children’s questions.
Advice for aspiring writers
To aspiring writers, Carlson suggests reading and writing as much as possible. She said the key is to set aside a few moments every day for writing. “If all you can do is write one sentence, that’s fine. Some days you’ll sit down and be able to write a whole page or pages and pages. Some days you just need time to think, but just make time every day to write.”
She also suggested writers submit their work to the Kula Manu, BYUH’s own literary journal. Students are invited to submit their poetry and stories for others to read and enjoy, Carlson explained. “Even though it’s not a big national publication, it’s still a value to you and your community members.”
She said, “Writing takes courage,” adding the best way to develop courage in writing is to put aside time for it and realize it’s important.
Carlson posted her short stories on her blog every day for nine months to help get her work out there, she said. At the time, she said only her mom, grandmother and a few friends would read it. “I didn’t care because I just enjoyed writing those stories and putting them out where people can see them,” she added.
How to read "Barley and Rye?"
Rebecca J. Carlson's "Barley and Rye," books one and two, are available at the BYUH Bookstore, as well as:
1. Amazon.com
2. Barnesandnoble.com
3. Walmart.com
4. Bookshop.org
For anyone interested in ordering a signed copy, contact Rebecca Carlson through her author page on Facebook.