Chrysa Smith
by Margo Ragan
Combine the imagination of a child with the wisdom of a creative writer, and you have Chrysa Smith. A resident of Jamison, she is the author of a series of children's books featuring the love of her life, her poodle posse, who give her and her little readers a platform on which to understand some of life's dilemmas while laughing at some very funny situations. “I don't know if I am a writer who teaches or a teacher who writes,” she said. “What I do know is that I am finally following a passion in my life, and that is to put words and story to paper.”
Chrysa has a ready smile, a contagious laugh as she began to recount the numerous twists and turns she took in her career before she took a deep breath, quit a corporate position with a steady paycheck, and “became a writer.” The road to finding her goal of being a writer was definitely a long and winding one.
“I was always interested in writing,” she explained. “When I won an essay contest in the eighth grade, I was duly impressed with the thrill of a writing accomplishment. But I followed a more traditional and safer route when I went to college, and majored in business, which led to a career in sales and marketing. That position was more of a traditional role for a woman at the time. The economy led to several job changes, but eventually I became a freelance magazine writer. Even though I was finding writing gigs, I did not have fulfillment for my creative energies. I just wasn't ready to make the major move of writing creative fiction.”
It's not that the heavens opened up and pronounced that she should become a writer. The transition was much more subtle. Chrysa wrote every day, even if it was just a line or two about something that she observed or had interest. Along with that, she kept a desire for a pet. Ever since she was a little girl, Chrysa wanted a dog, which was not practical in her family apartment in New York City. When her husband Mark announced a move to Bucks County, Chrysa was overjoyed because now a dog could be a real possibility. Since Mark had had poodles when he was younger, the choice of breed was easy to make.
“We started with two poodles, Bobby and Geezie, who entertained one another and me all day long,” Chrysa said. “One day they both were especially rambunctious as they were trying to find a missing steak bone. I realized I had two main characters of a children's story, and they were actually acting out a plot line right before my eyes.”
Even though Chrysa has considerable skills as a writer, she knew writing in a children's genre required skills she did not have. “I had to put my ego aside, enrolled in writer's workshops, took college level classes in children's fiction and then began to write in cursive the adventures of Woody and Archie, the first two members of my poodle posse,” she disclosed. “Cursive writing is a tactile experience of putting my words on paper, and I seem to be more conscious of what I am saying.”
The human who lives in Woody and Archie's orbit is Mrs. Flout, who seems to be perpetually flustered and outmaneuvered by the poodles. She is their mom, who loves her posse unconditionally. Just like Chrysa. Mrs. Flout bakes cookies for her posse. Just like Chrysa who includes recipes for edible doggie treats in one book that details the Halloween adventures of the poodle posse.
“You can say that there is a lot of me reflected in Mrs. Flout's personality,” Chrysa admitted. “The dogs have personalities of their own, and seem capable of finding ways to fool me in the same way they fool Mrs. Flout all day long.”
How Chrysa came upon the name of Mrs. Flout is interesting. “I had no idea what to call this woman, and considered many possibilities. Then one day literally out of the blue, the name Mrs. Flout came to me, and it fit perfectly into the character as she was developing. For me, it's an example of the creative process and energy that seems to come out of the universe, “ she explained.
While she had the plot line for her first story fairly well in mind, Chrysa says she wanted an illustrator who could bring the characters to life on the page, and there was only one person to whom she could entrust her characters, Philadelphia illustrator Pat Achilles. “I had known Pat before I began my official writing career. I liked that there was a New Yorker cartoon influence on her work. Her characters were lovable, whimsical, and absolutely mischievous, exactly like my Woody and Archie characters. Besides, Pat has done several illustrations for the New Hope Historical Society so there was a Bucks County connection with her.” Thus an on-going collaboration between author and illustrator was begun and continues with the Fall 2016 publication of a prequel, Once Upon A Poodle.
The Adventures of the Poodle Posse includes four books that chronicle the lives of Woody and Archie, as they are confronted with situations to which children can relate. The plot may be as simple as Woody secretly wanting another sibling to a more complex one—like when the poodle posse met the challenges presented by a bully and learned to protect one another. “I don't start my stories thinking about the message I want to impart, the messages about life grow organically out of the story,” explained Chrysa.
Chrysa is a frequent visitor to elementary classrooms, where she reads her stories to students. “I keep my visits informal, and welcome questions and observations from the children, who are totally disarming and delightful,” she said, “and I never know what they are going to say.” She laughs as she recounts the most frequent observations, which are, how old are you, you look older than your pictures, do you get paid for writing, and can I be in your next story?
Like a master teacher, Chrysa engages her little audience in the writing process. She once visited a gifted class taught by Janine Daniels in the Bensalem School District and asked the students for comments. “They made an excellent suggestion that I include a character sketch of the members of the posse at the beginning of each book. By this time Daisy, Bobby and Geezie had joined the family. The individual bios would help the students remember each of the dogs and each one’s past history. Their comments made sense to me, so I then included a bio at the beginning of the rest of the series,” she said. “The kids helped me become a better communicator.”
Another class suggested that she add an activity section at the end of each story, including mazes, word searches, and open ended questions that they could then use as a stimulus for writing their own stories. “Why didn't I think of that myself? I thought,” Chrysa admitted. “I get so excited when I conduct workshops for these students, because they become involved with the entire writing process. Their imaginations are so active. I present visual props, commercial slogans such as Just Do It, I ask them what they are thinking and feeling, before I know it, they come up with plenty of story lines.”
Chrysa admits that the writing workshops give her as many insights as she herself gives to the students. “When I tell them that a writer has to be first and foremost, an observer, it's a reminder to me that I too need to observe. Besides, it is a concept that children readily grasp. We look all around the classroom, identify things that interest us, that cause us to ask questions, and from that exercise, the students are off and running with a story line,” she continued.
“Once I had made the decision to become a writer, I quickly saw that I needed to let the world know that too,” Chrysa said, “I began to use networking techniques I had learned in the corporate world. I reached out into the education community of teachers and librarians for their comments and insights. I had to put my ego aside when my papers were returned with red ink all over the page. I went with the flow, thinking that an objective eye makes for a better story, and that has definitely worked for me.”
Chrysa contacted Karen Beem, who owned The Newtown Bookstore at the time for her comments. “Karen was unbelievably generous in giving me guidance both in the story telling and the marketing program. She gave me tips on costs, and ways to avoid hazards in publishing, and I am forever grateful for her help,” admitted Chrysa.
Her willingness to seek out constructive comments and act on them seems to be typical of Chrysa's approach to her work. “I thought it would be neat to write my last book, Once Upon a Poodle in verse, and submitted my work to Laurel Garver, my editor. Laurel suggested that I return to prose, opening up the story, and frankly, she was right,” said Chrysa. “I then had to begin the writing process from the beginning.”
Chrysa's enthusiasm for writing is contagious, and she seeks many ways to engage young writers. A few years ago she was the driving force behind a writing contest held in Doylestown. “I contacted the local Chick Fil-A who quickly agreed to sponsor the contest. Local merchants donated items for gift baskets, which were given to students who submitted their stories. It was a generous community effort, along with a lot of work on my part, but I was happy to promote writing for youngsters in this way,” she said.
She also writes a blog, which is a treasure trove of useful and practical tips for any aspiring writer. “My years of experience as a writer in the corporate world gave me the knowledge of how to navigate around gatekeepers in the publishing world, as well as what I would need to do to properly market my books,” Chrysa said. “Marketing is a full time job and a writer needs to be prepared for it.”
Chrysa readily admits that her book sales are modest; however, the quality of her writing has already been recognized by groups who actively promote excellent material deemed suitable for a family audience. That includes in 2009, an award from Mom's Choice, an award from the Dove Foundation, and in 2011, being selected as a Top Pick in Amazon's Bookshelf for Young Readers.
But the most important critics are youngsters, and the Kraft family from Upper Makefield were my resource. Ben 9, Sam 7 and Sophia 5 understood and enjoyed the antics of the Poodle Posse to the point that they are now asking their parents Jason and Lori for a posse of their own. They loved the series! For further information on Chrysa Smith and her Poodle Posse visit www.wellbred book.net. Her books are also sold locally and at major online booksellers, including Amazon.com.
Margo Ragan is a freelance writer and lecturer at Holy Family College who lives in New Hope, PA.