Deb Adamson joins The Backstory today with her latest book, BING BANG PLING (McSea Books, 2023) with illustrations by Candice Hartsough. This story of backyard DIYing will entertain the whole family with its' styles, bright colors, and fun rhymes. Keep reading to learn more and to find out how you could win a copy of your own.
Welcome to The Backstory and thank you for joining us and sharing the inspiration behind BING BANG PLING.
First off, please tell us a little bit about your story.
Thanks for having me, Andrew! The inspiration for BING BANG PLING came from my now grown son, when he was younger. We live in an older home and my husband and I were and still are DIYers. Our son enjoyed following along, pretending to use his own toy tools and just being a part of any home project, both inside and out. I’m also one of four daughters to a DIY dad. My sisters and I learned at a young age to be handy and help out, too. That’s where the inspiration came for BING BANG PLING’s main character to be a girl.
I love that these two aspects of your life, your son and your own childhood, came together to inspire this book. It is a concept that many families can relate to and will hopefully inspire some more DIY projects from your readers.
What’s the story behind the story? What was your inspiration? Where did the idea come from?
BING BANG PLING follows along as a young girl and her parents build a backyard play set. The fun part comes at the end, where the family celebrates with friends, the feeling of accomplishing a job well done. Most do-it-yourselfers will relate! As an aside, I am donating all my proceeds from this book to the RocSolid Foundation which builds backyard swing sets for children battling cancer. My hope is to sell as many books as possible to help support their amazing work.
WOW! This is a fabulous and generous idea. This sounds like an incredible organization and I am so glad to hear you are supporting them in this way.
How did you approach going from this seed of an idea to what is now BING BANG PLING? Was it something undeniable you had to write immediately or did you need to sit with this idea and let it grow for a while before it found its way to the page?
I wrote this story around 15 years ago! I wrote many manuscripts while raising and homeschooling my son who as I said is now grown and away at college but didn’t query much and not this one. Years later I revisited it and came at it from a different angle.
I know I can't be the only author with old manuscripts collecting dust in drawers. Hearing that you wrote BING BANG PLING 15 years ago gives me hope that those stories still have a chance. I am glad you were able to find the right angle for the story as well as the right editor to get this book into the hands of children.
Did BING BANG PLING undergo any major changes/revisions from the original version? If so, what led you to make these changes?
As I mentioned above, the story is much different than the original draft. It was more focused on working with yard tools and gardening. I took the idea from there to create a fun backyard project that young kids would enjoy watching come to fruition as well as learn about different tools. It includes illustrations at the end showing all the tools used in the book and of course throughout there are plenty of fun tool sounds to read aloud. Here’s my chance to say how amazing, illustrator, Candice Hartsough is for envisioning this book with her bright engaging art. She also took into consideration my art note suggestions to include our family cat, Lumpy on a few spreads. We refer to him as “The Supervisor” because he often shows up when we're working on any project, just to check it out and make sure we’re on track. Cat owners will no doubt understand!
I am so glad you brought up Candice's illustrations. She did a wonderful job and her illustrations are the perfect complement to your words. The bold, colorful style will have kids grabbing this book off of shelves for sure!
Are there any books or authors that you feel influenced your work on BING BANG PLING?
I take my inspiration from so many authors but since I often write in short rhyme and I know young kids are drawn to it, I’d say the short bouncy style I’ve used for this one is inspired by Alice Shertle, Little Blue Truck, Dr. Suess, and Julia Donaldson.
Yes, I can absolutely see how these authors' influenced BING BANG PLING. Stylistically, it seems like a great choice for this book. Your rhyming is perfectly simple. Exactly what kids at this age love. Not to mention it makes it more fun for an adult to read aloud.
As writers there are so many amazing resources available from books to webinars to organizations. What kidlit resources have been the most beneficial to you?
I’ve been a member of SCBWI for many years. I organized a local SCBWI critique group and keep in contact regularly with a few members. We are accountability and critique partners who inspire and encourage one another. I also attend regional SCBWI workshops whenever possible.
Critique groups for the win! I love how you add in the accountability piece. We all know writing can be a long and lonely road. These critique partners are sometimes the only people who understand the process and the industry. It is so important to find and support your people.
Do you have any upcoming projects or news you would like to share with us?
I actually do have the most exciting news that I am unable to share just yet! For the past few weeks it has had me walking on air and wondering, did I dream this? After nearly 25 years of chasing, a long time publishing goal is finally coming to fruition. More on that as soon as I am able to shout it out to the world! But in the meantime, I also have more imminent exciting news. I have another picture book coming out September 1st with McSea Books. A CHRISTMAS EVE WISH FOR SANTA is a keepsake picture book that wishes Santa well on his biggest night of the year. Backmatter is included on different Christmas Eve traditions around the world. McSea Books is a boutique publisher and has created a beautiful gift book with foil accents on the cover and spine. Illustrator Anne Zimanski’s watercolor art really makes this book special. It’s going to make the most amazing Christmas gift to be read as a tradition, year after year. It is available for preorder now anywhere books are purchased.
Congratulations on A CHRISTMAS EVE WISH FOR SANTA! It looks stunning. And I am so intrigued by your secret news. I can't wait for you to be able to spill the beans so we can all cheer you on and celebrate with you.
Where can people connect more with you?
My website, debadamson.com and on Instagram at Twitter at @DebAdamsonBooks
Readers be sure to give Deb a follow to stay updated on all of her latest publishing news. And while you are at it, please consider supporting BING BANG PLING (McSea Books, 2023) with illustrations by Candice Hartsough. Remember that all proceeds are going to RocSolid Foundation. So you can get a beautiful new book while supporting a great cause.
Deb, thank you for returning to The Backstory and giving us the inside scoop on BING BANG PLING. It was wonderful learning more about this book and how it came to be.
GIVEAWAY!
Deb is generously offering one winner a signed copy of BING, BANG, PLING. (US only)
How to enter:
Enter for a chance to win one copy on either Instagram or Twitter by following Deb, sharing the post, and tagging a friend.
ABOUT DEB ADAMSON
Deb Adamson’s books can be silly, sweet and often a combination of both. She lives on the shoreline of Connecticut with her family. To learn more about Deb, visit her at debadamson.com and on Twitter and Instagram @DebAdamsonBook
ABOUT ANDREW HACKET
Andrew Hacket is a teacher by day, parent by night, and writer in the nooks and crannies of life. When it comes to his books, Andrew aims to create stories that tickle the funny bone and hug the heart of readers both young and old.
Andrew is the author of the early reader, CURLILOCKS AND THE THREE HARES (The Little Press, 2024) and the picture book, OLLIE, THE ACORN, AND THE MIGHTY IDEA (Page Street Kids, 2024). Additionally, his short story, THE TUNNEL, has been chosen for inclusion in the SCBWI anthology, The Haunted States of America.
Andrew lives in Massachusetts with his wife, three young children, and puppy, Gus.
Andrew is represented by Dan Cramer of Page Turner Literary.