Local Mom, Daughter Authors Give Books A Boost

Port Jefferson author Laura Hill Timpanaro and her co-author daughters Kayla Timpanaro (10) and Ava Timpanaro (7) bring a new twist to writing with their chapter book series The Great Story World Mix-Up.

With five books out and two new releases this fall, the trio have brought their “can do attitude” to schools, helping students get their own creative ideas out of their heads and into the world.  “When my daughters wanted to write a book with me I thought, I’ve written for television and adults, how do I write with children?” said Hill Timpanaro.  The answer turned out to be easy, “You set up the formula and let them take the lead.” 

Since publishing their series last year, which they illustrate as well, the trio have reached over 3500 students, overcome their fears of public speaking and even appeared on TV as featured guests on the Writers Dream, a thirty minute talk show set to air on cable channel 20/22, August 13 and September 10 at 8am.  When asked by host Linda Frank if they liked being writers Ava Timpanaro responded by saying, “It’s a lot of work but it’s also a lot of fun.  We get to meet authors we love and do things that we never thought we’d be doing.”  Besides writing, the authors try to help other people and have raised money for Save-A-Pet; and with a corporate sponsor and donations built an outdoor science exploration area at their school.  “It’s fun to try something you never did before and when it’s done you can say, I helped do that and now everyone can enjoy it.” said Kayla Timpanaro. 

The series focuses on two girls who break the globe of Story World, a magical land where all the stories ever written come to life.  With a changeling dog to aid them and an evil wizard trying to keep things confused, the girls have their hands full setting the stories straight.  “My character Jilly is a fairytale expert who knows everything about magic and make-believe just like me, where my sister’s character, Penelope, likes to find her answers in the real world using science and logic.” said Ava Timpanaro.  Mixing fiction with non-fiction, famous people with characters the stories are geared to peak reader’s interest in literature they may not have experienced before.

This year the trio and the Great Story World Mix-Up series will be visiting schools throughout New York State, New Jersey and hope to set up a tour down the East Coast, potentially even reaching as far as California.  “It’s amazing when I’m talking to a group of students, and they see my daughters, and I show them how we write our stories and create the illustrations, then suddenly their eyes light up and it all clicks.  I know what they are thinking, I can do this too!”

 To find out more about the authors and their books visit www.gswmu.com or www.greatstoryworldmixup.com