Tucson Region

Life of author of children's books is quite a story by itself

Head lice and dysentery were just two of the trade-offs that would lead to Jennifer J. Stewart's latest children's book, "Close Encounters of a Third-World Kind." Set in Nepal, the story loosely follows the real-life adventures of Stewart's family back in 1999, when husband Bruce served a medical mission and she and their three daughters - then 5, 8 and 10 - were more than just tag-alongs. The girls helped their dad - an ear, nose and throat doctor - by running errands and keeping order in the waiting room. Meanwhile, Stewart learned to be a scrub nurse. "As long as it wasn't my blood or pus, I was OK," she says matter-of-factly. Both fluids ooze at times in her latest story, told from the perspective of a 12-year-old girl. Stewart, 44, need look no further than her own brood for inspiration. "When I got the last child in preschool, I said to them in the minivan on the way to school, 'Mommy is going to write a book for children. What should I write about?' " "Dragons," was their answer. Dragons it would be. In 1999, "If That Breathes Fire, We're Toast," was published. It was a long time coming. "I've wanted to be a writer since the second grade," says Stewart. A Tucsonan since the age of 4, she earned an honors degree in English from Wellesley College. Next came a master's degree in business administration at the University of Utah. "I wanted to be a tycoon," Stewart explains. And so she was for all of three years, working for American Express in Salt Lake City, where her husband was doing his residency. "When I left, I had a staff of seven and a budget of $20 million," says Stewart. Her husband finished his residency in 1988. "I had a baby 10 days later and two weeks later we came back to Tucson," says Stewart, who met her husband here. Two more babies quickly followed. "I changed diapers for seven years." In between changes, she scribbled out short stories and poetry for "obscure literary magazines. "I had a knack for finding publications that were about to fold," says Stewart. One story went out 27 times before it was published. It wound up winning an award from the Society of Southwestern Authors for short story fiction. Finally, Stewart turned to children's books. "I had these kids and I was reading lots of children's books aloud," she reasons. She entered her first book - the one about the dragon - in various writing contests. When it won second place at a Southwest Writers workshop, she made it to the awards banquet. There she met the judge, Regina Griffin, vice president and editor-in-chief of Holiday House, which eventually published the book. Holiday House would also publish her second book, "The Bean King's Daughter," as well as her just-out adventure set in Nepal. There for three months, the Stewart family lived in three remote villages, sleeping in tents and eating rice gravied with lentil soup. "We all lost weight," says Stewart, who kept a journal. "I did think I had a book there." Besides her writing - Stewart is already into several more projects - she visits schools and libraries, speaking to kids about writing. She is also president of the nonprofit Make Way for Books, which fosters early literacy in low-income neighborhoods. For more information, contact her at 749-4519 or go to jennifer jstewart.com. Stewart will do a book signing for "Close Encounters of a Third-World Kind" ($16.95) at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Kid's Center, 1725 N. Swan Road.