Interview with Rick Keeling
Rick Keeling was born and raised in the city of Dallas. After completing high school, he enlisted in the United States Navy and was stationed in San Diego, California. While in the Navy, he served in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. After completion of military service, Rick remained in San Diego, California with his wife and two daughters for the next sixteen years. While residing in San Diego, Rick acquired a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, and a Master's Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling with an emphasis in mental health. Rick currently resides in his home city with his family. Rick has always had a secret passion for writing stories and poems for children. Over the years, he has accumulated ideas, and maintained them for the future. After writing for his own children, and paying attention to their reactions, he began the process of putting stories together. With encouragement from his mother and uncle, Rick was given an even stronger purpose to write as they challenged him to use his dreams and “imagination” to move forward with his ongoing passion, getting his stories in the hands of young readers to spark their interest and imagination. As a voice over artist, he also hopes to incorporate an oral narrative component with his stories in the future. Tyler: Welcome, Rick. I’m happy you could join me today. To begin, I want to tell you I love the title of the book. Will you tell us what the title signifies and in general, what the book is about?
In the story, the child uses props around the home to imagine that he is performing various functions such as playing guitar with a broom in front of a large crowd, baking with a cardboard box, and pretending to be an astronaut with items in his room, to name a few. At the end of the day, he expresses that all of the wonderful scenarios were all in his head while basking in the joy of his ability to utilize his imagination to have an awesome time. Tyler: Rick, what inspired you to write this book? Do you feel children are not as imaginative as they used to be? Rick: A couple of things inspired me to write "It's Just My Imagination." One of which surrounds the idea that with the advent of gaming devices, cell phones, and popular television shows, our children are spending an overwhelming amount of time that is sedentary in nature. With this, we need to look no further than the ever-growing childhood obesity rate as a consequence. Secondly, the healthy psychological development in our children may be a bit tainted without the use of what I like to refer to as "organic" imagination. Gaming devices are being substituted for natural imaginative thoughts. I wanted to promote that the child in the book is very active physically and psychologically, and can absolutely have a great time with the simple use of props around the home. Tyler: What is the benefit of imagination for children, not just for fun, but in turns of their becoming mature, functioning, adults? Rick: I see one of the main benefits of using the imagination as being able to think in an abstract sense. A sort of "outside the box" manner of thinking promotes rising above simply mediocrity. As each generation of children is faced with increasingly difficult times and competition, this type of thinking will promote a boost to the healthy psychological development of the child. At a young child's level of development, I feel that it plants the seed that it's okay to be content with the simple use of the mind rather than requiring stimulation from technology. Tyler: Rick, when we think of using the imagination, most people think of “pretending” and children playing “make-believe” with fantasy scenarios. Is that how you view imagination? Isn’t it true imagination is also what leads to great inventions and discoveries, even the electronic toys you mentioned earlier? Rick: It is true that imagination leads to the inventions of the electronic toys I spoke of earlier. However, the imagination to create the electronic game by far outweighs the type of imagination necessary to play the game. With the game itself, you have hand controls that limit your options within the game. With the use of the imagination without said game, ones options are endless to the tune of any scenarios that you'd like to make, and any boundaries that you would like to create or cross that later provides a healthy creativity component. The purpose of "pretending" and playing "make believe" is definitely to provide a near infinitive thought process in the mind of the child. As the child grows, the child will close the gap from fantasy to reality in a healthy manner. The healthy development aspect of the process is allowing that child to dream beyond the stars which may have a very huge carry over effect with regard to the child’s creative process as a pre-teen or teen into adulthood. In addition, I think it would be interesting to research within the realm of brain activity. Consider which type of stimulation creates a higher level of brain activity between a child playing a game, and a child in a state of euphoria while dreaming without boundaries. Consider the idea that video games may end every time without reaching the ultimate goal within the game; hence, a bit frustration that creates multiple attempts over a great deal of time. This leads to the aspect of a great deal of sedentary time spent playing the game. Within the use of the imagination and role-playing (without a game), I'm certain that most children do not pretend fatally to veer off of the road in a car, or to be destroyed by aliens. Tyler: Would you describe for us your own childhood and how you used your imagination? Rick: As a child, I had what I call "rocks, socks, sticks, and bricks" to create a sea of imaginative scenarios. I took what I had, made the best of it, and didn't think twice about it because in my mind those props were quite sufficient. Being an only child until the age of twelve also played a significant role in the use of my imaginative journeys. When there was no one to play with, I could've complained that I was bored (which was not allowed), or I could simply play on and create my own little world in which I had total control. For many children, the socioeconomic status of their families does not permit the purchase of the new and improved popular toy on the market. I was one of them. I also took piano lessons without a piano in my home for a while. During that time, my mother would have me simply practice on the kitchen table. It really worked out very well. Tyler: Did you have a favorite imaginative journey as a child, or a repeating type of imaginative game you played? For example, did you pretend to be a pirate often? Rick: One imaginative journey that I carried out on an ongoing basis had to be on that imaginary football field. I was a big football fan as a child and was always amazed how some of the running backs eluded defenders with the use of outstanding footwork, and vision. I had a lot of fun eluding defenders on that imaginary football stadium in the yard. Also, Bruce Lee was also huge during that time, and I along with the other neighborhood kids spent great time emulating the rapid strikes and kicks viewed in his movies. Basically, whatever was popular at the time was mimicked for entertainment whether alone, or with a group of friends. Tyler: What do you personally credit your imagination with having done in your evolution? Rick: Somehow, writing for children became my passion as a result of my imaginative childhood. Perhaps unconsciously I want to create the spark of using the imagination in children around the ages that I now look back upon and smile taking in consideration what I had to play with at that time. When I perform readings, and skits during school visits, nothing compares to the "light bulbs" that appear in the children who are present. To see that I have just provided an alternative or different way of thinking that is new to those children is priceless. I present with props as the child did in the story and challenge the children to come up with other ideas or scenarios that the props could be just as the child did in the story. In addition, I like the challenge of getting back to basics in using the "organic" imagination within children with hopes that it will catapult a new and creative way of thinking. Tyler: Will you give us a specific example of when you saw a “light bulb” come on in a child’s head and what you did to trigger it? Rick: When I perform book readings for classrooms or groups, I do a presentation with three props that are easily attainable around the home. I use two-pencils taped together, a paper plate, and a broom. I have them erase the idea that the three props are what they actually are, thus having them view the props as various imaginative items. After I get the ball rolling and they begin to understand the premise of imaginary objects, they begin to come up with objects that take a lot of thought. For example, consider the paper plate. After the obvious responses such as a Frisbee, they are forced to think deeper. And invariably you'll catch a kid's face light up, and nearly throw his or her shoulder out of socket raising a hand to give their idea. I think one of the neatest out of the box thoughts had to be a jellyfish. The child went on to provide me with the awkward back and forth motion of the jellyfish, which I produced for the class, and they loved his idea. Tyler: Rick, who is the audience or age group for “It’s Just My Imagination? Rick: The audience for "It's Just My Imagination" is vast. Obviously, children at the reading level of comprehending 3-5 syllable words will have no problem with the book as far as reading it for themselves. But audiences that I greatly would like to reach are parents who will read the book to their children who are below this reading level. In addition, there's nothing like the sound of a parent's voice to a child when being read a story. I read the book to children as young as kindergarten level, and up to the 6th grade, and they loved the story on all levels. Tyler: Rick, will you explain to us the format or organization of “It’s Just My Imagination”? Rick: "It's Just My Imagination" is an 8.5x8.5 soft-cover book, 16-pages in total length with 10-wonderfully colored scenarios of the child in the story. The character in the story spends a day of creating fun scenarios with props around the home. He completes his day acknowledging all of the fun that was had throughout the day as he takes a bow. Tyler: Of the ten scenarios in the book, do you have a favorite one and can you tell us a little about it? Rick: Certainly. I actually have two favorites. 1.) The broom scenario is the first favorite. I'm a huge Jimi Hendrix fan. I have a lot of respect for a person who as a child, imagines that his broom is a guitar, and later becomes a guitar hero worldwide. Guitarists continue to discover the genius of Hendrix even to this day, nearly four-decades after his passing. His legacy stems from the simple use of a straw broom and a vivid imagination as a child. In my mind, if a child can use a straw broom and become a guitar hero, the significance of imaginative scenarios is endless with regard to possibilities in the future. 2.) My other favorite would have to be scenario five where the character differentiates what is "…my podium that you call the kitchen table..." as a prop used by the President of the United States of America to give a very serious speech to the nation on national television. I think that scenario and simple prop embodies the creative way of thinking that I spoke of earlier. Tyler: Rick, will you also tell us about the book’s illustrations, how they were done, and what you hoped to accomplish with them? Rick: I'm quite fond of the artwork in the book. It was done by a talented illustrator by the name of Cristan Hellen. Ms. Hellen was selected by the publisher to perform the artwork. The publisher informed me that he'd worked with her on previous projects, and continued to be pleased with her level of creativity in illustration. I personally was pleased with the idea of the artwork appearing with the simplistic shapes that a child would and could illustrate. You know, something to which a child reader could relate. This proved to be significant during school visits. During times of Q & A, several children would inquire about becoming an artist or an illustrator. I believe that they viewed the intentional child like artwork as something attainable to their potential skills. I inform them to continue drawing, and begin to maintain something similar to a portfolio of their work. Once again, the book promotes the use of the imagination. Even on an artistic level. Tyler: It’s wonderful, Rick, that the children are encouraged by your presentation to ask you questions about how they can become what they want to be. What other responses have you received from children to your presentations or to “It’s Just My Imagination”? Rick: Ironically Tyler, I receive their stories about what they do outside of utilizing electronics for entertainment. I get stories such as jumping on the bed pretending to fly into the sky. I get stories of sibling wrestling matches spurred by the entertainment of wrestling. The responses vary greatly because we've established dialogue about being active without the electronics I spoke of earlier. To me, this is a process of differentiating of types of entertainment instead of lumping "fun times" all together. This concept addresses the lack of physical activity while watching television versus physical activity of pretending to be a dancer, or sports figure for example. Tyler: Ultimately, what do you hope will be the result of children using “It’s Just My Imagination”? Rick: I would like to see children gain a greater balance in using gaming devices, cell phones, and watching hours of popular television shows. I would like to see children integrate more physical activities in their lives in a time where there's not much being done between the extremes of complete inactivity to participating in a sport. Not all children fancy sports. I would like to see parents encourage active imaginations in children as it may also play an academic role when creative thinking is necessary. I would like to see parents incorporate activities in the lives of children that will challenge their minds such as with the use of puppets for example. Albeit a bit antiquated, the use of puppets for a child invites us directly into their little world. With the use of puppets, children have to juggle their thoughts and play various roles in the scenario. These roles are created from their point of view of life. We as parents can find many interesting things about the thought processes of our children when listening to them at play with puppets. As they role-play, it's just a beautiful thing to hear a concept that we as parents had no idea they possessed. They know more than we think they know. On a secretly sneaky note, we're also able to discover problematic issues that may be present in the mind of a child that may require attention. This can't be done as children play a video game, or watch television. Again, the uses of puppets are a bit antiquated, but just think of the benefits from something so simple. Tyler: Rick, I completely agree with you. As a writer myself, I know that playing with stuffed animals as a child, or even pretending to be characters from a book or movie or someone I completely made up, was both a way of figuring out how the adult world worked, as well as an early form of writing fiction before I actually put pen to paper. Would you tell us how specifically you began down the path to writing from your early uses of imagination? How did you transition into becoming a writer? Rick: A while ago, I began writing from a standpoint of wanting certain items, and wanting to be certain people that I recalled as a child. I wrote from a standpoint as if I were able to be a writer as a child. I concur with your premise of "writing before I actually put pen to paper" because that's truly the result. I like to think that there is not much difference in being a child and desiring to have something or be someone, and being an adult looking back on childhood days and now being able to express on paper what you were actually attempting to convey. My writing transition came about when I introduced my poetry to friends, children, and family. The poem would basically tell an actual story, but in the form of stanzas. I took poems in which people showed consistent interest, and expounded my text in order to produce a complete picture book story. I love the ideas of picture books short in length because they provide the challenge of creating text that will catch the attention of children in very few pages. Tyler: Rick, our seven-year old reviewer at Reader Views for Kids, Evan Weldon, commented, “I recommend ‘It’s Just My Imagination’ by Rick Keeling to people aged thirty and over because I think that all kids know how much fun it is to pretend, but some grown-ups need to be reminded how important pretend play can be for kids.” Do you think he’s right? Rick: Well, while I respect his opinion, I believe that he may be off the mark to the two fronts. I believe the premise was missed that the character is not playing video games, or watching television. "All kids" don't quite know how fun it is to pretend without the use of a gaming device, or imagining that they would like to be a part of a television show while sitting on the couch. Those two prevalent scenarios of today are not what I have in mind regarding a healthy balance in the use of the imagination. Attempting to eliminate enemies in a gaming device is not the best use of the imagination. If so, then the topic of the nature of the games played can also be presented. Not all of the games are educational, and developmentally healthy. Although I like the idea of recommending the book to "people aged thirty and over," we differ on opinion as to why. He believes that adults should be reminded of how important pretend play can be. I'm certain that he's probably referring to adults controlling the time that a child may spend using devices that promote artificial imaginative scenarios such as in gaming devices and watching too much television. In his thought process, he's simply expressing what most kids will express which is to be permitted to play games and watch television for a great deal of time without restriction. That's simply the nature of children; therefore, I completely understand the disagreeable comment on the level of children. My reason for appreciating the recommendation to people aged thirty and over is that adults can take the premise of the book and reinforce the importance of the healthy use of the imagination toward the under-developed judgments within our children. So I do thank him for that. Tyler: Rick, do you have plans to write any more books, and if so, will you tell us about them? Rick: Certainly. I recognize the difficulty in writing books for children. I also recognize that I have to be near genius about the topics that I write about. I’m not a genius; however, I have written things about boys reconsidering the color pink when considering the importance of breast cancer awareness and its association with the color pink. Perhaps my idea is great, but my writing about the subject is less to be desired. I am a person who had a mother who passed due to BC, and unfortunately have become a proponent toward/of BC due to a passing versus simply being aware. Boy cubs that lose their mothers to BC will eventually learn about BC. Why not before it happens? I’ll simply have to keep working on “Pink is not just for girls!!” Tyler: Thank you for joining me today, Rick. Before we go, will you let our readers know where they can go online to purchase a copy or find out more about “It’s Just My Imagination”? Rick: “It’s Just My Imagination” can be purchased online at most online bookstores including barnesandnoble.com, amazon.com, and the publisher’s site at Blackrosewriting.com. As many know, I am working to be seated within major bookstores. Tyler: Thank you again, Rick, for the interview today. I wish you much luck with “It’s Just My Imagination” and all your future writings. I hope they inspire many children. Rick: Thank you for the opportunity and the kind words, Tyler. Listen to live interview on Inside Scoop Live
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