By Christian Potts
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With an eye on history and a mind for touching the thoughts and senses of her young readers, Darleen Bailey Beard paints a picture through her words.
And beyond her own writing, the Norman author seeks to help make better writers of the next generation.
She released her sixth book last fall, "Annie Glover is NOT a Tree Lover." As is a common theme in Bailey Beard's writing, the book is based on a true story -- of a Stillwater woman who chained herself to a tree in hopes of keeping the tree and several others near it from being torn down to make a parking lot.
"I thought it was such a fascinating story, that this lady could be that bold and that quirky and that different," Bailey Beard said. "I thought 'what a cool woman' so I went out and interviewed her and her family and her friends and I wrote my story.
Names and the location of the story were changed, and the main character is the granddaughter of the woman protecting the trees.
"Of course my main character Annie Glover's terribly embarrassed that her grandma's out there chained to this tree," Bailey Beard said.
Like in her latest work, her stories though fictional take a basis in Oklahoma history and events that really have happened. Attention to detail is always first in her mind.
"One thing I remember my professors at OU telling me and pounding into my head was write what you know and write what you love," she said. "And if you want to write about something you don't know, do the research and your research will support that, and you will love it and be ready to go."
Her inspiration can come from anywhere.
"One day I was at the grocery store and a lady had on a name tag and her name was Velvet. I thought, 'what a beautiful name, I have never known anyone named Velvet. I wrote it on back of my cash register receipt and put it in my idea file. And one day Velvet is going to be in one of my books."
Like nearly all authors, Bailey Beard has plenty of work that never will find its way to a bookshelf.
"There are some books that have come close, some that will never come close because they're just not good enough," she said. "But that's how I learn my craft is through practice. Practice makes perfect."
She has earned much recognition for her work, including the Oklahoma Book Award in 2003 for "The Babbs Switch Story," which is based on a real-life story from the early 20th century in a small Oklahoma town. Several other books have been nominated for the prestigious Sequoyah Award.
But above awards, she takes great pride in the work she does with up-and-coming authors, especially young ones.
She speaks at numerous schools and events, and also helped establish "Get the Lead Out!" an annual event through the Norman Public Schools that had by far its largest participation ever this year.
Her Web site, www.darleenbaileybeard.com, is loaded with helpful tools for writers young and old alike.
"As I speak in schools, teachers and librarians are all the time needing things that they can use on bulletin boards or things they can share with students," she said. "I have several pages just for kids that are full of facts on how to write, tips and even the names and addresses of publishers looking for their work."
She also judges writing contests and has a service that critiques works for authors.
She recalled a contest she was judging several years ago for the Oklahoma Writers Federation. She gave a few hints to the author of the book she selected as the winner.
"I forget the title of it but I didn't like her title," she said. "While I was reading it I circled a phrase and I said 'here's your title right here, 'My Louisiana Sky.' And she loved it she went with it, took my advice on editing and she ended up selling the book."
That book, by author Kimberly Willis Holt, was her first to get published. She since has gone on to win a national book award for "When Zachary Beaver Came to Town."
"She's a big time author now, way way bigger than I am," Bailey Beard said. "And I helped her at the very first of her career and that was fun. It's fun for me to help people in their careers, and they write me back and say 'I won a contest and thanks for your help.'
She's not likely to be the last to be helped.
