Guest Author - Terrie Lynn Bittner

Tamra Norton is the author of the uplifting and entertaining young adult novel, Molly Mormon? As a child, she struggled to learn to read and in high school, she read at a fourth or fifth grade reading level. In part 1 of this interview, Tamra discussed her early struggles with reading, writing and education, including her impression that being smart was uncool. In the conclusion, she discusses the process of becoming a skilled reader and writer and how her own experiences influence her decisions as a homeschooling mother.


You said your mother-in-law presented you with books that helped turn you into a reader. What books had a particular impact on you and why?

Definitely LDS fiction. I had read Charley and Sam by Jack Weyland while in high school, and I really enjoyed them, but those are the only two works of fiction I can recall from those days. My mother-in-law is an avid reader, and each birthday and Christmas gave us several books. I spent most of the early years of our marriage pregnant (I had three kids in three years) so while they were napping or nursing, I’d often read. I guess the reason I loved LDS fiction so much is because these were “my people” so-to-speak. I didn’t have to worry about compromising my standards while reading, and I usually walked away strengthened in mind and spirit. I know, as a writer, this is always my goal—to strengthen spiritually as well as entertain. I feel that this is what my Heavenly Father expects of me.


How did you make the leap to being a writer? How much time and emotional effort did it take to believe you could be a professional writer?

I kept a journal all through my youth, so I guess you could call this my first attempt at writing. Though most of it revolved around whatever boy I had a crush on at the time, it was nonetheless the “written word”. I think the lesson there was that if you write a page every day, they add up, and before you know it, you’ve completed an entire book and have to move on to a new one. I filled several journals through my youth.

The first feedback I’d ever received for my writing—aside from my college composition class—revolved around the annual Christmas letter I send out. I really tried to be creative in these letters and the feedback was a tremendous boost. It made me think, Hmmm…maybe I’ve got something here! Then I tried my hand at children’s stories and poetry. I also submitted stories to The Friend and The New Era. All of these early attempts were met with “Thanks, but no thanks” letters. It was discouraging at the time, but everything is a learning experience that finally led to publication.

When my husband was finishing up his masters degree, it became necessary for me to supplement our income. I knew two things…watching children, and nursing babies. Heavenly Father was really aware of our needs at the time, and I was blessed with a wonderful job as a breastfeeding counselor for the WIC (Women Infant Children Nutrition Program) in Pocatello, Idaho. Much of the work was done at home through phone calls and record keeping, though I did teach classes and do hospital visits. It was an ideal job for our situation. Several months into the job, due to my training as a La Leche League leader, I was promoted to Lactation Specialist. I was required to train the other counselors and deal with special needs babies. It was at this time that I suggested we implement a monthly breastfeeding educational newsletter for our clients—and I knew the perfect person to write it! For the next twelve months I was writer, editor, and publisher of “Breastfeeding News From WIC”. (By the way, I’ve heard that they are still using my articles today, eight years later).

When I moved to Texas I knew I wanted to write, but who would publish me? I tried to write a homeschooling newsletter, but it never got past the first issue. Then one day while making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, an essay started formulating in my mind. “If life were a sandwich, Mom would be the peanut butter.” It was cute and witty, and my husband, kids, mom, dad, and sisters all loved it! Mother’s Day was rapidly approaching, so I wrote up a second article and a cover letter, and sent them out to every small newspaper in this part of Texas. The cover letter stated that their newspaper should run my column “The Home Front”, and I wouldn’t even charge them anything until they felt I deserved it. Buckets of “rejection letters” poured in, and just when I was about to drown in them, a call from the “Fort Bend Sun” editor rescued me—She wanted to run my column. I wrote for free for three months, then went on vacation. When I came back she had received several phone calls asking where my column was. The paper started paying me, and I wrote “The Home Front” for almost a year until we moved out of state.

It was at this point that I really felt like a writer, and knew that I wanted to attempt writing a book. The idea for Molly Mormon came like a bolt of lightning one day, and I was off and running. The entire manuscript was completed in four months (with the last third written in a week and a half).


Why did you choose homeschooling for your own children?

There are many factors involved in this decision, but it all boils down to my belief that the best learning experiences don’t necessarily have to be “taught”, and this “knowledge” is usually absorbed better in an atmosphere that is comfortable, loving, and safe. Whenever I start to worry that maybe we’re not making the grade (so to speak) in our homeschool, I have to reflect on my own public school experience.

I remember one particularly tough year. I was in fifth grade, and my two best friends were no longer attending school with me (One moved, and the other was transferred to a private school). In those days, we had a half-hour lunch followed by a half-hour recess. I was so miserable in school at that time that I would walk home for lunch and spend the entire hour with my mom. I would have loved to have been homeschooled that year. We soon moved, and I was able to make friends at my new school.

How did your experiences with school affect the decisions you’ve made as you’ve raised and educated your children?

Well, first and foremost, reading is our highest educational priority. Sure, we do math, grammar, history, writing etc., but reading is the foundation. My children are usually reading chapter books by second grade. I’m totally convinced that if a child has a strong foundation in reading, he can learn anything.

I also feel that in the homeschool environment, children and teenagers have the time to explore other areas of interest. My eleven year-old son is a master chocolate chip cookie baker, and can follow any recipe to the T, or double it (which is usually the case with our large family). My two teenage daughters have improved tremendously in their piano skills over the last year. And my seventeen year-old son has almost completed writing his own 300 page fantasy/adventure novel.


What advice do you have for girls who are struggling in school or with reading?

Read, read, and read some more! But find something you like. For me it was LDS fiction (by the way, I know a couple of great books that you’d really like ;-) )! For my daughter it’s fantasy, and for my husband it’s biographies. (I do require a variety of genres from my older ones though).


What advice do you have for the real Mollys of the world, who are struggling to live the gospel in a world that celebrates Britney Spears?

True happiness in this life comes through always staying true to yourself and the Gospel principles you hold dear—Never forget this! Satan is so eager to fool you into believing that happiness equals fun. This just isn’t true. Sure, it’s great to have fun, but in the minds of many youth, “fun” involves some things that tear down the spirit, and eventually will bring nothing but pain. If you always stay close to Heavenly Father through prayer, you won’t be deceived.