MONROE - A Monticello native is helping introduce youth to such luminaries as Rihanna, Sean Kingston and Brett Favre.
Heidi Krumenauer, now a Stoughton resident, wrote about the three in recently released books as part of the Blue Banner Biography series.
Two of the biographies are on musical stars - Rihanna, a pop star from Barbados, and rapper Sean Kingston from Jamaica. Rihanna and especially Kingston, who is just 17, were challenging to write about because there hasn't been as much written about their lives.
Her favorite was the one that hits a little closer to home: former Green Bay Packers quarterback and NFL legend Brett Favre.
"It was the easiest - I'm a huge football fan," she said.
She wrote the book and sent it to the publisher at the end of January. With speculation flying that the NFL superstar might retire, she asked the publisher if she could rewrite the end of the book if he announced he was leaving the game.
Favre did announce his retirement in March. Krumenauer revised the ending and had it back to the publisher within days, she said.
But then Favre had second thoughts, retracted his retirement announcement, and after a standoff with the Packers, ultimately returned to football this fall wearing a New York Jets jersey. None of the post-retirement drama made it into the book, Krumenauer said.
The incomplete ending doesn't change the popularity of Favre's story, though. "Kids still love him," she said.
Krumenauer, the daughter of Joann Hawthorn, Monroe, and Larry Hawthorn, Monticello, has always been interested in writing.
"My heart's always been in writing," said the 1987 Monticello High School graduate. "I wrote a lot back in college."
The urge never left. After sons Noah, 10, and Payton, 6, were born, "something was still eating away at my insides," she said.
Having children pushed her to keep at writing.
"They were the inspiration for me to take up freelance," she said. In addition to freelancing for magazines, in 2007, she compiled a book of children's thoughts about their grandmothers titled "Why Does Grandma Have a Wibble?"
That opened the door for more work. When the publisher contacted her, she knew she wanted to be part of the book series aimed at 9- to 12-year-olds.
"Blue Banner is a fantastic series," Krumenauer said. Each book is about 3,500 words, or 32 pages, making them easy for children to read in about half an hour and not feel overwhelmed. That encourages young readers to pick up another book and continue learning about another notable personality, she said.
The series is published by Mitchell Lane Publishers and is distributed primarily to schools and libraries. They are also available through online retailers.
Titles include a variety of musical, sports and news figures, including singers Missy Elliot, Kanye West and Tim McGraw; author Sally Field; former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani; and author J.K. Rowling.
She wrote the singers' biographies simultaneously in about seven weeks. Favre's story took about two and a half weeks.
"It's a lot of online research," Krumenauer said of the fact-gathering process for writing the books. She must make sure all information is accurate, which can be time consuming.
"The cross checking of facts is probably the hardest."
Despite her blossoming writing career, Krumenauer intends to keep her position as political action director at American Family Insurance in Madison.
"It's like having my cake and eating it too," she said. She has toyed with the idea of leaving to make writing her full-time job, but decided against it.
"I'm in a good management career," she said. "Once it (writing) became a full-time career, I'm not sure I would like it as much."
Freelancing is keeping her busy. She was recently part of the writing team for "Amazing Bible Fact Book for Kids." And she hopes to do more writing for the Blue Banner series, especially if she could score an assignment to work on some sports figures.
"I have a lot of NASCAR and football knowledge," she said.
The Blue Banner Biography books can be purchased at www.amazon.com. The Monroe Public Library has also ordered a copy of each of Krumenauer's Blue Banner Biographies.
Heidi Krumenauer, now a Stoughton resident, wrote about the three in recently released books as part of the Blue Banner Biography series.
Two of the biographies are on musical stars - Rihanna, a pop star from Barbados, and rapper Sean Kingston from Jamaica. Rihanna and especially Kingston, who is just 17, were challenging to write about because there hasn't been as much written about their lives.
Her favorite was the one that hits a little closer to home: former Green Bay Packers quarterback and NFL legend Brett Favre.
"It was the easiest - I'm a huge football fan," she said.
She wrote the book and sent it to the publisher at the end of January. With speculation flying that the NFL superstar might retire, she asked the publisher if she could rewrite the end of the book if he announced he was leaving the game.
Favre did announce his retirement in March. Krumenauer revised the ending and had it back to the publisher within days, she said.
But then Favre had second thoughts, retracted his retirement announcement, and after a standoff with the Packers, ultimately returned to football this fall wearing a New York Jets jersey. None of the post-retirement drama made it into the book, Krumenauer said.
The incomplete ending doesn't change the popularity of Favre's story, though. "Kids still love him," she said.
Krumenauer, the daughter of Joann Hawthorn, Monroe, and Larry Hawthorn, Monticello, has always been interested in writing.
"My heart's always been in writing," said the 1987 Monticello High School graduate. "I wrote a lot back in college."
The urge never left. After sons Noah, 10, and Payton, 6, were born, "something was still eating away at my insides," she said.
Having children pushed her to keep at writing.
"They were the inspiration for me to take up freelance," she said. In addition to freelancing for magazines, in 2007, she compiled a book of children's thoughts about their grandmothers titled "Why Does Grandma Have a Wibble?"
That opened the door for more work. When the publisher contacted her, she knew she wanted to be part of the book series aimed at 9- to 12-year-olds.
"Blue Banner is a fantastic series," Krumenauer said. Each book is about 3,500 words, or 32 pages, making them easy for children to read in about half an hour and not feel overwhelmed. That encourages young readers to pick up another book and continue learning about another notable personality, she said.
The series is published by Mitchell Lane Publishers and is distributed primarily to schools and libraries. They are also available through online retailers.
Titles include a variety of musical, sports and news figures, including singers Missy Elliot, Kanye West and Tim McGraw; author Sally Field; former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani; and author J.K. Rowling.
She wrote the singers' biographies simultaneously in about seven weeks. Favre's story took about two and a half weeks.
"It's a lot of online research," Krumenauer said of the fact-gathering process for writing the books. She must make sure all information is accurate, which can be time consuming.
"The cross checking of facts is probably the hardest."
Despite her blossoming writing career, Krumenauer intends to keep her position as political action director at American Family Insurance in Madison.
"It's like having my cake and eating it too," she said. She has toyed with the idea of leaving to make writing her full-time job, but decided against it.
"I'm in a good management career," she said. "Once it (writing) became a full-time career, I'm not sure I would like it as much."
Freelancing is keeping her busy. She was recently part of the writing team for "Amazing Bible Fact Book for Kids." And she hopes to do more writing for the Blue Banner series, especially if she could score an assignment to work on some sports figures.
"I have a lot of NASCAR and football knowledge," she said.
The Blue Banner Biography books can be purchased at www.amazon.com. The Monroe Public Library has also ordered a copy of each of Krumenauer's Blue Banner Biographies.