My guests on this episode of The Sensitive Rebel are Karen Betts & Hannah Howerton, the mother-daughter duo behind Lionel's Place and co-creators of the book The Little Lemon that Leapt. I've known them for a number of years and love what they're doing and the important messages they're bringing to the world about identity, self-acceptance, and value.

Karen Sanders is the wordsmith and visionary behind Lionel’s Place. She is a bookworm from way back, and proudly touts the fact that she became a published author at age 7, when Wee Wisdom Magazine printed one of her poems. Karen has her BS in Journalism, with a minor in English. She is currently working on the second book in Lionel the Lemon’s series. Karen loves spreading her dad’s message of acceptance as she continues to use a little lemon to make a big difference.

Hannah Howerton is the illustrator and creative director behind Lionel's Place. She is a lifelong doodler who finds inspiration in the great outdoors. After graduating from UC Berkeley, she knew she wanted to launch a business that would make a difference in this weird and wonderful world. She loves using pop art to promote messages near and dear to her heart.

Topics discussed in our conversation:

• The story (and inspiration) behind Lionel the Lemon
• The ups and downs of creating (and promoting) their book & how their collaborative process works.
• Why 'dead ends' still have value
• The importance of 'embracing your weird'
• The question they ask themselves that helps them keep their motivation up
• The impact of their school presentations on both students and on them. 
• Why their book has been a hit with the neurodiverse crowd
• What's next for Lionel the Lemon
• Mr. Rogers - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Rogers
• Kickstarter - https://kickstarter.com
• PBS - https://pbs.org
• Meet the Robinsons - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meet_the_Robinsons
• ...and more!

Connect with Karen & Hannah:
Web - https://lionels.place

Connect with Steve:
Email - [email protected]
Web - https://sensitiverebel.com
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk7zd5kba1SQZOyM5sKKiVA
Instagram - https://instagram.com/thesensitiverebel

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stevemccready.substack.com