Please welcome author Jolene Gutiérrez to the show! Her latest book, Mamiachi and Me just released on January 7. Congratulations, Jolene! And grab your copy now while it’s still hot off the press!♨️🔥📚📚

Some Highlights:

Publishing her first books on her teacher’s typewriter in elementary school.

Denise Vega’s author visit at Jolene’s school in 2008 and the spark it ignited.

–“If you want to be a writer, why aren’t you now? Why not today?”

Nurturing your soul with writing. Do something for yourself before anyone else.

Following what brings joy as a parent, showing your children that it is okay to do that. Let them know they need to follow their own joy—but you have to follow your own first.

Teaching as a librarian.

Kidlit zombie manuscripts.

Why write: I can’t not write.

“If this ever stops bringing me joy, I can walk away.” The importance of choice and joy in creative endeavors.

Co-writing picture books with her children.

High school mariachi inspiration.

Links Mentioned🔗:

Jolene’s website

Jolene on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)

The Author’s Guild

KidLitCollective

#KidlitZombieWeek 

Picture Book Gold 

Book Recommendations📚:

Mamiachi and Me: My Mami’s Mariachi Band by Jolene and Dakota Gutiérrez, illustrated by Mirelle Ortega on Amazon, Bookshop, and Barnes and Noble

The Ofrenda That We Built by Jolene and Shaian Gutiérrez, illustrated by Gabby Zapata

Too Much! An Overwhelming Day by Jolene Gutiérrez, illustrated by Angel Chang

Bionic Beasts: Saving Animal Lives with Artificial Flippers, Legs, and Beaks by Jolene Gutiérrez

Mac and Cheese and the Personal Space Invader by Jolene Gutiérrez, illustrated by Heather Bell

Thank you and thank you, Jolene! Stay tuned for the next interview with author Masha Sapron.💃💃💃💃

Please welcome author Christine Evans to the show! Christine and I met in 12x12 and this episode has been a long time coming–thank you all for your patience!!

Some Highlights:

The perfect time to start a new career–when you have small children.😂

Growing up reading classics, not knowing “author” was a real job one could do.

Starting with picture books before moving on to chapter books.

Starting with Googling–highly underrated.

Lifelong critique partners.

The joy of reading the story you wrote aloud to young listeners.

The tangible joy of creating stories.📖

When stuck, taking herself away from the work for a while. Change of scenery. And community.♥️

Tackling grief in picture books.

At the end of the day, the writing itself is what’s most important.

Why Write: Because I can’t imagine not writing. I write to figure things out for myself sometimes too. I write to find things out. That’s my creative outlet. It’s a bonus that it’s more than that as well.

Early advice: Be patient. Wait until you’re ready. There’s no rush.

Links Mentioned 🔗:

Christine’s Website

Christine on Twitter and Instagram

Susannah Leonard Hill

The 12x12 Picture Book Challenge

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)

Book Recommendations 📚:

Dear Mr. G. by Christine Evans, illustrated by Gracey Zhang on Amazon, Bookshop, Linden Tree Books, and Barnes and Noble

The Wish Library by Christine Evans, illustrated by Patrick Corrigan

Christine all books

The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly

Luigi, The Spider Who Wanted to Be a Kitten by Michelle Knudsen, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes

Ava Lin by Vicky Fang

Thank you so much to Christine for being on the show and you for listening! Stay tuned for the next interview with author Jolene Gutierrez!💃💃💃💃

Please welcome author Rachel Funez to the show! Her recent release, Sonia and the Super Duper Disaster, illustrated by Kelly Kennedy came out in July of this year. I met Rachel through the Rocky Mountain chapter of the SCBWI where she is very active as the critique coordinator and doing so many fabulous things. Please enjoy!

Some Highlights:

Mysteries, puns, and wordplay.

Putting yourself out there as neurodivergent.

The necessity of community.♥️

Life coaches for writers.🖊️

Enjoy the ride–enjoy the process.

All the many things she does in the writing world–SHE IS PHENOMENAL! 

Links Mentioned🔗:

Rachel’s website

Rachel’s Substack newsletter

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)

The 12x12 Picture Book Challenge

Courage to Create

Book Recommendations📚:

Sonia and the Super Duper Disaster by Rachel Funez, illustrated by Kelly Kennedy on Amazon, Bookshop, and Barnes and Noble

Wretched Waterpark (Book one of The Sinister Summer Series) by Kiersten White

Thank you so much for listening and thank you, Rachel, for coming on the show! Stay tuned for the next interview with children’s book author Christine Evans.

I hope you enjoy this episode with author illustrator Meg Auchenbach. It was such a delight to hear about her artistic journey and the inspiration behind her book, If You Are an Artist. Please enjoy!💃💃💃💃

Some Highlights:

Drawing on the family dog…with markers.🐕

Nerding out about meditation and mindfulness.

What would your character wear? Read?

What does your character’s world look like to them?

Processing emotions through stories as a kid.

Be patient. Take your time learning the craft. There’s no reason to race through.

Illustrating death in a beautiful way.

There’s no one way to be an artist.

Links Mentioned🔗:

Meg’s link.tree

Meg’s website

Meg on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn

The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)

Kidlit411 on Facebook

The 12x12 Picture Book Challenge

Book Recommendations📚:

If You Are An Artist by Meg Auchenbach on Bookshop, Barnes and Noble, Aaron’s Books, and Amazon

Acorn Was a Little Wild by Jen Arena, illustrated by Jessica Gibson

Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall

The Longest Letsgoboy by Derick Wilder, illustrated by Catia Chen

Thank you so much, Meg, for the much needed dose of inspiration. And thank you, listener, for being here. Stay tuned for your next regularly scheduled interview with author Rachel Funez.

Please welcome author Leslie Eva Tayloe to the show today! In this episode we talk about inspiration, patience, community, and more. Enjoy!!🎧🎧🎧

Some Highlights:

Stories developing from one sentence.

Inspiration from life experience.

Finding strength and connection through community.♥️📚

Staying in motion, keep going–if you face an obstacle, work on another aspect of author life.

Learning to write in new genres.

“I think forming a story is a type of craft.”

Developing patience–it’s crucial as a writer but also so hard!

Don’t hit the send button too soon!!🔘

A rejection letter 3 years after submission.😮

Picking, plucking, and pulling invasive vines off trees.🌲

Spooky attic doors.👻

Links Mentioned🔗:

Leslie’s website

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)

The 12x12 Picture Book Challenge

Inked Voices

Children’s Book Insider

Book Recommendations📚:

I’m Fishing with Pop-Pop Today by Leslie Eva Tayloe, illustrated by Austen MaCauley Team on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop

Save the Trees by Leslie Eva Tayloe, illustrated by Lintang Pandu Pratiwi on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop

The Attic Door by Leslie Eva Tayloe, illustrated by David Barrow on Amazon

Boys from Biloxi by John Grisham

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Grandpa and The Kingfisher by Anna Wilson, illustrated by Sarah Massini

Thank you, Leslie, and thank you, listener! Stay tuned for your next regularly scheduled podcast interview with author-illustrator Meg Auchenbach.💃💃💃💃

Please welcome author Emily Dangremond to the show today! Talking with her is always a joy and I could seriously talk to her for hours on end about trees, consciousness, and more. 

I hope you enjoy hearing what she has to say and it gives your day a boost. You are here. You are a writer. You don’t need to wait for it to be in your job title. 💜

Highlights:

Increasing plant literacy.🌱🌲🌼

The difference between knowing flowers versus the trees in your neighborhood.

Dutchman’s Breeches–the flower, and other fun Spring plants!

Find your plant ephemerals.

Graphic novels about trees?📕🌳

The more we learn the more we realize we don’t know.📖

You aren’t going to see animals when you go outside–they’re going to be hiding. You’re going to see leaves and trees.🌱🌲

Mangrove forests.

Taking a break and coming back to your writing afterward.

Accountability vibes.

Writing to process feelings.

What makes a writer–when do you own the identity?

You can be a something AND a something else. We all have more than one identity.

Writing out the anxiety to move on after periods of our life.

Links Mentioned🔗:

Emily’s website

Emily on Instagram and Twitter

Kid’s Questions Answered Podcast

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)

Picture Book Peeps on Substack and Instagram

The 12x12 Picture Book Challenge

Book Recommendations📚:

Meet the Trees by Emily Dangremond, illustrated by Summer Morrison on Bookshop, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Thank you Emily, and thank you, listener! Stay tuned for next week’s episode with author Leslie Eva Tayloe.💃💃💃💃🎧

Today’s guest is author-illustrator Jena Benton. Talking with her was so inspiring, I had to stop myself from writing down everything she said as a quote to share. Please enjoy her love of language, books, Alaska, community, and creativity.

Some Highlights:

The impact teachers can have early on, whether to encourage or discourage our creativity.

Writing play manuscripts in high school.

“Networking is about the friends you make along the way.”

Soundproof kid’s corners for loud reading.

Book recommendation love and kidlit obsession.

Alaskan road systems.

The traveling bard revival and why we need more oral storytellers.

Cheesecake moments.

It is important to have a community to support you through obstacles and let yourself experience the obstacles–be sad–but have a deadline to get back up and keep going.

Listening to the music of words.
Links Mentioned🔗:

Jena’s website

Jena on Redbubble

Jena on Youtube, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

Simply7 Interviews

Romance Writers of America

Sisters in Crime (Mystery Writers)

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) – she is the Illustrator Coordinator for her Alaskan chapter

The 12x12 Picture Book Challenge

Book Recommendations📚:

Kauai’s Call by Jena Benton, illustrated by Kristi Petosa-Sigil only available HERE.

Best in Show by David Elliott, illustrated by many people

Counting Winter by Nancy White Carlstrom, illustrated by Claudia McGehee

The Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Renata Liwska

Interstellar Cinderella Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Meg Hunt

The Man Who Didn’t Like Animals by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by LeUyen Pham

A big thank you to Jena for coming on the show and another big thank you to you, listener! Stay tuned for your regularly scheduled podcast later this week with author Emily Dangremond.

Please put your hands together for kidlit author Ellen Leventhal! Ellen is an author and educator who features other kidlit creators on her blog. She is also a delightful human! Welcome, Ellen! 💃💃💃💃

Some Highlights:

Pull ideas from your experiences, even when they don’t seem important at the time they’re happening.

Using stories to help children through challenging times.

The joy of connecting with kids through stories.📚

Shaping your story through revision, just like you would a lump of clay.

The difference between writing and getting to use your creativity.

Add discovery for love of story to school curriculum.✏️

Different ways of writing in educational tests versus books versus placement exams. Learning to do it all.📄

Don’t let the joy of writing and story get away.

Owning your identity as a writer. As an author.📕

Links Mentioned🔗:

Ellen’s website (keep an eye out for my interview on her blog here)

Ellen on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Writers in The Schools

The 12x12 Picture Book Challenge

Book Recommendations📚:

Debbie’s Song: The Debbie Friedman Story by Ellen Leventhal, illustrated by Natalia Grebtsova on Bookshop, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble

A Flood of Kindness by Ellen Leventhal, illustrated by Blythe Russo

Lola Can’t Leap by Ellen Leventhal, illustrated by Noelle Shava

Don’t Eat the Bluebonnets by Ellen Leventhaland Ellen Rothburg, illustrated by Joel Cook

They Built Me for Freedom:  The Story of Juneteenth and Houston's Emancipation Park by Tonya Duncan Ellis, illustrated by Jenin Mohammed

Who’s Writing This Story? By Robin Newman, illustrated by Deborah Zemke

The Incredible Shrinking Lunchroom by Michal Babay, illustrated by Paula Cohen

The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs by Chana Stiefel, illustrated by Susan Gal

The Assignment by Liza Wiemer

Better with Butter by Victoria Piontek

Hidden Truths by Elly Swartz

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

The Thread Collectors by Shaunna J. Edwards and Alyson Richman

Thank you so much to Ellen for coming on the show. And thank you for listening!!🎧🎧🎧💃💃💃

Stay tuned for next week’s episode with author Emily Dangremond and an extra special bonus episode with author Jena Benton!

Please welcome Dara Henry to this episode of Getting to the Heart of Why We Write! Her latest picture book, Hanukkah Pajamakkahs is out at a store near you now. 

It was so fun hearing about her community involvement and the connections and joy within the writing community. I hope you enjoy!

Some Highlights:

The doors that open when you find your writing community.

Sharing rejections to celebrate actively querying.

Taking a break when facing obstacles. What would we do if we didn’t write?

Writing for joy, connection, readers, reflection, and celebration.

The value of patience. It’s something to exercise and work on–it’s a slow process.

Writing the words to write. Not every manuscript has to be published because all writing is purposeful–every bit improves our stories.

Love of pajamas.

Links Mentioned🔗:

Dara’s website

Dara on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

The 12x12 Picture Book Challenge

Kidlit 411

PBSOAR24 on Twitter and Instagram

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)

Read Across America

Book Recommendations📚:

Hanukkah Pajamakkahs by Dara Henry, illustrated by Olga and Aleksey Ivanov on Bookshop, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble

Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown

The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown

The Imposter by Laura Bower, illustrated by Kerisa Greene

Call Your Mother by Tracy C. Gold, illustrated by Vivan Mineker

The World-Famous Nine by Ben Guterson
Thank you, Dara, for talking with me and thank you, listener, for being here! Stay tuned for next week with authors Ellen Levanthal and Jena Benton.

Please give a warm welcome to kidlit author Melissa Trempe in today’s episode! Her picture book, Ladybug Launch: Inspired by A True Story of Chinitas in Space co written with Dr. Natalia Ojeda and illustrated by Manuela Montoya came out earlier this year. Enjoy!

Some Highlights:

The joy of morning writing when the world is still asleep.😴

Beautiful biographies to add to your TBR list.📚📚📚

The benefits of Twitter pitch events, writing pitches to improve your writing as a whole. 🖋️

Sharing struggles and successes with a writing debut group.

Walking in silence. 

Reminding yourself that you’ve done this before and can do it again when writing gets hard.

Never give up the one thing that makes you happy.

Links Mentioned🔗:

Melissa’s website

Melissa on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

Ladybug Launch on Indiebound, Simon and Schuster, Children’s Book World (in Philadelphia), Amazon, Bookshop, and Barnes and Noble 

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)

PBSOAR24

Tara Lazar’s Storystorm

The Highlights Foundation

Book Recommendations📚:

Ladybug Launch: Inspired by A True Story of Chinitas in Space by Melissa Trempe and Dr. Natalia Ojeda, illustrated by Manuela Montoya

Splash!: Ethelda Bleibtrey Makes Waves of Change by Elisa Boxer, illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley

Thank you so much to Melissa for being on the show and thank you for listening. Stay tuned for next week’s episode with kidlit author Dara Henry!💃💃💃🎧🎧🎧