I’m Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster, joined by Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, avid climber and outdoorsperson, and podcaster!

This is the podcast You May Contribute a Verse, where we talk to kidlit creators, share their stories, and learn from their journey.

Can we all just get a little break here? Can we switch gears, start fresh, get some wind in our sails, make a little headway? It ain’t easy out here in the trenches, surviving while creating.

Welcome to 2022. 2022 is about manifesting greatness in ourselves and in the world. When will it all end? When we will it to be so through our intentions and actions and good vibes.

We are the versions of ourselves who have done great things and will do them again in the future. Brenna’s and my conversation with author-illustrator Jerrold Connors was so fun to have, and such a positive way to open a new year in an uncertain time.

Jerrold Connors – a creator whose career has touched on multimedia, on games, on animation, on writing, on illustration, and on education – is in a particular stage of his career where he is the main character of his own story, with motivations and intentions and inspiration that he’s following to grow himself, his craft, and his sense of satisfaction with the world.

Good vibes and a good reality check here. Take our chat with Jerrold and enter 2022 with some creative wind in your sails. Create for the sake of creating.

Here is Jerrold Connors’s verse.