Please welcome author Gabriella Aldeman to the show! Some Highlights: Nerding out about language. Writing in English when it’s your second language. Joining a professional kidlit organization as a translator and getting inspired to write her own stories. A love of writing.🖋️ “Embracing imperfection is the first step towards having courage.” Abuela’s talkative parrot in her latest book.🦜 Celebrating mistakes along your learning journey.💃💃💃💃 The joy and energy in author visits. The options c...
Jan 17, 2025•34 min•Season 1Ep. 53
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 you...
Jan 09, 2025•36 min•Season 1Ep. 52
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 a...
Jan 03, 2025•26 min•Season 1Ep. 51
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...
Nov 11, 2024•17 min•Season 1Ep. 50
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. The...
Nov 05, 2024•21 min•Season 1Ep. 49
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 ...
Oct 28, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 48
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,...
Oct 19, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 47
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 recom...
Oct 15, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 46
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 cla...
Oct 11, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 45
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 ...
Oct 06, 2024•21 min•Season 1Ep. 44
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 stru...
Sep 26, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 43
Hello and Happy Book Birthday to today’s kidlit author and extra special bonus episode guest, Jill Dana! Her latest book, Butternut and the Flying Butter illustrated by Anusha Santosh releases TODAY!🎂🎉 Some Highlights: The origin of the name for “German chocolate cake.” What is butterfly gardening? Paying attention to what inspires you. All the different levels of enjoying stories, allowing them to become something new with every reading experience. Embracing the performative aspect of picture...
Sep 24, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 42
Please put your digital hands together for kidlit author-illustrator Jenny Alvarado! Her two debut genres came out within the last 10 days and I’m sure she’s in debut overload at the moment. Fortunately, we recorded this months ago! I hope you enjoy hearing our conversation about craft, art, story, inspiration, and alternate timelines.🎧💃 Some Highlights: Writing with friends in grade school – inspiring each other.✏️ How the writing community can be a great place to connect IRL when working fro...
Sep 19, 2024•19 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Please welcome my friend and fellow Picture Book Peep, author Roxanne Chester! If you’re a writer looking for a bit of encouragement, light, and connection, look no further! Some Highlights: The joy of community and connection within the writing world. How stories unite all of us with shared feelings. Finding a way to forgive yourself when you don’t have the headspace or heartspace to push through and come back to writing afterward. Being kind to yourself as a writer. The benefits of creative ex...
Sep 16, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 40
Please give a big welcome to one of my favorite kidlit people and dear friend, Paul Vinelli! Some Highlights: Bereavement books and crossing genres. Collaborating with an artist to bring your book to life. Physically staging the scenes of your book. Taking a book to an art show. Finding creative purpose. Creating the story through staging and writing the text after the images. What animal would you choose to be you in an anthropomorphic world? Taking theater production as inspiration for telling...
Sep 10, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Please give a virtual welcome to kidlit author-illustrator Molly Cranch on this special bonus episode! With her recent picture book debut, Hide and Seek, available on shelves now, it was a delight to hear about her journey as a storyteller, weaving words alongside her illustrations. More about Hide and Seek : A book about the wondrous camouflage techniques of animals around us. For detectives ages 3 years and up. ( Also available in Dutch through Clavis! ) Some Highlights: Arts integration in cu...
Sep 03, 2024•12 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Please welcome kidlit author Kalee Gwarjanski to this episode of “Getting to the Heart of Why We Write!” I loved hearing about Kalee’s experience with the writing community, especially the support within her critique group. We had a lot to talk about from her background as a chef, to engineering, to the book she released this year (more about that below). I hope you enjoy this episode! Some Highlights: Personal chef turned kidlit author.🍲📚 Selling a book through Twitter! Eating, the hidden art...
Aug 29, 2024•23 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Please welcome author Ronni Diamondstein to this episode of “Getting to the Heart of Why We Write!” 💃💃💃 Ronni was on my blog last year talking about her journey and picture book, Jackie and The Books She Loved illustrated by Bats Langley. You can check out that interview here , but come back here afterwards to check out this continuation for a deeper dive into her writing journey.🎧🎧🎧 Some Highlights: Her first picture book as an author illustrator–a college project!📕 Building community th...
Aug 22, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Please welcome to the show, Anne Hanovich! On this episode of Getting to The Heart of Why We Write, we cooked up a pre-published author takeover edition. Highlights: I loved chatting with Anne about her writing journey including the first story she wrote which was typed up on a typewriter with construction paper. Use what you got, people! 😂 Using that habit, whether it’s the smell of coffee, a specific chair, or white noise from a cafe, to perk up your brain and get writing. Having done this my...
Aug 21, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Please welcome author Jessica Speer to this episode of Getting to the Heart of Why We Write! Jessica is such a phenomenal human and I’ve enjoyed every time our paths have crossed in SCBWI events, seeing her present at panels and conferences. If you ever get the chance, sign up for one of her classes or presentations. Highly highly recommend!💯💯💯💯 Some Highlights: Where we learn our relationship skills and how fiction can shape them. Different ways the writing community can connect authors/ill...
Aug 16, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Please welcome author illustrator Ana Velez to the show!!!💃💃💃💃 I was blown away by her retelling of The Three Little Pigs in her book The Three Little Guinea Pigs and The Andean Fox . From the artwork to the beautiful story and characters, kind, encouraging take on a much-loved classic. I hope you enjoy this episode and Ana’s words of encouragement and inspiration. If you like stories, fairy tales, or unexpected kindness in picture books, this is the interview for you! Highlights: Sharing he...
Aug 10, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 33
I am so excited to share this episode of Getting to the Heart of Why We Write with you featuring author Christine J. Ko! She is a part of Picture Book Peeps with me and appears regularly on our shared podcast, The Curious Compassionate. Please enjoy hearing about her writing journey and her book, Sound Switch Wonder illustrated by Katie Crumpton, which she co wrote with her son, Owen Whang. So cool! Some Highlights: “I love books and I think books can change the world. They can change people and...
Aug 01, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 32
I was so fortunate to meet Beth Anderson through the Rocky Mountain chapter of SCBWI years ago and today I get to share her with all of you!! Beth is such an encouraging, helpful, and kind presence in the kidlit world. Her blog is a wonderful resource and her books will lead you down all the rabbit holes of history you never knew you needed to explore. Some Highlights💃: Encouraged to become a writer by her final class of students. “The surprising reality of the world.” Picture books are relatab...
Jul 26, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Please welcome to today’s episode author Diana I. Kline, Ph.D. Diana has taught in higher education for over thirty years in a variety of subjects including computer science, psychology, math, and education. While teaching computer science courses, she always reminded her students to recycle old computer equipment ; otherwise, those items could remain on this Earth much too long! I met Diana through the OH Central South SCBWI chapter and was immediately intrigued by her book, A SOLAR SYSTEM CHAT...
Jul 18, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 30
I’d like to introduce you to author Jessica Stremer for today’s episode! I’ve known Jessica since the very beginning of my kidlit journey. She was part of one of my first critique groups back in 2020. She quite literally helped shape my manuscript for my published picture book and many others. I had the joy of seeing many of the manuscripts she brought for critiques become published books out in the world including GREAT CARRIER REEF (a NY Public Library Best Book of the Year and JLG Gold Standa...
Jul 11, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Please welcome author Erin Chesnut to the show! I found Erin through Writer Moms Inc. on Facebook (link is below) and had so much fun talking with her about conversing with characters, choreographing movement, and just sitting down and doing the hardest part of all–writing the words. Please enjoy! Some Highlights: Experimenting with different styles of writing. The joy of human interest stories. Coming to fiction from an investigative journalism career. Finding those silent snatches of time to w...
Jul 04, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Today you're in for a mini treat with author Lynn Becker of the musical Monsters in the Briny and magical June Moon ! I've known Lynn for years and she was one of my first guests back when I did these interviews in blog format. So, for a quick update and bonus treat to you listeners, Lynn and I caught up about her journey with her recent release. Her Books📚: Monsters in the Briny –A rollicking read aloud with music for 4-8 year olds. June Moon –A bedtime board book for toddlers and preschoolers...
Jul 02, 2024•12 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Let’s welcome Laura Bower to the show! I met Laura through 12x12 and other’s I knew in her debut group, PBSOAR24. It was so much fun talking with her about growing the seeds of stories and all the joy there is to find in the kidlit world! Some Highlights: The power within words. Finding her way into children’s writing from the back of a Cheerio box. The peace of writing outside of our homes (and to do lists). Finding friends in the writing world. The joy in connecting with others through stories...
Jun 28, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 26
In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Leah Moser whose book, I AM A THUNDERCLOUD illustrated by Marie Hermansson, came out with Running Press Kids on April 2, 2024 (also her birthday!!!).🎈🎂 I had so much fun connecting with Leah and talking about the welcoming world of kidlit, the reality of writing as a human person, and more. Here are some highlights: The college class that sparked her love for kidlit. How an ideal writing day differs from the reality of how we get the writing...
Jun 20, 2024•21 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Please welcome the prolific, award-winning, 12x12 webinar presenting author Marzieh Abbas! I met Marzieh through 12x12 and had so much fun talking with her about the transcendence of words and writing across genres. 🖋️ Here are some highlights🌟: Her writing started as journaling and writing letters to her children in 2019. Her friend told her about how she kept a journal of letters written to her children about all the things she wanted to tell them. So, Marzieh started doing just that! Marzie...
Jun 13, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 24
