The Author Q and A Part of the Writing Life, a Follow-Up to WRAD 2025

As I've said before, one of my favorite parts of author life is connecting directly with young readers. Last week, I had the pleasure of participating in World Read Aloud Day, aka, WRAD. 

Here is the "office" I set up in the bathroom from which I made my WRAD 2025 visits!

Dawn's WRAD 2025 "Office"

One of the most fantastic things about connecting with young readers is sometimes they send written notes, and sometimes they ask more questions in those notes.

Whenever students write to me after an author visit, I do my best to write back to them, and WRAD is no exception. Here is the letter I recently wrote to the students in Ms. Raffin's 4th/5th grade class from Lapeer Community Schools, Metamora, Michigan:

*****

February 12, 2025

Dear Ms. Raffin’s Class, 

I enjoyed reading with you on World Read Aloud Day. Thank you for taking the time to write and for asking such great questions! Your questions and my responses are below:

1. Is it easy to make a book?  And how many steps does it take?

I wouldn't say it's easy, but I would say it's fun! There are many steps in the book-making process. It all begins with writing (and/or illustrating) a story, and then revising it until it is exactly how you want it to be. Then, you research literary agents and/or publishers that might like your story. You send your story to agents and/or publishers until you find one that likes your story enough to help you turn it into a book. 

I have a series on my blog where I interview other authors to learn about their path to publication. You can find all of those interviews here. 

I also have a series of blog posts about a project I worked on with a group of 5th grade students to help them create their own picture books. You can learn a lot about the picture book making process by reading about that project.

Lastly, one of my author-friends, Josh Funk, has a great website with information about how to write picture books. You might enjoy reading what he has to share. You can find it here.  

2. What got you interested in making books?

I first started writing books with a goal of becoming a published author because I wanted to share my love of American Sign Language with more people than I could directly teach in the sign language workshops I taught for young families. Eventually I branched out into writing other types of books for young readers. Here is a blog post where I talk about my path to publication for my very first books in the Story Time with Signs & Rhymes series.

And here is a blog post where I talk about my inspiration for Lucy’s Blooms. 

3. Is the illustrator your friend?

It might surprise you to know that the author and illustrator of a picture book often never meet. I have only met one of the illustrators who has worked on my books: Stephanie Bauer. I was lucky enough to meet Stephanie at a writing conference, and we did become friends. I also had the opportunity to visit her art studio! I do admire and enjoy the work of Jacob Souva and Alice Brereton, the artists who illustrated my other published books, and I’d be happy for the opportunity to meet one or both of them some day!  

4. How old were you when you wrote your first book?

The first book I ever made was a poetry book that I hand-wrote as a Mother’s Day gift for my mom back when I was in middle school. 

The first book I had published, See the Colors, came out in 2009. (I’m currently 57, so you can do the math to find out how old I was when that book was published!) The most recent book I’ve had published was Lucy’s Blooms, which came out in 2021. I also had two humorous books that were published in 2019: Where Does a Pirate Go Potty? and Where Does a Cowgirl Go Potty?

Image of author Dawn Babb Prochovnic holding her three most recent books.

5. When is your next book coming out?

My next book, MAMA’S HOME!, is currently scheduled for publication in September of 2026. I wrote that book back when my 22-year-old son was in preschool! It was acquired by my publisher (Familius) back in 2021, with an original plan for publication in 2024, but it is not uncommon for books to be delayed for one reason or another. 

You can read about some of the revisions I needed to make for MAMA’S HOME! here. (NOTE: this is a very looooong blog post with many different authors contributing to it, so you can search on the keyword "Prochovnic" to find my part.)  

I just recently learned who will be illustrating MAMA’S HOME! Her name is Adèle Dafflon. You can see examples of her artwork here.

6. Do you like making books?

I love making books, and I love being an author. I think it’s one of the best jobs in the world. One reason is I like words. They are powerful. They get things done. They help people understand one another. Words give people a voice. I like when my voice is heard. I have written an entire blog post with some of the other reasons I like to write. You can find it here.

I will also say that I love reading books, I have written a couple of blog posts about why I like reading. You can read those here and here .

(Psst: In my experience, reading books is one of the easiest ways to become a better writer!)

7. How did you think of the book, Where Does a Cowgirl Go Potty?

I have written a whole blog post that answers that question! You can find it here. 

(Fun fact: This blog post was written for Tara Lazar’s blog (she is the author of Flat Cat and Absurd Words, two of the books I mentioned to you during our time together on World Read Aloud Day).  

8. What inspired you to make books?

I became inspired to write books because I had stories and important ideas in my head that I wanted to share with other people. 

I also credit my fifth-grade teacher, Mr. Snook, for inspiring my love of reading, which greatly contributed to my love of writing. 

A couple of years ago I was honored with a literary award and mentioned Mr. Snook in my award acceptance speech. You can read all about that (and also find link to a video of my acceptance speech) here. 

9. How many books did you make?

I have written 20 stories that have been published into books. You can learn about all of my different books here.

You should be able to find all (or most) of my books in your local library. Here is a link to help: https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=dawn+prochovnic&offset=1 .  If you can’t find my books in your library, you can find videos of me reading them (and songs to go along with my most recent books, including Lucy’s Blooms) on my YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/user/dprochovnic/featured

Thank you again for sharing your World Read Aloud Day with me and for asking such great questions! I hope I get to visit your school again in the future. In the meantime, if you’d like to read more about my life as a writer, you can visit this section of my blog where I talk about my writing life. 

Write On!

Sincerely, 

Dawn Babb Prochovnic (and Pickle)

*****

If you missed World Read Aloud Day, but would still like to connect, I offer Virtual Author Visits year round anywhere in the world. I've also compiled a comprehensive collection of free remote resources for Self-Guided Virtual Author Visits here: https://www.dawnprochovnic.com/2025/02/the-wrad-part-of-writing-life-2025.html . It's not quite the same as a personalized virtual visit (or an in-person visit), but these resources do allow young readers to connect with an author in some fashion. And here's a fun fact: I also write back to classrooms of students who visit me virtually via a Self-Guided Virtual Author visit. 

Write On!   

Birth Stories for Books, ADVENTURES WITH OPAL: THE MUGGY, BUGGY DAY, by Lora Heller

Hello readers! Welcome to the first Birth Stories for Books interview of 2025. Today's post is an extra special one! Our guest is my longtime friend and colleague, Lora Heller. Today I'm so excited to shine a light on her latest book, ADVENTURES WITH OPAL: THE MUGGY, BUGGY DAY (illustrated by Piper Fialkoff, Independently Published, February 2025). 

Dawn Prochovnic: Welcome to the blog, Lora. We have been friends, colleagues (and occasional critique partners!) for a very long time. I believe we first came to know each other via our shared interest in signing with babies and young children. By my recollection, our friendship dates back to your kindness in offering your expertise as the content consultant for my second series of Story Time with Signs & Rhymes books. That kindness continued with your enthusiastic support for my latest book, LUCY'S BLOOMS, generously recording book readings, lining up others to provide ASL interpretations of the story and the companion song, and eagerly helping get the word out about my book launch in the midst of the pandemic. The list goes on and on. I am so very grateful for all of your past support and SO VERY EXCITED for the opportunity to support the launch of YOUR latest book, ADVENTURES WITH OPAL: THE MUGGY, BUGGY DAY. I'm eager to learn more about your path to publication for this sweet and cheerful new book, so let's get started! 

Although I've had the pleasure of reading various iterations of this story via some past manuscript swaps, I'd love to learn more about the inspiration that sparked the idea for this story, and the process and timeframe between your initial idea for the book and the story that was formulated fully enough to move forward with publication. 

Lora Heller: While I was working on a different story, I was struck by the summer heat and the first line of this one just came into my head (“It’s muggy and buggy and so warm outside…”). Thinking about it evoked memories of summers past with my children, exploring parks and playgrounds together and witnessing their creative play, which inspired me to continue writing. It took about 18 months from start to finish. I’ve always written poetry so it was fun to write a story in rhyming verse – but it was a new added challenge to develop a character and plot in this format.

DP: When you compare one of your earliest drafts of this story to the version in the published book, what stands out for you in terms of what is most different? Likewise, is there anything in particular that stands out that was included in your earliest drafts and survived the revision process? 

LH: Each illustration includes a ‘thought bubble’ that comes from Opal (the story’s main character) reflecting her thoughts or feelings about her adventures as told on each opposite page. I initially had an older sibling as a narrator instead, and decided over time to focus just on Opal. I feel that is what changed the story and Opal’s storytelling most significantly. The first line survived the revision process. 😊

Interior image from Adventures with Opal, Muggy Buggy Day
by Lora Heller.and  Piper Fialkoff 

DP: LOL, that's how revision, goes, isn't it! And I love Opal's thought bubbles. 

Reflecting on the journey from idea to published book, are there any individuals, experiences, or opportunities that you credit with opening the door for you to bring this story to publication? 

LH: Definitely my own children. I’ve always loved writing and reading poetry, and found that my kids also enjoyed stories told in verse. They also loved adventures and being outdoors. 

DP: It’s my recollection that you worked with a specialized organization to help ready this book for publication. Can you share how you connected with this organization, how the process worked, and/or any valuable learnings from the experience that might be of help and interest to our readers? 

LH: Children’s Book Mastery offered a picture book bootcamp which I participated in for several summer days, getting inspiration, guidance, and feedback along with other authors in the program. CBM also offers assistance with the self-publishing process including book design. One of the most valuable pieces of this experience was developing relationships with other children’s authors and another was having a daily goal for writing; these were things that kept me inspired and motivated to complete the story and continue working on more. 

DP: I can completely relate. I don't know what I'd do without my network of kidlit friends and colleagues (I'm talking to you!), and writing goals definitely help keep me moving forward day by day.   

Were there any specific resources you utilized that were most helpful to you along the way? 

LH: I attended and continue to attend a variety of online workshops and webinars, and utilize the workbooks offered by CBM as well as other similar programs. For CBM I participated in live on-line picture book 5 day ‘boot camp’. I also attended follow up webinars she offered covering topics such as book launch and marketing.

I’ve also attended a few general writing retreats in person through various organizations. Some examples include: 

https://journeytokidlit.com : I’ve followed her blogs and book templates; attended webinars on character and story development with her and guest presenters.

https://miriamlaundry.com : I have her book blueprint and attended her webinar ‘How to Write a Picture Book Children Will Love  (and Parents Will Buy!)’

https://murphywriting.com : I attended an in-person weekend writing retreat in the poetry track.

DP: Those are some great resources, Lora. Thanks! 

I’d likewise be interested in hearing how you went about the process of connecting with / collaborating with an illustrator for this project. 

LH: While telling my neighbor that I was writing a picture book and would soon be looking for an illustrator, she told me that her (adult) daughter was an artist. I had seen this young woman grow up literally since she was born, but didn’t know this about her. So I reached out and asked if she would be interested in a possible collaboration and had any playful drawings to share. Piper’s style was so charming, it just felt like a perfect match. That said, she hadn’t done a lot of people drawing, so developing Opal was a process. She joyfully took my ideas and feedback, dived right into the story, and really brought Opal to life. 

DP: I love it! What a great connection. Casual networking at its finest!  

You have several traditionally published books under your belt including a collection of Baby Fingers board books, Sign Language ABC, and Sign Language for Kids. When you compare your path to publication for this new book to your path to publication for one or more of these earlier books, what are some of the key similarities and differences in terms of the publication journeys for each? 

LH: The autonomy you have when self-publishing is liberating. I was able to make my own decisions about the title, text, illustrations, cover, size of the book, publication date, etc. It’s quite a learning curve, though – understanding book design (and finding the right organization to help), book sales, and so much more. And I had to invest financially, not just my time. Finding writing & author groups and programs helped maintain a collaborative feel of sorts which can be motivating. Traditional publishing can be daunting, as your work has to be accepted. My first sign language book was initially requested, and subsequent proposals led to my additional books. With the board books and Sign Language for Kids, I was fully engaged in the photography process to make sure we caught the models actually signing (all the babies/toddlers were students in Baby Fingers). My writing was also edited only for clarity and flow, since I was considered the ‘expert’ on the topic. For the ABC book, I chose the word list and made sure the handshapes for each letter were correctly done, but the art/artist was primarily coordinated by the publisher. An advance was nice 😉 and I appreciated the support & collaboration throughout the process with each book. Very different experiences!

DP: It sounds like very different experiences, indeed! 

One of my favorite parts of being an author is connecting with young readers at school, library, and bookstore visits, and I’m always looking for new pro tips. Given your vast experience as the founder of Baby Fingers, LLC, a music therapist, a stage performer, Adjunct Professor, and Teacher of the Deaf (and likely other credentials I'm forgetting or overlooking),  what professional advice or suggestions do you have for fellow author/presenters in terms of planning successful (in-person and/or remote) book-related events? 

LH: I am still figuring this out myself! That said, relationships can be valuable. Now in our 25th year at Baby Fingers and my 30th year as a music therapist in NYC, I have developed relationships with schools, day care and community centers, medical and mental health facilities, libraries, a network of professionals and families. I’ve also developed relationships with other authors, writers, and people working in publication or other areas of media. So with these relationships, I’ve been able to set up and offer some upcoming programs including book readings and signings, special workshops, have books for sale in classes, have my books chosen by librarians and schools, etc. 

DP: That is so fantastic to hear, Lora. You have always been so kind and supportive of others' work. I'm not at all surprised that you have built a network of "book angels" around you who are eager to support your books. 

If you could go back in time, what would you tell your pre-published self? Or, said another way, what do you know now, that you wished you would have known a bit earlier and/or are there any lessons you've learned along the way that could help others who would likewise like to write and independently-publish (and/or traditionally publish) a children’s book?  

LH: Write because you want to write, regardless of publication process. Write what you know and what you love. Remember that it takes time!! 

DP: Yes, yes, and yes! 

Do you have anything you’d like to tell us about what you’re currently working on?  

LH: I am working on the next two (so far) Adventures with Opal books and still returning to the book I initially started before Opal came to life.  

DP: That's great to hear, Lora. Thanks so much for sharing your Birth Story for ADVENTURES WITH OPAL: THE MUGGY, BUGGY DAY with us! I wish you MUCH success with this project!

Dear readers, you've heard me say it before: the best way to thank an author whose insights have been helpful and/or inspiring to you is to support their work. Buy their books. Request them from your library. Read and share them with others. Let's give ADVENTURES WITH OPAL: THE MUGGY, BUGGY DAY some love! (Bookshop, B&N, Amazon )

**********

Lora Heller is the founding director of Baby Fingers, the premier NYC area ASL program for families, established in 2000. She is a mom, a music therapist, and a teacher of the Deaf. She and her team have provided music-mediated sign language programs for schools, libraries, and thousands of families both in person and virtually. Lora is the author of seven ASL books for kids with Sterling Publishers and has written for national parenting magazines and music therapy professional journals. She has always loved telling stories and going on adventures with her own two children, leading her to writing Adventures with Opal. Learn more at Mybabyfingers.com. 

instagram.com/mybabyfingers  

instagram.com/babyfingersasl  

https://www.facebook.com/mybabyfingers

Lora LinkedIn

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Birth Stories for Books is an occasional feature of Dawn Babb Prochovnic's blog. Dawn is the author of multiple picture books including, Lucy's Blooms, Where Does a Cowgirl Go Potty?, Where Does a Pirate Go Potty?, and 16 books in the Story Time With Signs & Rhymes series. Dawn is a contributing author to the award-winning book, Oregon Reads Aloud, and a frequent presenter at schools, libraries, and educational conferences. Contact Dawn using the form at the left, or learn more at www.dawnprochovnic.com.

The WRAD Part of the Writing Life, 2025 Edition

 WRAD 2025 is officially a Wrap for me! 

World Read Aloud Day (WRAD) is a special literacy event that takes place around the globe on the first Wednesday in February each year. It's hosted by LitWorld, and originally founded by Pam Allyn. For the past several years, author Kate Messner creates a space on her website where teachers and librarians can connect with authors and illustrators who are willing to volunteer to offer free virtual book readings to young readers around the world. It's one of my favorite book-related events to participate in. 

I have a Google Form for folks who want to be among the first to find out when the scheduling tool is available for  next year. 

This year I scheduled visits with six schools and multiple classrooms. Even with excellent coordination, it's not unusual that one or more of the schools needs to cancel at the last minute due to weather-related school closures or illness. Also, some schools that hope to meet with me are unable to match their scheduling needs with my available times, and/or my schedule is full by the time they reach out, or there are members of the learning community who were absent on World Read Aloud Day. 

For these schools (and now for you!) I compile some of my best resources as a stand-in for a real-time virtual author visit. These resources are of course not quite the same as real-time virtual visit, (or a full-length, personalized author visit), but they do allow young readers to connect with an author in some fashion, in honor of World Read Aloud Day. Please feel welcome to explore and share these resources with your learning community: 

***

Here is a link to a “Hello” slide deck that I shared with the schools/classrooms that I visited.

It’s not the same as a real virtual visit, but it will allow your students to connect with me for World Read Aloud Day in some fashion. (The “speaker notes” below each slide provide my general talking points and related resource links.) 

Speaking of resources, here is the link to the plethora of Resources tab on my website.

From this landing page, you can access things like: 

1. My YouTube channel with full readings of several of my books including Lucy’s Blooms,  Where Does a Cowgirl Go Potty? and First Day Jitters from the collection of stories in Oregon Reads Aloud. This is where you will also find animated book trailers and companion songs for my three most recent books, as well as some ASL interpreted readings for Lucy’s Blooms and the companion song. 

2. Curriculum-Aligned Educators’ Guides for Lucy’s Blooms, Where Does a Cowgirl Go Potty?, and Where Does a Pirate Go Potty? (All three of the guides include STEM tie-ins, and for my Pirate and Cowgirl books, these guides include Readers' Theatre scripts.)

3. Lesson Plans for Sign Language Story Times, themed enrichment activities, and fun extras such as Pirate and Cowgirl Name Generators. 

I also have a couple of different “virtual-virtual,” or “self-guided” author visits via Google Slides that you/your students can peruse (the “speaker notes” below each slide provides the talking points I would typically deliver during a school visit): 

Write On! Why Writing is (Possibly) the Most Important Thing You’ll Ever Do

From "Ahoy, Matey! to “Howdy, Pardner!” How to Create Vivid Characters by Giving Each a Unique Voice

Please reach out to me directly and I would be more than happy to provide links to these virtual visits. 

Once a school or classroom has interacted with one of my books, (via the video story times, and/or virtual workshops on Google Slides on your own), I would be more than happy to respond to written questions from students. How this typically works is that the librarian or classroom teacher assigns a “post visit” writing lesson for the students where they each ask me a question (about my books, or my writing process, or my “office assistant, Pickle, etc.), and then you would deliver the full set of questions to me via postal mail or email (in one batched email from you vs. individual emails from students). After I receive the questions, I will reply to the students with a compilation response that I will deliver to you. Here is a link to some examples of my responses from my interactions with other schools. 

I hope these options are helpful resources. Please feel welcome and encouraged to share them with your families and your colleagues, and please let me know if I can be a resource to you in any other way.

Warm wishes,

Dawn

Author Dawn Babb Prochovnic Holding her latest books

Reach out via email, social media channels such as Instagram, Bluesky or my Facebook fan page, or through my contact form (at the left of this post on the desktop version), if you'd like to schedule a time for me to meet with your students in the future! 

For more posts like this, visit The Writing Life series on my blog.

2024 Year-End Post and Holiday Greeting

As I’ve shared in this space before, one of my annual traditions is to prepare and mail holiday greeting cards. Although fewer and fewer folks send out year-end greetings, I continue to prioritize this annual tradition—as a way to reflect on the past and make way for the future, stay connected with family and friends, and to enjoy another creative outlet. 

If you are one of my regular readers, you know by now that each year I begin the process by paging through my (old-style) calendar, making note of the highlights and ordinary happenings. I next look for themes. I approach the task as an exercise in creative expression, aiming to share our family’s news in a way that is reflective of the world events and/or a major aspect of our personal lives. And, while I am acutely aware of deep levels of pain and suffering in our world, I often choose to center my annual reflection closer to home and on more joyful aspects of our lived experience. 

There were some very difficult experiences for our family this year, including the loss of my mom which I mentioned in my last post. But there were also many joyful events, including my youngest child graduating college and our family taking TWO very special trips together. Our most recent family adventure was visiting Italy, which is dear to us all for many reasons, including the friendships we developed through hosting a most wonderful exchange student from Milan back in 2017 and both kids studying abroad in Italy during college, (one in Florence, one in Siena). Add to that my mom's Italian heritage and her love for pizza (eating it and making it), and a slice-of-life pizza theme seemed the right choice for this year's greeting: 

As in years past, this year's greeting involved the creative stretch of using more graphics (even if it doesn't look very fancy, it challenged me a bit!) and gave me an excuse to continue experimenting with online tools such as Canva. Like most years, the greeting format required me to prioritize what I wanted to communicate and be concise in my wording—also a challenge! This practice continues to support my growth in other aspects of my creative writing journey. 

As I designed, refined, and reflected on this year’s update, I was reminded that pizza (and life) is a collection of ingredients and slices that come together to make the whole pie. Some bites are glorious. Some are a little harder to swallow. Some pizzas are so enticing, we jump right in and take a big bite...and might burn the roof of our mouth! Other times, we fill up before the pizza is finished, and we have something left over for the next day. Pizza for breakfast (I like mine cold) is a completely different meal than piping hot pizza for dinner or lunch. And it's a good reminder that pizza, like stories, can become something new (and potentially even tastier) when stored away to revisit another time. It's also a good reminder that we all have our favorite go-to toppings, but it's also nice to step outside of our comfort zones and try something completely new. This idea can be applied to our creative lives, too! 

With this in mind, I'm currently participating in fellow children's author, Julie Hedlund's 12 Days of Christmas for Writers series for the first time. In today's module, Julie pointed out that New Year's resolutions traditionally start from a place of what didn't get done or achieved in the previous year. She suggests that instead of making resolutions for the coming year, we reflect on, write down, and share our SUCCESSES from the previous year. Given that 2024 was a bit of a doozy for me, I was quite surprised that I was able to quickly scribble down 20 successes. I share them here as a way to try something new in my creative life and as a way to build a foundation (and inspire myself, and maybe you?!) for next year. Here is my list: 

1. Signed with a literary agent (thank you Gaby Cabezut for bringing me into the Seymour Family, and to fellow author, Stephanie Shaw, for being one of my kindest, and most supportive friends and fans).

2. Started (and finished!) a new manuscript that I had been noodling for quite some time, but had not yet put on paper. I adore this story, and it is currently out on submission. (Thank you again, Gaby!)

3. Made significant revisions on two additional stories (that I also love), one of which is also now on submission (Thank you again, Gaby -- do you see a theme here?!)

4. Obtained my rights back on several of my previously published works, allowing for agent Gaby to now market some previously unexercised rights.

5. Participated in several fun and successful in-person book festivals / book signing events. 

6. Was invited to participate as a guest blogger for Tara Lazar's Storystorm (a great honor, as a longtime participant-participant). 

7. Hosted an Ask me Anything (AMA) session over Zoom that I really enjoyed. I want to do more of this!

8. Was interviewed for two different in-depth "meet the author" features. 

9. Celebrated the release of my longtime critique partner's debut picture book.

10. Met some lovely people and got to know some other author friends better as a result of hosting them on my blog (find a summary of these posts here and here)

11. Participated in Julie Hedlund's 12x12 challenge for the first time, making new friends and learning a lot along the way.

12. Enjoyed the heck out of giving away several copies of my book, LUCY'S BLOOMS, in celebration of World Kindness Day.

13. Was honored that several of my signed books were given to beloved children for the holidays. 

14. Had the pleasure of helping and encouraging several aspiring authors on their own creative journeys. 

15. Shared friendship and support with a few of my longtime author pals. 

16. Had some great school visits and enjoyable stops at bookstores.

17. Had friends reach out to me to share pictures of my books spotted "out in the wild." (This is always such a treat! Thank you, friends!)

18. Enjoyed interacting more regularly on Instagram (and dipped my foot in the BlueSky pool).

19. Applied for and was accepted for several author festival-type events that will take place in the coming year. 

20. Was hired to present the 2025 keynote address at a major early learning conference where I've presented several breakout workshops in the past.

So there you have it ... a quick recap of some of my successes in the past year. And here is the really cool part: There were likely several other successes that didn't pop into my head right away, that will come to my mind over time, now that I've focused my thinking in this way, written it down, and shared it with you, here. Cool beans. Thanks for the nudge, Julie!

And now back to pizza: As the New Year gets underway, I anticipate there will be opportunities to settle into some familiar favorites, try out some new-to-me ingredients and other opportunities to let today's creations sit and chill for a bit before digging back in. 

Here’s to a pizza topped with Peace, Love, Joy, and Creativity in the New Year. 

Buon Appetito to you and yours!  

P.S. I would love to hear some of YOUR successes in the past year -- feel encouraged to drop them into the comments! 

The "It's Been a Doozy of a Time" Part of the Writing Life

Hello, dear readers. It has been a LONG time since I've shared something here in this space. 

Flowers that Brought My Mom Joy
Gifted by Loved Ones, K & H

As the title of this post implies, it's been a doozy of a time since I queued up my last guest posts (in May!) and since I've contributed my own posts (in January and February!) 

I'm pretty sure I've not gone this long between posts before -- and I'm pretty sure I've not had so many events in my life tugging at my heartstrings and occupying my time as this past several months has "provided." 

Over the past few months, the gifts of "real life" have been giving a little more fully for me than the gifts of fiction. And so, I have tried my best to be present for real life, knowing that for every time there is a season, and for this past several months, the season, for me, has been more about living in real life than writing about life.  

Each of these events could fill an entire blog post, but for now, I'll just give a quick snippet rundown of what life has looked like for me since my last post in May: 

-My youngest child graduated from college.

-Our family of four (my husband and I, and our two grown kids) traveled overseas to share time together and celebrate the aforementioned college graduation.

-My husband and I celebrated our 36th wedding anniversary with a trip up to Whidbey Island, with a side-visit to see a dear friend and her beloved grandchildren in the Seattle area.

Upon our return home from that trip, my life went very topsy-turvy: 

-My mom, who has had a long list of health issues, and whom I have closely cared for for many, many years came to stay at our home on a Tuesday, during what looked like another challenging health journey in which I did not feel she was well-enough to stay in her home by herself, and exactly one week later (and a lifetime of living in between), my mom passed away in my home, with loving family by her side. 

-The next several weeks were spent attending to my mom's affairs, including cleaning out her apartment before month's end. 

-My sister and I finished the very last of my mom's apartment move out / clean out needs at about midnight on a Friday. By mid-day the very next day, I was on the road up to the Seattle area (about 4 hours from my home) to pick up my dear friend (the one I had visited earlier), who had had an unexpected illness and hospitalization, and took her back home with me to recuperate after her hospitalization. 

-About two weeks later, my friend returned to her own home, and my husband and I took a respite break to our home in Central Oregon. I worked diligently on some remote get-out-the vote work, such as text banking during that "respite break." 

-We returned home to vote and to continue with several more days of intense get-out-the vote work. 

-And then the election happened -- which knocked me for a very big loop. 

In the weeks since the election, I've walked around feeling like a bit of a zombie and done my best to engage in some self-care: 

I've taken long walks. I've fed my family. I've gone out to listen to a bunch of live music (to soothe my soul and to support local businesses and local artists). I've helped a friend whose own parent became ill, entered into Hospice, and just passed away. I've spent time with family, including my dad (long divorced from my mom), who just celebrated his 80th birthday. I've read books.

And, at long last, I've started writing again, including here, in this space. 

It's possible there might be another long gap before I write again in this space (or maybe not ... we shall see). What I do know, is that right now, I'm putting most of my writing energy into the stories I write for children, and into getting the books I've already published into the hands of young readers. 

Speaking of which, if you find my blog helpful, please consider ordering one of my books. It supports me and my work. 

Click here for earlier posts from me on the topic of The Writing Life. 

Have Swag Will Travel: Planning Events that Align with a Book's Theme, by Carol Gordon Ekster

Dear Readers, it's time to buckle up for another great Have Swag Will Travel guest post. 

Today's guest, Carol Gordon Ekster, is a retired educator with several books to her credit--AND she is one of my "agency sisters" at The Seymour Agency. She has visited the blog previously to share her path to publication stories for YOU KNOW WHAT? and SOME DADDIES. Today she's stopping by the blog to share her book event experience and planning tips with us. Take it away, Carol!  

Image Source: Carol Gordon Ekster

Have Swag Will Travel: Tips for Planning Book Events

by Carol Gordon Ekster

When you have a book coming out, you need to brainstorm: Who might be interested in your title? What type of event could you join that might tie into the theme of your book?  Of course, children's book festivals are great. People come to buy books! All of us would think of bookstores and libraries. One of my critique groups meets in my local library, so we reached out to see if they would plan a local author fair. And they did! That's perfect because people who come are interested in buying signed copies of books and want to meet you and chat with you. 

And what if you could enhance a library or bookstore visit by offering your visitors more? My book, TRUCKER KID, Capstone, 2023, illustrated by Russ Cox, was a perfect example of a picture book to connect with transportation events. A brilliant librarian, Amy Martin, invited me to the Peobody Institute Library in Danvers, MA, and she also connected with the Department of Public Works in their town, to send over a couple of trucks to accompany my reading. We first met inside and I shared the book, we sang the Trucker Kid song from my book trailer, and moved around the room like trucks. I had some activity sheets for kids to work on if we needed them while we waited for the trucks to roll into the parking lot. Soon they arrived honking their horns, inviting the kids to climb aboard and explore the town's trucks. If you can get a nice day and a bookstore involved, fantastic! Someone suggested I partner up with a Touch a Truck event and I've reached out to a few and will hopefully be able to connect at some point in the future. 

Image Source: Carol Gordon Ekster  

Not all books lend themselves to specific events. But sometimes there may be a type of store that isn't a bookstore, but would be happy to carry your books. I've reached out to a local store that carried baby outfits and they made a lovely display with my books in case people wanted to gift a book with a onesie. I offered to come in and sign books for anyone who asked. I did sell a few before the store closed. For Ruth the Sleuth and the Messy Room, Mazor Publishers, 2018, illustrated by Kimberly Soderberg, I reached out to a bakery, because the story's plot has to do with chocolate chip cookies. I sold a few there as well. How many people spotted the titles? How many people bought the book after their visit to the store or bakery? I don't know. But we need to do what we can to get our books seen and read. 

Some Daddies, Beaming Books, 2022, illustrated by Javiera Maclean Alvarez, is easier in that I can promote it each Father's Day. But what other family gatherings can I do a reading for? Almost every family has a daddy or daddy figure. Reaching interested buyers for your book is not necessarily easy, but shine some of your creativity onto your marketing endeavors and you can figure out some excellent possibilities for your title. And if you're in a critique group or have #kidlit friends, find a time for a planning session where you can brainstorm together the places to promote each creative's books. Team work makes the dream work! 

Authors Carol Gordon Ekster, Kirsti Call, and Carrie Finison

And if even only one family shows up to something you've planned, you never know where that can lead. Try not to be discouraged. Have faith and carry on. Share your books wherever and whenever you have the opportunity to do so. Good luck! 

Thank you so much for sharing your experience and insights with us, Carol!  I am definitely inspired by your creative book promotion ideas. And I agree whole-heartedly with your encouragement to think outside the typical framework for book promotion. One of my favorite events last year involved a collaboration with a florist -- a fun match-up for Lucy's Blooms! 

And now, dear readers, you know what to do. The best way to thank an author whose insights have been helpful and/or inspiring to you is to support their work. Buy their books. Request them from your library. Read and share them with others. Carol's books, including her latest, TRUCKER KID, and SOME DADDIES are available everywhere books are borrowed and sold, including your own local, indie bookstore. 

Image Source: Carol Gordon Ekster

Carol Gordon Ekster was a passionate elementary school teacher for thirty-five years. Now retired, Carol is grateful that her writing allows her to continue communicating with children. She is the author of Before I Sleep: I Say Thank You which won 3rd place in the children’s category of the Catholic Press Association Book Awards and was also a finalist for the ACP Excellence in Publishing Awards 2016. Her picture book, You Know What?, came out first in Dutch (Mama, Wist Je Dat?), December 2016 with Clavis Books. The English version released September 2017 and was a CLEL Bell Picture Book Awards Nominee for Talk (2018) and a finalist for the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award in the New England region, 2018. The Korean language edition came out 2019 and Arabic and Chinese editions are in process.  Some Daddies, illustrated by Javiera Maclean Alvarez came out May 2022 with Beaming Books. Trucker Kid, illustrated by Russ Cox came out spring 2023 with Capstone. When Carol is not in a critique group or at her computer she might be doing yoga or biking. She lives in Andover, Massachusetts with her husband Mark. Find out more at www.carolgordonekster.com .

And connect with her here: https://linktr.ee/carolgordonekster 

Have Swag Will Travel is an occasional feature of Dawn Babb Prochovnic's blog. Dawn is the author of multiple picture books including, Lucy's Blooms, Where Does a Cowgirl Go Potty?, Where Does a Pirate Go Potty?, and 16 books in the Story Time With Signs & Rhymes series. Dawn is a contributing author to the award-winning book, Oregon Reads Aloud, and a frequent presenter at schools, libraries, and educational conferences. Contact Dawn using the form at the left, or learn more at www.dawnprochovnic.com.  

Have Swag Will Travel: Yearlong Author Residency, by Tracy C. Gold

Dear Readers, I have a very special Have Swag Will Travel guest post for you today. 

Author, Tracy. C. Gold, just launched a beautiful, new picture book into the world: CALL YOUR MOTHER (Familius, 2024). As the author of multiple books, Tracy has participated in several unique book events. Today she shares her experience and tips for planning a yearlong author residency.  

by Tracy C. Gold and Vivian Mineker

Take it away, Tracy!

Have Swag Will Travel: Yearlong Author Residency

by Tracy C. Gold 

I have done quite a few events now that I’m on my fourth picture book, but since I debuted during the pandemic, school visits have been slow. So I was absolutely thrilled when school librarian Alicia Danyali reached out in summer 2023 about setting up an author residency for the next school year. 

She works at Krieger Schechter Day School which is local to me (so—have swag, will travel ten minutes down the road, in this case). She wanted to revive an author residency program the school had before Covid, the Silverman-Brown Residency. We had the opportunity to work together to shape a post-Covid version.

I jumped at the chance and had a really fun idea, if we could make it work. Ever since my book "Trick or Treat, Bugs to Eat" came out in 2021, I’ve been looking for a school that would install a bat box to go along with a school visit. Hint: do NOT write emails with the subject line “A bat in your ear,” even if you know the recipient well, as this does not go over well with those with a phobia of bats. Oops!

KSDS is a certified Maryland Green School, with a gorgeous community garden and a commitment to serving the environment, so they were up for the bat box! After trading lots of emails, talking on the phone, and meeting at the school’s beautiful campus, Alicia and I made a plan. 

We would do three visits, and on the last, the school would install bat boxes. Alicia involved the Art and Woodshop teacher Gigi Smith, who helped the fifth graders make bat boxes themselves. So cool! 

Here’s a quick recap of each visit, and then some tips for pulling something like this off: 

Visit One: October 2023

I met with first grade and kindergarten all together, with lots of help from teachers. I did a quick presentation about how I get my ideas, read "Trick or Treat, Bugs to Eat,” and then set the kids loose to color and cut out their own bats from an activity kit Sourcebooks made for the book. 

Then I met with second and third grade. I did the same talk about how to get my ideas, but with these more advanced learners, we embarked upon a yearlong project: making their own books about wildlife (well, this ended up being a book about anything they wanted, but a lot were about wildlife). For their activity, they looked through library books and made lists or mind maps full of ideas.  

Image Source: Tracy C. Gold, Mind Map

Then, teachers collected their brainstorming documents so we could save them for my next visit, which would focus on drafting. (Kudos to Alicia’s organizational scheme that kept track of all of these over the course of the year!)

Visit Two: January 2024          

We crammed a lot more into this visit! I met with fourth graders and talked with them about the drafting process and structure in picture books. Then I read "Hide and Seek, Nuts to Eat,” and asked them to identify which structures I had used. We ended with a freewriting exercise.

I did a similar presentation for second and third grade, but instead of freewriting, we pulled out their ideas for books, and they started drafting a book. I pushed them to add some structure—maybe a plot with a beginning, middle, and end, or for a non-fiction book, perhaps they could chronicle a year in the life of an animal. 

I also did an interview with the school podcast, and talked a little bit about the ecology of bats with the fifth graders who were making the bat boxes. Whew! 

Visit Three: April 2024

The final visit! I had been in touch with Alicia throughout the year, and she confirmed that the bat boxes were well on their way. 

She also sent me a few pieces of student writing to review ahead of time before meeting with a few students in pairs or individually. This was so fun! KSDS has some wonderful budding authors and it was great to hear their excitement. One of them even gave me a book that she had written and self published with her grandfather. Then, I had a quick meetup with some fifth graders. I talked about how I get ideas and shared my newest book, "Call Your Mother.” 

Image Source: Tracy C. Gold, Meeting with Students

After that, I got to see the second and third graders for the third time! They were familiar faces by now, though I admit I didn’t remember names as much as I had hoped to. We talked about revision, and I shared some of the revisions I had done on "Call Your Mother.” Then, it was time for them to revise their wildlife books and start transferring them to cardstock to be stapled into actual books. As we expected, we didn’t have enough time for all of the students to finish. Alicia will be helping students finish during their time in the library.

Last, it was time to install the bat boxes! Facility and maintenance employee Ray helped hang them alongside the community garden. We celebrated the installation with the fifth graders who built the bat box. A photographer from a local paper even came! (To be determined if the photo will run in the news, but thanks to my publicist at Sourcebooks for reaching out to local media!)

Image Source: Tracy C. Gold, Student with Bat Box

Of course, expect the unexpected with school visits—a parent expressed concern that children might end up accidentally handling bats in that spot, so the bat boxes will be moved to a more remote location soon. I’ll keep this in mind for future schools interested in a bat box.

By the end of the residency, I had gotten to know students and staff and felt like part of the KSDS community. I would love to do a yearlong residency with other schools! This was a really special experience. 

If you’re thinking about doing this with a school, here are some tips and lessons learned:

· Alicia Danyali, the school librarian, put in a ton of work to make this happen and to arrange the schedule so that students from as many grades as possible could participate. (Without making my head explode.) She came up with a plan, involved several stakeholders within the school, and did a huge amount of work wrangling schedules. I don’t think this residency would have been possible without Alicia’s hard work. 

· I would probably only try this if you have more than one book published. I’m not sure three visits would have made sense with only one book. It was great to have a different book to share for each visit. 

· Don’t try to cram too much into a day. I was grateful that along the way Alicia sent me a proposed schedule. As excited as I was to meet all the students…I did have to push back and say “let’s spend more time on fewer things,” which, in hindsight was a good call. We ended up fitting most of the schedule into the mornings, because that worked best with everything else going on at the school. I honestly don’t know how teachers manage their fully scheduled days. Sure, it’s partly that I’m meeting all new people in an all new place and trying to bring my max energy, but whew! Respect to teachers! 

· Expect the unexpected. We had a few hiccups along the way but were always able to make the best of them. On my end, whenever I plan a school visit, I block out the whole day on my husband’s schedule so that he knows he’s on the hook for watching our daughter if she can’t go to school. Good thing I did that—for my April visit, my kid’s school was closed due to a water main break. That was a fun email to get in the morning. Because my husband knew I would be unavailable that day, he could take off work without major issues. Funny enough, in the past I’ve also had to reschedule a school visit due to a water main break on their end! What is with these pipes?

I think that’s it! I am happy to answer questions in the comments about the visit and share any advice! 

Thank you so much for sharing your experience and insights with us, Tracy! This sounds like such an excellent series of visits for all involved. And yes, props to the school librarian who was with you in this all the way! (And to ALL of the educators who give so much of themselves to young learners each and every day.)

And now, dear readers, you know what to do. The best way to thank an author whose insights have been helpful and/or inspiring to you is to support their work. Buy their books. Request them from your library. Read and share them with others. Tracy's books, including her latest, MAMA'S HOME, are available everywhere books are borrowed and sold, including your own local, indie bookstore. 

Photo Credit: Ruut DeMeo

Tracy C. Gold loves writing about families and nature. She is an author, freelance editor, and mom living in Baltimore, Maryland. Her published and forthcoming picture books include “Everyone’s Sleepy but the Baby,” “Call Your Mother,” “Trick or Treat, Bugs to Eat,” and “Hide and Seek, Nuts to Eat.” She also writes short stories, essays, novels, and poems. Her work has been published in several magazines and anthologies. Tracy earned her M.F.A. in Creative Writing and Publishing Arts at the University of Baltimore and earned her B.A. in English from Duke University. When she’s not writing or editing, she’s playing with her kid or hanging out with horses and dogs. You can find out more about Tracy at tracycgold.com, by following her on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram at @tracycgold, or by liking her Facebook page. 

Have Swag Will Travel is an occasional feature of Dawn Babb Prochovnic's blog. Dawn is the author of multiple picture books including, Lucy's Blooms, Where Does a Cowgirl Go Potty?, Where Does a Pirate Go Potty?, and 16 books in the Story Time With Signs & Rhymes series. Dawn is a contributing author to the award-winning book, Oregon Reads Aloud, and a frequent presenter at schools, libraries, and educational conferences. Contact Dawn using the form at the left, or learn more at www.dawnprochovnic.com.