Please join me in welcoming Jo Renfro to “Getting to the Heart of Why We Write” in today’s episode! You may notice today’s show is out on a Friday instead of a Thursday–we’ve got the cold season blowing through my house so we’re moving a bit slower in general. It’s giving me a chance...
Better Than Fiction Characters and Crucial Community with Wendy C. Goldstein
Hello, story nerds! Today’s guest on Getting to The Heart of Why We Write is Wendy C. Goldstein. Wendy’s recent book, Oscar’s Blue Bandana, is the true story of her dog, Oscar, earning his blue bandana as a therapy dog. I met Wendy through the kidlit world in 12×12 and along with a handful...
Building Community and Dancing onto The Page with Laura Roettiger
Hello all! Today’s guest is Laura Roettiger, author of two picture books including the recently published An Accidental Hero: A Mostly True Wombat Story illustrated by Debbi Palen. Laura is a reading specialist with a background in teaching and curriculum creation. Her superpower as a teacher is encouraging curiosity in children, which she has...
Disappearing Through Windows and The Alchemy of Writing with Jilanne Hoffmann
Hi everyone! I am so grateful to all the authors who’ve reached out to me about being on “Getting to The Heart of Why We Write.” There have been so many that I’ve put scheduling new interviews on pause until the fall. You can see the details in my post here and don’t worry!...
Elementary School Queries and Being Bold with Michelle Lee
Today’s guest is Michelle Lee, author of Between The Lighthouse and You (Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes and Noble). We talk about how ideal writing times vary for different people, querying as an elementary school student, writing across different genres to enrich your writing, and more. With her lifelong involvement in the writing world and Ph.D....
Being Brave Enough to Improve and Finding Flow for Writing through Painting with Lisa Rogers
Sorry for my lateness with today’s podcast! It is Friday but I am here and with another sparkling author interview on “Getting to The Heart of Why We Write.” Today, we have Lisa Rogers whose recent book Beautiful Noise: The Music of John Cage illustrated by Il Sung Na has received starred reviews from...
Finding Joy in the Writing Process with Sharon Giltrow
Today, I’d like to welcome Sharon Giltrow to “Getting to The Heart of Why We Write.” On today’s episode of the podcast, we talk about a lot of different things, community events in the kidlit world including Storystorm where she posted on day 14 about turning a picture book into a middle grade series....
Natasha Wing Shares about Encouragement, Community, and Opening Doors for Curiosity Through Books
I had the great pleasure of interviewing Natasha Wing, also known as The Night Before Queen on Why We Write for this week. Aaaaand, the timing worked out perfectly that this is coming out the week before her birthday (Feb. 7)! On top of that, one of her latest translated titles is The Night...
The Magic of Perfect Meter with Rebecca Gardyn Levington
I’m so excited to introduce Rebecca Gardyn Levington to you today! Today’s podcast episode includes so much in the brief 30 minutes we talked. Also, I realized I’d read and and reviewed her book Brainstorm! illustrated by Kate Kronreif nearly a year ago and loved it! As a former journalist and lover of words,...
Getting to The Heart of Why We Write with Karen M Greenwald
Hello everybody! I’m so excited to share the official episode 1 of season 1 in my podcast: Getting to The Heart of Why We Write. In this extra special debut episode, I interview fellow kidlit author, Karen M Greenwald. We talk about everything from 19th century mayoral elections, to college professors, and even why...