Getting to The Heart of Why We Write

New podcast alert! I do still have 2 historic episodes of Getting to the Heart of Why We Write that I plan to drop here in the next few weeks, but stay tuned for my new podcast: Nerd Out with Gina. Each episode is a different topic to geek out about. A few on my list are Monsters, Billy the Kid, and Biological Warfare. It will be dropping in a new feed with the show's title. But, I'll put...

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.🦜 Celebrati...

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...

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 w...

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 ther...

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 th...

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 wri...

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 diff...

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...

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...

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 a...

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 be...

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...

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 – in...

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...

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 yo...

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...

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 Highl...

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 Hi...

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 s...

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 relationshi...

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 t...

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 co...

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 wr...

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 thr...