Tell us about your book and what inspired you to write it?
“Hall-O-Ween!” is a rhyming book about all of the sights and sounds of Halloween! Written in the same style as my other books, “Two!” and “Three!” (a day-in-the-life of a two and three-year-old boy), “Hall-O-Ween!” follows the same little boy (based on my identical twin sons) through all of our favorite Halloween traditions, from carving gooey pumpkins to trick-or-treating. This is really a perfect book to for ages 2-6, as it’s not too spooky It’s a great way to get the littlest readers familiar and excited for the holiday.
My kids inspired me to write my books (where they feature prominently), but also to look back on some of my favorite things as a kid. I absolutely LOVED Halloween (and still do), so writing about it was a natural fit for me.
Where are you from? I’m a native Arizonan.
What do you do with yourself beside writing? I’m a mom to twins who keep me pretty busy, but beside that I am a graphic designer and illustrator. I love to travel and also love to get out and walk, hike, bike and rollerblade.
When did you first know you wanted to be a writer? I liked to write as a child, but I always saw myself as a writer. I had many wonderful English teachers who encouraged me along the way, so even though I majored in art in college… I very nearly had enough credits to have a Creative Writing minor. I loved to write short stories and poems - I even had a blog devoted to it. When my twins were almost two, I wrote a little poem about the “terrible twos,” which evolved into my first book, “Two!”, about a day-in-the life of a two-year-old.
What is your favourite book? I don’t really have a favorite book as much as I have some favorite genres. I tend to love books that make me laugh (David Sedaris, Augusten Burroughs), inspire me (Tara Westover, Malcom Gladwell, Angela Duckworth), or take me on a psychological ride (Anne Rule).
What
is the first book that made you cry? The first book that made me cry was, I believe, “The Moon is Down” by John Steinbeck.
Does writing energize or exhaust you? Writing does a little bit of both. It’s energizing when the ideas flow. It exhausts me when the words don’t come so easily.
Does a big ego help or hurt writers? I think a big ego doesn’t do anyone any favors in any industry. Some amount of confidence is a prerequisite - maybe especially in writing and publishing. However, I think that should be a tempered confidence - one that comes with an awareness that there’s always more to know. I think it’s really important to come into writing with an honest assessment of one’s ever-evolving strengths and weaknesses.
What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer? I have met a good number of author friends within the kid lit genre - KP Loundy, Jennifer Decker, Lizzie Simpson, Brooke Vitale and many others. Before joining some of the Facebook Author groups, I really didn’t know any, and I felt a little crazy in my pursuit of children’s picture books. I’ve been inspired, encouraged, and motivated by so many of these authors to aim higher, do better and swing for the fences.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book? The books I am working on right now are really part of a series - same characters, same writing and illustration style and format. I do eventually plan to wrap up this series of day-in-the-life books and try some new stand-alone books.
How did publishing your first book change your process of writing? When I published my first book, I did it as a keepsake for my kids and didn’t really think too much about the marketing aspect of it as much. However, having 1000 copies of a book to sell really puts things in perspective. What value does my book and my story offer to a parent, a teacher, a child? Now, I write with the perspective of the reader in mind. How can I enrich the reading experience? What does my book offer? I think that’s an important question to answer before taking on the daunting task of writing, illustrating, publishing and marketing a book.
What was the best money you ever spent as a writer? Always the best money spent is on the books themselves! However, more recently, I have been upgrading my booth setup and, honestly, it has felt really good to feel prepared and professional going into events.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have? I have quite a few unfinished and unpublished works! I have four children’s book concepts at various stages of thought and production, and a couple Middle Grade and Novel ideas clanking around in my brain for a later date.
What does literary success look like to you? Literary success is a lot of things to me. I find success when someone truly enjoys my book, or when it becomes a repeated read on a child’s shelf. Ultimately, I would love to make a true living off of this endeavor, and I hope to some day do just that.
How many hours a day do you write? The amount of time I spend writing really varies a lot. I actually spend much more of my time designing, illustrating and marketing. Often the number is zero… but sometimes that number is 4 or 5!
How do you select the names of your characters? In this book, the characters do not have names (although they are based upon my family). In my other story concepts, the names are reflective of the personalities of the main character in the book.
If you didn’t write, what would you do for work? I am a Graphic Designer in my “day job,” which has served me well in publishing my own picture books.
Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones? Yes, I have read my own reviews and it can be brutal. I do think it’s important to do, however, because often your friends and family will cheerlead and focus on the good things about your work. Having support is wonderful, but a healthy critique is the path to improvement! The trick is to be able to discern unproductive trolling from valid concerns.
Does your family support your career as a writer? Yes, they really do. They are absolutely amazing.
Tell us about your new Christmas release coming up? “Christmas!” is in progress now and on track for a 2022 release. To follow the progress and details on the release, please follow me on my IG or Facebook . It is part of the same series as my other day-in-the-life books - a fun little rhyming book about all the sounds of Christmas!
Happy Reading!
Laurelle Lewis