• Author interviews

    Part II of My Conversation with Native Hawaiian Author Kamalani Hurley

    Tweet Here is PII with my conversation with Kamalani Hurley. Check out the first post where she described her book on the history of Kaho’olawe. It’s something I didn’t even know and never learned in school despite being born and raised in Hawaii. In this second post, I learned even more. You’ll see that Kamalani is a wealth of information and you can tell she’s a natural teacher by heart. I am so grateful and honored to share her story and wisdom with you. Anything you wished you knew before you started writing for children? Not that I wished I…

  • Author interviews

    Part I of My Book Talk With Native Hawaiian Author Kamalani Hurley

    Tweet I am so excited to have Kamalani back on the blog especially to share her amazing book and all of her success and accomplishments. She is someone I look up to because she’s wickedly smart, extremely ambitious and knowledgeable, but also has such a good heart. I learned so much from our talk and I know you will too! Please support Kamalani by sharing and commenting on this post as well as preordering her book. Congratulations on Kaho’olawe: The True Story of an Island and Her People! Can you tell us a little bit about what your story is about?…

  • Author interviews - Writing for children

    An Interview with Professor Emerita P. Kamalani Hurley

    Tweet {Photo by Rokki Midro} It seemed impossible during covid to meet new people especially during Covid which ravaged our communities and hearts. But this retired UH professor has been one of the few and rare gems of the pandemic. Although I have never met her in person, I feel a kinship with Kamalani. She is as genuine as she is smart. And I am so grateful to have met her. She graciously agreed to give us a picture of her life, what she aspires to and how her culture shapes what and who she writes about. Hi Kamalani. For…

  • Author interviews

    Transitioning from Psychologist to Children’s Book Author: A Q&A With Claire A. Freeland, PhD

    Tweet Happy 2022! It was a challenging 2021, to say the least, which began with a robbery and ended with months of recovery from the vaccine. I haven’t had the motivation to write for a very, long time. But a new year brings hope and possibility. And 2021 wasn’t a total bomb. In fact, after several years of never believing I would ever find an agent, I finally signed with Tricia Lawrence from Erin Murphy Literary Agency last year. I wrote about the process on this website. For the new year, I’ve been contemplating what my writing goals are. With everything…

  • Author interviews

    A New Book

    Tweet You may recall a time when I had a podcast of sorts a year ago. Ha! I can hardly imagine doing that now while my kids are at home with me again as well as a puppy and my husband. As we all try to feel our way through another pandemic year, now with even more stuff (political, health, etc.) getting time for myself is near impossible. You’ll know what I mean if you follow me on Instagram. Anyhow, while I was busy juggling homeschooling, one of my past interviewees, a memoirist that I grew quite fond of, wrote another…

  • Author interviews - Expert Series

    Social Media Tips for Authors With Business Consultant Mitch Mitchell

    Tweet As writers, we love to write and create, and sometimes even edit. But talk about ourselves? Work on our finances? Market our books on social media? It’s enough to send us back behind the safety of our computers. Introverts as most of us are, are deeply uncomfortable putting ourselves out there. But being an author is a business. It requires us to share who we are with the world and to do so in a real, authentic way. This is why meeting author and business consultant Mitch Mitchell was such a breath of fresh air. Everything from his website,…

  • Author interviews

    An Interview with Children’s Book Author Laurie Ann Thompson

    Tweet Laurie Ann Thompson is a children’s book author of seven books including ALA Youth Media Awards Schneider Family Award winner Emmanuel’s Dream, which can you believe was her first published book? When I set out to interview authors, I never imagined I’d get the chance to talk to a picture book author, let alone one who is accomplished as Laurie. As you’ll hear in our interview she’s every bit as talented, smart, and knowledgeable as every author I talk to, while being extremely humble. If you write for children, you know the challenge of doing so. I’m on my sixth year…

  • Author interviews - Expert Series

    A Conversation on Race, Writing and Self-Publishing Multiple Books with Hawaii Author CL Walters

    Tweet In this conversation with Cami Nihipali, a teacher at Kamehameha schools and author who writes under the pen name CL Walters, and I chat about deep things. I didn’t even do an intro on this one. I didn’t have time to. We get right into race relations and what’s going on in the world today. It’s not an easy conversation, but I admire her courage and willingness to go there. She didn’t have to, but she did. You won’t want to miss this one especially if you’re writing about cultures different from your own. I attribute the ease of…

  • Author interviews - Expert Series

    Motivation and Inspiration With Author Susan Purvis

    Tweet I recorded this interview weeks ago and postponed it due to the racial tragedies and injustices that have impacted me deeply. To support the Black Lives Matter Movement, I have been speaking out on my social media platforms and will be making changes to this blog. You can read about my stance on The Inspiring Bee, but I will be posting here as well. Thank you for your understanding while I figure out ways to serve you and what we’re all going through right now. Inspiration Conversation With Author, Speaker and Teacher Susan Purvis If you heard that an…

  • Author interviews - Expert Series - Fiction writing - Writer Resources

    Talking With Author Deb Hunter About Life, Developing Authentic Characters and Gaining Thousands of Social Media Followers

    Tweet Deb Hunter is a bright soul with a good heart. A southerner that you want to sit down on the porch and have a glass of iced tea with. She’s an author who follows the call of her passion which has led her to write her upcoming novel I’ll See You In My Dreams. She’s also a Stage IV cancer survivor with a heart of gold. Grateful doesn’t describe how I felt when I spoke to Deb. She’s so inspiring and a real sweetheart. She shares her writing schedule, what class has given her a deeper understanding of her characters,…