My name is Chrishana Greer, and today I'm going to be talking to you guys about my book, the Boy in a Wheelchair.

Thanks, Chrishana, for appearing on Adventures in the Heart of Children's Book Authors podcast. Chrishana has written multiple children's books and today, of course, we're going to focus on the Boy in the Wheelchair. I'm looking forward to our conversation. Chrishana is a prolific children's book authority and is also co authored with her daughter, Brooklyn. I went to your website and I counted how many children's books I think I got you around 10, is that correct?

I'm probably over 10 by now.

That's fantastic. It's just wonderful when you think of the amount of books that you children's books you've brought into the world. And also I want to thank you for co authoring with your daughter because you know what? I've co authored my first book with my oldest granddaughter and we just are launching our second book, High Jinks from the Big Head Folk Music Festival. And this is my oldest granddaughter, Kyra. And this is my middle granddaughter, Bailey. And they're both characters in the book. So fun. It's neat that we share that in common. Before we get into the details of your book, I'd like to talk to you about because with you being such a prolific children's book author, can you talk to us about what does it mean being a children's book author for you?

Being a children's book author means I'm able to tell stories to all different groups and classes of children, regardless of where their background. So as you when you look at my books online, you see I have so many different types of books. I don't write books like the Cat in the Hat or spongebob squarepants, but no shade intended. None whatsoever. But I try to make realistic books. So for example, like my book the Boy in the Wheelchair, that book is speaks on the realistic of a child that's in the wheelchair and the struggle that they may have the positivity and the light and really ultimately show that they are able to live a normal life.

Fantastic. So talk to us about the inspiration behind this book, the Boy in the Wheelchair.

So the inspiration about that book came from. How can I say this? So I'm a veteran.

Okay.

I'm going to be quite transparent. I'm a military veteran and when I go inside the va, I see so many different vets that are in wheelchairs and everything like that. Like, I have not really came across a lot of children in wheelchairs, but I See a lot of veterans like it. So that's what really inspired me to really write the book. Like just seeing my fellow vets. But I didn't want to write it from a veteran's perspective because all my books are geared towards children. So I just, I just geared it back towards children. But I did a little bit more research on it to really see how children are able to participate within the world in regards to how they're able to bicycle, how they're able to. Able to do swim lessons and things of that nature. So I just took my military experience and what I see on a day to day and I just transitioned it back to my work.

Fantastic. Fantastic. And was there, is that, was there any specific experience that you had that besides the vets, like in terms of, was the child reflected in any way that someone you knew or.

It wasn't even more so in regards to, in regards to like children. It was more so just a struggle that I see veterans go through. Like, I see veterans like they're as. When I go outside to be. I see veterans are taking so many necessary steps to be able to participate in a normal day life. So I'm like, oh, there are children that are like this. So let me enhance this and bring more light to it.

Okay. I'm really interested because I've only had, besides yourself, I've only had one other children's book author who has written as many books as you. So that's just incredible. Hats off to you. And I'm interested. Do you have a children's book business plan? What's your business plan that you're so prolific in bringing all these books to market?

I think what makes my. Are you asking what makes my book? How am I able to market my books?

The whole business plan to be able to bring that many books to life is just remarkable. We're launching our second book and I know how much work it is, so I know how much work you've done. And I'm just curious, how did you build a business, a children's book business from this?

But to be honest, it started with my daughter. It started at the. Our first book. If you look on my website, my first children book that ever published was Me and Mommy's Adventures. And with that book, when I first published that book, like, people just loved it. So I'm like, okay, maybe this is my niche. And then I just started getting able to write the books faster. Like it literally takes me like 30 minutes or 20 minutes to write a book. And then I just started using like the platform that I had built from like social media and I just posted it and the stuff that I have may have learned from when I went through a publisher, the things that I learned from them, I just started using that as well now that I'm separated from a publishing company. So like I know social media is a big thing. Getting inside stores like Walmart, Target, those are big things which I have accomplished. So it's. Hey, then also like just being present. Like when it comes to like book fairs. Like, I'm very present when it comes to book fairs. I'm not one of those authors to jump on every book fair because every book fair does not have the same outcome. I don't that I try to do a little bit more research and. But I also understand that not every book fair is going to be about selling, is mostly about networking as well.

Okay, I just want to pick up on that for a moment because most of the independent or self published children's book authors I talked to haven't had the ability to get their books in Walmart and other major retailers. How did you go about doing that?

You're across the web platform. There are so many different platforms to do it. So I'm one. Do you want me to tell you right now on this podcast?

Yeah.

You want to keep the secret for later? I'm going to tell you the secret later. Okay. But no, like you just have to go through. You're a part of a. Like, for example, like platforms like Amazon. Amazon is fine. They help you like printing books like those on demand printers. When it comes to getting your books, like Ingram. Ingram helps when it comes to getting your book inside stores, at least on their website. And then it's a lot of networking. Like you can reach out to those companies directly, at least I know I did. I reached out to Walmart myself and tried to build some type of relationship when it came to them.

Okay.

It's the same for libraries. Like you have to reach out to those libraries and build some type of rapport. Like I like libraries will reach out to me and say, hey, we're doing an African American black history book fair. Can you come? Sure. Or can you come read to the students for free? Why not? So I just try to make sure that I put myself on the fender and let them know that I'm available. Even when it comes to schools. Like, reaching out to schools is very important. But also as an author who's just coming in, you have to understand that everything is not about money. So like you can't Come in and say, hey, I'm going guest speaking. I want you to pay me $3,000. I'm going to pay you that much. But once you get your books up and you start establishing some type of name, then people will definitely pay you for what you're worth.

I noticed with your books, you both have hardcover and paperback versions, and some of you and a few of your books, you have ebook, the ebook format. So talk to us about the different formats and how you're using those.

Ebook. I have the ebook, which is Ibook, which is a part of Apple.

Yeah.

I have Amazon, ebook, Kindle. And then I have the hardback and the paperback. I typically prefer the hardback because they last longer. Hardback is a little bit more expensive than paperback. So I give my readers, like the option, especially when I'm going out to my fairs to give them the option to say, hey, this is what this calls. But I also have this as well. So it gives them the option to buy what they can afford. And ultimately still me they'll be able to make myself.

So are with the hardcover running a large quantity to get the price down.

So I buy more of paperback.

Okay.

And that's over the years. And that's only because over the years, paperback is always cheaper. I just want $2. But hardback books have gone up to $10 a book. So it's like you, you don't want to buy so much. I don't buy large quantities of hardback because there's a chance that it may not fail. Now you're just in so much inventory. So I don't put myself in that situation. So what I do, if I go out to fairs, I'll order the hardback stand maybe like a couple of weeks before, so I may order 50 copies of it and then the rest, if I run out of hardbacks. Now I'm just selling the softback.

Yeah, it's good to know because, so I've noticed some people will. They'll print. They do a lot of print on demand. That's what it sounds like you're doing. And then I've heard other people tell me that they ordered offshore, like through China, where they can get hardcover for a lot cheaper. So I've definitely heard of all kinds of different versions. But I guess if you're able to get hardback printed for $10, you could probably sell them for under 20, 1999 or something like that.

Yeah, something like that. I haven't tried the, the overseas purchasing yet because I'm kind of. We don't really know the paper quality you don't already know. And it's like you're taking a risk. And then also like you're saying you buying big books. So what if I buy a large quantity of hardback books and then I don't like the quality of the paper, I don't like the thing, so now I'm stuck with it. So I don't normally put myself in that type of situation, at least with companies like Ingram. And I want to say this other company is. I can't even think of. I can't even think of the company. But it's another company. Those front demand companies, at least with them, if you don't like the quality of the paper, you can return it. You could email them like, hey, I don't like it. And then they'll try to address it. I don't know how it is overseas, but I also don't want to take that risk.

Sure, for sure. Okay. And so now you said you moved away from traditional publishing or self publishing to indie publishing because I noticed that you have your daughters and your name in your publishing company's name. So tell us a little bit about your indie book publishing company.

So I have a publishing company called Davidson Great Publishing, which is me and my daughter and all our books outside of my very first book. My very first book was published under Simon and Schustner's self publishing company called Archway Publishing. They're a self publishing company for Simon Schustner. And honestly, like when I first started doing it, when I went through them, I was like, oh, I learned a lot, but I spent a lot of money. So then I took one. I could do this stuff myself and then not have to spend all that money. So that's when Davis and Grit Publishing came about.

Good for you.

So if you look at all my books are published under me.

Nice. Nice. And you know what, just so you know, we actually have published under our own indie publishing company also. We call ours Caboose, the Rocky Mountain Bear Publishing Den, Inc. So, yeah, it's fun and it takes a while to learn the skill and all that kind of good stuff. But now we're publishing our second book under our own banner, so that's neat. I noticed also that you don't have an illustrator's name on your book. So talk to us about the illustrations. How does that all come to be?

I do all my own illustration.

Do you?

I do all my own illustrations.

Oh, you're very talented. Wow.

All my illustrators belong to me. I do my own all My own illustrations.

So why don't you give yourself credit for the illustrations?

I don't know. I think I just focus so much on the book as the whole author that I don't even really focus on the illustration because I'm like my.

I gotta tell you, you're very talented and I would, if I had your talent, I would definitely give myself credit as the illustrator also. That's just my opinion, but good for you.

Yeah. Thank you.

Which do you enjoy more, the children's book writing or the illustrations?

I think both.

Okay.

This is both. And I'm going to say why? Because the illustrations is what makes the book.

Absolutely. I couldn't agree with you more.

It's what makes the book like, I have a book coming out, I want to say, in September. I have a book coming out. And with this book have been probably the most, longest, painful book I have ever accepted with illustration. Wow.

Okay.

Only because it's a lot of dialogue. And to someone who just getting into the art, just getting into the writing world, okay, the illustrations are nice, but someone like me, who has been doing it for a while, I know. No, it's not nice. Like, it's going to be bunched up. It's not going to look right. Like everything have to pop to make my book come to life.

Right.

Yeah.

And is it. And you know what? It could be both. But is it the words that come to you first or the illustrations, or is it a combination?

It's the words. It's the words that come first and then the illustrations. And then once I see the illustrations, you have to change the words. I don't know about these words.

That's fantastic. Good for you. Wow, that's incredible. And I'm also interested in your website. Like, I pulled your website up and so it's. Talk to us about your website. How did you develop your website?

So my website came about. Every author needs a website. I learned that at my first part of my first book fair. Every author needs a website. So I just went and I just created me a website just to help me gain more recognitions and to help my readers get and be able to see what's going on with me and actually just know where I'm going to be or when I'm going to be there and just be able to keep some type of tab on me.

Okay.

Have a main point of contact to purchase my books without always having to reach out to me via. Via social media or emailing me or going through a book fair or going through Amazon just to Eliminated the third party, in a sense and just gave it to come directly to me.

I noticed a couple of neat things that you do the first one, and I've never seen a children's book author do this. So again, we're trying to help aspiring children's book authors. I noticed that you have an area where people can actually log in. And I was thinking, okay, so why a login feature and what's the advantage to having a login feature?

So the login feature is basically you're joining like my little community.

What do we get from your community? If I joined your community, what am I getting extra that I don't see on your website?

So you're going to be able to get updates there before I even post them online. You're going to be know what fears I'm going to be at before I even make them public. Like, I have a fear that I'm supposed to be attending in a couple weeks. I haven't even announced it yet. I actually am supposed to post it on the website, not on the website. I'm supposed to add it to the community in a couple days.

Okay.

Just wait for the marketing material to come out, to be honest, before I add it to the web, before I start pushing it out. And you're able to basically just know what's going on with me before everyone else is. You're able to know when books are coming out. You're able to see and track your orders a little bit better and have a better direct contact with me.

Good for you. That's a great idea. I've just never seen it before. So thank you for sharing that. I also noticed on your website because I always trying to find, you know what, being a children's book author and trying to build a business is not for the faint of heart. Because the average children's book author sells between 100 and 500 copies over the whole lifetime of the book. So I always am curious on how people support themselves as a children's book author. And I noticed you offer guest speaking, meet and greet and children's book reading. So tell us about those services and is that a big part of your revenue or.

So? A big part of my revenue when it comes to books writing comes from my fares. It comes from my book fairs. Now when you, when I'm doing like my guest speaking, of course those payments are more. Because I'm there for a longer amount of time and then you get to ask me more questions and it's a larger crowd, but a lot of it comes from my book fairs as a.

Percentage, what would guest speaking, meet and greet, and children's book readings as a percentage of your revenue? What would that represent?

Oh, you want to know everything.

Well, you know what? I tried to help other aspiring book authors understand that generally you've got multiple titles, a little different story, but when you have one or two titles, in most cases isn't bringing enough revenue to support yourself. So that's why I'm curious.

So the percentage varies? The percentage varies, to be honest, transparent. It varies based on just my schedule. It based on if I have more book fairs versus meet and greets or if I have more meet and greets versus book fairs coming up. It just ultimately just varies based on how the year is going or how the. When it comes to being a writer. When it comes to payment, payments are in every three months. So it comes based on. Just on how I have it set up.

Okay, and so in terms of the book fairs, you would be handling the revenue directly. Would you be selling there and using something like square to sell your books?

Correct.

Okay, and so it's a more immediate revenue.

Correct.

And is that one of the reasons you focus on book fairs?

I don't really just focus on book fairs for the revenue. When I first started, it was like, hey, I wanted to focus on it because I want to sell books, which is what any author wants to do. But I feel like now I want to say I'm still going to sell books, but I also want to my name to be known more like I want to when I go to these events, like, they're like, oh, that's Chrishana. Hey, Chrishana. Oh, hi. Can I have your autograph? Yeah, you can. Things of that nature. So I think I have surpassed the part of it just being it for the money, but more so, hey, like when I walk in a room, I want my books to sell for themselves because they like, oh, yeah, she write great books.

Okay, so, Chrishana, tell us about. So the book fairs themselves. How do you get an invitation to the book fairs or how did you go about utilizing that as a tool to get yourself recognized?

So it depends on every book fair does not require amortization. So it depends on what book fair you're attending. For example, you just have to know. You have to pick the book fairs that align with what it is that you're trying to do. For example, ala. Do you know what ALA is?

No, I'm sorry, I don't.

The annual library association, it's not the biggest book fairs, but you can buy Your way into that book fair. That book fair, I want to say, is like $2,500 or something like that, which is a lot for a new author. However the case may be, you have to look at it like this is an investment because it's not just a regular book fair. This is. I think this event lasts five days.

Okay. Wow.

And then also, this isn't time like this, when I said that everything isn't always about you making revenue. You want to make money once you just fund 2,500. But for when it comes to ALA is one of those events where you are networking because you have every big publishing house in there. You have. You have Simon Schustner, you have Roundhouse, you have Penguin, you have everyone in there.

Okay.

It's competitive because you do have those readers who are walking around getting free books, which are getting from the big publishing houses. But then you know that you also have those who are coming over there to the smaller authors and are like, hey, I want to see what you got going on. Okay. And they'll purchase your books. And then you also have the panels that you can buy your. I want to say you can buy your way into the other one at ala, or you could just go and sit and just see exactly what's going on. But it just basically just depends on what it is that you want to do as a.

Okay. Is there any retailers, like, people who purchase for bookstores there also or. No.

Yeah, so if librarians there. ALS is for the library. It's the annual library association. So it's all, like, we have the schools and everything like that. And it's a great book fair. Only thing about is that every year is somewhere different. Like, when I went a few years back, it was in Washington, D.C. okay. I want to say. Yeah, you have to pay the 2500. I want to say it was 2500. Don't quote me, because like I said, this is a few years back. And what else is it? You have to pay for your plane. You have to pay your whole. So it's a lot of money, but you have to look at the bigger picture. Hey. But by this time, when I went, I had already established five or six, seven books. So it was like. It was a little different for me. But someone who's coming in, like, with one book, do I think they should go with just one book? That probably wouldn't be the event for them because they only have one book. So that's when you like the smaller local fares that are near you or even, like, Fares that are like maybe a state over or something like that, if you don't mind driving.

Would they buy the libraries by multiple titles from you?

So me and I have a great rapport when it comes to libraries. I have a great rapport when it comes to libraries. I have a great relationship with librarians. But you have to reach out. You have to reach out and say, hey, I am such and such. Are you guys interested in adding my book to you guys selection? And then they may come across and say, hey, send me your titles. And then you have to do whatever necessary step you're basically just pitching yourself.

Yes, you bet, you bet. And so they would buy for. A lot of them would buy for multiple libraries.

So it depends. Let's say, let's say someone in New York, like a library in New York, they may buy only five books, right?

Yes.

Okay. But then you have a librarian that's in California that may buy two books. So if you may not be getting a large quantity as what you would like, but it's still, hey, when you look at it like when they're googling your name when, when people are going inside and they're looking at the books, your name is in our databases. The more people check out your book, the more you know they're going to be more willing to add, continue to add your book to their collection.

Okay, fantastic. So I'm curious about your motivation starting out as a children's book author. So how did this all come about? Because you said you were in the military service and did you start your children's book authorship journey before or while you were in the service or after you got out of the service?

If I'm quite honest, I have a funny little story. Funny story.

I love it. Love it.

So my first book actually was a young adult book which like I said, I published under Archway Publishing. That was my first book that I had ever published, which was a young adult book. Me personally, it wasn't really my cup of tea because I just feel like chapter books take so much time and it takes so much time. And then also my first book was just so draining because reality is that when I first started writing, I was going to write about the military. I wanted to write about something that I was actually a part of.

Okay.

And one of my friends during this time I was living in Georgia and one of my friends had actually reached out and she was like, hey, Chrishana, what are you doing? And I was like, oh, I'm writing a book. And she was like, about that. I was like, oh, I'm writing a book about the military. She don't write a book about that. Write a book about relationships. And I was like, why this time? Like, I wasn't even dating anyone. So it's like, why am I writing a book about relationships? She was like, because everyone just sees you online. They just think everything is just peaches and cream. So write a book. And during this time, like I said, I wasn't dating. So I'm like, okay, if everyone thinks my life is perfect, let me try to unperfect my life. But as I write this book, as I started to write this book, it was like I was struggling because I didn't have any relationship drama. I didn't have any of that. So now I'm trying to go back to past relationships. Oh, was my feelings hurting? This. You know, I went to social media and I looked at what people were writing on social media, and I'm like, okay, maybe I can just write a book that, like, just put everyone into one. And that's when my first book came out, and I just didn't like writing it. The book sold out. The book was sold out for me about three or four months. People love the book. Me personally, the book was finally my first book. I just never have written another chapter book again. It just takes too much time.

And so how did you pivot from that to then? Was it your daughter? Right, from the daughter, yeah, my daughter. Okay.

Yeah, it was my daughter because, like, my first book, Me and Money, the Ventures, it's based on traveling. I look, based on the places that me and my daughter have traveled to. So every place within that book, me and my daughter been to.

Okay. And so, Chrishana, I noticed pictures of your daughter online. And how old is your daughter?

My daughter's 10 years old.

Okay, fantastic. So your book writing journey started when she. Right, when she was born?

No. So I started writing books when my daughter was. I want to say three.

Three or four? Three. Okay. Wow. That's still remarkable, what you've done. And that's terms of the number of books and the amount of different subjects you cover. It's incredible. I'm curious about. I want to talk a little bit about the boy in the wheelchair. So tell us about your main character, Lee. How did you. I'm always curious about the name because in our books, we. Caboose is actually the K in caboose because caboose is spelled with a C. But we change it to a kid to. For my granddaughter Kyra, who. It starts with the case. So I'm wondering, how did you come up with the main character's name, Ali, and tell us about the main character.

So the name Lee just came randomly, honestly. So, like, when I write these books, outside of the books that have my daughter's name in them, I write, I come up with a name based on how I think what his name would be in real life.

Okay. And the reason I have a fascination is my daughter's name is Lee Ali. Yes.

Oh, wow.

So that's why I had the. Also the fascination by why you chose Lee.

Yeah. So that it just came.

Okay.

Yeah, it just came. I just started writing. Like, honestly, I just. One day I was just in my car and I was waiting for my daughter to get out of school, and I was just like, let me write this book while I was on the top of my head and I wrote into my phone.

Good for you.

Yeah, I wrote it in my phone. And Lee was the first thing that came about, and it was just like, this is his name.

So tell us about. Because it is a very positive book. Tell us about the whole approach to the character development.

So with this book, I wanted to make sure that I brought the positivity in the light when it came to children that have any type of disabilities or any type of issue that could prevent them from walking. Because I do know that when it comes to children that are. Are impaired or are handicapped or anything of that nature, it could be some type of negative light that they may feel that, hey, I'm not normal, or I can't do X, Y, and Z because I have these limitations. I wanted to make sure. Like, it really expressive. No, like, he or she is not any less of a person because they're not able to do such and such.

Well, you know what? I'm glad you wrote a book like that, because I have a cousin who got polio. Now I know polio's not a prevalent disease anymore. He got polio, which restricted his limbs and kind of a deformity. But he still. He's an adult and lives a full life and has three children. So that's what I love about your book. It's so positive that Lee will be able to go on and do whatever he wants.

That's the message of it.

So talk to us a bit more about the theme of the book.

So the theme of the book is, like I said, it just was really enhancing the positive light that people think that children who are in a wheelchair or people who are in a wheelchair can do. Because when I. When I pitched this book and I had, when I pitched, when I pitched this book to like, my friend, hey, like, what do you think about this book? And even when I showed up some of my illustrations, like, they did not believe that a child in a wheelchair can ride a bike. And it was like, yeah, he's on a bike. Like, they have bikes for children in wheelchair or they can swim. Yeah. Children that are disabled can still swim. Like, they can still play. They can still go to the movies. They can live a normal life. And that was the theme of the book. Like, I really want to emphasize that to show the normality that people who have disabilities can still live a normal life. Like me and you.

Right. Like, for example, Krishani, when you look at the Special Olympics, right. There's wheelchair basketball, the Winter Olympics, you have them playing hockey. It's just amazing that these are all normal things that we'd all do and they're doing them.

Correct. Yeah. And I wanted to really, to just touch on that and just emphasize it because contrary to what people may believe, there are so many kids who have disabilities and they may feel like, hey, my life isn't the same because I'm not able to walk. How the rest of my friends aren't me.

And I love how you incorporated it. Lee just leads a normal life. He just happens to be in a wheelchair, but that doesn't restrict him from anything, doing anything.

Yeah. You thought he had them chores, right?

Yeah, his chores, going to the store with his friends, swimming school. It's all those normal things that a child does.

Yeah. So I just wanted to emphasize that and just show the positivity when it comes to it and just make everyone feel. Not feel, but just make sure everyone knows that regardless of whatever you are going through in life, like, you're a normal. Like.

And how does Brooklyn feel about when you write these type of stories? Because this one, she didn't co write with you, right?

No, Brooklyn did not co write that one with me. She did not. Kids are like, why is my name not on there? Like, where's my name? So that's where she stands on this situation. My name's not on here.

Okay.

We see books that I write and her name is not listed. It's because I'm trying to prevent any. I'm not sure whatever type of feedback that I may get. So I want to make sure that if I get some type of negative feedback, it only comes back on me. It doesn't come back on my child.

Right. I never thought about it that way. It can be so true. So I Want to pick up on that? Because what's the central teaching through the boy in the wheelchair? Is there a lesson or a teaching that you'd like to get across?

Ultimately, the lesson is that you can't. Do not judge anyone based on any type of physical. What's with the eye? Because you don't know. You know, don't.

Don't judge a book by its cover.

Don't judge it was by its cover.

I'm also interested in, like, with the number of children's books you've written. So I'm curious about your writing process. Give us some insight into your whole writing development. How do you go about writing a children's book? I know you're the illustrator, too, but you said you do usually do the words first, then the illustration. So talk to us about that.

Like, how do I come up with the concepts? Yeah, you know what, Honestly, Rick? I write these books just come randomly. Like, these books come out of nowhere. If I'm driving and a book comes to my mind, like, as soon as I pull over and I park, I have to write this book. I'm not going to write it. So I, like the books just come randomly or just be based on, like, my book. What book did I write? I wrote a book called 20 Sheep. I don't know if you saw it on my website.

Yes, I did.

Yeah. 20 sheep. And I think that was the first book I had ever won an award for. But the truth behind that book was that when I first started, when I started writing that book, I wasn't writing about sheep. I was writing about. I think I was writing an ABC book or something like that. And as I started trying to write the abc, it just directed me towards sheep, and I just went with it. So I. It's just. So there's no way to go. It's just like, whatever comes to my mind, like, I just write it, and then if I get it out, I can always go back and polish it up and make whatever change that need to be changed.

Yes. I was talking to a writer from Staten island and she wrote a book and she said she woke up in the middle of the night and she had her iPhone and she wrote the book. And her and her husband woke up towards the tail end of her finishing the book, and he said, what did you just do? And she said, oh, I wrote a children's book. And he said, what? So it's incredible. What inspirational do. Right. And you get in the flow and away it goes.

Yeah. And it's just. You have to write it. When. That's one of the biggest things that I do want new authors to understand. Like, when you get that. When you get that thought, you have to write it down. If you don't write it down in that moment, you can't come back two hours later and be like, okay, yeah, I'm ready, because it's gone.

I couldn't agree with you more.

And that's where my, like, my books just come.

So your writing process, do you set a specific amount of time aside in the day? Or, like, is it random or is it strategic? How does it happen for you?

Mine's random. It's just random. Like I said, I could be driving, I could be sitting outside my daughter's school, or I can be on the phone with one of my friends, and they'd be like, okay, be quiet. Dosing. And once. And it was like, we were just talking about. We were just talking about food, and you just got to talking about clouds. And yeah, it's not corrected book, so just don't say anything. So it's just random.

Good for you. Besides your own personal experience, do you conduct any research when you come up with an idea for a children's book?

So it depends on. It depends on exactly what I'm talking about.

Okay.

Oh, the boy in a wheelchair. I had to do research on that because, like I said, I did not want to disrespect or put out any wrong information when it came to. When it came to a topic so sensitive, and I didn't want to offend anyone, so I had to make sure that everything that I put in the book was accurate. Now, also, when I wrote the book, I traveled the alphabets. Now, that book, I had to do a lot of research on it because it's an Alphabet book, but it also speaks about history. If I'm going to be teaching kids, if I'm selling this to kids, I want to make sure that I'm giving kids the right information, because that's what it is. Like, I don't want to write a book. And then someone goes and does the research. Oh, yeah, that's not true. And yeah, it is true, because I did seven months worth of research. This is true.

Good for you. It's important. You know what? Even though both of our books are fiction, what we've done is they've happened in a specific area. And so most of it has happened in the Rocky Mountains. So I've definitely incorporated history, the history of the area into the children's story. So it's fun, for sure. And I think to your point, if you're going to teach lessons, you want to have some sort of accuracy in what you're trying to convey.

That's true. For example, did you have a chance to look at my book? I traveled alphabets?

No, I did not. Sorry.

So, like, with that book, I actually learned that was one of the hardest children books I have ever written in my life. That was the hardest children book I have ever written in my life. But I learned so much. And that is a book that I feel a parent needs to sit down and read with their child and really explain it to them, just if the kid had any questions, because it's a research book, but it's an Alphabet book. But it also is so much information and so much knowledge that you will learn about the history of different countries.

And so obviously get inspired to do that book.

I used to live in Germany.

Okay. And I lived in Germany for four years.

Really?

Yes.

Yeah. We have so much in common.

Absolutely.

Yeah. I used to live in Germany.

Were you with the forces at the time?

Yeah, I was.

Okay. So my dad was in the armed forces, so I lived there as a teenager.

Really?

Yeah, from 13 to 17. So it was incredible life.

Yeah. You did a lot of traveling?

We did. We saw all of Europe. Our school trips used to be to Vienna, Paris, Berlin, London. I went to a world jamboree with Scouting in Belgium. We went everywhere in Europe. It was incredible.

So if you look at that book, a lot of the history speaks on Europe, A lot of the history within. I travel Africa is about Europe because I live there. But I also wanted to try now, when it came to the research, I had to. Outside of me living in Europe, I had to do the research on other countries that I put inside the book as well, because some of those places I hadn't been. So it's like I had to do the research when it came to it. But like I said, it's a great book. It's a great educational book.

It sounds fantastic. I love that when you can broaden a children's view of the world. Right. Because not, you know, most of my friends, and I don't know about your friends, but a lot of my friends have never been outside of. I live in Canada, but, you know, they haven't been outside of Canada. And a lot of your friends probably have said to you, I've never been outside of the United States. And yet you got to go to Europe, live in Europe. And it influenced the way you think, correct?

It does. It does.

Very cool. Good for you, I'm curious about success measurement and I know we're talking. We talked a bit about having a business book plan, but I'm curious when you first started out, because a lot of us might have these stars in our eyes that we're going to sell thousands of books and we're going to become rich and famous. And usually as the children's book author, that's the furthest thing from the truth. Tell us about what you had envisioned when you wrote your first children's book. What did you envision as successful?

My first children book, I envision success to me was just doing it.

Okay.

Actually just completing it because like I said, my first book was published through a publishing company, so it was like doing it myself and then doing everything that they did based on just going through with them. When you complete your first book alone, it's, oh, you did it. So regardless if it sells or not, it's like you still. That's still a big accomplishment.

Absolutely.

So that was the success part. When. Now I just. When a book came out, I just knew to go and be a part of the book fairs and make the connections with the libraries and the schools and things of that nature. And I just really put myself out there. But the financial part wasn't the stuff. For me, the success was I did it on my own.

Take us to your upcoming book. Here's the success of your first book. I did it. Take us to your expectations of success for your next book.

My next expectation is really to my. My expectation for success is really to be like a New York's best time seller, to be honest. But like I said. But that's going to come with, really with a lot of marketing and that's going to come with the publicism and things of that nature. So that's where I'm at now within my career when it comes to basically just expanding and making sure that my book is. Is talked about within the right rooms.

Right. Okay.

And then just making sure that when it comes to awards and making sure that my books are being recognized, like, for example, I have a total of. Was it 10, 11 books. How many books I have, I have won eight awards, but those. I've done them. I just won the Dragonfly Award. I won three Dragonfly Awards last week, so.

Wow.

But that comes from me putting myself out there on the line and just basically just, hey, I'm here because you can write the book. I could write the book. And that's the success part because I did it. But it's only Success to me. Like, I want everyone else to see my success and be able to enjoy it as well.

Right. Have you put those on your website?

I have not put those on my website yet. I'm going to put it on my website. Like I said, I just won last week, like, a couple days ago. They really just sent me over my certificate and my field today.

Okay. Okay.

Everything is just coming so fast. But prior to that, like, I. Like last month, I want to say last month I want, like, the book X nor I want a Mom Choice Award, like, so many times. So those are things that, you know, those are things that I do to try to make myself stand out. Because when you're going in front of these publishing companies or when you're going to these book fairs and you have these seals on there, people are fascinated by stickers.

That's amazing. I'm also curious about the role of writing and with your experience, what does it mean to you in your life, like, the grand scheme of things now? So what does it mean to you being a children's book author in your life? Like, how does it affect your total life now?

Well, me being a children's book author, I am very cautious in regards to what I put into the world.

Okay.

When it comes to how I write, when it comes to how I carry myself, when it comes to what I engage in, when it comes to just being a positive image for children, the life that I put out in my books, I try to make sure that's my real life, like, live along those lines. So anything I write about that positivity, I try to make sure that I'm aligning with what I'm writing. So it's not. It doesn't. It's not. You're following, right?

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. When I look at all your titles, I love the picture of you and your daughter together. That's. And you know what I feel like you feel like with my five grandchildren, and we're. And we've done this book authorship together, and it's a lot of fun. And you know What? We've written 38 books now. I can't. It's going to take us a while to get all those published. But what we have done, which is fun, is because I have the audio equipment. We actually have made more than half of our books into audiobooks. And so it's fun catching their young voices and taking the stories. And at least we've done that. And it's something to have. And I just love the idea of you working with your daughter. And down the road it'll be interesting what she does for her life.

Yeah, that's very true. In regards to you and your 38 books that need to be illustrated, if you want some illustration, you're more than welcome to bring them on over here.

Okay, thank you for that. Awesome. I'm also interested in what would you say is your typical time that you would devote to just writing and creating versus the sales and marketing, distribution side of your book business?

At night.

At night. Okay.

At night or when I'm home alone.

Okay. So it's once you've tucked your daughter to bed, then away the brain goes.

Yeah, So I write better. Like if I'm going to write, like, not just like writing randomly. I write better at night. Maybe like around 2, 3, 4 in the morning. I write better at night.

Wow. Good for you. Holy jumping advice for aspiring authors. What kind of advice would you give someone just starting out who hasn't even brought their first book into the world?

Just do it. The first step is writing it. The very first step is writing it. Don't worry about how it looks in its draft format because it's just a draft. And just write it. You never know what's going to come about it. You can have a New York Best Times seller or you can have a dream that never came true.

Encouragement for readers. Because you know what? At the end of the day, if we don't have readers for our children's books, we really. Then you're talking to empty air. What would you. Why would you encourage them to buy your books?

With my books. I write books about realistic. I write books about things that go in the world, but I write it from a kid's perspective. I make sure all my books are fun. I make sure they're true. If you want a book that is child friendly or kid friendly, but it also things that are actually happening in the world, I am the perfect author for you. And because, yeah, life is not one. Blue fish, gray fish, orange fish, blue fish. Isn't that how it goes? The Cat in the Head book? No, no. But life isn't like that. So I don't write those type of books. I write books about real life things.

Yes, I noticed you have so many titles and I always wonder, okay, how did. Was there certain people that inspired you for each one of your books? Or it was just came to you?

It just came to me. It just came to me. Like, for example, like I said, me and mommy's adventures, those are places that me and my daughter have traveled to. Supermoon. That book is about single mothers. I'm a single mother, so it's okay. I'm speaking about myself, but I'm also speaking about other single moms.

For sure.

The Essential Workers. That book is about doing COVID 19. I traveled the Alphabet. That was just an Alphabet book that I wrote. However, it just correlated with me because I lived in Europe, so I was able to give some type of history about it. I'm the boy in the wheelchair when I go into the VA and I see my veterans is okay every. I guess, in a sense, like all my books relate back to me in some way.

So they have a grain of truth somewhere in there. Yeah, you cover a full spectrum. Just so people know. Like my special father, super mom. I travel the alphabets, which I love the title, the Essential Workers. Like you said, the 20 sheep blended family. Love my day with dad. So I noticed there's a couple of dad themes. Talk to us about that.

So the first book that I had written was my Sexual Father. And that book was basically me was basically me giving stepfathers their flowers. Because there are a lot of men that step up for children that are not theirs and they don't get the same type of recognition. That's where that came from. My day with dad really was just a book that I wrote for fathers because they say I don't write any book for fathers. So I didn't make sense. But. But it also shows the positive light when it comes to fathers, especially when it comes to African American fathers, to be exact. Because society can have whatever stigma that it has when it comes to African American fathers. That's what came into play. And every book is just different blended family. That book is one of the books that just won the award, the Dragonfly Award from the Story Monsters. I'm not sure if you're aware of that award. Yeah, Story Monsters. They have awarded the Dragonfly and it's. I want to say they have three award categories or whatever, but like I said, I won three. I won three out of the three categories out of that award category.

Wow. This. That's fantastic. I just love how you've able to have to have such a broad spectrum. It's incredible. Your mind just be. Must be going like a mile a minute. I love it. Final thoughts. I'm interested in. Is there something that you said, you know what? Because you're such a prolific writer, is there something you say. I wish Rick would have asked me that question. Is there something that I should have asked you that.

I didn't think so. I think you have covered every basis when it comes to questions, especially when it comes to new writers and giving them advice and giving them feedback and any type of clarity needed to get in the business.

I want to thank you so much for being a guest on the Adventures in the Heart of Children's Book Authors. Your generosity of time, especially the insights like you have no idea what it means. You're such a well of wealth. A well of wealth. There you go. You have so much to share and that's what I hope to do from the show is share so people get inspired that they can do it. And like you said, you need to take action and that's the first thing. So I'm glad you mentioned that. And I promise to provide our audience with links to all of Chrishana's her website and her social media links. And if you enjoyed the episode, please hit the subscribe button to listen to our future episodes and feel free to share this episode with anyone who you believe would be inspired by it and who would enjoy hearing about Chrishana's children's book, the Boy in the Wheelchair and her many other children's books. Chrishana, thank you.

Thank you for having me.