Our First Post & Fruitful Inspiration

Thank y’all for cheering on our FIRST blog post. What an honor! And what a gift it is to write and collaborate with the wonderful ladies you’ll meet here over the next few months. Each brings a unique perspective and makes this writing journey more companionable.

Another thing that makes this writing adventure feel a little less lonely is when authors share their thoughts, tips, and techniques in blogs.

The origin of creativity—taking a tiny sparkly observation and turning it into something as magical as a book—has always been one of my favorite parts of writing.

So you’ll see that my posts focus on the creative journey and different ways writers find inspiration, in hopes that it will inspire creativity in you.

Let’s discover the WONDER OF WORDS with picture book author, Krissy Bystrom Emery and her Suitable Fruitable book series. I first came across her when she posted about her book in our local mom’s group on Facebook. There aren’t many picture book writers in my area so I was instantly intrigued and even more so when I saw she’d be holding a reading and craft session at our Barnes & Noble.

Mermaid Girl & Dinosaur Boy really got into the reading, holding up signs and ‘rumba’-ing along with Piper the Paw Paw Fruit & friends!

CMC: Hi, Krissy! It was great meeting you at your signing! I adore the creativity of your title, THE PAW PAW FRUIT DOES THE CHA-CHA SCOOT (Mascot Books, 2018). It definitely caught and held my attention. Where did you get the inspiration for your story?

KBE: I have always loved writing fictitious stories and have done so since I was a little girl. It’s natural for me to take a piece of my day to day experiences and write about it in a way children can understand. One thing we always enjoy is experimenting with new fruits and foods through taste testing and dissecting. When the N. American Paw Paw fruit was brought to my attention by my sister, who has a doctorate in the field of nutrition and has studied many interesting fruits, we were eager to learn more about it. From this, my storyline was born and I wrote The Paw Paw Fruit Does the Cha-Cha Scoot.

CMC: What is your favorite part of the creative process?

KBE: I really enjoy the rhythm of a rhyming story, so often I find myself writing in rhymes. I form a musical beat in my head that I feel children can enjoy and relate to and possibly create their own tune as they read along. Just knowing that I am reaching a child’s mind and filling it with positive information is the most fulfilling thing ever to me.

CMC: Do you have other creative outlets? Do they cross over into your writing?

KBE: Everything I do circles back to children, my family, so, in essence, I feel like I am writing stories in my head all the time. Being present for my family is my top priority and with four children there is not much time for leisure activities of my own. Whatever they are into at the moment is what I am into. Currently, it’s tennis, gymnastics, and homework—which in itself is an artful adventure!

CMC: I like the idea of homework as an artful adventure! Do you have any tips about finding creativity?

KBE: Use your own life experiences good, bad, or indifferent to find your own creative style. Everyone is influenced by something or someone—so look around and find what makes you tick.

CMC: Creativity seems to inspire more creativity. Do you have another book project you’re working on that you could give us a hint about?

KBE: My book series focuses on introducing unique fruits and vegetables to children. If you haven’t seen the bold and beautiful looking pitaya fruit, it’s definitely an interesting fruit to explore. My next book will focus on this fruit, also known as the dragon fruit, so stay tuned!

CMC: My kids are looking forward to this new fruity character. I love when books come alive for children. And yours inspired us to try something new. Thank you for writing this fun series and for answering my questions.

Y’all check out her books at suitfruitbooks.com and on Facebook @SuitFruitBooks to see where her nutritiously delicious mission takes her next.

And thank YOU for being here on our inaugural post! We hope you’ll tune in on the third Saturday of the month when you’ll hear from the talented Sandra Sutter.

For your creative challenge:

What have you eaten recently that you could turn into a story?