Stephanie Wildman is the author of five children’s books, Ghost Writer (2024, co-authored with Cecilia Pópulus-Eudave and illustrated by Estefanía Razo; in Spanish as Escritor Fantasma); Breath by Breath (2024, illustrated by Estefanía Razo; translated into Spanish as Respiro a Respiro by Cecilia Pópulus-Eudave); Treasure Hunt (2022, illustrated by Estefanía Razo; translated into Spanish as Búsqueda del Tesoro by Cecilia Pópulus-Eudave); and Brave in the Water (2021, illustrated by Jenni Feidler-Aguilar; translated into Spanish as Valiente en el Agua by Cecilia Pópulus-Eudave), all from Lawley Publishing, and Miri’s Moving Day (2024, co-authored with Adam Chang, illustrated by Dream Chen from Kar-Ben Publishing. She became a Professor Emerita after serving as the John A. and Elizabeth H. Sutro Chair at Santa Clara Law. She directed the school’s Center for Social Justice and Public Service. In 2007, the Society of American Law Teachers, the largest national organization of law school faculty, honored her with their Great Teacher Award.
1. When did you first realize you wanted to write for young readers?
Thanks, Mary, for having me back on your blog. And congratulations on your book School of Fish! I last visited here on the Six Questions Blog after the publication of my second book Treasure Hunt (illustrated by Estefania Razo) and answered the question about how I began my author journey. That writing journey is part of the answer to how I first realized I wanted to write for young readers. While I always knew I wanted to be a writer, I lacked clarity about what kind of writer I aspired to be. But I think the germ of the idea took hold when I went to a bookstore with my grandchildren and left without buying any book. I wasn’t finding meaningful books (that they didn’t already have) on the shelves, which started my thinking maybe I could write some. I took a class, taught by Maxine Rose Schur, on writing for children and began to learn about the industry. Her class nurtured my desire to create for young readers.
2. What do you feel you’ve gained from being a part of the children’s writing community?
My story continues with the immense benefits I’ve gained from the children’s writing community, particularly as part of the 12 x 12 Picture Book Challenge, SCBWI, and PBSpree24, and from the broader writing community, especially the Writers Grotto. 12 x12 offers monthly webinars and book chats along with an active social media presence, where I’ve enhanced my understanding of a wide range of topics from the craft of picture books to the practicalities of the publishing world. I found my amazing critique partners through SCBWI, and I learned of my publishers and submission opportunities from conversations within this kidlit community. I’ve been fortunate this past year to be part of PBSpree24, another writing community that’s helping my social media skills. Thanks to the Writers Grotto I have my writing coven and bullet journal practice (which helps me stay organized).
3. What are your daily or weekly habits and practices?
My writing coven meets twice a week for an accountability writing sprint – two hours each session. We log onto zoom, check in on what we plan to write, mute for two hours, and check out to tell what we have accomplished. I have two more accountability sessions – also two-hour sprints – with another writing colleague. I aspire to write morning pages each day, but I probably don’t make that goal all the time. (Being kind to myself is also a daily practice).
4. Where did you get the idea for your most recent books? Let's start with Ghost Writer. What was your inspiration? Was this always the title for this project?
I signed up for this blog revisit because I had two co-authored books come out within two months of each other (from different publishers) – talk about crazy! I’ll say a little bit about each book in answering these combined questions.
Ghost Writer (co-authored with Cecilia Populus-Eudave, pictured here, and illustrated by Estefania Razo) originated from one grandson who asked each time I called, “Grandma, did you know Julio died?” Julio was the family’s beloved Boston terrier. I understood from his repeated questions that he was seeking a way to process this loss. At the same time, I loved Estefania’s illustrations in my previous two books, and I had been thinking how much fun she would have illustrating a Halloween/Dia de los Muertos book.
My co-author Cecilia had been the Spanish language translator on the earlier books, and we spoke about her holiday traditions. The title -- Ghost Writer – came together when I saw the phrase on author Gina Soldano’s website, as part of a description of the services she provides to authors. (Thanks, Gina!)
5. And what about Miri's Moving Day? What is its origin story?
Miri’s Moving Day (co-authored with Adam Ryan Chang, pictured here, and illustrated by Dream Chen) arose from a champagne rejection that Adam and I received for a story involving a Chinese American Jewish boy and his two grandmothers.
We decided to flip the script to a Chinese American Jewish girl and her two grandfathers and imagined what story she would tell.
It turns out she was moving from the only home she had ever known to a new environment. The original title was Maya’s Moving Mitzvah. The publisher (Kar-Ben) felt they had many books already with a main character named Maya. So her name became Miri as the title evolved to Miri’s Moving Day.
6. If you read these two books to a room filled with kids, what message would you want them to leave with?
Both books are filled with hope. In Ghost Writer the characters move past their sadness to reconnect with the joy that their pet had brought them. For Miri, though the change brought by moving seems daunting, she makes her new home feel special with the help of her grandfathers.
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