Encore: Gathering 'Round the Author - Readings and Christmas Memory Celebrations with Brandi Dougherty

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It's staff and management. There are some

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people that make their work just another
thing they have to do, and there

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are those that make their work something
that they want to do. Welcome to

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Working on Purpose with your host,
Elise Cortes. In our program, we

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provide guidance and inspiration from those people
who have found deeper meaning and personal connection

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to their work life. It's beyond
nine to five. It's Working on Purpose

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Now. Here is your host,
Elise Cortes. Welcome back to the Working

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on Purpose Show. Thanks for tuning
in again this week. I'm your host

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at Last Cortez. Here in Dallas, Texas, my home base as this

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show airs December twenty third, we're
doing a special segment to celebrate Christmas while

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also connecting my guest work to this
holiday. But before we get into today's

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program, I want to thank my
media and partner sponsor, jobbing dot com.

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If you're not familiar with them,
jobbing dot com is the leading locally

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focused job board in the nation,
and they're dedicated to helping employers find quality

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talent in their own backyard, while
also getting job seekers control of their own

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search so they can find work close
to home. Great partner for me,

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Thanks jobbing dot Com. So this
week I thought it would be appropriate and

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also fun to focus on Christmas.
After all, it's only two days away,

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And as I considered who to ask
on the show, I thought it

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would make sense to bring on someone
whose work revolves at least in part around

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Christmas and who somehow touches the lives
of children who help us all enjoy the

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magic of the season. Even more
so, I thought, hey, how

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about if I try to find a
children's book author who also writes about Christmas,

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and tada, I found Brandy Doherty, who is the author of the

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New York Times best selling picture book
The Littlest Pilgrim, as well as four

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of the Littlest Tales, including The
Littlest Christmas Star. She's also written three

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middle grade novels, a Pixar picture
book, and partnered with celebrity chef Giada

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de Laurentis to write four books in
the Recipe for Adventure series. Brandy lives

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and writes in Los Angeles, and
when she's not cooking up new stories,

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she's spending time with her husband Joe, their new baby boy Oslo, and

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their dog Jerome. She joins today
from Los Angeles. Brandy, Merry Christmas

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and welcome to the show. It's
great to have you here. Before I

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get into the actual questions about you
and your life and your career, what

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you do as a writer, you
know, I want to kick us off

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right with a little bit of fun. As I told you, I have

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a twelve year old daughter and I
have spent many, many years of my

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life reading her books and loved all
of that. And what I've learned over

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the years is that everybody loves to
be read to. So will you just

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start us off by maybe reading a
little bit from The Little Elf for us?

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Absolutely, I loved you The Littlest
Elf Oliver was an elf. He

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lived with his family in the North
Pole. There were many elves in Santa's

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village, but Oliver was the littlest
one. It was Christmas time and Oliver

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was excited. This year he would
discover his special job at one of Santa's

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workshops. He just needed to visit
each shop to see which one was the

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right fit. At the toy workshop
where his mom worked, Oliver tried to

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make cuddly teddy bears, but he
got lost in a huge stuffing pile.

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Oliver and Elf asked. Oliver's mom
said, I think you're too little for

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the toy workshop. Why don't you
try helping your dad at the bicycle workshop

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instead. So Oliver went to Santa's
bicycle workshop. I'm ready to help,

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he said. Oliver watched as the
elves added wheels and seats and handlebars and

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bells. The tools were very big
for Oliver's little hand. Maybe baking is

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your special job. Oliver's dad told
him, you should visit your brother at

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the bakery. Next off, Oliver
went to the bakery. These elves made

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sugar plum cookies and candy cane squares. But when Oliver tried to stir the

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cookie dough. Oliver looked out.
One of the elves shouted. He fell

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into a giant mixing bowl. Sorry, Allie, his brother said, you're

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too little for the bakery. Maybe
your special job is at the bookmaker's shop.

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Oliver arrived at the last of Santa's
workshops, where his sister worked.

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The bookmakers there wrote amazing stories and
drew wonderful pictures. Can I help,

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Oliver asked? Of course, Fields
replied, but the ink pot was kind

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of tough to reach, and the
stack of paper was very tall. Oh

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Ollie, his sister, cried,
bookmaking was harder and messier than it looked.

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Oliver wandered through the north pole.
He was sad. Oliver knew there

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had to be one special job he
could do, even if he was little.

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Then he heard the sound of hoofs
clattering at the stables. Inside a

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herd of reindeer had gathered to meet
Dot, the new reindeer. She was

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little, just like Oliver. Dot
was very excited to help fly fantas Leigh.

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She practiced for the big night by
jumping and hopping and leaping, but

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she could not fly. The reindeer's
mama gave her a gentle kiss, Dot

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was still too little. Dot looked
very sad. Oliver wanted to help cheer

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her up. He dug in his
pockets to find a treat for Dot,

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but instead he found little trinkets from
each workshop he had visited. Just then

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he had an idea. I'll leave
it at that. Oh, Brandy,

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thank you. What a wonderful story. Oh my gosh, that does bring

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back so many wonderful memories for me
and all the years. As I said,

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I've read to my daughter who's now
twelve and reads to me usually.

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But thank you for letting us start
like that. That was just lovely.

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Thank you, absolutely happy to share. Well, a couple questions if we

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can really quick about that book.
First, when did it come out?

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What was the year it was published? It came out in twenty twelve,

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Okay, so somewhat new awesome.
Yeah, And I have to also ask

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you, you know, I know
you have a few Christmas oriented books that

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which is part of the reason I
wanted to have you on the show.

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But what is it about this holiday
for you? What does it mean to

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you? Do you have some maybe
some memories around it, or what is

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it about Christmas for you? I've
always loved Christmas. It's always been a

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really special time for me and my
family. And also my birthday is actually

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Christmas Eve, so that has kind
of tied into it being extra special.

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One of my great memories from childhood
is my parents always really tried hard to

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make my birthday separate from Christmas and
special in its own, which was really

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really sweet of them. So I
would always get my own miniature Christmas tree

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that I got to decorate and have
in my room as my birthday tree.

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So that was always really fun and
such a cute way to separate the two

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holidays. You know, you just
reminded me of Brandy, and part of

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the reason again, I really wanted
this show to be more celebratory in nature

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than maybe some of my other shows, just because I do want people to

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enjoy the holidays, but also because
your work is also connected to it.

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But you've reminded me that my dear
if I can call him my big baby

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brother, who's nine years younger than
me, his birthday is Christmas Day.

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And so yeah, so that governed
that we opened our presence on Christmas Eve,

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just like you said, to separate
the two occasions. So lovely,

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too. Yeah, yeah, really
nice. Do you have siblings? I

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do? I have a sister.
Okay, okay, Well I don't know

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if this will come up around that, but one of the things that you

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said to me as we were getting
ready to broadcast this show is you told

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me that The Littlest Christmas Star was
written in part due to your memory of

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your first your first grade, when
you're in when you're in a Christmas play.

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I think it's one remarkable you remember
first grade. I can somewhat remember

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that. But what was that experience
tell us about this? Where did this

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come from? Well, it definitely
the memory was sparked by looking at old

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photos. But I do remember I
was painfully shy as a kid, so

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being in a play and being on
stage was a really big deal for me.

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But my another memory around that my
mom worked to make that a special

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time too. She the photo of
me is in this green velvet skirt and

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matching thissk that my mom had made
especially for me to wear for this Christmas

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show, So that was really special. But the photo of me, I'm

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in a star costume because I'm one
of the stars in the night sky in

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the play. Who's wondering if I
will be the one to lead Mary and

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Joseph to Bethlehem. So that was
the role in the play. And looking

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at these photos of me in this
costume made me think how funny it would

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be to write a story about a
kid who wants to be the star of

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a show that ends up being the
actual star, just like I was.

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It's wonderful. That is so wonderful. I didn't make that connection at all.

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That's wonderful. Well one of these
the things that you told me,

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which I think is remarkable, and
remember this joyoushly as well. Again,

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wonderful that I well, first I
wanted to find somebody who was somehow connected

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to children with their work because of
the holiday season. And I of course

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know that you have a baby,
a new baby boy named Oslo. So

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how old is he? Yes,
he's five months old. So he's amazing.

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I think, you know, the
sleep deprivation is very real, but

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every minute of it and he just
he has a smile that lights up our

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entire house. So it's been really
fun. So yeah, and super fun

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to be, you know, celebrating
Christmas with him for his first Christmas.

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M you're very first Christmas with a
child. How fun is that. Yeah,

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it's it's really exciting. You know. I remember Brandy when my daughter

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was and she's probably gonna, you
know, slay me at some point because

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I mentioned her on the show every
once in a while. But hopefully they

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are all good memories for her too. But I remember when she would have

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been like I don't know, three
or four, I think, and we

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were in the mall here in North
Park mall here in Dallas, and she

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happened to catch a glimpse of Santa
Claus there in the in the mall,

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and I wondered kind of what was
going on. All of a sudden,

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she breaks away from me, makes
a mad dash for Santa Claus, runs

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up up to him, past this
really long line of people waiting for their

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return to visit Santa Claus. And
I'm thinking, oh my god, it's

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going to be a rewold. I'm
going to be in big trouble here.

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Oh my gosh, runs up to
him, wraps her arms around him as

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best she can. He's got a
you know, big requisite big belly,

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and she and she says baby like
she thinks there's a baby in Santa claus

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Is belly. And thanks much to
my relief. Everybody in line started cracking

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up, laughing, and there was
no revolt. Was I was safe.

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And once she got her hug and
you know, thought maybe there was a

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baby in there, she was on
her way. But such a fun memory

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of this. You know, the
children just make holidays so entirely different,

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right, And that's one of the
reasons again that I wanted to have you

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and your work on the showcase your
work on the show because we were at

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the end of the year. It's
Christmas time, and I wanted it to

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be festive and fun. So appreciate
that you're telling me about your work,

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your life and kind of what spawned
you to write about Christmas and children.

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Yeah. Absolutely, it's definitely just
seeing those wonder and excitement with kids around

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this time is so special and fun. Mm hmm. Well how was it

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that you decided to write? Let
me ask you this. You know,

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I don't know enough about you.
I'm just getting to know you as well.

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But did you go to school or
did you study writing? Did you

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study journalism? What did you know
you wanted to be a writer And did

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you know it was going to be
children's books? I did not know.

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I did study English. I was
an English major in college, and I

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always loved to write, and I
did enjoy making stories even from a very

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young age. But I didn't really
actually think about officially writing children's books until

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I worked for Scholastics, the publishing
company in New York City. My job

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there was to work for the reading
clubs, and I chose books for the

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middle Grade Club, which is you
know, the catalog where teachers can have

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their students order books through them and
they get you know, they get extra

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supplies and books for the classroom,
and it's a really great program for teachers

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and a really wonderful way for kids
to get books more easily and more accessively.

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So it was amazing to be a
part of that, and I think

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the biggest piece of my job that
I you know, my favorite part was

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being connected to that experience of kids
receiving books in their classroom, and that

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was always such an amazing experience to
know that I was connected in that way,

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and so that's really what spurred me
to want to be a part of

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getting new stories to them as well. Well. So, you know,

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I have to ask, maybe you
don't know this, but one of the

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things that I do in my spare
time is I'm a meaning in work researcher,

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So I really care about why people
choose the work that they choose and

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what does it mean to them,
What does it mean to who they are

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as a human being? What do
they derive satisfaction from? So what does

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what does your work mean to you? You're an author, You've gotten the

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breadth of things that you've done is
wonderful and I definitely want to talk about

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all those things while run the show. But what does your work mean to

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you? I think it's really just
being able to connect with kids in you

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know, reading is such a special
important thing, and I think the most

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rewarding thing has been to receive letters
from students who've read my books, and

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a few girls have even said,
you know, your book is the first

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book that I ever finished reading,
and it made me want to read other

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books. And I can't think of
anything better than that, to know that

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I played a role in helping a
child find a love for reading and want

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to do more of it, Like
that's the ultimate goal. And is there

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any kind of message that you're trying
to impart at all? Brandy? Is

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there anything in there that you're trying
to make sure that gets across the kids.

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Each book is just but I think
especially for the older books that I

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write, you know, I write
a lot about cool in certantly un friendship

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and just really you know, hoping
that I'm giving a most picture of confidence,

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especially the girls, and and hopefully
just kind of a good feeling in

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general that people can kind of,
you know, whether they recognize it or

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not. Hopefully it's even more shuttle
than that. That's just bringing something nice

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to do, that experience and hopefully
a little nugget of something is and carry

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forward in their lives. Of course, you know, I love that.

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I am all about personal and professional
development, so of course I love that,

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and I love the idea that you
are trying to instill confidence and good

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sentiment. I just have to say
one of the books that I just absolutely

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love them. Looking at my bookshelf
right now, and I don't know if

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you've ever heard of it before,
but it's called Stand Tall Molly lou Mellon.

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And you know, I'm almost fifty
years old, Brandy, I still

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read that book and once I drag
my daughter around and make her listen to

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me as I read it, and
I just love it because it does have

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such a wonderful message. The pictures
are fantastic, So you know, I

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don't think they give us ever too
old to read picture books. If that's

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okay, absolutely, I fully agree. Well, I have to also know,

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and I don't know if you're you're
able to speak to this just yet

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because you're you're a new mom,
you've got a five month old. But

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has your approached or perspective about how
you write change since since you become a

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mom? I think it will definitely. I think that you know now more

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than ever. I want to write
stories that really capture kids' imaginations and make

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them interested in reading. Like I
really want Oslo to be a child that

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loves books and loves to read.
So if I'm able to write something that

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he especially is interested in reading over
and over again, then all notes that

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I've made it, Oh for sure? For sure? And when we hear

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a children read back to us,
right, isn't that a wonderful thing?

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When you get to be able to
actually hear that with Oz, it will

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be so fun to hear him speak
the words from a book to you.

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I just I love that myself.
Yeah, I can't wait for that.

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And I think the other goal,
too, is also to read, to

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write something that parents don't mind reading
a million times, because I know that

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that's that'll be part of the journey, too, is not getting tired of

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the books he wants to hear over
and over, so hopefully I can write

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something that parents are happy to continue
to read. You know that is such

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a good point. I can tell
you that I reluctantly gave up Gabby's books

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my daughter when she needed to do
on to higher levels. But some of

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many of them I couldn't give up
away. My husband actually calls me a

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pack rut and actually got rid of
several of them, resold them through half

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price books while I was away,
So some of them I actually repurchased,

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Brandy, because I love them that
much. So I think you're probably going

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to be in good shape. Well, if you can believe, it's already

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time for our first break. Time
flies so fast, so hang on just

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a moment. Here, it's time
for us to take a short break.

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I'm Alice Cortez, your host.
We've got on the air with Brandy Dougherty,

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who is the author of the New
York Times best selling picture book called

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The Littlest Pilgrim. As well as
for The Littlest Tales, including The Littlest

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Elf, which she was reading from, along with many other notable accomplishments in

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her writing career. She and her
husband Joe are also new parents, enjoying

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their first Christmas with their son Oslo. We've been talking a little bit about

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how it was that she's gotten started, what she finds meaningful in her work.

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After the break, I want to
hear a bit more about how it

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is that she processes her work,
how does she actually actually find time to

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work on her books, And I
also want to have her read a bit

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more from one of her other tales. Stay with us, build your better

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00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:59.960
business, achieve that goal, make
good on that resolution. The Voice America

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Empowerment Channel, It's your world,
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please visit her at www dot Elisecortes
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Purpose with Elise Cortes. To reach our

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program today, please call in to
one triple eight three four six nine one

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You may also send an email to
Aleise A. L i Se at

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00:20:47.359 --> 00:20:53.319
elisecortes dot com. Now back to
working on purpose. Thanks for staying with

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00:20:53.400 --> 00:20:56.599
us. And welcome back to the
Working on Purpose program if you're just joining

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00:20:56.640 --> 00:21:00.279
us. My guest is Brandy Doherty, who has written Littlest Tales books,

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including The Littlest Christmas Start, three, middle grade level novels, A Picture

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Excuse Me, a Pixar picture book, and partner with celebrity chef Gean de

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de Larentis to write four books in
the Recipe for Adventure series. So you

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00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:17.279
joined us today from Los Angeles,
California. I'm your host at least Cortez.

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Let's peak of where we left off. We were just about ready to

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talk about really the process that you
go through Brandy when you write. I

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think that's obviously very very interesting for
a lot of us who wonder just what

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goes into a book? How do
you pull this off? So what's your

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writing process? Yeah, when I
you know, when I start, I

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always keep a notebook with me.
Sometimes I have a full sized notebook that

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I'm also journaling in, and other
times just like a little pocket notebook that

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fits with you know, in a
pocket or in a purse. And anytime

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an idea strikes me, I always
try to write it down. And I

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find that writing it, actually handwriting
it kind of makes it sick somehow a

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little better, of course, And
I usually do go home and transcribe my

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notes onto my computer, and I
do work from my computer. But I

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just love something about handwriting things initially, and really, once I start with

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an idea, if it's a picture
book idea, I really just try to

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kind of get a sense of what
my story arc is going to be,

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and I just start to try to
envision what the flow of each page might

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look like, what some illustration moments
might be, and just kind of really

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envision it in my head and try
to write it out in that way where

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I've kind of got it, got
each page flowing how I want it to.

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00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:45.200
And then the key is to revise
and revise and revise a million times.

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And that's really the key to any
writing is to continue to rework it.

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And you really don't ever feel like
you're done doing that, but I

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think you finally eventually get to a
place where you can go comfortable enough.

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And then with my with my middle
grade books, my longer chapter books and

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middle grade novels, I like to
start with a really detailed outline of the

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plot and the characters, and to
really have a strong sense of the whole

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world of my story before I even
begin, and then I usually do write

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a very specific outline chapter by chapter. So and this is something that talking

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to other writer friends, everybody's process
is different. Some people just start on

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page one and just start writing and
see where it takes them. I like

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to have an idea of where it's
going to go first, and of course

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it usually does change as I'm writing, but I like to have that kind

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of map blueprint to work from from
the start, and that works really well

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for me. I'm glad I asked
that question, you know, partly because

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one I'm just hopele tosay curious,
and I think our listeners are too as

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to how what is the creation processing? And you're right, I'm sure it's

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for everybody. But I have to
say one thing that you have, I

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guess kind of awoken in me,
is that for me when I write,

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I have not written stories or fiction. I write research oriented things, obviously.

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But I will tell you though,
for me, my best writing,

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if I look at the best works
I've ever produced, they always started with

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me jotting down my thoughts and my
outline using a pencil on a piece of

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paper for two reasons. One,
right, there was the mechanical process of

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writing the words, and I had
to slow down to all my thoughts down

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to actually write. And then there
was the feedback, the sound of the

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pencil going across the page that I
found very stimulating. So the fact that

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you seem to also start like that
is maybe encouraging. Maybe I could write

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like you one day. Maybe.
Yeah. I think there is something really

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important about that connection that gets lost
a lot of times, and when you

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are working. You know, I
do write notes on my phone sometimes,

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but I feel like, for whatever
reason, I tend to forget those and

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I'll come back months later and be
like, oh, yeah, I forgot

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I even wrote that down, And
so there is something about making that connection

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that feels very important. Well,
going back up to some of your books

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here, one of the things that
obviously stands out to me too is that

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you've written several books that are they're
littlest books. I think we there are

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five of them in total. So
what's the story and the focus on littlest

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Brandy? Well, as I mentioned, I have an older sister. She's

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five years older than me, which
is not any difference. Now we're best

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friends as adults, but as children, it was a huge difference, and

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I just desperately want to be doing
everything she was doing and wanting her attention

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all the time, and it was
really difficult because she, you know,

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in that five years, she was
on another planet basically with where she wanted

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to be. So one of the
first stories that I ever wrote was in

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second grade, and it was about
having an older sister who got to do

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00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:08.039
things that I didn't get to do
because I was little. So that always

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just kind of stuck with me.
And when I started thinking about some picture

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book story ideas, that was one
of the first things I thought of,

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and I thought it would be really
fun to kind of tie it to these

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sweet holiday characters who are desperate to
help and be a part of the world

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that they're in and you know,
find something special to do even though they're

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little. I think, you know, I will confess to you that part

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of my interest in bringing you on
as an author was partly because that you

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write you have some books out that
have that littlest aspect to it, because

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I could relate to that as well. I was I'm the oldest of four

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children, but I was always the
shortest kid in class. Brandy always like

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you know, back in the day, they would line everybody up according to

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heights. So I was always at
the very very end, the shortest end,

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and there was always these you know, this ongoing series of much taller

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people toward onward. And so I
would wear shirts that said things like good

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things come in small packages. So
I was certainly attracted to an interested in

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the idea that you write about liddlest
because I could relate to that. It's

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lovely. That's great. Yeah,
I really hope that kids find something in

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that, whether it's because they're small
for their age or having older siblings or

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whatever it is. That's great.
Yeah. I did eventually sprout up quite

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a bit, so I'm not considered
short anymore. I'm considered more in the

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middle of tier. But almost all
of my life, until I was probably

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00:27:37.720 --> 00:27:41.759
in eighth grade, I was considered
the shortest kid in class. So lots

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00:27:41.799 --> 00:27:48.720
of memories to produce around Littlest For
me, that's great. So the next

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00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:52.720
thing I wanted to hear about,
I'm really intrigued as well as how it

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00:27:52.799 --> 00:27:55.559
was that you got the opportunity to
write the Pixar picture Book. I mean,

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00:27:55.559 --> 00:27:59.400
that sounds really fun, really really
exciting and amazing. Tell us about

383
00:27:59.400 --> 00:28:02.119
that situation should not experience. What
was it like and how did it come

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00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:07.440
to be? Yeah, that was
really fun. I've definitely been very stunate

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00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:11.359
to have a lot of friends in
the publishing world because of my time at

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00:28:11.400 --> 00:28:15.160
Scholastic, and when I first moved
from New York to California, I did

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00:28:15.160 --> 00:28:22.400
a lot of freelance work for Disney, who owns the Pixar studio. And

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00:28:22.440 --> 00:28:27.079
I also have an amazing literary agent
who's great at helping me networking and connect

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00:28:27.119 --> 00:28:32.519
me with new projects. So the
Pixar book came about through a connection of

390
00:28:32.519 --> 00:28:37.119
mine to a great editor at Pixar, and then it came to Fruition with

391
00:28:37.160 --> 00:28:41.839
the help of my agent. So
it was a really a good collaboration there

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00:28:42.880 --> 00:28:47.720
and the essence of it, Brandy, what is this Pixar book about?

393
00:28:48.920 --> 00:28:53.440
So it's for the new movie The
Good Dinosaur, which came out right before

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00:28:53.480 --> 00:29:00.720
Thanksgiving, and it's a book that
introduces the two main characters of the movie,

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00:29:00.799 --> 00:29:06.119
ar owin Spots, and it's a
story of the showcases, their friendship

396
00:29:06.200 --> 00:29:11.119
and their survival skills in the wild. So, yeah, it was super

397
00:29:11.119 --> 00:29:15.000
fun to do. I was able
to spend some time on the Pixar campus,

398
00:29:15.079 --> 00:29:21.400
which is incredibly inspiring and creative,
and I got to see a couple

399
00:29:21.440 --> 00:29:26.319
of early versions of the film and
production and so it was a really fun

400
00:29:26.359 --> 00:29:32.519
experience. I love hearing people talk
so fondly and wonderfully about their work,

401
00:29:32.559 --> 00:29:33.720
because That's what I'm focused on,
right, I care about Hoby. We'll

402
00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:37.799
connect to their work and what it
means to them and if it's fulfilling,

403
00:29:37.880 --> 00:29:40.640
et cetera, et cetera. So
that was one of those things when I

404
00:29:40.680 --> 00:29:41.400
saw that as part of what you'd
done, I was like, I have

405
00:29:41.440 --> 00:29:45.160
to ask her about that. That
sounds really amazing and I can only imagine

406
00:29:45.200 --> 00:29:49.799
hopelessly inspiring to be over there on
that campus. Absolutely. Yeah, so

407
00:29:49.920 --> 00:29:56.519
many creative people in one place,
well seeking you that. I mean,

408
00:29:56.640 --> 00:29:57.400
one of the things I wanted to
do as well, as I mentioned,

409
00:29:57.480 --> 00:30:02.000
is really make this a celebratory show
and in addition to talking learning about you,

410
00:30:02.039 --> 00:30:04.559
but also just getting kind of you
know, the old fashioned get around

411
00:30:04.759 --> 00:30:08.920
around the radio and learn and listen
and have fun. So to that end,

412
00:30:08.920 --> 00:30:14.200
will you read also maybe something from
The Littlest Christmas Star. Sure,

413
00:30:14.240 --> 00:30:22.119
i'd be happy too, the littlest
Christmas Star. On snowy afternoon, Max's

414
00:30:22.160 --> 00:30:26.559
teacher announced his class would put on
a Christmas play. Everyone was excited,

415
00:30:27.079 --> 00:30:33.279
especially Max. Max couldn't wait to
have a part. Even though he was

416
00:30:33.319 --> 00:30:36.880
the littlest student in his class.
Max hoped he could be the star of

417
00:30:36.920 --> 00:30:41.039
the show. I will announce your
roles tomorrow morning, the teacher said.

418
00:30:41.799 --> 00:30:45.400
The next morning, Max's teacher called
out the role each student would play.

419
00:30:47.039 --> 00:30:51.599
Max waited and squirmed, and waited
and squirmed, and finally, Max,

420
00:30:51.640 --> 00:30:55.880
the teacher said, you will be
the star. Max's eyes grew wide.

421
00:30:56.319 --> 00:31:00.079
He smiled a big, big smile. He really was the star of the

422
00:30:59.880 --> 00:31:03.920
show. You will be the star
of Bethlehem. Your line will be follow

423
00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:08.599
me. Max sank down in his
chair. I only have one line,

424
00:31:08.680 --> 00:31:12.839
he asked, Yes, Max,
but it's a very important line, said

425
00:31:12.880 --> 00:31:18.759
his teacher. Everyone in the class
was jumping around and buzzing with excitement.

426
00:31:19.079 --> 00:31:22.599
I have ten lines, said Sophie. I get to paint a set,

427
00:31:22.720 --> 00:31:27.519
said Max's friend Henry. But Max
did not jump around. He was sad.

428
00:31:29.160 --> 00:31:32.400
He wanted to have a big part
in the play, but instead he

429
00:31:32.519 --> 00:31:37.200
had the littlest one. The next
week at school, the class prepared for

430
00:31:37.240 --> 00:31:41.279
the show. There were costumes to
make, and lines to learn and songs

431
00:31:41.279 --> 00:31:45.839
to practice. Max didn't know what
to do. He had his one line

432
00:31:45.880 --> 00:31:52.440
memorized already. Maybe Max decided he
could help out with the other parts too.

433
00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:56.319
Max began to practice the part of
Mary. He worked on making his

434
00:31:56.400 --> 00:32:00.880
voice as big and loud as he
could. Hey, that's my part,

435
00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:06.160
said Sophie. Max wondered to where
the set was being painted. He dabbed

436
00:32:06.160 --> 00:32:08.759
a brush in purple paint and began
to paint a tree. He wanted the

437
00:32:08.799 --> 00:32:13.799
trees to stand out on stage.
I'm the set painter, Henry told him,

438
00:32:14.240 --> 00:32:19.759
and trees aren't purple anyway. Max
walked into the hall where the chorus

439
00:32:19.799 --> 00:32:22.680
was practicing their songs. He sang
at the top of his lungs, even

440
00:32:22.720 --> 00:32:27.920
though he didn't know the words.
Ava pointed at Max. You're not in

441
00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:32.000
the chorus, Max, You're supposed
to be practicing your part, his teacher

442
00:32:32.039 --> 00:32:37.680
interrupted, But I know it already, Max replied. I bet a little

443
00:32:37.680 --> 00:32:39.920
more practice wouldn't hurt. She said. We need you to be the best

444
00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:45.720
Christmas Star you can be. Finally, the night of the Christmas Play,

445
00:32:45.799 --> 00:32:50.880
arrived. Max's family sat smiling in
the audience, ready to see his performance.

446
00:32:51.799 --> 00:32:54.480
Max was not smiling. No one
will even notice me, he told

447
00:32:54.480 --> 00:32:59.680
his teacher. Of course they will, Max. His teacher said, you'll

448
00:32:59.680 --> 00:33:07.079
see got there. I love that. So I don't know about our listeners

449
00:33:07.079 --> 00:33:09.039
out there, but I could just
sit there and let you go on and

450
00:33:09.079 --> 00:33:12.880
on, and I just really that's
what I wanted to accomplish on the show,

451
00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:15.279
was that feeling of being read to. There's just something about it that

452
00:33:15.440 --> 00:33:17.960
just draws you in. And I'll
tell you from me, brand I remember

453
00:33:19.039 --> 00:33:23.680
so distinctly years ago, my daughter
was probably, oh gosh, she must

454
00:33:23.720 --> 00:33:28.599
have been like three or so,
and I was taking shot therapy for my

455
00:33:28.640 --> 00:33:30.119
allergies here in Dallas, and so
you know, I had to go like

456
00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:34.240
a couple of times every week,
and I had to pack her up and

457
00:33:32.599 --> 00:33:36.720
bring her with me, and so
I would, you know, I had

458
00:33:36.720 --> 00:33:38.640
to be there for twenty minutes afterwards. So I would bring one or two

459
00:33:38.640 --> 00:33:42.400
of her picture books with me,
and you know, to keep her kind

460
00:33:42.440 --> 00:33:44.960
of quiet, I would read to
her. And invariably there were people there

461
00:33:45.519 --> 00:33:47.400
waiting as well for their twenty minutes
to go up after they'd gotten their shot,

462
00:33:47.440 --> 00:33:51.480
and they would all do the same
thing. They would lean in and

463
00:33:51.519 --> 00:33:52.519
some of them would ask me afterwards, what's the name of that book.

464
00:33:52.519 --> 00:33:55.200
I'll just get it from myself.
I don't have kids, but I'm I

465
00:33:55.279 --> 00:34:00.160
want the book. So there's something
about yeah, yeah, you know what

466
00:34:00.200 --> 00:34:05.319
there is. It's just something about
being read to that is so glorious.

467
00:34:05.359 --> 00:34:10.840
So I appreciate that you indulged me. Thank you absolutely well you mentioned earlier,

468
00:34:10.880 --> 00:34:15.519
but again, since this episode is
meant to be celebratory in nature.

469
00:34:15.599 --> 00:34:19.719
In nature, any other sort of
memories that you have, our favorite Christmas

470
00:34:19.760 --> 00:34:25.239
pastimes that you do, well,
we always baked a ton of Christmas cookies,

471
00:34:25.480 --> 00:34:30.360
which is something that I've carried on
in my adult life, which you

472
00:34:30.440 --> 00:34:34.320
can't ever have too many cookies,
but well, my mom would make a

473
00:34:34.400 --> 00:34:38.000
huge batch of sugar cookie dough and
we had a bunch of cookie cutters and

474
00:34:38.079 --> 00:34:43.840
Christmas shapes, and we'd spend the
whole day baking cookies and fasting them and

475
00:34:43.880 --> 00:34:50.679
decorating them. And that's always been
something fun that I've loved. And I

476
00:34:50.719 --> 00:34:53.199
also grew up in Montana, so
we you know, going out to find

477
00:34:53.199 --> 00:34:57.920
our Christmas tree meant going out in
the woods. My dad would bring his

478
00:34:58.039 --> 00:35:02.880
axe and we would set the day
and decide which tree we wanted and cut

479
00:35:02.920 --> 00:35:07.920
it down and bring it home.
And that was always a great fun palftime

480
00:35:07.920 --> 00:35:13.639
that we did every Christmas. And
certainly it's very different here in La finding

481
00:35:13.639 --> 00:35:16.719
a Christmas tree, but I still
do love that tradition of getting a tree

482
00:35:16.760 --> 00:35:22.800
and decorating every year. And do
you still get a fresh tree. We

483
00:35:22.840 --> 00:35:29.159
don't go out and cut our own. But we just actually moved to La

484
00:35:29.639 --> 00:35:36.360
from San Francisco this year, so
I haven't haven't scoped to the whole Christmas

485
00:35:36.400 --> 00:35:38.400
tree seen as much as I should, But I think once Oz was a

486
00:35:38.400 --> 00:35:43.159
little older, we'll try to find
some more fun ways to go get a

487
00:35:43.199 --> 00:35:47.000
tree. There's certainly, you know, plenty of great areas around here,

488
00:35:47.039 --> 00:35:51.960
so m h. And I'm living
here in Dallas now obviously, so we

489
00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:53.280
don't have a lot. There are
places you can do that down here in

490
00:35:53.320 --> 00:35:57.320
Dallas well, believe it or not, if you go out further past the

491
00:35:57.360 --> 00:35:59.880
suburbs. But we did used to
do that when we live in Seattle,

492
00:36:00.039 --> 00:36:04.000
Washington. It was a lovely pastime. So again I wanted to bring up

493
00:36:04.039 --> 00:36:07.559
those kinds of things that would help
our listeners connect also with their memories of

494
00:36:07.639 --> 00:36:13.039
things that they find cherished and lovely
about how they remembered those years, maybe

495
00:36:13.119 --> 00:36:16.760
early on with their family or maybe
maybe very distantly. So that's part of

496
00:36:16.760 --> 00:36:20.119
what I wanted to kind of see
with that. So thank you for also

497
00:36:20.199 --> 00:36:22.960
sharing that too. I have some
memories myself. Yeah, that's great.

498
00:36:24.559 --> 00:36:28.719
Well, time for another quick break
here. I'm Alis Cortes, your host.

499
00:36:28.719 --> 00:36:30.000
We've been on the year with Brandy
Doherty, who is the author of

500
00:36:30.039 --> 00:36:34.800
the New York Times best selling picture
book called The Littlest Pilgrim, as well

501
00:36:34.840 --> 00:36:37.159
as four other Littlest Tales, including
The Little Self, along with many other

502
00:36:37.199 --> 00:36:40.800
notable accomplishments in her writing career.
She and her husband Joe are also new

503
00:36:40.800 --> 00:36:45.840
parents, enjoying their first Christmas with
their son Oslo. After the break,

504
00:36:45.880 --> 00:36:49.000
we'll hear a bit more about one
of her other endeavors that she's had here,

505
00:36:49.119 --> 00:37:06.800
writing and working with Giada de Laurentez. Stay with us, it's your

506
00:37:06.880 --> 00:37:15.079
world. Motivate, change, succeed. Voice America Empowerment dot com. Follow

507
00:37:15.159 --> 00:37:21.320
the Voice America Talk Radio Network on
Twitter. We're at Voice America TRN.

508
00:37:21.639 --> 00:37:24.639
You'll get the latest fix on what's
happening with our shows, this week's featured

509
00:37:24.679 --> 00:37:29.960
guests, and general happenings that you
should know about at the Voice America Talk

510
00:37:30.079 --> 00:37:32.800
Radio Network. Now, you don't
have to miss anything when you're away from

511
00:37:32.800 --> 00:37:37.159
your home or office. Just go
to Twitter dot com, forward slash Voice

512
00:37:37.199 --> 00:37:44.559
America TRN, or follow along with
us at Voice America TRN the Voice America

513
00:37:44.679 --> 00:37:49.119
Talk Radio Network. We're on the
cutting edge of social media. Can you

514
00:37:49.239 --> 00:37:53.880
keep up? If you think you've
seen online TV before, let us surprise

515
00:37:53.960 --> 00:37:58.960
you. Voice America dot TV is
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516
00:37:58.960 --> 00:38:00.960
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Multiple channels, a state of the art

517
00:38:01.039 --> 00:38:05.719
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518
00:38:05.880 --> 00:38:08.679
It's exactly what you want when you
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519
00:38:08.920 --> 00:38:14.000
From health and wellness to business,
sports and everything in between. Discover our

520
00:38:14.119 --> 00:38:19.280
new world. Visit Voice America dot
TV now and experience the future of online

521
00:38:19.320 --> 00:38:27.360
television. Voice America dot TV.
It's your world. Motivate, change,

522
00:38:27.480 --> 00:38:42.960
succeed. Voice America Empowerment dot com. This is working on purpose with Elise

523
00:38:43.039 --> 00:38:46.199
Cortes. To reach our program today, please call in to one triple eight

524
00:38:46.360 --> 00:38:51.800
three four six nine one four one. Again, that's one triple eight three

525
00:38:51.840 --> 00:38:55.280
four six nine one four one.
You may also send an email to Alease

526
00:38:55.679 --> 00:39:02.639
Alisee at elise Cortes us dot com. Now back to Working on Purpose.

527
00:39:05.320 --> 00:39:07.119
Thanks for staying with us, and
welcome back to your Working on Purpose program.

528
00:39:07.159 --> 00:39:10.320
I'm Alis Cortez, your host if
you're just joining us. My guest

529
00:39:10.360 --> 00:39:15.320
is Brandy Doherty, who has written
five Littlest Tales books, including the Littlest

530
00:39:15.360 --> 00:39:20.280
Christmas Star, three middle grade novels
that picks our picture book, and partnered

531
00:39:20.320 --> 00:39:23.239
with celebrity chef Giada de Laurentis to
write four books in the Recipe for Adventure

532
00:39:23.360 --> 00:39:28.440
series. She jogued today from Los
Angeles, California. We had her read

533
00:39:28.519 --> 00:39:30.519
a couple couple of times here from
two of her books, and she's been

534
00:39:30.519 --> 00:39:34.920
talking about her own connection to her
work and how she writes. Next,

535
00:39:34.960 --> 00:39:37.039
i'd love to hear you talk a
little bit about your collaboration with that celebrity

536
00:39:37.119 --> 00:39:42.000
chef, Giada de Laurentis. First, how did you meet her? And

537
00:39:42.079 --> 00:39:46.920
what's that about? What's the connection
there? So my agent was connected with

538
00:39:47.079 --> 00:39:53.400
Giada's children's book publisher, so they
were looking for someone to pick up the

539
00:39:53.480 --> 00:39:59.519
second set of books in her series, and everyone thought that we would be

540
00:39:59.559 --> 00:40:05.239
a great So it came about through
that connection through my agent and her editor,

541
00:40:05.280 --> 00:40:12.320
and it was a super fun process, and so four books the Recipe

542
00:40:12.360 --> 00:40:15.440
for Adventure series. I haven't yet
picked this up. I will because my

543
00:40:15.519 --> 00:40:19.440
daughter is an aspiring budding chef herself. In fact, you know, the

544
00:40:19.480 --> 00:40:22.440
reason that she likes to cook,
it might be interesting to note is that

545
00:40:22.960 --> 00:40:27.199
she is very interested to help people
connect back to their earlier memories based on

546
00:40:27.320 --> 00:40:30.039
their sense, which I think is
pretty remarkable for a twelve year old to

547
00:40:30.079 --> 00:40:34.440
conceptualize. Wow, isn't that cool? I mean, I'm just very proud

548
00:40:34.440 --> 00:40:36.280
of her, but I think that's
really cool. That's one of the things

549
00:40:36.280 --> 00:40:40.239
that she's aspiring to do in her
work. So what's this series about?

550
00:40:40.280 --> 00:40:44.079
I mean, are these recipe books
or is there stories in there? What

551
00:40:44.079 --> 00:40:50.320
are they like? So they're a
great mix because they are fiction stories.

552
00:40:50.320 --> 00:40:57.280
They're chapter books, and they follow
a brother and sister who who like to

553
00:40:57.320 --> 00:41:00.480
cook with their great aunt who comes
to stay with them, and some of

554
00:41:00.519 --> 00:41:07.199
her recipes actually turn out to be
magical and transport them to different cities.

555
00:41:07.199 --> 00:41:14.039
So each book is set in a
different city where the kids go and have

556
00:41:14.280 --> 00:41:19.199
a adventure where they meet other kids
their age and they learn about the local

557
00:41:19.440 --> 00:41:23.480
food and culture in that place.
So it's a lot of fun. And

558
00:41:23.519 --> 00:41:29.199
then each book also has two recipes
at the back that relate to the food

559
00:41:29.480 --> 00:41:34.159
that the kids learned about in the
story. I love it. I'm totally

560
00:41:34.199 --> 00:41:37.079
getting these things. Is there a
certain age range that you're trying to appeal

561
00:41:37.119 --> 00:41:42.400
to? They are, I would
say they're a little bit younger than your

562
00:41:42.480 --> 00:41:46.000
daughter, probably more in lives like
seven to ten year old range. But

563
00:41:46.760 --> 00:41:51.400
I think because you know, there's
each book, because it's based in a

564
00:41:51.440 --> 00:41:57.599
different city, there's lots to learn
about geography and culture and food, So

565
00:41:57.960 --> 00:42:00.960
I think there's a lot that's really
appealing for them for a wide range.

566
00:42:01.199 --> 00:42:04.480
I love it. I'm totally down
with it. Even if it's a little

567
00:42:04.480 --> 00:42:07.320
bit younger genre for my daughter,
she will love it and I will too,

568
00:42:07.400 --> 00:42:12.639
So I'm totally going to pick those
up. And since you've partnered with

569
00:42:12.639 --> 00:42:14.920
the chef, do you like to
cook? Is a part of what you

570
00:42:14.960 --> 00:42:16.360
like to do? You mention making
cookies, Christmas cookies, but are you

571
00:42:16.400 --> 00:42:22.360
a person who likes to cook too. I like the idea of cooking.

572
00:42:22.599 --> 00:42:27.920
I'm definitely getting better at it.
But that was one thing that was really

573
00:42:27.920 --> 00:42:30.800
fun, you know, working on
these stories. I went back and watched

574
00:42:30.800 --> 00:42:35.599
a lot of Giata's cooking shows and
spent a lot of time looking at her

575
00:42:35.679 --> 00:42:38.800
recipes, and so I made a
lot of her recipes too, just to

576
00:42:38.440 --> 00:42:44.639
get in that mode. And so
that has inspired me to work on my

577
00:42:44.679 --> 00:42:50.000
cooking skills a bit more, and
that's been a lot of fun, you

578
00:42:50.039 --> 00:42:52.599
know. I have to say,
for me, there's so much that I'm

579
00:42:52.599 --> 00:42:55.760
sitting or thinking about as I think
about the world of cooking and what happens

580
00:42:55.760 --> 00:42:59.800
in the kitchen, what does that
mean to relationships and connections and even Christmas?

581
00:42:59.920 --> 00:43:01.719
I have to I want to share
something with you really quick about my

582
00:43:01.800 --> 00:43:07.800
grandmother and a cooking or a cookie
adventure that I had that it maybe's pertinent

583
00:43:07.840 --> 00:43:09.880
to all this, but I can
tell you that part of my daughter's connection

584
00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:14.239
to cooking, I know has happened
because when we're in the kitchen together,

585
00:43:14.320 --> 00:43:16.320
she asked me to tell stories about, you know, what was it like

586
00:43:16.360 --> 00:43:19.800
when you were a kid, And
so I told her this story, and

587
00:43:19.840 --> 00:43:22.639
she's never forgotten it. So it
goes like this. I was probably in

588
00:43:24.079 --> 00:43:28.079
I don't know, third or fourth
grade, and my mother had told my

589
00:43:28.280 --> 00:43:30.800
dear lovely grandmother that I started making
cookies, and she was pretty proud of

590
00:43:30.840 --> 00:43:35.679
me, and I've thought that was
great. So when I was there visiting

591
00:43:35.679 --> 00:43:38.639
my grandma one summer, she mentioned, your mom tells me that you make

592
00:43:38.679 --> 00:43:43.039
pretty good cookies. And I sat
up straight, very proudly, and I

593
00:43:43.079 --> 00:43:45.079
said, I do make cook cookies, and would you like me to make

594
00:43:45.239 --> 00:43:47.960
some? And of course I'm sure
she was thinking to herself, yes,

595
00:43:49.000 --> 00:43:52.559
anything to keep you busy, Please
go and make some cookies. So I

596
00:43:52.599 --> 00:43:54.800
set off into the kitchen to make
these chocolate chip cookies. And I made

597
00:43:54.800 --> 00:44:00.000
all the dough and got the first
batch into the oven, and I looked

598
00:44:00.079 --> 00:44:02.599
around her kitchen, Brandy and I
had completely destroyed it. I mean there

599
00:44:02.679 --> 00:44:07.400
was flour everywhere, there was butter
underneath the cabinets, there was stuff on

600
00:44:07.440 --> 00:44:10.719
the floor. And I was horrified
because my grandmother was a fantastic baker and

601
00:44:10.800 --> 00:44:15.559
was very clean in her kitchen and
always kept things just so. So I

602
00:44:15.559 --> 00:44:17.039
set out in a frenzy to clean
up the big mess that I made.

603
00:44:19.400 --> 00:44:22.440
Well, all of a sudden,
I got this strange little scent that I

604
00:44:22.559 --> 00:44:25.559
was something seems odd, And all
of a sudden, my grandmother from across

605
00:44:25.599 --> 00:44:30.679
the room says, are the cookies
ready? And I at that moment,

606
00:44:30.719 --> 00:44:32.880
went, oh my gosh, the
cookies are in the oven still, and

607
00:44:32.920 --> 00:44:37.039
that horrible feeling went over me,
like, oh my god, I burned

608
00:44:37.039 --> 00:44:38.519
the cookies. And so I opened
the oven door, and I kid you

609
00:44:38.599 --> 00:44:44.039
not, Brandy. I mean this
waft of smoke comes billowing out of the

610
00:44:44.079 --> 00:44:49.280
oven, and my heart sank to
the bottom of my gut. And my

611
00:44:49.360 --> 00:44:52.760
grandmother and her sweet little voice call
from across the room, bring me one,

612
00:44:52.840 --> 00:44:55.079
dear, let me try one.
So I'm, you know, just

613
00:44:55.159 --> 00:45:02.159
an all dread. I take this, you know, literally smoking pan across

614
00:45:02.159 --> 00:45:07.079
the room. It's literally smoking as
I'm walking along, and my sweet little

615
00:45:07.119 --> 00:45:10.400
dear grandmother takes her delicate little hands
and she takes one of these, you

616
00:45:10.440 --> 00:45:15.000
know, smoke laced cookies and puts
it to her lips and says, that's

617
00:45:15.079 --> 00:45:21.559
the best cookie I've ever had.
And at that point, at that point,

618
00:45:21.599 --> 00:45:23.119
I was like, you know,
victorious, like I am a good

619
00:45:23.199 --> 00:45:27.920
cookie maker. I knew I was. I am, and I have told

620
00:45:27.960 --> 00:45:30.679
that story so many years, so
many times over the years, and the

621
00:45:30.760 --> 00:45:32.960
idea is is that you know how
important it is to have that encouragement and

622
00:45:32.960 --> 00:45:37.559
what does it mean to be in
the kitchen with your loved ones, and

623
00:45:37.599 --> 00:45:42.079
so you know, when you talk
about cooking and kids, that's what comes

624
00:45:42.079 --> 00:45:44.679
to my mind. So it was
really important to me, and here I

625
00:45:44.719 --> 00:45:47.079
am. It still makes me cry
when when I hear that myself, tell

626
00:45:47.079 --> 00:45:50.480
that story and tell to somebody else, it still gives me a tear.

627
00:45:50.599 --> 00:45:55.039
So it matters. Yeah, absolutely, Yeah. I loved being a part

628
00:45:55.039 --> 00:46:00.639
of a series that was about families
coming together to cook. Every book in

629
00:46:00.679 --> 00:46:04.440
the series has the family cooking together, and then when they go to a

630
00:46:04.480 --> 00:46:07.679
city, they're cooking with a new
family. And I think that's probably my

631
00:46:07.760 --> 00:46:13.679
favorite Christmas tradition, is just bringing
family together and making a big meal and

632
00:46:13.719 --> 00:46:19.519
sitting down with everyone. It's so
important, it really is. And my

633
00:46:19.840 --> 00:46:22.679
mother in law is also a chef, so she's also cooking with my daughter

634
00:46:22.679 --> 00:46:25.000
all the time and making memories and
stuff and things are always festive, so

635
00:46:25.000 --> 00:46:28.440
I think there's something to that is
probably part of the reason that she wants

636
00:46:28.440 --> 00:46:30.559
to be a chef too, so
hopefully she'll keep it up. We'll see.

637
00:46:31.280 --> 00:46:36.559
Yeah, that's great, well beyond
kids, and I'm intrigued to hear

638
00:46:36.559 --> 00:46:39.000
a little bit more about those those
three middle grade novels that you mentioned.

639
00:46:39.840 --> 00:46:45.000
So obviously you don't write just for
children. You're also writing for younger adults,

640
00:46:45.039 --> 00:46:46.639
if you will. So what's one
first, what's the age range that

641
00:46:46.559 --> 00:46:50.400
that those are intended for? And
can you tell us a little bit about

642
00:46:50.400 --> 00:46:58.360
those books. Yeah, so those
books are generally for kids around ten to

643
00:46:58.480 --> 00:47:02.800
thirteen years old, a little bit
above the chapter book age. And I've

644
00:47:02.800 --> 00:47:08.599
written a couple of friendship novels and
then a novel that has a bit of

645
00:47:08.599 --> 00:47:15.239
a spooky magic element to it called
Misfortune, And those are those all features

646
00:47:15.320 --> 00:47:21.079
and strong girl characters, you know, navigating friendships and a little bit of

647
00:47:21.360 --> 00:47:29.519
boys and and family stuff. So
I've always really enjoyed writing at that age

648
00:47:29.599 --> 00:47:34.480
level too. I think ultimately,
I think my inner voice is probably close

649
00:47:34.519 --> 00:47:37.880
to a ten year old girl.
I remember that time so vividly, and

650
00:47:38.760 --> 00:47:45.000
that's just such a transitional age where
you know, there's just you're getting a

651
00:47:45.039 --> 00:47:50.199
lot of independence and there's a lot
more happening in school, and so I

652
00:47:50.239 --> 00:47:54.159
think that that writing for that age
had always been a really a sweet spot

653
00:47:54.239 --> 00:47:59.440
for me. And so you mentioned
it's a whole different process, right,

654
00:47:59.480 --> 00:48:01.480
So these or these are a full
chapter books that you have to plan out

655
00:48:01.480 --> 00:48:06.199
and plan your characters and everything else. It sounds like it's it must be

656
00:48:06.280 --> 00:48:08.639
much more intense than the picture books. Is that true or maybe it's not

657
00:48:08.639 --> 00:48:13.400
true. I find it to be. I think, I mean, writing

658
00:48:13.400 --> 00:48:17.480
picture books is also can be intense
because you need to tell a story with

659
00:48:17.519 --> 00:48:22.000
so few words, and that can
be equally of hard. But I think,

660
00:48:22.079 --> 00:48:28.880
you know, building out a world
with such well defined characters, you

661
00:48:28.960 --> 00:48:31.920
have to, you know, kind
of think of them as real people with

662
00:48:32.320 --> 00:48:38.920
real defined personalities and kind of envision
them walking around in the world having experiences,

663
00:48:38.960 --> 00:48:45.400
so that you make sure that your
characters aren't one dimensional and do have

664
00:48:45.440 --> 00:48:50.920
that kind of fully developed appeal to
them. So there's a lot. I

665
00:48:50.920 --> 00:48:54.280
think there's a lot that goes into
that, for sure, because you're right,

666
00:48:54.280 --> 00:48:57.119
you know, when you think about
the picture books, means so much

667
00:48:57.159 --> 00:48:59.679
of the book. I mean,
it is definitely the words and the story,

668
00:48:59.679 --> 00:49:01.599
for sure, but the picture does
certainly add and you know, I

669
00:49:01.679 --> 00:49:05.119
have to ask it along those lines. I didn't ask you this before,

670
00:49:05.159 --> 00:49:07.639
but it looks like you've at least
illustrated with a couple of your books with

671
00:49:07.760 --> 00:49:13.760
Kirsten Richards. How did you find
her and how how how did you collaborate

672
00:49:13.800 --> 00:49:19.400
together? So that was really through
the through my editor at the publishing house.

673
00:49:19.960 --> 00:49:24.159
I you know, was really lucky
to work really closely with my editor,

674
00:49:24.199 --> 00:49:29.719
but ultimately the illustrator choices up to
them. So, I mean,

675
00:49:29.840 --> 00:49:36.960
I think her art is absolutely perfect
and super sweet. So I wasn't all

676
00:49:37.000 --> 00:49:40.159
disappointed not being able to choose that
person because she's exactly who I would have

677
00:49:40.239 --> 00:49:45.440
chosen. So so yeah, it's
you know, I got to see some

678
00:49:45.480 --> 00:49:51.320
early sketches through my editor and and
that was really fun to kind of see

679
00:49:51.360 --> 00:49:57.440
the characters and the colors and and
everything evolved as the art was finished.

680
00:49:58.519 --> 00:50:00.960
Yeah. I think the illustrations are
just the sweetest thing ever. They are

681
00:50:01.119 --> 00:50:05.599
wonderful. And you know, that
does make me think, though, how

682
00:50:05.599 --> 00:50:07.599
does it work? I mean,
do you write this story and then the

683
00:50:07.639 --> 00:50:10.000
pictures come after? Is it a
collaboration throughout or how does it work?

684
00:50:12.280 --> 00:50:15.639
Yeah? It's interesting because you know, and again this is something that's different

685
00:50:15.679 --> 00:50:20.920
for all authors and illustrators. Some
of them do work really closely together.

686
00:50:21.599 --> 00:50:27.079
A lot of times they are chosen
separately. So I didn't have a very

687
00:50:27.079 --> 00:50:31.960
collaborative process. It was I wrote
a story and then and then the illustrator

688
00:50:32.000 --> 00:50:38.159
would take the finished story and do
the art after. But I think,

689
00:50:38.360 --> 00:50:44.920
you know, just finding the right
person to connect and someone who who really

690
00:50:44.920 --> 00:50:49.480
connects with the story and finds it
appealing, then their art is going to

691
00:50:49.519 --> 00:50:52.000
carry that through and you're going to
feel that connection. Even if there wasn't

692
00:50:52.480 --> 00:50:59.119
a lot of collaboration involved in the
process, it seems like such an important

693
00:50:59.119 --> 00:51:04.159
synergistic partnership. And I will confess
that I've certainly hoped that at some point

694
00:51:04.159 --> 00:51:06.159
my daughter and I could do something
like that. For the longest time,

695
00:51:06.159 --> 00:51:09.280
she was very interested in art,
not as much as she's not so much

696
00:51:09.320 --> 00:51:12.159
now as she used to, So
I don't know if this was ever going

697
00:51:12.199 --> 00:51:16.119
to go on, but certainly have
talked about the prospect of writing a book

698
00:51:16.159 --> 00:51:20.760
together and that she would certainly do
the illustrations. Are we crazy or does

699
00:51:20.760 --> 00:51:24.760
that actually happen with parents and children? I think it can. I mean,

700
00:51:24.840 --> 00:51:30.199
absolutely anything is possible. And I
know that there are plenty of people

701
00:51:30.199 --> 00:51:37.239
who who come to a publisher with
that collaboration already, you know, kind

702
00:51:37.239 --> 00:51:39.559
of as a package deal. And
I think there's something really special about that

703
00:51:39.599 --> 00:51:45.480
too, because people can see how
well thought out it was as a whole

704
00:51:45.559 --> 00:51:50.639
project. So yeah, I think
there's something really nice about that. Well,

705
00:51:50.639 --> 00:51:52.599
we'll see if it happens. I
don't know. Well, let me

706
00:51:53.000 --> 00:51:58.360
posted, Okay, one of those
things that's always been on my list,

707
00:51:58.440 --> 00:52:01.400
So we'll see. Well, we're
coming to the close of the program already.

708
00:52:01.480 --> 00:52:04.320
We've only got a few minutes left
here. So I have two more

709
00:52:04.400 --> 00:52:07.159
questions for you if I can,
Brandy. So, this program is really

710
00:52:07.159 --> 00:52:09.760
about the world of work. I'll
people can more meaningfully connect with it,

711
00:52:09.800 --> 00:52:14.199
and so I would love to hear
your thoughts about you know, what would

712
00:52:14.239 --> 00:52:16.280
you like to share with listeners regarding
work today. So the show is called

713
00:52:16.320 --> 00:52:19.880
Working on Purpose. The idea is
to get people to more meaningfully connect to

714
00:52:19.960 --> 00:52:22.119
their purpose or do their work in
a work purposeful way however it suits them.

715
00:52:22.599 --> 00:52:27.119
So how would you comment to our
listeners about work and how you connect

716
00:52:27.159 --> 00:52:30.679
to it. Well, I think
being able to find a job that you

717
00:52:30.760 --> 00:52:36.400
love and that brings you more than
just a paycheck is a really wonderful thing,

718
00:52:37.079 --> 00:52:42.679
and I definitely feel very lucky to
have found that. It's certainly very

719
00:52:42.679 --> 00:52:46.400
difficult sometimes to make a living doing
what you love, and you know,

720
00:52:46.440 --> 00:52:51.800
I'm also lucky because my husband's work
supports us in a way that allows me

721
00:52:51.840 --> 00:52:55.719
to focus on writing. If I
were supporting myself entirely on my own,

722
00:52:55.800 --> 00:53:01.960
then I would have to have another
job. But I really loved working in

723
00:53:02.000 --> 00:53:07.079
the publishing world, so I think
that I would absolutely return to that because

724
00:53:07.880 --> 00:53:14.320
it keeps me close to books and
writing and doing what I love. So

725
00:53:15.360 --> 00:53:19.719
I think even if you can't necessarily
make a living, even at least right

726
00:53:19.760 --> 00:53:23.920
away, doing what you're passionate about, it's important to try to get as

727
00:53:23.960 --> 00:53:30.599
close to that as you can.
In many ways, I think finding work

728
00:53:30.599 --> 00:53:36.320
that fits with your passion or that
allows you the free time to do what

729
00:53:36.360 --> 00:53:40.800
you love is really important. So
even if it's finding a boss or a

730
00:53:40.840 --> 00:53:45.760
work environment that encourages you to pursue
what you're interested in, or you know,

731
00:53:45.840 --> 00:53:52.360
to take classes or whatever it may
be, I think that's really significant.

732
00:53:52.719 --> 00:53:59.280
And you know, I have such
a supportive community of people at Scholastic

733
00:53:59.400 --> 00:54:04.760
who really encourage me to write.
And I don't think if I hadn't had

734
00:54:04.760 --> 00:54:08.039
that, I don't think I would
have had the courage to become a full

735
00:54:08.079 --> 00:54:12.800
time writer. So I think that's
the other piece that's really important, is

736
00:54:12.840 --> 00:54:19.519
to surround yourself with supportive people that
believe in what you're doing, great advice,

737
00:54:19.559 --> 00:54:23.239
completely agree of course. And finally, and maybe say thirty seconds or

738
00:54:23.239 --> 00:54:27.239
so, or maybe a minute,
what Christmas wish would you like to leave

739
00:54:27.239 --> 00:54:30.119
our listeners with today? We're two
days away from Christmas. What would you

740
00:54:30.159 --> 00:54:34.519
like then to send them off with? I really, I think, you

741
00:54:34.559 --> 00:54:37.760
know, there's a lot of there's
a lot of awful things going on in

742
00:54:37.760 --> 00:54:42.280
the world these days, and a
lot of fear, and a lot of

743
00:54:42.639 --> 00:54:45.400
people in this place, you know, displaced from their homes, and so

744
00:54:45.599 --> 00:54:53.000
I think my Christmas wish is really
that everyone gives and receives as much compassion

745
00:54:53.119 --> 00:54:59.760
and tolerance as they possibly can.
I think that is a wonderful Christmas wish.

746
00:55:00.159 --> 00:55:02.760
Thank you, And let me also
say I've certainly enjoyed very much celebrating

747
00:55:02.840 --> 00:55:06.199
Christmas with you. It's been wonderful
to have you on the show. Brandy,

748
00:55:06.199 --> 00:55:08.320
Thank you for taking time away and
for reading and celebrating with us.

749
00:55:08.440 --> 00:55:12.679
It's been great to have you.
Thank you for having me. I've had

750
00:55:12.679 --> 00:55:15.039
a really wonderful time. I'm so
glad I found you and that you said

751
00:55:15.159 --> 00:55:19.519
yes. So if you want to
learn more about Brandy Doherty, and I

752
00:55:19.559 --> 00:55:23.679
hope that you will, please do
check out her website at www dot brandydherty

753
00:55:23.719 --> 00:55:30.239
dot com. Let me spell that
b R A N D I d O

754
00:55:30.880 --> 00:55:35.719
U g h E r t y
dot com Brandyderty dot com. You can

755
00:55:35.719 --> 00:55:37.920
find her works on Amazon as well. I hope that you will consider picking

756
00:55:37.960 --> 00:55:40.639
up book or two. This has
been wonderful to be able to hear her

757
00:55:40.679 --> 00:55:44.679
work, so I hope Look.
I look forward to seeing you next week.

758
00:55:44.800 --> 00:55:46.559
And don't forget we've been talking about
work and the holidays, but workers

759
00:55:46.559 --> 00:55:50.599
at least one third of our lives, so let's work on purpose and happy

760
00:55:50.599 --> 00:56:00.559
holidays. We hope you've enjoyed this
week's program. Be sure to tune into

761
00:56:00.679 --> 00:56:05.920
Working on Purpose featuring your host Elise
Cortes, every Wednesday at six pm Eastern

762
00:56:05.960 --> 00:56:09.639
Time three pm Pacific time on the
Voice America Empowerment Channel. This week,

763
00:56:09.800 --> 00:56:25.280
find your life's purpose at work Thanks
again for listening to the preceding program brought

764
00:56:25.280 --> 00:56:30.480
to you on the Voice America Empowerment
Channel. For more information about our network

765
00:56:30.559 --> 00:56:34.559
and to check out additional show hosts
and topics of interest, please visit Voice

766
00:56:34.559 --> 00:56:39.079
America Empowerments dot com. The Voice
America Talk Radio Network is the worldwide leader

767
00:56:39.079 --> 00:56:44.480
in live Internet talk radio. Visit
Voice America dot com. The views and

768
00:56:44.559 --> 00:56:47.320
ideas expressed on the preceding programmer strictly
those of the host. Are guests and

769
00:56:47.360 --> 00:56:52.239
do not necessarily reflect the views and
ideas held by the Voice America Talk Radio

770
00:56:52.320 --> 00:56:53.199
Network it's staff and management