Author Katelynn Caswell spills the beans about her delightful children’s book “Unique Friends” with Erica. The book follows Ellie the elephant on a journey of self-acceptance and celebrating what makes her stand out. Through her tale, she sprinkles lessons on love and grit for little readers.
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TRANSCRIPTION:
Erica:
Ellie was a lonely little elephant with only a nub for a nose. She was getting teased for being different, but then she found some new friends who told her it was okay to be unique. Hi, I’m Erica. It’s such a privilege to welcome Katelynn Caswell to the show. She’s part of the SPIRIT 105.3 family and author of the brand new beautiful book, unique friends. Congratulations on your book, baby.
Katelynn Caswell:
Thank you.
Erica:
So, you had a dream of writing a book, and I can’t wait to get into why you wrote this one. But first, what does it feel like knowing that your dream has come true?
Katelynn Caswell:
Amazing.
Erica:
That’s so good. What do you say to somebody who has a dream in their heart, but they’re a busy person? I know you’re a mom. What advice would you give them for making their dream come true?
Katelynn Caswell:
I would say just never give up. Whether it’s something big or small, and no matter how old you are, I mean, I’ve had this dream since I was a kid and I’m just now accomplishing it. But yeah, just to never give up.
Erica:
How did you make the time, Katelynn?
Katelynn Caswell:
When my kids are asleep, when they’re playing outside, kind of in the little moments. Even if it’s just a couple minutes here and there, it’s better than not doing it at all.
Erica:
Hey, that’s really good advice. And do you drink coffee, tea, soda? What’s your little go-to drink while you’re writing?
Katelynn Caswell:
I usually don’t really drink anything while I’m writing. I usually do it on my laptop, so I don’t want to spill on it.
Erica:
Oh my goodness. I totally resonate with that. Alright, let’s talk about your book. It’s so beautiful. It’s called Unique Friends. Tell us about it.
Katelynn Caswell:
Yeah, so I wrote it when I was probably like nine or 10. I wasn’t really necessarily bold in myself, but I moved around a lot. So moving around basically every school year, it was really hard to make friends and just reading and writing really helped me. I had lots of friends and books, and so it was just my go-to for when I was lonely.
Erica:
That’s extraordinary to me. So what do you want a child to feel after they’ve read your book or after mom or dad has read it to them?
Katelynn Caswell:
I want them to feel that no matter what they’re loved, even if they do have some sort of disability or they’re being bullied for something at school. I just want them to be able to go out and show kindness to other children and show how we should be treated and how we should treat others.
Erica:
I imagine that you have read to your children over the years. There is something about sitting down on the couch or snuggling up in bed with your child and reading them a story. It’s just one of the best things about being a parent, I feel like.
Katelynn Caswell:
Yeah.
Erica:
And where it is, lots of kids are curling up with your book. It’s doing really well on Amazon, isn’t it?
Katelynn Caswell:
Honestly, it’s shocking. I didn’t really think that it would do so well. I don’t know. I guess authors just kind of have that feeling like, oh, no one’s going to read my book. No one’s going to love it. But it’s honestly shocking to see it being in the number one charts and even being in number 50 spot and stuff in some categories is just amazing to me.
Erica:
I’m so happy for you, Katelynn, who helped you make this dream come true.
Katelynn Caswell:
First, of course, I want to say thanks to God because without God it wouldn’t be possible. I prayed many times over this book and he laid out so many opportunities for me to be able to publish my book. And then I want to thank my sister and my mom for being my biggest fan and promoting it before it’s even done. And also my illustrator, Cassie Pupovac. She has done an amazing job and I’m so glad that I found her.
Erica:
Wow.
Katelynn Caswell:
But also my mother-in-law, Marsha for proofreading and editing for me, and then my husband for being my number one supporter.
Erica:
That is beautiful. Oh, you know what, I would love to ask you, who did you dedicate the book to? Because that’s one of my favorite part about reading is opening the book and seeing who the author chose.
Katelynn Caswell:
I like doing that too. That’s one of my favorites also. So, I dedicated it to my Annie Ree, who she passed away about 15 years ago now, and I told her a long time ago when I was a little kid that my first published book was going to be dedicated to her. So it’s dedicated to her and then it’s dedicated to my two daughters, Amelia and Grace.
Erica:
That is a cool mom move. And I am sure that your aunt has her own copy in heaven. Author Katelynn Caswell. Thank you for being on SPIRIT 105.3. You’re a joy.
Katelynn Caswell:
Thank you so much.
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