Interview with Children's Author, Kasey Kellem
1. Could you tell us a little about yourself? Presently, I am a high school counselor and have been in education for 22 years. Prior to counseling I was a special education teacher at both the elementary and middle school levels. I have a bachelors, masters and educational specialist degree all in various areas of education. I am a wife, step mother of two, aunt to 10 children, a daughter and have three sisters. I enjoy golfing, skiing and working out. My mission in life is to motivate and inspire children to overcome obstacles and challenges: To be resilient!
2. Describe your
desk/workspace. I like to
break up where I work to keep my thinking fresh, so I work
either in my office or my Ma’am cave. My office is simply an extra
bedroom transformed into an office. It
is set up like a business office with all of the office supplies to
market my books. I can stay focused and on task in the office area. I also utilize my ma’am cave which is our
basement that I redid once the kids went off to college. It has an entire spa
like work out area with a sauna, yoga area and work out machinery. I find
myself able to think more clearly while in that area! I find my creative juices
revitalize while I relax in the sauna or work out. Also, there is a family room
area in the Ma’am cave where I work. I
simply set up my writing in that area where it is very warm , welcoming,
peaceful and quiet.
3. Do you have a favorite quote? “You are never
to old to enjoy a happy childhood”-often stated by my 71 year old father who
plays hard and “If this is the worst thing you ever face, aren’t you lucky”
which was often stated by my mother!
4. What are you currently reading? “While They
Slept” by Katheryn Harrison. It is a true story where the author
interviews a young girl whose parents
and sister were killed by her brother. She is quite resilient and
overcomes all that she experienced with the trauma of losing her family to such
violence!
5. What is the best advice you've ever received? To
follow my dreams and to write a book!
6. If you could have coffee with anyone (living or
dead, real or fictional), who would it be and why? My deceased mother
because I miss her and want to tell her one more time how much I love her and
appreciate her believing in me and inspiring me to be the person I am today. I
think she would be very impressed with my books and proud of me!
7. What are your top three favorite books and why?
Any
books by David Sedaris, Augustine Burrows,
& Jen Lancaster. They all
write about their own resiliency and lives through humor. They all
seemed to have faced some difficult situations in their lives, yet they
overcame them and became successful authors!
8. What was your favorite book as a child and why? I loved all of the Dr. Suess books because
they were whimsical and silly! I could get lost with my imagination with each
page! I loved the silly rhymes and the vibrant illustrations. I still have the
entire collection of Dr. Suess books!
9. What would you say is your most interesting writing
quirk? I am definitely left brained and have to have everything symmetrical
or patterned. Each page of each book is similar. The concept of the book
(Believe) is on the left page and the rest of the message is on the right
page. Believe…in yourself. Believe…..in your dreams, Believe….in high hopes.
10. Do you write full-time or part-time? Part-time.
I work during the day and work on my books after work. Most of my books were
completed during the summer when I was off of work. I tweaked the details after
work once school started up again.
11. What are your current marketing strategies for
Believe? I feel like I have a new college major in marketing! I Have
utilized every social media (facebook, twitter, youtube, business website, blog
and amazon) I sent my book , author bio and book release to Ellen, Oprah, Robyn
Swoboda, the libraries, several preschools and daycares, all of the local
newspapers and magazines. We have been in two newspapers and two big
newsletters around town. I did a book reading at a day care and had a few book
signings at a church function and craft
fair. I have a book signing at a local library in April and my books are for
loan at four of the local libraries.
12. Could you share about any current writing projects?
I am finishing up the details for LOVE and am just about ready to go to
print, though I need to sell more Believe books to be able to fund the printing
for LOVE. I am also refining my
additional MOM books, Laugh, Relax and Dream. The illustrations and words are
completed, I just need to tweak some details.
13. What would be the best way for readers to contact
you?
MOM
Website
MOM
Blog:
Facebook
Page:
YouTube
(Children’s Authors Show Interview):
LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kasey-kellem/1a/552/94
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/kaseyc7
14. Where can people find your book, Believe:
Halo
International-Believe:
MOM
Website
Amazon:
15. Is there anything else you'd like to share?
††My goal is to have these books in every preschool, school, church and
child’s house so kids everywhere are constantly reminded of the five resiliency
skills.
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