Hello, dear readers, and a happy summer to all of you. I hope that each of you has had a relaxing and enjoyable (and perhaps even delicious – watermelon, fried okra, potato salad) start to the longer, lazier days that we enjoy at this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere. I’m celebrating because TOMORROW (July 9) is the official release date of The Haunted States of America Anthology. My spooky story, “White Thing,” leads off a collection of fifty-two amazing stories from around the country – the perfect gift for summer reading and then for re-reading in the fall, closer to Halloween. Grab a copy today!
Now, I’m delighted to welcome Stephanie Wildman to First Stories! Stephanie is the author of five children’s books, Breath by Breath (2024) (illustrated by Estefanía Razo; translated into Spanish as Respiro a Respiro by Cecilia Pópulus-Eudave); Treasure Hunt (2022) (illustrated by Estefanía Razo; translated into Spanish as Búsqueda del Tesoro by Cecilia Pópulus-Eudave); and Brave in the Water (2021) (illustrated by Jenni Feidler-Aguilar; translated into Spanish as Valiente en el Agua by Cecilia Pópulus-Eudave), all from Lawley Publishing, became a Professor Emerita after serving as the John A. and Elizabeth H. Sutro Chair at Santa Clara Law. She directed the school’s Center for Social Justice and Public Service. Lawley will publish her fourth picture book Ghost Writer (co-authored with Cecilia Pópulus-Eudave and illustrated by Estefanía Razo) in 2024. Kar-Ben Publishing will release her fifth children’s book, Miri’s Moving Day (co-authored with Adam Chang, illustrated by Dream Chen) in 2024. Stephanie is a grandmother, mother, spouse, friend, good listener, and she can sit “criss-cross apple sauce” thanks to her yoga practice. Learn more about her at http://www.stephaniewildman.com.
So glad to have you with us today, Stephanie!
Stephanie: Thank you for inviting me, Heather!
Me: Congratulations on BOTH of your upcoming picture books! I can’t wait to hear more about them later in our chat. But to start things off, could you tell me about your “first story”? The one that really pushed you to consider publishing. What inspired you to write it? What was it about?
Stephanie: Thank you, Heather, for having me and congratulations on your own picture book Trunk Goes Thunk coming in September!
I’ve been stuck trying to answer your first question, because my writing for children has not been my first opportunity to be published! (you can read more about my own journey to writing for children here). I have been a writer my whole life. I’m an old high school journalist, though the thrill of seeing my name as a byline has never dimmed. In high school, I wrote about cheerleaders, school plays, and school activities. In college, I minored in creative writing, but none of those stories went anywhere. Fast forward to my career as a legal educator, where I wrote many books and articles. When I published Privilege Revealed: How Invisible Preference Undermines America, I wove storytelling – fiction — into the legal theory in order to make the legal concepts more accessible to readers. When I sent a copy of Privilege Revealed to my creative writing teacher, she wrote back: “Now I know what creative writing classes are for.”
Fast forward again to my life as a retired law professor, taking a class in writing for children. I think these are the stories you might mean when you ask about first stories – the ones connected to children’s publications. Before that class I had written a story for a “green” writing contest about a grandmother who saved a huge cardboard box from a stove delivery and who gave clues to her grandson about finding hidden objects, leading to reusing those objects and the box as a puppet theater. That story, with its environmental theme, didn’t win, but the idea of the story stayed with me.
Me: This is great, Stephanie! For those who are writers, it’s pretty hard to identify the exact first story we had, isn’t it? For example, I started typing out little stories when I was six years old, and I dreamed of publishing books one day, but I also discovered that I love science. Like you, I’ve had a few different career paths, but I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity to immerse myself in the publishing industry now and really work at making that my full career now.
Where is your first story now?
Stephanie: I love reporting that that first story became my second picture book Treasure Hunt (2022), illustrated by Estefania Razo and published by Lawley Publishing. The Children’s Book Council selected Treasure Hunt as one of six books to highlight for their 2023 Screen-Free Children’s Booklist. View the complete list here. They chose it again for their Fall 2023 Showcase on Sustainability and the Environment. And the biggest surprise: Chris Castellarin – a first-grade teacher in Canada – made a TV show out of Treasure Hunt! He broadcasts Lessons from the Classroom on Vancouver Island’s Channel 4 – Roger’s Spotlight Community TV. Watch it here. I especially loved seeing my creation – the book Treasure Hunt – evolve into Mr. Castellarin’s imaginative building on the book and its themes in his TV/YouTube version.
Me: WOW!! How exciting to see your first story out in the world and captivating so many imaginations, including a teacher’s! Very cool!
Are there any themes in that story that you can see in your writing today?
Stephanie: Rewriting that original “green” story to make it a picture book meant replacing the grandma character with big brother Luis and introducing the twins Flor and Roberto. The twins’ playful banter, especially the “jinx” game, return in the
subsequent stories in the series – Breath by Breath and Ghost Writer,
continuing the theme of siblings playing and working together. And even though
this book went forward without the grandma character, grandmas and their
connection to children’s well-being continue to play a role in my writing.
Me: I love that your books contain so many family relationships! Re-writing the original story must have taken awhile. Often, it’s hard for writers to re-think their manuscripts completely, but I’ve found that revision (“seeing something anew”) is a remarkable and beautiful thing and often breathes new life into my own writing.
Looking back, what elements of that first story made it unmarketable? Did you receive feedback on that story? What did that feedback teach you?
Stephanie: I did not get any feedback on the story from the contest. But my wonderful writing teacher, and now friend, Maxine Rose Schur, read the story as I tried to make it into a picture book. It was her advice – “if you can take an adult out of a children’s book, then you should” – that led me to imagine the world with the siblings.
Me: Having a community of writing friends is so invaluable! And what great feedback Maxine gave. 🙂
Why is that “first story” special to you? How was it important for your writing journey?
Stephanie: As I mentioned, Treasure Hunt – the picture book incarnation of that first story – has become a series, which even has its own logo! I never imagined writing a series, but each book has evolved from the one before. I love working with Lawley Publishing, the illustrator Estefania Razo, and the Spanish translator Cecilia Populus-Eudave. (All the books are also available in a Spanish language version). The idea for the upcoming release Ghost Writer, which I co-authored with Cecilia, evolved in part from thinking how much fun Estefania would have illustrating a Halloween/Dia de los Muertos story. And her illustrations are fantastic!
Me: This is all so neat to hear, Stephanie! I’m sure you would agree that it’s hard to see where each story/book is going to take us. And so, tell us more about these books! How did you come up with the idea for these books? Do they relate at all to your “first story”?
Stephanie: As I Mentioned, Ghost Writer did become a book because it grew out of that first story and my work with the publishing team. It will be available September 3 in English and in Spanish. Here is the book blurb:
Twins Flor and Roberto and their big brother Luis are back again, just in time for Halloween and Dia de los Muertos. But Halloween reminds them of Julio, their beloved Boston Terrier who’d passed away. From conjuring La Catrina for a Halloween costume to decorating the altar with treats that Julio loved, the twins and Luis combine holiday traditions and come back in touch with happy memories of their pet. Bonus content provides directions for creating papel picado, a Dia de Los Muertos tradition, representing the wind and fragility of life.
And I was lucky to have author and educator Jyoti Gopal write the endorsement blurb on the cover, saying, “What better way to honor their beloved dog Julio than by celebrating both his favorite holidays, Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos? Big brother Luis, and twins, Flor and Roberto, star again in a sweet story about love and tradition, with a fun little mystery thrown in! Fans of Breath by Breath will enjoy this new adventure with the three siblings.”
Finally, I am grateful to have a second book releasing this fall, Miri’s Moving Day, co-authored with Adam Ryan Chang, illustrated by Dream Chen and published by Kar-Ben Publishing. Here is the blurb for Miri:
Miri will miss the Chinese lions in front of her apartment building that have always taken care of her. What will happen to her now that it’s moving day? Fortunately Zayde, her Jewish grandfather, and Yeh Yeh, her Chinese grandfather, have some surprises to help her feel at home in her new apartment. “There are no stone lions to guard your new apartment building, but you can hang this mezuzah at your door,” says Yeh Yeh, presenting her with a beautiful mezuzah. And Zayde also has a gift for Miri, two small stone lions to remind her of the Chinese lions she left behind.
Miri returns to the theme of grandparents’ roles in children’s lives that appeared in that first green story.
Me: These covers are so sweet and lovely!! Congratulations, Stephanie, on these upcoming books and your publishing journey so far!! Both books sound fascinating and like great additions to libraries looking for diverse stories. I’ve included links to pre-order copies of these books below. Thanks again for joining me!
Stephanie: Thanks, Heather, for asking me these questions! It was fun reflecting on
my writing journey and recognizing the recurrent themes.
You can order copies of Stephanie’s books – Ghost Writer and Miri’s Moving Day – by clicking on the titles. Stephanie’s other books are all available on Amazon!
Heather C. Morris 
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