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THE SJ CHILDS SHOW-Advocating for Autistics, One Story at a Time
🎙️ Welcome to The SJ Childs Show Podcast! 🎉
Join Sara Bradford—better known as SJ Childs—as she bridges understanding and advocacy for the neurodivergent community. This podcast shines a light on autism awareness, empowering stories, expert insights, and practical resources for parents, educators, and individuals alike.
Brought to you by The SJ Childs Global Network, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting autistic individuals and their families worldwide, this show is your weekly dose of inspiration and actionable ideas. Visit sjchilds.org to learn more about our mission, find resources, and connect with our growing community.
Catch us on platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Goodpods—or tune in Fridays at 8:30 AM EDT on the Helium Radio Network’s Life Improvement Radio (Channel 1). Together, let’s foster a brighter, more inclusive world! 🌟
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https://sjchilds.myshopify.com/
THE SJ CHILDS SHOW-Advocating for Autistics, One Story at a Time
Episode 294-From Speechwriting to Storytelling: A Journey into Adolescent Fiction with Author Steph Katzovi
What happens when a childhood dream takes an unexpected detour through the world of speechwriting only to emerge as a vibrant career in adolescent fiction? That's what our guest reveals as she recounts her unique journey towards becoming an author, inspired by personal experiences and a flair for capturing diverse voices. Discover how her life as a mom, wife, and writer intertwines, offering a refreshing take on managing a bustling household while nurturing a passion for storytelling. Her books, "Hurricamp" and "Miscommunicamp," embody this lively blend of humor and heart, connecting with readers in ways that are both engaging and deeply personal.
As we explore the power of literature to forge connections, particularly with young readers, our conversation turns to the influence of literary giants like Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume. These authors have left an indelible mark on our guest, driving her belief in the importance of relatable characters that foster a lifelong love for reading. We also discuss the myriad ways books can reach diverse audiences, from traditional hard copies to e-books and audiobooks, ensuring every reader finds their unique gateway to the literary world. The impact of early literacy programs and creative strategies, such as brainstorming and journaling, also come to light, showcasing their crucial role in a writer's toolkit.
Navigating personal identity in the digital age can be as amusing as it is challenging, and our guest shares her humorous encounters with name confusions and the intricacies of personal branding. Through these tales, she emphasizes the importance of dreams and the excitement of future projects, offering a peek into her upcoming literary ventures and the supportive community that surrounds her. Whether you're a seasoned writer or an aspiring one, this episode promises a wealth of inspiration, laughter, and the anticipation of stories yet to come.
Welcome to the SJ Child Show, where a little bit of knowledge can turn fear into understanding. Enjoy the show, hi, and thanks for joining the SG Child Show today. I am here, with. Now. I'm not going to say your first name, right? Because my last name is Frenetic and I can't connect things like that. So nice to have you here.
Speaker 1:It's great to be here. I'm so glad we get to start off laughing. That's a good way to start anything, I think.
Speaker 2:The truth. I love that you said that. Isn't that a beautiful thing to have for yourself to share with other people, especially to share with your families, things like that. Tell us a little bit about yourself, introduction, and what brought you here today.
Speaker 1:Well, I was trying to think of what's the most efficient way to introduce myself because, like you, I wear many hats I'm a mom, I'm a wife, I'm a writer and a whole bunch of other things. But I think you know. Just for purposes of our conversation, I'll tell you a little bit about how I became a writer. It was a very roundabout journey. I knew when I was a little kid that my passion was writing and that's what I wanted to do. But, like any practical child, you realize you can't just jump in feet first and start writing books or whatever it is that you're passionate about first and start writing books or whatever it is that you're passionate about.
Speaker 1:For me, I wanted to go to college and figure out exactly where I could position myself and, as it turned out, I went to law school to realize, maybe I don't become a writer straight away, but I work on my professional writing skills and legal skills and I got the wonderful opportunity to be a speechwriter for many years at a company called Deloitte and I had an amazing person that I got to support, even though he was completely unlike me.
Speaker 1:I got to figure out how to speak in his voice and over the years, I think having that experience really helped me understand how to write for other people's voices, and then, eventually, I got to write in my own voice with the two books that I have published, um, hurricamp and Miscommunicamp, which are both, uh, hopefully funny adolescent series, but they are designed to make you laugh, designed to make you think and hopefully designed to see, uh, the things that you have in common with with these characters and, um, you know, see yourself in different bits and pieces of them. And you know, I think, all of those years that I spent imagining what I would do if I became a writer and then, ultimately, I got to the place that I'm so fortunate to be. It's really just kind of an amazing dream come true to sound a little cliche.
Speaker 2:No, it's wonderful. I have the same experiences, almost like experiences. Totally wanted to be a writer as a child. Also wanted to be a reporter. Oh, interesting Well how about that. Isn't that crazy how things transpire for you in ways that you want them.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, so true. And then just you know, later in life I was a paralegal and that the I love what you said about practicing your writing that way, because I that improved so much in my communication with everything in my life. It was that understanding that legal writing and having to, you know, really research and dig deep into how to present things in ways that people hadn't thought of, or that's what I like to do at least.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's. I love that. You said that, that that is fascinating that way, and then to be able to finally come full circle and write your own experiences and that is such a powerful journey to be on. And you there's a lot of like introspect Tell us about what was that like for you in that process?
Speaker 1:Well, I think you know, for me, and probably like a lot of writers, you take elements from your own life or people that are close to you and you sort of marinate in the experiences, the feelings, the emotions, the senses. You know what you see, what you hear, what you smell senses. You know what you see, what you hear, what you smell, and you know that all as I develop characters and as I think about a plot line, you know what is going to appeal to readers. You know I think back to my younger self and what I would have enjoyed to read about.
Speaker 1:And you know, just thinking about your audience and I'll go back to being a speechwriter, like I got to see firsthand, like telling stories is a super powerful tool and seeing what resonates with people and when they laugh at the right times, when they clap, you know it's super rewarding. And so as I write, I think about how would an audience digest what I'm saying, what's the message I'm trying to get across, what do I want to communicate? And I think, just keeping those senses open in your daily life. You know, I don't know if this answers the question exactly, but you know having experiences in life that you can relate and put on paper, the more powerful your message will be. And so you know, for me, all those years ago, when I said I wanted to be a writer you know it was eight and a half at the time, and while I thought I was quite worldly, I had a lot of living to do in between that and when I got to sit down and actually write.
Speaker 1:So for me it's just being like someone who can absorb their world and then reflect back. You know the distilled elements to really create a powerful message, a powerful story. And you know something that people enjoy reading and, for me, laughing at, because I am one of those big proponents of finding humor in just about everything where it makes sense.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Well, let's talk about a practical thing for our listeners. Well, let's talk about a practical thing for our listeners your mom, your wife, there's housework, there's other work, work, work, work, work, work. How do you tell us kind of what your day looks like when you're going to write? How do you set that time up for yourself?
Speaker 1:I think, first and foremost, you have to sort of visualize how you want your day to go. So you know I'm probably preaching to the choir, but there's a load of laundry in the dryer right now and I you know, under other circumstances I would be like folding it or starting the dishwasher. But you have to really think about OK, I'm going to sit down at my desk, I'm going to be productive. I want to accomplish, whether it's, you know, a certain number of words, a certain number of pages, a chapter, I think just keeping in your mind you know I need to be productive, I want to accomplish whatever it is. It doesn't have to be a humongous goal, like, if you don't have enough time to, you know, spend hours at your desk, then for the next two hours I want to really be focused and, I think, just giving yourself that creative mindset.
Speaker 1:You know some people like to journal or write to get warmed up. I've done that too. There's a book that I read called the Artist's Way. That was really helpful in getting you focused on the garbage out first. Whatever you know, thoughts are going into your head and distracting you from what you really want to be writing about. And then, once you get to sit down with your. If it's a blank page, it's a blank page, or if it's already started, you know, just continuing the process and building upon what you've done. And for me, I'm a compulsive editor, so as soon as I finish something I want to go back and fix it, and you can get very stuck in fixing, fixing, fixing, and so sometimes you know it's just good to get everything out and give yourself a little bit of a break and then go back at a later time and see where it could really be improved and where you you know you got something really good down on paper.
Speaker 2:I love that you said that, because I am a serial proofreader and I was when I worked for a employment attorney and tried to read Intel's employment handbooks.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:Those were fun to read, so enjoying reading kind of took a turn after that.
Speaker 2:And I was proofreading everything I was just talking to turn after that and I was trying to improve reading everything. I was just talking to someone about that. That's hilarious, that conversation, and it's been 20 years since that even happened. So that's hilarious, but it is so. Words are so powerful and they have. Storytelling is so powerful and I think that we're in in everyone doing a disservice when we don't tell our stories because it literally could relate to someone. The smallest things can help bring community and bring this togetherness for people.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:What have you found has been like the audience or feedback that you've received from the books?
Speaker 1:Well, I'm very fortunate that my children are right around the age of my target audiences, which I'd say is eight to 12 year olds. They happen to be boys, but you know, I think the messages that I write about are fairly common adolescent experiences, and one of the best pieces of feedback that I got was quite secondhand. One of my son's classmates read my book over the summer and did a book report about it, and she came into the class and she said this is the best book I've ever read. Now my son was in this class and they heard about what the book was about. They saw the author's name on the cover and they said, hey, isn't that your mom's book? And he says, oh yeah, it was. And then he forgot to tell me about it when he came home.
Speaker 1:So I heard from a different parent that this book was used as a book report. I was like that would have been the best, you know, piece of feedback that I could ever receive about my book. But someone said it was the best book they ever read and my son forgot to tell me. But I don't hold it against him because a lot goes on in the, in the classes during the day and, you know, lunch is exciting and recess is exciting.
Speaker 1:But, um, just hearing about people enjoying my work and it is, I think, to a great extent relatable, and, as you were saying earlier, it's finding those commonalities in life, the things that make us similar in our experiences, in our views, in our thoughts, especially in adolescence, I think is such a great superpower for kids to have.
Speaker 1:It's knowing that you're not alone, knowing that your thoughts and your feelings are important and that other people oftentimes have those same thoughts and feelings, and reading it in a book, where in my books I try and make it positive in the end, so things work out nicely. It's not always the case in life, but having that sort of trajectory where something goes up, something goes down in the book and then all ends well, it's, it's a nice way to sort of give children and, you know, grown up readers as well Just a good, a good feeling that you know there are others out there in the world like you, and you know I'm a big proponent of finding commonality and that's how we connect as humans. And that doesn't stop once you finish middle school. It doesn't stop when you finish high school. It continues on throughout your life. So you know, that's always the search of creating connections in life and I hope to do that with my work.
Speaker 2:Would you say there are any mentors, writers, that you love, that you looked up to in your life, and what kind of that maybe led you to come to these?
Speaker 1:decisions. There are so many influences that I'd like to say I borrowed from as a child. I really loved the quirky characters that Beverly Cleary wrote. Judy Blume one of my all time favorites spoke in such relatable voices that you felt like you knew the characters the Penderwicks which is like just a really timeless story, could take place at any time.
Speaker 1:And then I also have to refer to my mom, who is not an author, she's a retired teacher, but she really taught me the value of learning to read and love reading, and as she read to me when I was a child, she read in these amazing character voices which I adopted when I read to my kids when they were little, and it's just such a great way to help bring characters to life. And so, you know, the more people can read out loud to their kids, the better. I think we make future readers future writers, because it really helped me sort of understand at a really early age that powerful narrative that can come from a well-written book. But a well-read as in read out loud, you know, really makes all the difference. And you know I love literature so much.
Speaker 1:I mean I could go on and on about different authors that I love to read, but I don't want to take up the whole show with that.
Speaker 2:No, I'm really glad because those are some of my favorite readers when I was growing up as well. I excuse me, really loved um James Patterson. Later, when I got into, you know, adolescence, yeah, thrill of reading and everything, but I don't know why I think that I think that job, yeah, experiences from then on. But I love you know, I love audible.
Speaker 2:I listen to books now, and you know that's another thing, um, and I think that probably you as a writer, and just as a reader in general, can appreciate that I love that there's accessibility in so many different formats these days yeah yeah, you have, is your? Uh, tell us about the formats that you have available.
Speaker 1:Um, so far I have just the hard copy and then electronic copy. Someday I think I would love to do an uh, an audible like, where you could do like a it's not books on tape, but uh, where you could listen to it wherever you are. I'm that's, that's a future goal to have, Because, again, like you said, hearing a book is really different than reading it yourself and there are all different types of readers. You know, some people can put on an audio book and like they're walking wherever they have to walk, or they're in the car or you know doing laundry, and they get to listen to a whole book that way. I mean, that's awesome for me, Like I like to sit and turn the pages and see the words and just absorb all the stuff that's on the on the pages and and read a book that way. But now I've gotten to the point where I'll do it on a Kindle, so I have like really large font because I'm getting older, so like it's three words per page and then I have to turn the page.
Speaker 2:I love it. I love it. It's great. The accessibility factor has made it easier for readers everywhere around the world. You know accessibility to reading for for those who who don't have it, and you know it's exciting. I always loved early childhood education and so when do you remember that your baby can read program commercials? I bought them? Yeah, I bought them.
Speaker 2:Oh wow I actually used that on my first my biological child, and he was reading at one and writing at two. He was not speaking until four, so we used the communication that he had learned Like I would have never known that he would have been profoundly autistic and couldn't speak. Like I just thought it was exciting to do the your Baby Could Read program. Like I was, I was a 30 year old mom, I was just, you know, I wanted the education and, wow, did it make a huge difference, and not only in just obviously for reading, but that we were able to communicate and that was so big. If that wouldn't have been a piece, I can't imagine how far behind or where we'd be at today and not being able to have that type of communication. It's so powerful yeah.
Speaker 2:Right Reading words and just. It's also powerful that way. Um, like you had said, you use journaling. What are some other kind of tools you might use to get yourself ready for for writing, um, like brainstorm bubbles, those kinds of things? What do you do? Um, you know, hand paper.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Um, for me, I am an outliner I don't know if there's like an outliner with like five exclamation points, Like I am an organizer, I am a scheduler, I am really type A, I think. So perhaps it's my law school training, I don't know. But before I sit down to write a book, I have like a humongous thing that I put together, like it's called a snowflake method, where you start with like an idea and then you keep building on it and keep building on it, and then you talk about the characters and their story arc, and so I have like pages on pages of notes and eventually I have to say this is enough. I have a solid story, I know what like the subplots are going to be, I know how the book is going to end, and now I just sort of need to fill in all the details.
Speaker 1:And I'm in the process of working on my third book and I've reached the point where I think I've outlined almost as much as I can possibly outline and it's time to take the plunge and start writing. But that's the scary part. I'll be honest, like you can do all the prep work you want, but you have to really like in my mind, I have to really be ready to say all right for the next however many weeks it's going to take me and hopefully it's not years. But you know I've learned on my second book I could. If I'm really focused, I can do it in like two and a half months with some child care and life. You know interruptions.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:But it's really getting yourself psyched to write. And that's the scary part, because you know, once you've done all the prep work, it's now time to execute. And you know and that's a lot that's perhaps more work than the outlining. I don't know, I'm still going back and forth as to which is more work, but you think about the story a lot before, or whether you sit and write the story and then you and I are both going to go back and rewrite the story four times over before we're comfortable that it's in a good place and ready to take that next step. So a lot of outlining, I guess, is the short summary of what I just said.
Speaker 2:I love that, though. I love that you shared that with us, because I think that gives everyone good ideas to draw from. If they don't do something like that, then they're like, okay, maybe that will be a great way for me to start something new. And, like you said, the hardest part is the start, starting and getting it in there. You know, I remember getting ready to do the first podcast and it was like the scariest thing ever. And then you know I remember getting ready to do the first podcast and it was like the scariest thing ever.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then, you know, I had to get used to hearing my voice and then I was like, oh, it's cringy. And now I'm like, is that Sarah playing on the podcast?
Speaker 1:You have a great voice you have an awesome voice. Mine is twangy, but yours is good, mine is twangy, but yours is good.
Speaker 2:I love it. I love how we can come together like this and podcasting has just been just life-changing like beautiful experience for me excuse me, my family, I'm sure for all my listeners. And yeah, we're in like season 12, episode 290, something right now. Wow, that's fantastic A lot of knowledge on and, yeah, I think that in every single conversation there's always something that I have learned from them can integrate into my own life to make it easier, like organization and writing lists Like I know they work, but doing them right.
Speaker 1:That's true. I have lists for my lists, yeah.
Speaker 2:I love it. That's what I need to do. I need to find myself with a list to look at the list. Love that, that's see I'm. I'm going to be better tomorrow. This is great. So you kind of answered that you're working on your next book. What's next? Or do you do like book signings and what's that look?
Speaker 1:like you know, for me I kind of do a little bit of everything. You never know what's going to resonate and what's going to stick, and so I love doing podcasts like speaking with people like you, because how else would I come to know you and we're? You know we live in different places and it's very efficient to you know go across the country from my home office to your home office or to your office, and so I've gone to some schools and met with students, and that is really fun.
Speaker 1:I'll admit, though, the first one that I did at a school, I was so nervous and I was like really just overwrought with stress and anxiety of how it's going to go, and I had this presentation that I thought would be fun. But you never know with kids, and when I got there, I felt like I was a celebrity, because they were just so enthusiastic and they'd read my book and they had all these questions about the characters and then some really funny questions that the kids asked me. One that I remember particular was do you know JK Rowling? And you know I didn't know how to answer that. We were in the same circle. Yeah, I wasn't sure like what was she getting at, but I then really quickly understood that that was her favorite author, and, you know, I wish, I desperately wish that I had met her so that I could say, yes, we're very good friends and I gave her some ideas.
Speaker 1:But she was doing her own thing um. But yeah, I try and meet as many people as I can. Maybe I'll meet JK Rowling, I don't know. We'll see um.
Speaker 2:But that's for SJ. That was my like, why I wanted to go with SJ. Childs was kind of a play on that oh interesting. Yeah, I thought, well, if jk can do it, that's right, yeah, and it rhymes too. So you've got a definite and the child was just a play on words for children's book, because it's a children's book genre that I write and so that's and it just that. I mean that has nothing to do with the podcast, but hey, we just speak, but you got to share some really fun facts.
Speaker 1:So when somebody's on, you know the 500th episode of your podcast. Do you remember in episode 290, something where I told you how I got my name? What's the answer? And I will be the only one that knows, as a guest.
Speaker 2:I love it. I love it. Well, yeah, it's so much fun. This is such a great medium to be able to experience, and it's been just wonderful getting to know you too, and I'm excited for what you have. So you're working on book number three. Is there a timeline? My husband always says timeline accountability. That's right.
Speaker 1:That which is measured gets done. My goal is to start writing. I think I'm giving myself like a few more weeks just to work on my outline, a little bit more, and then I'm going to have to cut myself off and say it's time to get to work. So my goal is to start writing before the end of the year and then be in a really good spot by spring. So that's the goal, fingers crossed. But as you know, life always happens, so we'll see. But now that I've said it, I've committed myself to doing it.
Speaker 2:In a way.
Speaker 1:I'm glad I've put it out there and you know you got to manifest it to the world so yeah here it goes out there.
Speaker 2:You know you got to manifest it to the world. So yeah, here it goes out there.
Speaker 1:Yay, you have book number one and book number two next to you. By any chance you could show us I do. I wasn't prepared, but I was prepared.
Speaker 2:I love it Right, oh, I love that.
Speaker 1:So, um, miss, community camp uhcommunicamp just came out this spring and Hurricane came out a couple of years ago.
Speaker 2:So and how can we find them? How, where does everybody need to go to find them?
Speaker 1:You can go to Amazon, you can go to Barnes and Noble, you can go to any major online book retailer. Um, and you can see on my website, uh, wwwstephkatsovicom. Uh, there's a link to all these different retailers as well, and I'll put in a plug for my blog, because that's one other form of writing that I use to get energized about not only my outlining, but also just getting ready for my next book.
Speaker 2:So Yay, is that right today?
Speaker 1:It's K-A-T-Z-O-V-I.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay, see me and my.
Speaker 1:You're typing as you're speaking, though, so that's that's how I do Multitasking.
Speaker 2:Here we go. Okay, there we go. I see what I did I. Here we go. Okay, there we go. I see what I did I was. I was multitasking, which is my favorite dangerous thing to do.
Speaker 1:That is correct. Now, that's it. Oh, dot com.
Speaker 2:It's like a treasure hunt You'll find me somewhere. That's it. Just Google me, just Google me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you know, sometimes the basketball player Steph Curry comes up when you go Google my name. But that's, you know. That's great company to be in, you know, by the way, I love that there's a.
Speaker 2:there's an English writer named Sarah Bradford, with an H, which I never would need an extra letter. So, don't need that, but it comes up when I Google my when I so I always have to do Sarah Bradford, sj Childs.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's funny. Yeah, Otherwise it's just, I'm just going to have to keep plugging away. That's right, exactly so. You'll get your name up in the algorithm.
Speaker 2:It's been so much fun talking to you today and the books look wonderful and I really am so excited for all the readers to have the experiences that are provided through those. So thank you for doing that, you know, for the readers and for yourself.
Speaker 1:Congratulations on having fulfilled that and making your dreams come true Well thank you so much, and may we all continue to have our dreams come true, in whatever form they take, isn't?
Speaker 2:that the truth. I love that. Well, I look forward to staying in touch and let us know when book number three comes out and we can do another little catch up with you Sounds great, I look forward to it.
Speaker 1:Great Talk to you soon, thanks.
