Lisa Ascolese, known as the Inventress, takes listeners on a heartfelt journey into her life as a creative force behind children's lullabies.

With a rich background in music and invention, her passion shines through as she recounts how her love for piano, which she was denied as a child, ultimately led her to write original lullabies for her children over 20 years ago.

As a grandmother, Lisa is inspired by her grandchildren, particularly Olivia, who sings the lullabies back to her. This rekindled connection prompts Lisa to compile her cherished melodies and lyrics into a book, My Favorite Book of Lullabies, to create a lasting family tradition.

The emotional depth of her music is palpable as she shares the motivations behind her creation and the love that infuses every page of her book, designed to be a treasured legacy for generations to come.

As the conversation unfolds, the host and Lisa delve into the practicalities of bringing a book to life in today's digital age.

Lisa discusses her unique approach to publishing. She opts for a hybrid model with BookBaby that allows her to maintain creative control while tapping into print-on-demand services. This choice is influenced by her desire to avoid overprinting and ensure that her book reaches those who need it most.

Moreover, Lisa emphasizes the significance of embracing technology, including QR codes, to enhance the reader's experience, enabling them to listen to the lullabies directly from the book.

Her enthusiasm for the possibilities of modern publishing methods encourages aspiring authors to explore innovative routes in their creative endeavours.

The episode culminates in a powerful message about authenticity and passion in writing. Lisa's approach is not just about selling books; it's about sharing love, warmth, and family connections through her lullabies.

She encourages listeners to write with their hearts and recognize their words' impact on others.

By sharing her narrative and practical insights, Lisa inspires a new generation of authors to plunge into writing, reminding them that their stories matter and can resonate deeply with audiences.

The overall experience is empowering and connecting, showcasing the profound influence of love and creativity in children's literature.

Takeaways:

• Lisa Ascolese shared her journey of writing lullabies for her children and grandchildren.
• She emphasizes the importance of authenticity and passion in children's literature.
• The inspiration for her lullaby book came from her experiences as a grandmother.
• Lisa utilized QR codes in her book to enhance reader engagement with music.
• She believes that a book is a timeless gift for future generations.
• Her writing process involves capturing spontaneous ideas and expressing heartfelt emotions through music.

Links referenced in this episode:

• myfavoritebookoflullabies.com
• inventingatoz.com
• amazon.com

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Book Baby
• Amazon
• Barnes and Noble

Mentioned in this episode:

Bailey Introduction to Adventures in the Heart of Children's Book Authors

Hi, everybody.

My name is Lisa Askalise, known as the Inventress.

I'm also the author of my favorite book of Lala.

I'm so happy to be here.

Thank you so much for having me.

My pleasure.

Lisa, you know, I have to tell you something.

First of all, you're close to my heart.

I'm a grandparent also.

Now I have.

I know you have three granddaughters.

I have three granddaughters and two grandsons.

It's kind of neat to get into this with you because of us having that familiarity with our grandchildren.

If we could jump right in and if you could tell us.

And I probably have given that.

The listening audience a hint already.

But tell us about the inspiration behind your book.

My favorite book of lullabies.

And how did it all get started?

Many years ago.

I mean, I wrote songs that are in this lullaby book 20 something years ago.

So backstory.

I always love piano.

I love.

I love music.

Love, love, love music.

And I was never given the opportunity to play the piano as a kid because my sister was given piano lessons.

She didn't like it, so.

And she's older than I am.

I was never given the opportunity to have piano lessons.

I never said, mommy and daddy, I want piano lessons, but give me piano lessons.

I went to a place and I had it in my head that I'm going to buy a piano and I'm going to write music and play music and sing music.

Not a singer, not a musician, don't know how to read music or anything like that.

And anyway, so, long story short, went and purchased the piano.

My husband came home, saw the piano in the living room.

The piano, the baby grand piano.

Wow.

In the living room.

And he said, who's paying for that anyway?

So when that piano sat in that formal living room, I didn't know how to play, but I loved music.

I just started playing what I could hear in my head and writing numbers on the keys and so forth.

So I started writing the lullabies that I sang to my children that I made up.

Your lullabies came first.

Before the book probably.

Probably wasn't even in your head.

Not even a thought.

So sang lullabies to my children.

I said, oh, wow, this is really cool.

Now I have a piano, I could create songs.

We're talking again.

Over 20 years ago, my daughter, my youngest daughter, 30, now they have children.

The same songs I sang to my children and kind of played piano to.

I started singing to my grandchildren.

Olivia, who is now two and a half years old, 53, was singing all of these songs to Olivia, rocking her to sleep.

She started singing the songs that I was singing.

And I said, why am I not creating a lullaby book that my children and my grandchildren could have for a lifetime?

I have the words, I have the melody, I have the all of it.

Last year I said, okay, I'm going to start to do this.

And it evolved into something I knew I could do.

Right, right.

People writing books, authors writing books.

Why not put my lullabies into a book and have it for our family for.

As a tradition for generations to come.

Isn't it cool how your motivation started even before your children and then you had your children and that made it stronger and from there your grandchildren.

Really, it's funny how grandchildren get the best out of us, right?

They do, absolutely.

And as Olivia sang my song, well, who inspired me was Olivia and that.

She'S your oldest granddaughter, right?

Yep, my two and a half.

She'll be three.

So Olivia was singing the songs I sang to her, which I didn't think was anything.

I really didn't think.

I mean, this is, this is what I sing.

Grandmother sings a song to you.

Olivia started singing, singing the song.

She says, grandmama, sing I love you, my favorite song.

Singing I love you to Olivia.

So explain to me how you got from the songs to actually the children's book.

Because I, I love it.

How you've.

You've built it into four stages, your website, and we'll talk more about that, But I just love how you did that.

So tell us, as someone listening in, tell us how you did that.

How did you take those songs and then build it into almost a four stage book?

It's called insanity.

I love it.

I do things that when I decide something, first of all, I have to say this, and I know that everybody does it, but I have to say this.

I'm being honest and completely transparent.

I'm laying in bed, it hits me.

I'm saying, why not take these lullabies and put it into a book form to have the, the words, the pages I create, pages I type, pages I call a graphic artist.

The graphic artist helps me to create these designs.

This is going to be a little insane.

And I call a musician and I said, I need to record, I need to record these songs.

So I call a musician to record the songs I'm singing into my phone.

I just had a guest on not that long ago.

She woke up in the middle of the night and, and she had her phone beside her and she recited the whole book into her phone.

So it doesn't sound crazy.

It sounds to me like you're pretty normal.

Well, I am normal.

Abnormal.

So I sang.

No, but I sang the songs to my phone in a key of whatever the key was, and I gave it to this amazing gentleman, a good friend of mine, Brandon Williams.

I said, brandon, I'm singing this song, and I want to create this lullaby book.

And he goes, well, what key are you singing?

I said, I don't know.

I said, you're the musician.

I don't know how I'm singing.

Did all the music come first and then you wrote the book?

My songs came first, yes.

Yeah, all my songs came first, and then I wrote the book.

Okay, terrific, Terrific.

This had to happen.

Tell us.

You know, I talked to everybody about their publishing approach, and you've heard traditional publishing, you've heard self publishing, and a lot of people use what's called hybrid publishing.

So tell us a little bit about what publishing route did you go and why?

I saw Book Baby while watching Netflix or whatever.

The commercial came on, and I said, you know, let me reach out to bookbaby and see what they.

What they do.

I heard about Amazon.

I knew nothing about publishing.

Was bookbaby a hybrid?

It is, Baby is a publishing company where they publish, print your book.

You have to provide graphics.

You provide print.

And all of those things that I did typed it all out and had it edited, and I provided this to bookbaby.

So bookbaby.

Okay, well, I can do this, but you need to provide it in this format.

And bookbaby then created a format that was.

Well, we kept going back and forth.

Sure, absolutely.

Until it was perfect.

It is.

It is beautiful.

I thought so everyone out there, it doesn't happen overnight.

Oh, absolutely not.

You've Hybrid published.

Do you do Print on Demand, or do you do a large print run, or do you do a combination of both?

Tell us about that.

I now do Print on Demand.

My preference is Print on Demand.

The reason I like to do Print on Demand is because I don't want to overprint.

I don't want to have more books than I can sell.

Right.

Absolutely right.

That, to me, that's the smartest way to go.

You know what?

I.

I got your book very quickly.

And did you get that on Amazon?

I did.

I did.

Hey, great.

I'm so happy.

How long did it take for you to receive it?

Two or three days.

Yeah, it's almost instant, right?

Yes, yes.

So it's.

It's fantastic.

Fantastic.

I always ask my guests this story too, but I find I Looked at your website.

Beautiful website, by the way.

I love the blue.

Like, I'm a blue guy.

I like, I love the color blue.

And this is so vibrant.

It's incredible.

And you and your website matches that.

But here's the question for you.

Was it the.

It's, it's like the chicken or the egg.

Was it your website first and then the book or the book first and then the website?

Book first and then the website.

So.

But I, but I knew what I wanted.

In my head, it was the book came first and it all has to come together.

It.

For me, I see things in stages.

I.

I mean, I saw the book and I saw the colors and I knew that the website had to match.

And that's what happened to us.

Everybody said, they always say this to you just before you go to print your first book, right?

Publish your first book.

They say, oh, you should have a home for your book.

I say, what do you mean, a home?

They said, yeah, you should have a website.

Well, it took us about six months before we had a website.

It's just the way it worked out.

But we, the thing that we had, and to your point is we had the graphics.

Yes.

And you've got such beautiful graphics.

And like you said, you know, you had your book in your head, but you also had your website in your head at the same time.

I'm an inventor, though.

You have to remember this.

Like, I invent, I create.

And you'll have all that bio information on the site.

But all I think, I think I create.

And things evolve in my head daily.

Look the way I perceive them and so forth.

So I saw the website before it was built.

I haven't asked this question before, but it's the vibrancy of the blue.

So how did you come up with that vibrant blue?

Was it a transition between daylight and nighttime or how did you do that?

No.

So I have always, always been, I'm going to say, married to that blue.

And it was even younger.

I remember seeing an outfit in a store that, that I could not afford.

And I'm talking 40 years ago.

I saw this blue jumpsuit that I wanted maybe longer than 40 years.

And it was so expensive.

But that blue, that very same blue I loved, I was so attracted to it.

I said, I have to buy that jumpsuit and I afford it.

I put on layaway.

Blue has been the blue that when you see me on different talk shows and usually I'm wearing black, it's so weird because I'm wearing black, but that I'm So attracted to that blue.

I don't know whether it's biblical, I don't know.

I don't call it practice.

I am attracted to that blue.

When I look in your book and how the blue makes all the other colors pop out, it's phenomenal.

Just phenomenal.

So congratulations on doing that.

Thank you so much.

Nice choice.

It wasn't mine.

It just happened.

I'm saying I was drawn to that.

I'm drawn to that color and my first billboard.

And the things that I've done have always been not even knowing what I was going to wear.

I was attracted to that and still am attracted to that blue.

Interesting.

So I know we talked, you talked a bit about before your daughter was born, when your daughter was born, your granddaughters were born, about the building blocks, the motivation.

Is there anybody else that motivated you in this journey to become a children's book author or was there an event like what finally triggered it?

You said this is it.

This is the year I'm going to do this.

Like tell us that.

Was there one person?

I authored a book.

It's called the Inventress Guide to Inventing all or Nothing, now or Never.

And so in my title of authoring my other book, I in that, in that title triggered me to do all of the things that I thought of right of doing in my life, from inventions to books to songs.

That triggered me to say, what the heck?

Why am I not creating a book on with all of these lullabies so that my children and my grandchildren can have them forever?

A book never goes away.

A book never.

It never exhausts itself.

Book will sell for centuries.

Absolutely.

And it's interesting you should say that because you and I are so much alike because I actually wrote two business books before I ever wrote and published a co authored with my granddaughter, a children's book.

It's kind of wild, but anyway, so fantastic.

My, my granddaughter's a co author with our book I'm interested in.

How old is your granddaughter?

She's.

When we started she, this whole journey, she was about 5 or 6.

She's now 21.

Oh, so sweet.

Yeah.

So we.

The whole journey.

Yeah.

And so it's pretty incredible actually.

And, and that leads me to my next question.

Character development.

Now I know this, this.

It's a little different with your book.

All three of your granddaughters are in the book.

They're visible because that you, that you actually have their name.

So tell us a little bit about the character development and talk about the stages because I think Olivia comes in the first part of the book.

And then your twin granddaughters come a little later in the book.

Correct.

So the coolest thing ever is I wrote this book.

Olivia was two.

I mean I literally just did this.

Olivia was still two.

Okay.

Anna just had the twins.

So as I.

So I have twin granddaughters who are.

Will be one year old next month.

So all of this was happening during the journey of Olivia turning being two Gianna having twins.

It all literally had just unfolded while they were babies and still are babies.

So when you talk about the growth, Olivia, when I was writing the book, did not have such a full, full knowledge and understanding in full scope of what I was doing.

But recently at Christmas time, I put it in her stocking.

She had the book, but now she's two and a half.

So she understands it now.

She says, grandma, that's Isla and Ivy.

And she started singing the song.

Fantastic.

From the book.

From the book.

So I mean, and the reason I asked that it'll lead me to my next question.

So in.

In our book and I'll just show you our book, it's called the Adventures of Caboose the Rocky Mountain Bear.

And I forgot to show you, but Caboose has a K instead of a C.

And the reason being is my oldest granddaughter, her name is Kira.

That's why we chose a K.

The K boost stands for Kira.

Now the other four grandchildren, we've all written more stories.

So We've written about 38 books in our books here.

We now we've only published one and we're working on our second one.

But the other four grandchildren, they.

They're actually.

Their names will actually transfer into the stories of the book.

Okay.

And so that's what I'm interested in finding out from you.

Can you explain the significance of using your granddaughter's names in your book?

Yeah, sure.

Their mom, their there, Britney, Olivia's mother, Brittany.

I sang the songs to them.

Well, their names are their names.

Yes.

No significance into any name.

I mean their names are their names and I'm singing to them.

So it wasn't like I translated any name into something else or transformed.

I'm singing to my granddaughters, I'm singing to my children.

And if you see in the very beginning of the book when I giving thanks in the reference portion, giving thanks to my children and giving this as a gift to them and thanking them as, you know, for having Isla, Ivy and Olivia as my grandchildren, there was nothing besides the reality of who they are and what they've done for my heart.

And I have to say, try to share with, not only with the readers your motivation worth, but also with aspiring authors to understand that there's so many different ways we all go at this, and sometimes it's to give recognition.

And to your point, Lisa, the book will live forever.

So when they're having their grandchildren, they'll say, look at what my grandma did.

Right.

It's incredible.

It transcends generations in time.

And for those to come, you know, and they'll.

Olivia may write books for her children and grandchildren and Island Ivy and, you know, your.

Your grandchildren, your granddaughters, your.

Your two grandsons.

Yes.

And it just goes on forever.

It doesn't go away.

It's not like a product that is on the shelf and it goes away.

A book forever.

Forever.

Well, I want to jump into the QR codes, and I'll tell you why.

Because again, I mean, again, similarities here.

I'm thinking, oh, my goodness.

I.

I'm not musical.

I can't.

I would scare my grandchildren if I sang to them, so that ain't gonna work.

But what I did is, by the way, I didn't care.

Oh, and no, that's.

That's important.

That's important, too.

I said, I'm.

This is my authentic self, my authentic voice.

And I'm.

I'm sure I did sing some songs with the grandchildren when that.

That didn't really matter.

Right.

So what I did is I used a QR code and I created a bookmark.

What's cool about this QR code is that we use this as a promotional item and to get people interested in our book.

The.

When you scan the QR code, our middle granddaughter, Bailey, she actually.

We turned the book into an audio book.

So you get the audiobook of our book in your hot little hand, and it comes on your.

It comes onto your phone or your iPad or whatever at.

When you scan the QR code.

So, I mean, I just loved.

I.

I scanned your.

The music, I scanned the audio in the book.

I thought, what a neat feature.

You're the first person I've ever talked to that's actually taken a children's book.

I've seen this done in business books, but I've never seen this type of thing done in a children's book.

Can you explain to everybody that's listening, you had vocal and you've got music.

Explain how that all worked.

My daughter Gianna.

Okay, so it was my.

My youngest daughter, Gianna, where, you know, I wanted to do a lullaby book.

I didn't want to do one of those.

You Know, push the button and play things.

And she says, mommy, why don't just do a QR code?

So when they purchase the book, they can hear it, you know, wow.

They can hear the instrumental.

That's amazing.

You just sat down and you.

And you came up with a strategy for each QR code and away you went again.

Readers understand that the value add that you add to the book is incredible.

So I love that part.

And then to aspiring authors, remember what Lisa did.

This technology nowadays allows us all to do that.

So, you know, don't be afraid of technology.

And Lisa, I don't know your technological background.

I'm not techie.

I'm just creative.

Okay, so I'm not techie.

I'm creative.

So I think of things.

And I have an incredible team of people, have a wonderful family.

And again, as I, as I mentioned to you, my youngest daughter.

So my youngest daughter is, I mean, they're in the tech world, they know things instantaneously, right?

So she was like, mom, just do this.

Why not just make it like this?

I go, why not?

Why not just make it like this?

Because we have access to it.

Years ago, I thought about writing a book, but it was so expensive to write a book, they didn't write the book, right?

So now there's so much technology, AI is here to help us, and almost for, almost for free, you could write a book.

It's interesting, Lisa, you should say that, because I said to everybody, I created, other than the printing costs, the QR code was free.

I went to Canva and guess what?

I got a QR code and I attached the audio file to it, and that didn't cost me a dime.

To your point, today with technology, it's not like you have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to bring your aspirations of writing a children's book to life.

You don't.

And it's such a wild thing because it wasn't that long ago that it would have cost me, I don't know, $15,000.

When I went to a publishing company, they sort of.

It would cost you this because I didn't go out and look for the Simon and Schuster for the to get published and all that stuff.

I went to a publishing company and they said, well, this is what it's going to cost.

So it discouraged me.

Today I'm so inspired and encouraged to do write 10 books a year, 15 books a year, right after this podcast, really.

So I'm inspired.

I hope other, the listeners, the authors, the coming of age authors to be inspired enough to Write your story, Write your book.

Create your journal, the journal that you've been writing forever.

Make it into a book, make it into a story, because everything.

Very good point.

But listen and be interested in what you have to say.

Believe it or not, when people buy my book, I'm surprised.

They go, why do they want to hear from me?

So tell us a little bit about your book.

Tell us a little bit about the.

The central theme, the lesson or the teaching that you want readers to get from your book.

So from the lullaby book, okay?

So from the lullaby book, I want you to get heart.

I really want you to get heart, because my heart and soul is in the book.

And you will hear it.

I mean, you hear me, right?

This is real.

You can't make this up.

Right?

When I wrote this book and I sang the book, it's all about my passion and my love for my children and my grandchildren.

And by the way, you have a great voice.

You don't want to listen to me singing in the shower, but we could listen to Lisa singing in the shower, no problem.

Only in the shower.

No, but I mean, it's to.

To answer your question, it's love and passion and authenticity.

Right.

I think what people love and are driven by to purchase or to be a part of is another person's authenticity and sincerity.

So I do it from my heart with love and sincerity, and it was my grandchildren, but it's for the entire world to hear.

So I want to talk to you a bit about your writing process, because this is your first children's book, correct?

Yes.

And you said, I've got 10 books in me now.

I know you've written motivational book or business type book, but from a children's author standpoint, is there more?

Lisa's children's book author, writer that wants to come out, Is there more?

Oh, it's out.

Okay.

So I wrote many years ago.

I write and write and write many, many years ago.

As I mentioned to you, I just wrote.

And it was so expensive to publish that I just let it go.

I have some shows and all the, you know.

So, yes, to answer your question, yes.

Tell us about your writing process.

Because, you know, a lot of times aspiring authors, they just don't know how to get started.

So what's your writing process?

My writing process is I write.

Right.

I'm going to be very, very literal.

I write things down on a pad and I type at the same time.

So as I write, I type what's in my heart and what's in my head.

Has to happen.

Or, or I speak into my phone.

If something happens, something hits my brain instantaneously.

I pick up this thing and I go.

I speak into my notes.

Speak into my notes and what's in my heart.

And you know, many of you authors who are becoming authors or who are authors understand exactly what I'm talking about.

It only happens.

It comes around once.

Right.

But on the New Jersey Turnpike, I'm like, dumb.

Give me a pen.

I want to add to this book.

And this is literally, honestly my first poem that I wrote.

I wrote it on a deposit slip.

I was from an audition.

My youngest daughter did a Pampers commercial.

Right now 30.

I used to phone myself when I was driving.

I'd phone myself, leave myself a message.

You're really.

You're really aging yourself.

I am, I am.

Isn't that crazy?

I love it.

I love it.

I literally.

I was at a toll.

I wrote a poem and I wrote it on a deposit slip because it came to me while Gianna after her shoot.

And I wrote my first poem on a deposit slip.

Had to happen that moment.

So when you capture the moment, everybody, all of you authors out there, capture the moment.

Write it down, record it.

And that's, that's, that's my process.

Terrific.

So when you, when you started putting the children's book together, did you do any additional research into any.

Into any part of the book?

No.

You just pushed the button and went.

I'm telling you, okay, I can't make this up.

So for those of you.

Sorry.

You know, people become actors and they want to hear a backstory.

That's crazy.

And I was this.

And I lived this life and I did this.

No, I just said, okay, you know what?

I'm doing this today because my life is very, very busy.

And I said, if this doesn't happen now, it's not going to happen.

Hence the reason from my book, all or nothing.

Now or never.

So when it came to my.

I knew I would put it off if I didn't do it in that moment.

I was probably not going to do it for another five years.

You're just like Nike, just do it.

Correct.

I'm also interested in, you know, everybody has their own thoughts about success.

I'm not sure what your original goal was or goals were for the book.

I'm not sure.

You know, a lot of people think, well, I gotta get thousands of sales into my book, or that's the only way I can measure my success.

Tell us how you measure the success around this book.

Oh, this is a Great question.

Another unusual answer.

1.

I said, if I sell one, you better.

Hopefully I'm not your only customer, but we got proof.

Oh, person.

And I mean that.

I'm telling you I'm the most.

I maybe or maybe not the most unusual you'll ever have on your.

Your podcast.

I'm serious.

I've done this with even products that I have and the products that I developed on national television.

But I said, if they buy one, I'll sell others.

So if one person buys, others will sell.

I've never, ever, ever said I want to make a million dollars on this product.

I'm not that.

That person.

Right.

I.

You know, I've said that to people before.

You know, if you think you're coming to this for fame and fortune as a children's book author, pretty hard to do there.

Can I interject?

Absolutely.

You will get out of anything as much as you put in, right?

You will get out of anything as much as you put in.

And that's the truth.

And I'll give you an example.

Okay, Ready for this one?

You didn't ask for it, but I'm me give it to you.

Okay.

So my daughter lives out in the Cherry Hill area.

I was out there, I was hanging out with them.

I have my books.

I said, you know what?

I'm gonna go visit the Barnes and Noble stores in Cherry Hill and in surrounding areas.

Had my books made.

A call, asked for the store manager, whoever's gonna be there.

I said, I'm gonna come into your store and do a book signing.

They said, oh, you are?

I go, yeah, do a book signing.

Went out to the store, went into one of the stores, went to one of the stores.

And they said, well, you know, we.

We need a book that's printed already.

You know what I'm talking about?

Yes.

Like printed books.

I do print on demand.

Went to the next store.

They said, send us an email the day after.

The next day, well, before I got home, actually, the next day, opened up an email, they said, when can you do a book signing?

I went there and physically presented the book.

The next day, I got a yes.

So what?

I didn't have to go there.

If I didn't go, guess what?

I wouldn't be on their shelf right out what you put in.

So kids, author, you.

If you're out there, I don't care what you're selling over and over and putting your passion into it and believing in your product, you're going to sell it.

If you don't, you won't.

So as much as you put into whatever the product is that you want to get out there with your passion, I promise you, you will sell it.

If you don't, you won't.

Lisa, I couldn't agree with you more.

It's absolutely true.

Yes.

It comes from passion first.

So do it for passion, and the rest will follow.

I'm curious.

Is how, how much time do you devote to writing?

Or is it spawn, more spontaneous?

Tell us a little bit about that.

Yeah, with my other book.

So with my business book, I decided over a weekend that I was going to put in the entire 48, 72, whatever it took to finish my book.

Because I don't like to do things in sections.

I don't like to do that.

I.

I mean, I'll add more to it.

But when I decide to do something, I'm doing it.

And I'm focused and I'm driven and I'm doing all of it, and then I can fill in.

So to answer your question, when I decide to do something, I have to do it all the way.

All the way.

And then the rest is filled.

Filler.

You understand?

Yep, absolutely.

Because it needs to be edited and filled.

They go, okay, that's what I left out.

And this is neat.

The rest is filler.

So the filler action happens when I'm in my car driving down the Garden State Parkway.

Go.

Okay.

Yep.

That's what I need to add to this.

So the decision is made.

I decide when I'm going to do it, and it's done.

Fantastic.

Fantastic.

As we're.

As we're talking to people, especially aspiring authors, what kind of advice would you give aspiring authors?

Because I.

I know you're.

You're a just do it kind of gal, but what other advice would you give someone who's maybe not as just a just do it kind of person?

The only reason I'm a just do it kind of gal is because I do a lot.

Right.

I seen that from your bio.

I don't have the time to not just do it.

I don't have the time, and it would bother me to not just do it.

If I had a lot of time, I would probably take my time and leisurely write, I don't know, a couple of hours a day.

But it's not me, so I'm not telling my own story.

So for a person who is writing something, just write with your heart.

Write your passion.

You know, in the shower, you know, think consciously of what you.

I don't have to tell you.

Cause if you're an Author, you're thinking about writing your book.

Yes.

So the times to do it will come to you when your time is your time, whether it's a shower or when you wake up first thing in the morning or when you have peace and I sit on a beach sometimes and I meditate and I write like that.

So telling you how to do it is not what I can do for you, but just telling me to put your heart and soul in it, that's really.

Don't write something for fluff.

Write it because it's your passion.

Right.

Use passion because people will see right through superficial.

People see through a superficial paragraph.

Like what I was there and I announced people with rainy day.

Better than that.

Don't.

Better than that.

Tell it.

Give me your heart.

Give me your heart.

So give the people your heart.

Take your time.

If you have the time to take your time and do it and write your passion.

It takes 10 years.

It could take five years.

It could take.

Don't rush yourself to write your passion project.

Don't rush through it.

And the reason, again, I did it.

I'm in my business.

My, my guidebook.

I'm doing what I do for 35 years.

And all of it, I knew what I was going to write.

I just had to write it in my timeline that I was going to do it or else I wouldn't do it.

Talk to readers.

Let's, let's.

So let's have some encouragement for the readers here.

So why should they purchase this book?

Your book, the My Favorite book of lullabies.

Why should they purchase this book?

So they should purchase my favorite, favorite book of lullabies.

Because as I said before, it is such a.

It's.

They'll feel it.

It's such a passion project.

And for those who have children or grandchildren, you will feel the love, the quiet, the passion and the sincerity.

Whether you were an adult or a child.

You know you will feel the love because it was for my children and my grandchildren that is put into this.

And you'll feel it.

A person who purchased the book from me was a stranger.

And I answered my phone, as I do, and she said, I'm crying.

I'm going, why are you crying?

She says, I just purchased your book of lullabies.

And she says, I listen to every song.

She says, I bought it for my granddaughter, but I'm keeping it for myself.

And so I'm purchasing two more books.

And I didn't know it was going to have this effect on you know what, Lisa?

Most of the children's Book authors that I've talked to have, have shared this insight that you're sharing that you know what a children's book is just not for children.

Yes.

You know, it's generally you've got parents or grandparents reading the book with their children or grandchildren.

It's for all of us.

And, and Lisa's absolutely right.

I mean, I just love what you've done with this book.

Tell us where we can purchase your book.

Sure.

So it's.

It's everywhere.

Books are sold.

You can go to my website, inventing A to Z.com or my favorite book of lullabies.

Com.

And I, I mean, go there because it's just a very interesting, very, very cool website.

It.

It is.

I love your website.

We have very similar thoughts how you set up your website.

Our website is caboose the RockyMontainBear.com.

so, again, you know, the, the title works into the website, which is very important.

Yeah, I mean, that's what, that's really what you need to do, too.

So my lullabies, you'll hear a snippet of the book, which is really important to me.

Was important to me.

And it's creative.

I mean, you'll see like a record spinning a little bit.

I love it.

So I love the website, but you can buy it anywhere.

So Barnes and Noble, go to Amazon, got.com.

it's everywhere.

Great.

Good for you.

Final thoughts.

Is there anything that you're thinking, oh, man, I want to make sure I get this final thought out to both aspiring authors and readers.

For authors out there.

I mean, I have to reiterate, you know, just when you write your passion, take your time to write your passion and put on those blockers.

You know, just be, you know, do your tunnel vision self, get out there on a beach or, you know, in your favorite spot and just write your passion.

Write your passion.

Write your passion.

And for those readers out there, give that time to the author who has written something for you to really pay attention to the literature, to what they've written on their pages for you readers.

Take your time.

Take your time, because somebody authored that book for you.

Absolutely.

Very good point that.

Well, you know what?

Thank you, Lisa, for being part of Adventures in the Heart of Children's Book Authors Podcast, your generosity of time.

I mean, I just love it.

I know how busy you are and all the insight.

I mean, you've jammed a lot of insight into this podcast and I can't thank you enough.

It's.

It's just incredible.

The other thing, to the listeners we'll make sure all of the links that Lisa has talked about, we make sure.

They'Ll be in the show notes inventingatoz.com, my favorite book of lullabies, and Lisa Askley's Adventurous I'm here for you.

We'll make sure all your social media links are in there.

And to the listeners, if you've enjoyed the podcast, please hit the subscribe button to listen to future episodes.

And of course, this episode that Lisa's being so generous with her time.

Thank you so much.

My pleasure.

This was so much fun.

I love it.