We were lucky to catch up with Molly Bolte recently and have shared our conversation below.

Molly, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Risks are just that, risky. Putting myself out there to develop the little notes on my phone into children’s books was like stepping into the unknown. Would people read it? Would anyone like it? Was I qualified to do this? And HOW do I even do this?
When I was postpartum with my first baby and in the throes of 2020 isolation, I was hit hard with postpartum depression. Through the midst of that I started writing notes/poems on my phone just to get ideas out of my head a bit. Most of these started forming around stories of one of our dogs, Stella. Fast forward a couple years and (with a lot of familial encouragement) I really felt they could make good children’s books so I reached out to an old friend and artist, Gina. Risking it all and actually telling an “outside party” felt so vulnerable and nerve wracking. Having to dig deep in understanding this calling on my heart to write stories and get more books into kid’s hands was what rooted me.
Thankfully Gina was beyond gracious and wanted to illustrate my little books, which over two years has grown into a full business and passion project for us both. As a team we have self published two books, created an LLC, held book signings, hosted market tables, and done school readings. Jumping into that creative passion and trusting how our words/pictures speak to people has been worth the risk and self-doubt a million times over. We have many ideas in the works and every brainstorming session fuels that strength to take another risk, to take the next step.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a children’s book author and co-owner of Stella the Dog Books, LLC. This includes writing the books as well as assembling and formatting, as we are self-published. I work as a team with Gina Thompson to create a vision for each book which she illustrates beautifully.
I also manage our social media and any in-person events, markets, or readings we participate in.
Currently published on Amazon: Stella Goes to Bed and Stella Makes a Friend

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My love of writing and story-telling aligns directly with my passion for children’s literacy. We live in a world with so much information at our fingertips, but we must have a solid base of reading to be able to comprehend it. Overall, my goal is getting books in kids hands. All stories have a place and sharing them together also increases the connection between kids and the adults/caregivers they read with. This drives another avenue of our business, to collect well-loved donated books. We either source them back into the hands of other readers (think a book swap) or sell them and any money made goes back to our local libraries.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have held many titles in my professional and personal life, each of them coming at a time where my priorities pivoted. My first career was as an oncology nurse. I loved my patients and learning new things every day. When my eldest was born, I pivoted to becoming a stay at home mom. I have loved and cherished this opportunity, and am grateful it has worked well for my family. Pivoting to being a published author has helped me channel my creative passions into real life. I am always thinking of new ideas, more confident as I write (even just journaling), and grateful every day that God has helped me recognize the gifts he has given me. As our titles and goals pivot overtime, some overlapping and some being left for a previous chapter, the title of being the Daughter of a King is the most special of them all. By leaning on God’s path for me, I have found a local writers group of women authors of all genres that has been very encouraging in my writing journey. I have also this year, begun a new role as a part time pre-k teacher which fills me with joy. Being with my so called “target audience” also sheds light on the desire of their young hearts to learn new stories and dive into books day after day.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @stellathedogbooks

Image Credits

Shelly Voss Photograpy (for first headshot photo)