We recently connected with Phyllis Schwartz and have shared our conversation below.

Phyllis, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

I think there are three wonderful things my parents did that have had a profound influence on my life and career: 1) They raised me to value fairness.
2) They read to me early and often.
Having a sense of fairness and a love of reading that turned into a love of writing led to my desire
to have a career in news. While I was writing and producing local news as a lifelong career,
I was also writing non news material (poetry, short stories, keeping a diary) for my own creative outlet.
And that was just a stepping stone to what I am doing now: writing poetry and children’s books.
3)And when I was 10 we lived in rural India for a year while my my dad was teaching on a Fulbright Scholarship.
That experience, and the visiting of many other countries on the way home to the US, gave me
a world view that affected all of the above: my news and non news writing work and my
curiosity and empathy for people who are different than me.

Phyllis, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My parents were both teachers and avid followers of current affairs. When I was a kid, we ate dinner in front of the TV as the Vietnam war and civil rights movement played out in front of our
eyes. I knew in my teen years that I wanted to get into TV news so that I could replicate that exhilarating experience — a specific kind of
journalism– writing words that matched pictures. I went to college and got my BA in
Radio-TV Journalism and picked up some of the technical skills I needed to add to my existing writing
skills. I started writing and producing news in San Diego where I was raised. Then I moved to
Chicago, the city I consider to have the best local news in the country. Over the years I moved up the
ladder of responsibility until ultimately I ran several newsrooms in that city. During those same years
of writing and producing news about murders, fires, corrupt politicians, etc. I was also writing poetry
as a release. I returned to San Diego and ran the NBC station there. Ultimately once I got out of that business, I started writing poetry for children and those pieces turned into children’s rhyming picture books. I used an upbeat technique to engage children and their families
(or teachers or careworkers) to talk about difficult topics. My first book is called
“When Mom Feels Great, Then We Do Too!” It’s a rhyming riff on some of my experiences battling
three different kinds of cancer. I wanted kids and their families to be able to talk about having an ill or hurt loved one and how to help them in a productive way like throwing Motown dance parties or
cooking their favorite meals. My second book is called “Mom Wombat Says Make War No More!” and it’s an anti-bullying/pro-peace book.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Just as my parents read to me a lot as a child, my husband and I read a lot to our children. But I didn’t write children’s books at the time. I am now experiencing the
thrill of reading my books to audiences of children at my various story circles and book signings.
Passing on my love of reading and writing to my children (who are both passionate adult readers and
writers) is fantastic but now I also get to do the same with dozens and dozens of children.
And also encourage other parents to get excited about reading and writing for their children.

How did you build your audience on social media?

The focus of my social media is getting people to read my books or my poetry. So I post a lot about my books, my signing and community events, and my non children’s poetry as well.
I’m not doing much about what I eat or my personal life. It’s a tough balancing act, but I try to show my personality in other ways. I use an authentic, engaging writing style and lots of visuals that
give people a sense of the person behind the writing without exposing too much of my family life.
I think it’s important for one to develop a social media writing style that is unique to the person and
reinforced by the visuals.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.phyllisfeelsgreat.com
• Instagram: phyllischwartz_author
• Facebook: phyllischwartz_author
• Linkedin: Phyllis Schwartz

Image Credits
Photos by Paul LeaVesseur Illustrations by artist Siski Kalla