We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bonnie Lippincott a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Bonnie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

I always wanted to be a writer, ever since I read my 5th grade writing assignment in front of the class. Instead, I pursued engineering, and worked for over a decade in that field. I chose practicality, but always felt the writing itch.

After my children were born, and I was reading them children’s books, I noticed more than a few were devoid of a lesson. This troubled me, because my kids were fully enthralled in a story, that could have packed a punch about honesty, kindness, or resilience. The familiar writing itch returned. This is why I wrote Toad Island, which has a theme of resilience. To do this, I created a profile on Fiverr.com and hired an illustrator, and typed out the story in Word document. Initially, I compiled this “book” for my father for his birthday, since Toad Island was a bedtime story he told my sisters and I growing up. My husband encouraged me to self-publish on Amazon.com, and after many months of hesitating, I began formatting it for Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). This took more time than expected, and my fear took over. I was worried my colleagues would think I was weird; it all sounds silly now but fear has a way of making any resistance sounding legitimate.

My husband supported me by saying, “who cares what people think?” He was right. I stared at the computer screen, and pressed publish.

Bonnie, 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?

Each of my books has a profound lesson. I love it when kids read my books and tell me how they enjoyed them. The lessons are listed below:

Toad Island- Resilience
Candy Factory – Thinking outside the box
Harper Drives the Houseboat – Affirmations & trying new things
Tara the Turtle- Asking for help is good & staying calm if you’re lost
No Bites – Pivoting when things don’t go your way
Yawning Man- Nighttime routines are important (& yawns are contagious)
ABCs of Self Love – Lessons about self-love in alphabetical order!

Entry Level Mom book lesson is: Even though we have no prior training (we are all entry level moms), everything we need as moms is within our own DNA (ie trust yourself)! I share honest and vulnerable tales to share what motherhood has taught me.

Finally, this led me to Entry Level Mom Podcast, which is on it’s 60th episode in November 2024. I interview influential women (mostly moms) who share their wisdoms and stories. Elevating women’s voices has taught me that everyone has a story to share and we can learn from each other. We are all in this together! Let’s learn from each other and lift each other up!

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

How Moms Shape The World | Anna Malaika Tubbs

https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=motherhood+video+ted+talk&type=E210US1589G0#id=12&vid=fc7a0a75abb032c572ad66490e82e9c8&action=click

This reminded me how our society is lied to. The saying, “We come into this world alone and die alone” is utterly false on both fronts. We don’t come into this world alone; our mothers were there. DUH! Furthermore, we often don’t die alone either, we are usually surrounded by loved ones (either in this physical world or spiritual world). Why are moms erased from the narrative? This topic was discussed in episode 56 of Entry Level Mom Podcast, with Rebecca McGough, but erasing moms from the narrative feels oddly sinister. For this reason, (and many more) I enjoy giving moms a voice on the Entry Level Mom Podcast!

Also, the Mel Robbins podcast once discussed how she wrote 54321 book. Mel said she organized into chapters first and filled in later. This structure was what I needed to add my post it notes of ideas into a home. I would jot something down or email to myself, and knew where to add it when I had time. It sounds obvious now, but when I was getting started I had no process so any tip helped!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

This is a good question. I have 2 lessons.
First, I had to unlearn that I am a fixed human being. After graduating with a BS in Biomedical Engineering, I made it my identity. I had to unlearn, “Engineers are organized, data driven, and NOT creative.” I falsely thought “since I am an engineer, I cannot be a writer.” I had to unlearn this to self-publish my books!

Second, I also had to unlearn I had to do it alone. I am thankful to my friends, especially Mel Carrion for validating my initial drafts, and her incredible editing skills. Also to my husband for brainstorming and organizing my ideas for my Entry Level Mom book. We sorted stories into 12 chapters and used a wall in our home!

Also to Jenae Waddell for cheering me on along the way, and being my first podcast guest to jumpstart that project! Each new project requires startup energy, and I’ll never forget those who stood beside me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://booksbybonnielippincott.com
• Instagram: @books_by_bonnie_lippincott.com
• Other: email: [email protected]

Image Credits

Barnes & Noble Table – Marion Nelson

Barnes & Noble table – Rebecca McGough (purple sweater) Peace Burks (Orange Tshirt) – my friends

Podcast Artwork – Tara Stiles

Podcast screenshot with giggles – Jenae Waddell