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

Carli, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Parents play a huge role in our development as youngsters and sometimes that impact follows us into adulthood and into our lives and careers. Looking back, what’s something you think you parents did right?

I am a firm believer in how important it is to read to kids EVERY DAY. My mom always read to me as a kid. I have so many fond memories of us going to the library, and picking out books and reading them together afterwords! I believe this played a key role in my love of books and deciding to become an author!

My dad is a big kid at heart! When my brother and I were kids he was always leading us on an adventure, sitting down on the floor playing with us, and enjoyed having fun and being silly with us! As a children’s book author/illustrator, these are often the memories that come to mind as I write my books. My dad always encouraged me to have fun and never fully grow up and this has helped creativity to flow in a way that kids will relate to.

Carli, 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?

I am a children’s book author & illustrator. I love to create fun and enjoyable books for kids! A huge part of my books is problem solving. I believe books are amazing tools that can help us work through all sorts of challenges and difficulties in such an entertaining way!

I am also a disability advocate and have written some disability themed books. My son has a heart defect and has had 2 heart surgeries. I wrote a book called Extra Special Heart that is dedicated to kids with heart defects. Both of us also have ADHD and I have started a new series geared towards kids with ADHD and executive dysfunction. I think it’s important for kids to know that they are special, unique and amazing even if they feel “different”.

I take great pride in the fact that I have been able to donate hundreds of copies of my books to nonprofits such as Ronald McDonald House. I am also currently heading a charity book drive, where I am promoting other independent authors in exchange for donated books. These books will be given to children with medical issues in various local nonprofits.

Additionally, this year will be the .2nd year in which I have ran a virtual read-aloud for kids/families with CHD where authors with CHD books will be sharing with them.

Nothing makes me happier than giving back to others around me. I think service work and charity are an essential part of life. I love being an author because I know that even when I leave this earth one day, my books will live on and continue to help people. I am passionate about the books I have written and know that they will leave an imprint on others for years to come.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I was in high school, I always got good grades but it had nothing to do with intelligence. Diligence and perseverance are what got me through. Recently I was diagnosed with ADHD too and looking back now, I feel like discovering the differences in my brain helps me gain insight about why I always had to work so much harder to succeed. While in high school during my senior year, I took an AP English class. After my first book review of the school year, my teacher approached my desk, squatted low beside me and pretended to speak in a whisper, “You know, you don’t have to take this class. It isn’t for everyone. Don’t be afraid to drop it if it’s too hard for you.” I must have turned beet red with embarrassment. At that moment I sent up a prayer for a fire alarm. The arrogant look on his face as he said this, made my stomach churn. I started to question things about my abilities and feel ashamed of my struggles. Despite my teacher’s advice, something inside me pushed me to keep going and I decided to stay in the class until the end and powered through. I had always loved to read and enjoyed writing so I felt very defeated by the notion that I didn’t belong in that class. With the help of my stubborn spirit, I never gave up and ended up passing the class with an AP credit.
The last day of school my teacher once again approached me in a loud whisper and asked what my plans for the future were. Regretfully, I was embarrassed and told him I was going to be a hairstylist. He responded in a condescending tone, “Good for you, college isn’t for everyone.” I had sunk down low in my chair feeling completely deflated by the way he said this.
I persisted on, and I decided not to let his demeaning conversation quash one of my dreams. I loved doing hair and continued to do hair and esthetics and eventually even ended up getting my bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
One evening while reading my toddler a bedtime story, the fire I used to feel long ago with literature, reignited inside me. That night, I wrote my first children’s book, based on a conversation I shared with my son as I cuddled him and rocked him to sleep. It was as if a lightbulb went off and right then and there. I decided I would become an author! Since then, I have published a few books on Amazon and continue to write nearly every day. I have never felt as creatively fulfilled as I am when I am illustrating and writing books. It has brought me joy that diminished years ago that I almost didn’t realize I was missing out on.
I would love nothing more than to send this teacher, that nearly extinguished my light, a signed copy of one of my books one day and feel like that day could come sooner rather than later!
I guess more than anything, I’m writing this to let others know that they are MORE than ENOUGH and they CAN do hard things, even if it’s in a non-customary way. Sometimes by only comparing ourselves to the expected, we miss out on sharing the true gifts we have to offer. We are amazing, creative, unique individuals and bring SO MUCH to the table! So, I leave you with a poem I wrote and hope that it gives YOU the strength to carry on and ignore any naysayers that you encounter along the way!

How did you build your audience on social media?

My social media presence has been built upon helping others! I pride myself on being authentic. I love to help other authors share great books too so a lot of my audience has been built upon helping others grow!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.carlivalentine.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/carlivalentineauthor
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carlivalentineauthor?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carli-valentine-4a7119b2
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCDudGYn8Q1tcQIRm-_jbXg