We were lucky to catch up with Casey Rislov recently and have shared our conversation below.

Casey, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

My book projects become meaningful when I collaborate with other artists. It makes the project go the extra mile and when I collaborate, the audience will benefit too.

Three picture books I have collaborated with other artists on in order of when it happened are Rowdy Randy. LOVE, and The Rowdy Randy Wild West Show. All have won many awards and I have been to many school visits.

Rowdy Randy is about a horsefly that causes trouble at the ranch with different animals including the dog, fish in the stream, horned toads, bison, and cattle. It is a book that represents the critters that live in the West. I collaborated with a local actress, who dressed up as the main character, the horsefly Rowdy Randy (2019). This horsefly is boisterous, tough and ready for a hard day’s work. So the actress portrays all of these characteristics, plus shows up in her western gear (chaps, boots, rope and cowgirl hat). The children and parents love the live entertainment to go with the book.

LOVE (2020) is sweet board book about what love looks like. The beautiful illustrations shows that love is patient, gentle, kind, believes the best for all and protects those we love. I worked with a local musician to create 3 songs to go along with the board book. The first song is instrumental, creates a sense of calm and you can hear many instruments including the rain stick. The second song created uses the words from the book and makes a happy upbeat song that will make you move to the rhythm or look over the book again. The third song is song that will make little ones dance to a young owl who still needs to learn to fly. He is perched upon a tree limb awake at night, watching many other animals fly. When he finally tries, he falls into pumpkin pie. A little humor to add to the idea that things can be tough when we are learning. The owl finally learns how at the end with encouragement from the hummingbird.

The last book I collaborated with is The Rowdy Randy Wild West Show (Oct. 2022). I collaborated with a professional puppeteer to make a face mascot of Rowdy Randy. The book character now has more of a Disney type look. The actress joins me on my many school visits, where students adn teachers have to get a picture and a high five from Rowdy Randy after the book is read.

Collaboration benefits everyone.

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

I was a teacher for 7 years before I decided to become an author. Reading everyday for myself and children opened up my mind to creativity for my own stories. I work with Book Bridge Press in Minnesota to publish and edit my books. They also fidn my illustrator and printer.

I think collaborating with many different types of artists- art directors, illustrators, actors, puppeteers and musicians- has made my books stand out with hitting the many different senses and types of art.

I am most proud of the work we produce, the excitement the children get from our performances, and the award recognition.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Whenever someone changes careers, a lot of doubt and fear can happen for that person specifically and for the people around them. I never planned on being an author, but the ideas kept coming on a regular basis. So I thought I better give it a try and when my Mother passed from breast cancer, it gave me that extra push to do it now. Losing someone you love shows you how fragile and short life can be. I had a chance to tell her my new goal before she left this world. This didn’t mean my tough story was supported all the time. I still had to pass many hurdles of showing I was ready for a change and that I could do a good job of doing it. Most of it is believing in yourself, putting the work in every day, and having a good team.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I think in all careers, having good resources and like-minded people around you help greatly. The book business is big and finding the right conferences, creative people, and where to spend your money for marketing takes time and is taught by reading and others.

For me as a children’s author, the resources I reply on most are the organizations IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association), SCBWI (Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) and local writing organizations (Casper Writers and Wyoming Writers).

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.caseyrislovbooks.com/
• Instagram: crislovbooks
• Facebook: Time Together Time Well Spent
• Linkedin: Casey Rislov
• Twitter: @caseyrislov
• Youtube: Casey Rislov @caseyrislov2910