We recently connected with Leslie Campa and have shared our conversation below.

Leslie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the decision of whether to donate a percentage of sales to an organization or cause – we’d love to hear the backstory of how you thought through this.

I have absolutely loved Manatees since I was a little girl, so I wrote a book about a one called “I’m a Manatee Happy to be ME!” This special story is sold at three of the Sea World parks today. I donate a portion of the proceeds to the rescue and care of manatees. We even have an adopted manatee named Annie that we sponsor in Florida.

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

I am Leslie Campa, Award Winning Children’s Book Author and Arizona’s first “Official Butterfly Fairy” My stories, “I’m a Manatee Happy to be ME!” & “I’m a Honey Bee Happy to be ME!” offer the message of self-acceptance to children of all ages, no matter what size, color or age you are. It is so important to me to spread the message that every single creation is as perfect as can be and no matter what we go through in our journey that we still have our wings. For me, it is also about really driving home the message that when you look in the mirror, I want you to say, “I’m Happy to be ME!” give it try….you should say it in the mirror every day!

As Leslie the Butterfly Fairy, I provide appearances for Scottsdale’s Butterfly Wonderland. I can also be reached via my website if your readers would like to hire me for birthday parties and special events. I am even an ordained minister and can perform wedding ceremonies as well.
I am working on two more book projects at this time. In addition to being an author, I also make custom crowns, I call “Fairyness by Leslie”. I believe that everyone is royalty and deserves a crown, so they can be custom ordered on my website. You can purchase one from me at Mother Nature’s Farm in October, check my website out for other appearance dates. I think what sets me apart from others, is that I am more driven by the joy that I bring people than the sells. People seem to be drawn to me for the light of the Rainbow Maker that shines from my soul and I just want to spread that light.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

My most favorite sales story and perseverance just happened, February 2022. Let me take you back a bit. My manatee book has been at the Florida’s Sea World for 12 years. I’ve been using the same distributor whom they assigned to me from the beginning. When covid came to our country, my distributor closed its doors without even notifying me; alas, my only connection to Sea world. It was a few months before I realized they had just ordered! When it was time for a new order, I contacted them and no responses from anyone, I literally called over thirty times. This same distributor owed me money from another purchase, they from me for a school district. I called and emailed the one contact I had at Sea World and nothing back; I didn’t want to seem like a stalker, so I would wait weeks in between, and I also sent a good old-fashioned certified letter. Come to find out my contact at Sea World was no longer working there, and I never did hear from that distributor, fast-forward to eight months later and lots of prayer. I realized, “Hey, Leslie the Butterfly Fairy, listed to your own wisdom! “I am royalty!” just like I share in my message to everyone, so why not go to the top?” soooooo I did. I wrote the president of the Sea World corporation a letter and used a pretty good headline at the top and provided a picture of my manatee book, he would know what I was talking about. I couldn’t believe it……..he wrote me back and put me in touch with the right people, and those people looked at my website and saw that I had a honeybee book. Whoop Whoop Whoop – they ordered more manatee books and added the honey book! Not only that, they added my books to two other parks, so now my special stories are touching even more lives throughout three Sea World parks. It just thrills my heart.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

It is such a gift to have a simple little poem with characters dancing in my head come to life in the pages of a shiny board book. I cry each time an illustration gets finished, because I know that page is going to speak to a child in some special way, I just they are going to relate to that page. There is the purpose, there is reason and there is an ultimate lesson to learn here. Take it from me, in 8th grade I had a 3rd grade reading level, I struggled to find my way as an auditory learner in a world full of words. Just like the butterfly does not regret being a caterpillar, we must embrace the metamorphose within us- NO REGRETS, so that when it is time to soar, we are ready for our destiny. We were all handed crayons as a kid and whether you drew a line or drew a butterfly, the point is….you drew. You are “Creative” because you are a perfect “Creation!”

Contact Info:

• Website: WWW.LLButterflyBooks.com
• Instagram: @lesliebutterflyfairy
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LLButterflyBooks/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-campa-0a8a9354
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/lcampa_author

Image Credits
Photo by Lights View Photo Rick Meinecke Photo by Elisha Swain Photo by Ralph Campa