Episode 11: Early Success vs. Later Success, and blogging!
On this week’s episode of Book Friends Forever, Alvina and Grace don’t actually have to catch up with each other’s lives because Grace is visiting Alvina for a few days! They are recording this episode together in the studio which feels kind of strange but is also a great feeling to see each other and be sharing the same space!
Please take notice of their amazing Big Mooncake for Little Star scarfs!
Alvina did get to go and have a wonderful time at the to the KWELI Color of Children's Literature Conference, a conference for authors and illustrators of color to learn about the industry. Many people came up to her and told her they enjoy listening to this podcast! Grace and Alvina talk about the ever present topic; the need for more diverse authors and illustrators.
What’s on their minds? Grace and Alvina get into a discussion about early vs. later career success. They mention Oge Mora who wrote the book, Thank You Omu very early on in her career. While it is amazing to write such an award-winning novel so early on , Grace reflected back on the fact that she learned so much from all her struggles with the earlier books and how it has made the awards she won LATER more special. Sometimes it is all about the journey and appreciating the hussle and all the blood, sweat, and tears that goes into a long career of publishing several books.
This reminded them of their early days of blogging! Blogging was also a form of journaling for them both. They take a trip down memory lane and re-visit how blogging has changed over the years. They had a blog called the Blue Rose Girls!
The Blue Rose Girls
Grace is grateful for someone telling her that she was “meant for her job!” Alvina is grateful for the people that she works with.
Books and other media mentioned in this episode:
