Valerie - Welcome to Book Worthy. Today we're interviewing the award-winning author with close to 200 books to her name, Allia Zobel Nolan. Allia loves to make people laugh and bring people closer to God. Her latest book releasing this August is Harriet, Hurry Up in the So Slow Day. Harriet is an impatient little girl learning to trust God's timing and find the blessings he puts in every single day. If she can just slow down long enough to see them. With the rhyming texts that kids will love and colorful, whimsical illustrations full of surprises, Harriet Hurry Up and the Oh So Slow Day is perfect for anyone, child or adult, who finds himself having trouble with a little patience. Welcome to Bookworthy Allia.
Allia -Thank you so much for having me. I am thrilled to be here.
Valerie -It is a pleasure. Now, since Harriet Hurry Up spends much of her day at school learning patience, what type of kid were you in school? The classic clown, teacher's pet, the bookworm? Give us the details.
Allia - Okay, well, I spent a lot of time in detention because, I used to talk a lot. But it happens that this helped my career because in detention, they made you write essays and they gave you topics like life in a peanut butter jar or the day my cat, got my mouse, all these, you know, ridiculous, totally ridiculous things. But for me, I loved it. It was like, it was, it wasn't punishment. It was wonderful. So I spent my days writing away in detention and, and, you know, maybe I inadvertently tried to get to detention so I could be writing these things. But I was not a quiet person in school. I was not. I had a little bit of a problem because I was farsighted and my last name is Z and I was pretty tall at the time so they would put me in the back and I couldn't see a thing because between the eyes and being so far back so then my parents took me to the eye doctor and I got glasses and it was a whole new world so yeah I spent a lot of time in detention.
Valerie -That's hilarious. I love hearing stories like that because there are a lot of authors that I've met or read about that were kind of the kids that did end up in a place where they just, all they could do is draw and write and doodle. And it's like, well, that's what their career track began. So it's like, huh, okay. Detention isn't also bad.
Allia -No, it was good for me. I wish I had saved those because I could have made a book of essays for children. What is life like in a peanut butter jar? boy.
Valerie -Yeah, it looks like something to do with all your experience now. You can kind of remember back those and, you know, be the next Shel Silverstein.
Allia -I love him, by the way. He is, one of the questions you had given me initially was, who did you read growing up? And in the back here, in my back bookcase, I have Shel Silverstein, I have Jeff Moss, the Butterfly Jar, I have Jack Perletsky, who's my favorite. Something big has been here. And I love to read, poetry because it has a musicality to it. It has a sing-song kind of way. And that helps me with my writing, listening, and reading their books. And they're so wonderful and they're so magical, some of these books because they take you into places that you wouldn't normally go. They're not about, you know, your cat or your dog or anything. They're about, you know, fairies and they're about all these different little places and the stars and the moon. So I love to read kids' poetry. And that's probably why I write a lot of books in poetry.
Valerie -You do write some fun books and rhyme. Now, generally, you've written some children's Bible stories and humorous cat books. What led you to tackle this subject of waiting and patience?
Allia -Well, you know, that's a good question because I was on my way, I'm ADD as you can tell, and I don't like to wait. And when I hand in a manuscript, I expect the check to be in the mail the next day. So I'm on my way to the mailbox and I'm saying to myself, you know, I hate to wait. I open it up and it's not there. And I said, you know, if I
hate to wait, can imagine kids, kids probably as bad as it is for me, it must be awful for kids, you know? So then that stirred me into, well, how could you get a child not to be antsy, not to feel bad about it? And my first thought was, you have to trust God, you know, you have to trust his timing because he knows a heck of a lot more than we do. And I had a cartoon that I saw and I ripped it out and it's somewhere in this messy office. It's a picture of Jesus and he's kneeling on the floor and he has a big, big teddy bear in the back and he's talking to this little girl who's asking him for a little itty bitty little teddy bear. So the thought is that if you wait for God's timing, you could and almost always do get something better. You know, so I saw that and I just really love my office is filled with all these scraps that I rip out from different places. But it made me think, you know, you want this little thing and God has this big thing waiting for you. So that's why I thought kids would appreciate something like that because they can see themselves. One of the other questions you are asking the questions and answering them, what questions you gave me was, why did you write first person? Because a lot of picture books are omniscient and it's the third person. But I did it three different ways. I did it in prose. I wrote it in prose. I wrote it in poetry and I wrote it in first person and the omniscient teller, reteller. And it just, it didn't feel the urgency of being antsy and everything unless it was the first person, because she's saying, you know, the sun isn't coming up and the goopy syrup and, you know, the urgency came across more when you did it in first person. So that's why a lot of publishers sometimes don't like first-person with picture books. But I believe you if you've written something and you feel strongly about it, that you continue on that same road, you know, because when you try to put a size 10 shoe foot into a size three shoe, it doesn't work.
Valerie -Very true. And I love how your book works in the first person, does it create that urgency and that anxiety that kids feel throughout their day, whether it's waiting for their mom or dad to tie their shoes? Like, I want to go play. Can we please let's go faster? And it did create this urgency that kids can relate to. And so that as they're like, wait, I'm just like Harriet. I feel this way. They can be like, I can't trust God in the timing. And that's a message for me just as it is for my kids. It's just waiting on the Lord is just the biggest step of faith. But like you said, it's God usually makes us wait for something better than what we can even imagine. And so it's a really sweet message.
Allia -Exactly. Right. Or he keeps us from something. He could be keeping you from something. I have another thing up on my wall here that says, be grateful for the missed opportunities and the waiting and whatever because it, what does it say? It says, there are things no longer in alignment with your soul. So in other words, people say, I didn't get that and I didn't get this job and I missed out on this, but You don't know what is behind that. And you have to have faith, especially in these days, there's all kinds of, for kids, we are their mirror. In other words, they have to look at us and see how we act. And everything is fast, fast food, and you get the Uber to come, and you get the door dash and everything has to be quick. And they internalize this, you know, they think to themselves, well, you know, I don't want to wait either, you know, and why should I, you know? So that's why I'm hoping this book will show them someone who's like them. That's another thing. When they see someone in a book who is like them. who has all these problems? So that's why I like this book for myself too. When I'm in a hurry, my husband says, go off and read your book.
Valerie -That's dangerous when you have your self-help book. So fun. I have two kiddos with ADHD and it's been a process of learning how to parent someone who is in that constant state of go, go, go. And to see it as God's gift rather than so much of a disability, which is kind of labeled in our society. It's like They move so fast. They're such creative thinkers and they go at 120 miles an hour and I'm at like 75.
Allia -Well, you know, it's prescient that you would mention that because, you know, years ago when I grew up, years ago when I grew up, they used to call you bad. You were bad if you couldn't sit still or you didn't have an acronym for it. They didn't have that, you know. They didn't give you a retinal or whatever that medicine is. They just said you were bad and you have to learn to sit still and whatever. And you know, for people who have ADHD, it's, as you know, with your children, it's not easy. And God bless you for trying to figure out ways. That's why in this book, first of all, she asks God to give her patience, send her some patience, because she knows she's not patient. But then God, through her mother and her granny, sent her this dog that the two, the granny and Harriet had seen at the pound, they went over and she was playing with it and she had such fun that she even said, I wish this day wouldn't end. So God was working through the dog and the mother and to give her something to distract her from her business. And in the back of this book, We have a list of learning to wait. We have a list of all kinds of things that can help you as a child and as a caregiver. They're little tips. They're not the end-all and be-all, but they will help, I'm sure.
Valerie - And I love that you're giving, you know, not just kids or not just caregivers, but kids like, there are ways to cope with waiting. And I think that that's not often something that is taught as you were told to stop jittering, stop this, stop that. It's like, well, how do we cope with this? How do we work with how our body and our brain are working? And I love that you've given tips to do that. Cause I know as a mom of a kid with ADHD that you know, any tip is helpful.
Allia -Yes. Well, I was doing some research on that too. And I can remember when I was in the car and my mother was taking us to the beach with my sister. And we were, you know, I was like, over there. You know, so, but then my, I don't know whether it was my mother or my sister to shut me up said, look at the rabbits. Some rabbits are outside. See how many you can count. See how many you can pick out and count the rabbits. So I was like, you know, this is great. I'm going to count the rabbits. So unbeknownst to them, they gave me something to distract me from being nervous and antsy. And I pity kids like your children because the world is so fast-paced. The elevator doesn't come. The people are pushing the elevator. But nobody can wait two minutes.
Valerie -That's very true.
Allia -And now with the phone, I wrote this story. I don't want to be a smartphone zombie because, to me, people ask me, where I get my ideas. The world is full of ideas. Even when I went to the mailbox, I got an idea. If my head was on a phone, I wouldn't have gotten that idea. I just recently got a smartphone because it wouldn't work with my other phone, they shut it off because it was so old. But these are wonderful things. I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't. But I think we're missing out a lot as parents. I'm not a parent, but I see parents walking along and children interacting with their parents at a young age when they're in strollers and stuff. But if you have your face on a phone, they can't interact with you. They don't know. what you're thinking or how you're reacting. So, well, that's my little rant on the phone.
Valerie -That's a good one. It's one that I've talked about a lot on my blog about, you know, screen time and setting boundaries and, you know, giving your kids the opportunity to be creative. Cause I do think in this fast-paced world that we cannot sit and be still and just explore and just let our minds wander. We, my kids, when we do road trips. They're like, Mom, can we watch a DVD? I'm like, nope, nope. You get to stare out the window. And they're just like, what? Like, like there are always cars passing that they see little screens and they're in the car, like just for in-town driving. And they're just like, mom, why don't we have one of those? It's like, well, because I want you reading signs. I want you to interact with your siblings sometimes asking questions. I had my kid ask me just the other day, why are there numbers on the street sign? And we got to have a nice little conversation.
Allia -Well, that is so wonderful. And even people in the next car, look at the dog has his face out, and what kind of dog is that? Yes, kids have lost the... Parents used to say, I wish my kid would stop asking me questions. Now it's like, I wish my kid would start asking me questions. It's like, I try to engage children when I do school visits or whatever. I tried to engage their creativity. Like I asked them to write a poem and I gave them a few words that they had to use. And it's amazing some of the things they come up with. It's amazing, but you have to, and especially reading, I am so a proponent of getting kids, you know, as soon as they come out of the womb, give them a book. You know?
Valerie -Hey, pre-birthday! I'm all for reading in the womb!
Allia - Yes, yes. you know, my sister, God rest her soul, used to read to the kids and go to the museums and say, look at that, you know, with in utero with babies. boy. Well, I read to my cats. I have a meditation time in the morning, about an hour, an hour, an hour and a half. And I sit with all the animals and I read my meditation books to them. Now, they sit there and they nod their heads occasionally, but quiet time is so important, I feel, for kids.
Valerie -Yeah, just being able to think, think, think your thoughts and not be prompted by some, some other outside force and just to sit and to wonder, you know, it's one of the greatest boredom is the mother of creativity. I think is something that Einstein said. And it's just like, yeah, boredom is good. Some so many inventions and things have spawned from someone's boredom, like, huh, why does this work? Why does this not work? It's, it's always great for kids to ask those questions and to be inquisitive and to always, you know, be exploring. Cause I think even who was it? I can't remember who it was, but, it was talking about how when they've tested kids, like really young kids, they're all at a genius level, but as they grow up, and are go through school and are forced to forget their creativity and forget their, don't ask so many questions. Sit still, don't do that, don't touch that. The genius level that they were at four or five goes down because they're being just told not to think anymore. Don't be the amazing little person that you are. And it's hard.
Allia - Isn't that awful? They tend to stifle. They tend to stifle and substitute rote learning. Memorize this and memorize that. And that's why they were talking about, I don't know if it came back, you're getting rid of the SAT exams or whatever. I think that was a good thing because some people don't. They can't do that kind of a test. They have a different kind of learning and a different kind of intellect. So, but anyway.
Valerie -Right. Now with the art that you have in your book, it's very engaging, with lots of things hidden within the pictures as well. Have you worked with your illustrator before?
Allia -This illustrator I've never worked with before and she works digitally very fast. I was laughing because it's like hurry and hurry up and she's, you know, we would send her a brief and it'll be done in like a half an hour. She's very good. She's colorful. I love that, when kids are reading books, it's not only the main character who is very important, but in the background like this Harriet loves dogs and she has a Pocketbook that's shaped like a dog. Her bed, I think it's her lamp, is dog-shaped and all these little additions make it interesting so that you can even ask your child while you're reading it, how many dog things do you see on this page? There's always something different to engage them. So I was very happy with how we were able to get this illustrator I have a file I used to work for Reader's Digest children's publishing and we worked with a lot of different illustrators and I have a huge file of illustrators sometimes I'll see something and I'll like it and I'll put it in there and I happen to see I went
through a bunch of portfolios and I happened to see her and I thought she's I think she'd be really good and she was free, that's another thing, you know, and she was within the budget, so we were able to get her. She was very, very good, and the only thing, a lot of times, she was too fast and wouldn't welcome us. When you're doing something with an illustrator, they have an idea of what it is that they want to put. And because it's more colorful or it's more interesting, but it doesn't go with the words. So when I was, I had a little back and forth with her with that, but then it cleared up. But when I was working at Reader's Digest, that was always the problem with the illustrators. They would say, delete the word. And I would say, no, delete the rock. you know, because the rock would be in the way of the word or whatever. So there's always this thing. And what I have in my mind, because I write the art brief, which is what goes on every page, I'm fortunate that I'm allowed to do that. But when I have an idea in my mind and then the illustrator comes up with something altogether different, I try my darndest to accept that and see it from a different way because I don't know everything. I know a lot of things, but I don't know everything. So I try to look at it, yeah, you know, it's better that way, you know? So that's what you have to do when you're working with really good illustrators, because they know what they're doing, you know? And you have to, and they've done books before, so it's not like it's, you know, a neophyte. It's not somebody new. So, yeah, she was very, very good. And I loved her portrayal of Harriet. I wanted red hair. I love characters with red hair for some reason. So, yes. So, I asked her to do red hair. And a lot of times these days, because people are working digitally, they do a family photo of all the different characters so that when the whole book is finished, you don't have to go back and say, he shouldn't be wearing sandals. This is for an American audience. Because she tended to have a kind of European style. And she had the man wearing sandals. I said, in America, you don't wear sandals until it's summertime, which is, she wouldn't have known that. So little things like that. She did an excellent job. I mean, it's just you keep wanting to turn the page to see what's on the next page. Yes, see what she's up to next, right?
Valerie -See what Harriet's up to next for sure. Very neat. Well, what's been one of the most impactful books in your life, Allia?
Allia -Well, you know, I've read so many different books and they've all affected me in a lot of different ways, but there's one book that I read in print and then I have the tapes and I listen to it. It's called The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey. Now, I read everything that he does because he's just fabulous. And I read this book and I have the tapes and I have the book and I read it every once in a while, because it brings to life Jesus the man. It's not the miracle worker or you know, it's how he relates to us, okay? How he had sorrows and he lost his
friend and sickness and happy times and stress and all these things that we experience but a lot of times we say how can God feel the way I feel he's never been through it but he has and this book brings it you know to the forefront it brings it so I really love that book anything by Philip Yancy I like I give him a plug.
Valerie -He is amazing. I do love his stuff too. And just to see, you know, the world a little differently. Like I love how, you know, the Jesus I never knew does talk about things that are not so much, you know, biblical verses, but to see beneath what was going on. Like what would this be like, you know, to lose your best friend and, well, I can't go wake him up yet but I'm going to, I'm going to have to take him away from my father to do this miracle. And it's a great way for us to see Jesus better, to recognize that he is that great high priest who has felt what we feel no matter where we are in our journey with the Lord. And I love that about Philip’s work too.
Allia -That's why I like that book. I like it all, he wrote another book, What's So Amazing About Grace, and I love that one too. He's one of my favorite authors. I like him.
Valerie -Very neat. Well, what can we expect next from you, Allia?
Allia -Well, that's funny you should ask. This comes out in August, August 13 to be precise, but it's on pre-order now so you can order it now. And it's available at Christian Books, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. And what's coming next is I'm going back to my love of cats. Two cat books. One is called, Why can't my brother be more like my cat? And it's a reader and it's very funny. The illustrator is New York Times bestselling illustrator Lee Wildish. And he did that for me. Wonderful, wonderful. You know, I just gave him the art instructions and Bing. He did a wonderful job. The next one comes out at Christmas and it's called Casey Carruthers is looking for harmony. Now this book is about a kitten who gets lost and her owner is asking other kids to help and they get into fights and they say, you know, who's best and my idea is best and
then they stop for ice cream and then they, one of them, the boys decide they're going to go to the forest and get sticks so they can fight dragons so they all not on the right track to find this kitten. Meanwhile, the kitten is in the background going, meow, meow, meow, you know. So when they did, and they also didn't ask for God's help. So Casey jumps up and says, you know, we forgot, we forgot to ask God to help us. So at the very end, they get together, they work as a team, and they apologize to each other for causing pain. They say we'll all do this together. And when they do that, of course, the kitten comes out. And so the idea behind that is harmony. When you act in harmony with your friends and you don't go off on a tangent to do different things, then you can get your objective. So that's that one. Then I have one more that's a personal memoir. My sister passed three weeks, four weeks ago, and it was traumatic because it was fast. It was good in a way that it was fast, but she wasn't sick or anything. It was traumatic. And I'm writing a memoir about her. She has 12 children.
Valerie -Wow. There's a story there for sure.
Allia -So there's the story there. There are so many stories there. And I started a book called, Hello Mom, You Left Me at McDonald's, which was a true story, but I never finished it. So I think it's time that I want to put all these things down because when you're gone, you can't put them down. So I want to memorialize her in the way that I know best, which is writing.
Valerie -Those sound wonderful. Where can people find out more about you, Allia?
Allia -Well, let's see. I'm not a TikTok -y person, so you can't find me on TikTok. Somebody put me on... I'm on Facebook a lot. I have three different sites. One is called Heavenly Headbutts, which is a book I just did, which is Reflections of Hope about Cats and Eternity that will see cats in heaven. The other one is just Allia Zobel's Books and Things. And the other one is just my name. So, I'm active on Facebook because it's the only one I know how to do. And I'm also on LinkedIn. But other than that, I have to hire somebody to help me because I'm just, and believe it or not, my husband is a software developer. So, you know, the, yes? wow. So, but when I ask him for anything, I have to tell him, you know, because he goes, one, two, three, talk about it, hurry it, hurry up. It's like, wait a minute, I'm on the first frame already, go back, you know? So, yeah, I love this book. one other thing. I am going to do a contest when the book comes out. And I couldn't get the same doll because it's the character of the illustrator. So I got this lovely doll, Harriet, and we're going to change. I'm going to get the purple jumpsuit and the purple blouse. And her hair isn't exactly red, but so we're going to give one of these away. If you buy a thousand, no if you buy one copy I'm gonna have like a contest because I like this doll is very nice So that's what we're gonna do. So yeah, I'm fat. my my website WWW.Alliawrites.com very simple.
Valerie -Very neat. We'll make sure to have all those links in our descriptions and hopefully, we can include your contest link also so that people can find out how to enter. That would be so much fun. Well, thank you, Allia, so much for joining us today.
Allia - Thank you. It was wonderful. It's so nice to talk with like-minded people who love books and children.
Valerie - I love it, it's been so much fun. And thank you for joining Allia and me on this final episode of season three. Season four will start in seven weeks, but don't worry, we'll be revisiting some great books from the past seasons during the break. But the fun never stops on social media, so follow along.
Happy reading
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