Finding and Working with a good book designer

Good Book Designers

by Lisa Lickel

Lately I've picked up indie books that have decent ratings and are well-meant, thoughtful, and have the names of the editors and designers listed. I'm glad indie authors are taking the time to run their manuscripts through an editing process and trying to do the right thing by presumably paying someone to design the interior.

It's not always the case, unfortunately, that paying someone means the final product has an acceptably professional layout. I'm more picky than most readers. I know that. I'm more picky than most editors and publishers I have worked with. I know that. I am not perfect, so I'm not throwing stones, but I learn from my mistakes and make it my mission not to repeat them. So, the last book I opened with the above credentials had several designer errors in the first five pages that made me wonder what country and what style guide these folks were following. Not to mention dread trying to read the rest. Having worked for several publications, I understand that each publications company can have its own style guide. But when it comes to good, industry-standard, acceptable, professional literature, the Chicago Manual of Style is the go-to reference guide.

Typically, authors are focused on creating good story and leave the rest to professionals, so it pays to find experienced people. But, like any job that you can't or won't do for yourself, how do you know the right questions to ask or whether you've received the best service?

1. My number one piece of advice on finding a good, professional designer is to ask what style guide he or she follows.
2. Secondly, look at a "Big" imprint book - like one from Hatchette, Double Day, HarperCollins, or Random House, and simply examine the front and back matter and pay attention to the chapter header pages, where the page numbers are, and what's on the copyright page. You're observing, not performing the complex procedure itself. If your book doesn't look like that, ask the designer to follow traditional standards. It matters, maybe not so much to the casual reader, but to anyone who you want to take you seriously. A few tips follow.

• A good designer will follow a professional style guide. Chicago Manual of Style is traditional; however, within those standards you, the indie author, can ask for particular idiosyncrasies such as stylized chapter headings or artwork in the scene breaks or header/footer specifics. It should be consistent.
• A good designer knows what goes on the copyright page, and how to word the language. While "by" does not go on the cover or front matter, it does go on the copyright page, as in copyright by author name. Good designers know that copyrighted material that is quoted in your manuscript must adhere to specific permission requirements and will follow them. It's not that hard. Good designers and editors know that certain material does not fall under fair use rules and permission must be obtained and will either walk you through it or take care of it.
• A good designer and editor knows what Foreword means and who can write it
• A good designer will either get or walk you through the Library of Congress cataloging data; helping you obtain a processing number and working on the data block that shows librarians and booksellers where to place your book on the shelf or how to enter it for reference or sales.
• A good designer understands and can advise you on ISBNs and whether adding a barcode is necessary in your case, why you don't need to pay for a copyright or if you should; and registering your ISBN and imprint
• A good designer and editor knows that super and subscript is not used as part of a date
• A good designer takes the time to make sure headers and footers are not used on every page of the manuscript, but set up either by template or manually to ensure certain pages such as tables of content or new chapter pages are unique
• Epigraphs are not in quotes
• neither are endorsements
• opening chapter text is left justified
• usually, so are first lines after scene breaks
• no fewer than four lines show flow onto a blank page
• the facing page is the recto page, the right hand, and is odd numbered
• the back side, the verso, is even
• A good gutter and nice margins create a pleasant reading experience, not frustrating the reader who must constantly bend the book to read into the spine or move their hands to keep their thumbs out of the margins
• A good designer recommends fonts and line heights
• A good designer understands back matter
• A good designer understand how to prepare manuscripts for electronic delivery and that they are in a different format. They do not have gutters or different odd/even page setups, and have a clickable Table of Contents if they have one at all. They are in different formats.
• A good designer can also prepare your manuscript as an audio script

Howard Watson is on the case

The Scheduler: a Howard Watson Intrigue

JoAnn Fastoff

June 15, 2020

ISBN 9781087875965

174 pp

$2.99 ebook

$12.95 print

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Amazon 

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About the Book

Five men have been targeted for death by someone trained on an M-24 sniper rifle…a rifle that only the military provides. The person or persons unknown is an expert shot. Howard Watson is an FBI Supervisory Special Agent in Charge in Washington, D.C., and his friend, Allen Knox, is one of the two targets on the offenders’ list who escapes the deathtrap. What do these five men have in common that has garnered the wrath of the shooter? The FBI Profiler will offer her insight.

A brief interview with the Author

Tell us what you love about this new Howard Watson Intrigue, JoAnn.

This particular HW intrigue is a personal battle for Agent Watson. Emotions are high.

Introduce us to your favorite perp.

My favorite perp in this “Intrigue” is Marjorie Halstrom (dynamic character) because of the weight she carried in her life and how she believed she squashed it in her daughter’s life.

What do you hope readers will tell others when they’re finished the book?

Although “The Scheduler” is a book of fiction sexual molestation is real. I would hope people, in addition to be being entertained with the story, are subliminally outraged by one characters action on a minor.

What’s next for you, JoAnn?

I am currently taking a break from HW to write about the early stages of women in sports.

What are you reading now?

Right now I am reading The Most Famous Woman in Baseball (Effa Manley and the Negro Leagues).

Read JoAnn's post about her series here.

My review

In Fastoff’s incredibly fast-paced thriller, FBI Special Agent Howard Watson is back on a new case, and this time it’s personal.

Starting with a literal gunshot bang at his close friends Janet and Allen’s wedding, Watson rushes directly into the hunt for the shooter. The fact that his friend is only one of several similar but apparently random victims around the country only makes the crack cross-agency team work faster to prevent another attack.

When Knox’s fiancé, Janet, unofficially gets involved, as well as Knox’s partner, it’s not long before the agents begin unraveling a lengthy skein of terror stretching back decades.

The Scheduler is a quick thrill ride with a favorite crew of special agents, back for a sixth dramatic case dealing with the devastating effects of the ultimate betrayal in dysfunctional family dynamics. Fans of FBI fiction and serial intrigues will love the emotional twists and turns during the tracking of a killer through America’s Midwest.

About the author

JoAnn Fastoff is an award-winning author of both fiction and non-fiction books. She has written for numerous publications, has produced three one-act plays Off-Off-Broadway in New York, and produced and directed Live from the Warehouse, a jazz program for several PBS affiliates. Ms. Fastoff is an environmental activist, the mother of two adult children and the grandmother of Lia. She lives in Chicago. Visit her website at www.JoAnnFastoff.com

WWI era Alaskan adventure

Until June

By Barbara Britton

June 2020

Pelican Book Group

266 pp

Historical Romantic Fiction, Americana

Alaska

$5.99 Ebook

$15.99

Buy the book

Amazon 

Barnes and Noble 

Pelican Book store

About the book

When seventeen-year-old seamstress, Josephine Nimetz, agrees to take care of a WWI amputee in a remote Alaskan lodge, there's enough friction to melt the Mendenhall Glacier. Her position is only until June, and it pays well enough to overlook the hardship of managing a rustic home and a shell-shocked veteran.

Geoff Chambers makes it clear that he isn't too fond of the “runt” sent to take care of his needs, nor of her painful mistakes. Dealing with a depressed and addicted veteran, pushes Josephine to the brink of leaving, if not for the money her salary brings.

But Josephine is a perfectionist, determined to get Geoff back on his feet—figuratively...Although, sending a rich, handsome veteran back into society may cost Josephine the man she has grown to love.

My review

When a proper young Alaskan miss and a wounded and bitter WWI veteran are bound together by need, romance isn’t the first order of business.

Too determined to get Geoff on his feet, albeit wooden, once Jo finds the amputee’s wooden legs hidden in a closet, Jo forgoes dignity and gossip as they spend time together at an island lodge off the cost of Juneau, Alaska in 1918 and 1919. Birthdays and holidays pass over the course of nine months as Josephine turns to nurse and helpmeet from her work as a seamstress to help provide for her family after her stepfather is brutally murdered. The murder case remains open, and anxiety over the potential perpetrator keeps the sense of suspense present under the main theme of the story.

When most girls are completing high school, Josephine is stuck on a deserted island with a grumpy young man addicted to drugs. Worse yet, he’s trigger-happy, calls her a runt, and forces her to sin—by playing card games with him. When he calls her out on romantic stories she reads in a women’s magazine and dares her to enter a writing contest, Jo slowly amends her initial impressions of the soulful Geoff.

Scarcely older than Jo, Geoff had enlisted in army only to be wounded dreadfully early on. With his bad attitude, his prognosis is grim, and he’s sent away to recover or die in a secluded place where he won’t bother his stepmother and younger half-brother. But Geoff surprises everyone, including himself, when he realizes his life is far from over.

Told through our young heroine’s eyes, Britton has created an earthy and heartwarming romance filled with down-to-earth characters. Frankness and realism pepper this journey of healing from the inside out. Britton’s fans won’t find much of a leap from Biblical Israel to historical territorial America as her latest tale unfolds with her usual storytelling aplomb.

About the Author

Barbara M. Britton lives in Wisconsin and loves the snow--when it accumulates under three inches. Barb writes romantic adventures from Ancient Israel to Modern Day USA and especially enjoys bringing little-known Bible characters to light. She has a nutrition degree from Baylor University but loves to dip healthy strawberries in chocolate. Barb is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Wisconsin Romance Writers of America, Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction Writers. You can visit Barb online at www.barbarambritton.com or follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Dharma A Rekha Rao Mystery by Vee Kumari

Dharma by Vee Kumari

Paperback: 302 pages

Publisher: Great Life Press (March 2020)

ISBN-13: 978-1938394423

$4.99  Ebook

$14.95  Print

Buy on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/DHARMA-Rekha-Mystery-Vee-Kumari/dp/1938394429

About the Book:

Rekha Rao, a thirty-something Indian American professor of art history, is disillusioned by academia and haunted by the murder of her father. She believes police convicted the wrong person, and moves away from her match-making family.

She’s focused on managing her PTSD and healing her heart, broken by an abusive boyfriend. She gets entangled in a second murder, that of her mentor and father figure. The murder weapon, an idol of the Hindu goddess Durga, is left behind on the body. Detective Al Newton asks her to look into the relationship, if any, between the meaning of the statue and the motive for the murder.

Rekha is attracted to Al but steers clear of him because of her distaste for cops and fear of a new relationship. The two constantly clash, starting a love-hate relationship. Meanwhile, her family sets her up to meet a suitor, an Indian attorney. When police arrest one of her students and accuse her mentor of idol theft, Rekha is left with no other choice but to look for the killer on her own.

Despite admonitions from Al and bodily harm caused by an intruder, Rekha finds the killer, and in the process, emerges from the cocoon of a protected upbringing to taste the prospect of romance and discover her true identity.

Vee Kumari shares about her work

"How much research went into Dharma and how I went about it"

I had to do quite a bit of research to ensure the facts presented are accurate. I

hope I haven’t erred by omission. As a former neuroscientist, I was used to

research.

• Excavation in India

The story of the discovery of microliths, 35,000-year-old stone tools in Jwalapuram in the state of Andhra Pradesh in central India, is true and comes from an article I came across in the journal, Antiquity (Volume 83, Issue 320, June 2009, pp. 326-348), written by first author Chris Clarkson. I wanted to connect Faust and Davidson with an excavation in India where the Durga could be discovered.

Certainly, no idol was reported to have been unearthed among the Jwalapuram finds, but I used my creative license to invent that. I wrote and obtained permission from the first author to do this. Any reader who notices the discrepancy in the timeline – excavation of the microliths published in 2009 and the beginning of my story in 2017 – will hopefully forgive me.

• The Durga as the Mahishasura Mardini

I knew the basics about this re-incarnation, and how Durga herself was created from parts of the Trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. However, I checked the facts against known texts and made sure to depict the battle between Durga and the buffalo demon, Mahishasura in accurate terms. Two books by Carmel Berkson, “The Divine and The Demoniac, Mahisha’s Heroic Struggle with Durga” published in 1995, and “Ellora Concepts and Style” published in 1992 were most valuable resources.

• Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1808, 1832)

Again, I’m unclear how I came up with the name Faust for the murdered professor. But it provided a source for the verse that Neil’s mother included in the book she left for him. I Googled the verse innumerable times to make sure that it would bring up the original text and it did. The idea of Neil’s mother leaving a cryptic message for him came from a less well-known mystery novel by P.D. James, “An Unsuitable Job For A Woman”, in which a private detective, Cordelia Gray, embarks on a journey to find the killer of the son of a prominent scientist.

• Other resources

Contacts at Massachusetts Document Retrieval provided information about the registration of births, adoptions and deaths by suicides in Massachusetts. Harvard Archives Reference office helped me with information on graduate student registration process in 1996-1997.

My Review

Couched within a murder mystery is a woman seeking self-identity while maintaining her cultural heritage.

Rekha Rao, an art history professor, has been forced to redo her life while in her early thirties when a poor choice of a boyfriend blew up, and the ill-advised pursuit of a killer which cost her tenure-tract and respect. Kind of a practice reincarnation. And that’s before this mystery opens with the gruesome death of another loved one.

Professor Rao is tapped by the local police when a strange artifact is involved in the murder of a beloved colleague. The circumstances are bizarre, almost as if the victim had undergone a personality change, and Rao is determined to understand why anyone would have cause to hate the gentle, kind, and fair professor, a renowned archaeologist.

As the story unwinds, Rao reckons with her overly loving family who tries to help her overcome her single status with a suitable suitor. Trouble is, she’s attracted once again to the wrong sort—a detective investigating the case. During the course of the story, Rao struggles with belief in herself and others as she practices the gentle art of listening. As she gets closer to the truth behind the professor’s murder, she learns more about herself, and all the things that went wrong after her father’s murder only a few years prior.

I enjoyed the bits of Indian culture, history, food, fashion, and angst that Kumari weaves throughout this contemporary mystery set in California academia.

About the Author

Vee Kumari, Actor, Producer, and Author of Dharma: A Rekha Rao Mystery, grew up in India. She loved to read, and often used it to avoid her mother, who might want her to do a chore or two. It was her mother who directed her to use the dictionary to learn the meanings of new words and construct sentences with them. Vee wanted to become an English professor but went to medical school instead.

Upon coming to the US, Vee obtained a doctorate in anatomy. She became a faculty member at the UC Davis Medical Center, where she worked for over 35 years, and later worked for the Keck School of Medicine for five years. Teaching neuroanatomy to medical students became her passion. She published many scientific papers and won several teaching awards.

When she retired in 2012, she took classes from The Gotham Writers' Workshop and UCLA Writers Program. Dharma, A Rekha Rao Mystery is her debut fiction that incorporates her observations on the lives of Indian immigrants and Indian Americans in the US.

Vee lives in Burbank and is also an actor who has appeared in TV shows, including Criminal Minds and Glow, and produced and was the lead in a short film, Halwa, which garnered the first prize in HBO's 2019 Asian Pacific American Visionaries (APAV) contest.

She is at work on her next novel about an Indian immigrant family whose American dream shatters when one of their twin daughters goes missing. Author website: veekumari.com

Facebook: @veekumari

Instagram:  @vee6873hollywood

Twitter: @veekumari1

new inspirational fiction from Carole Brown

Caleb’s Destiny: Troubles in the West, book 1

Carole Brown

Inspirational historical fiction

May 22, 2020

Story & Logic Media Group

ISBN-13: 9781941622636

282 pp

$2.99 ebook

$12.99 Print

Buy on Amazon US

Amazon AU

Amazon CA

Buy on Barnes and Noble 

About the Book:

Mr. Michael, Destiny Rose McCulloch, and Hunter have a mysterious history. Why were three fathers, all business partners, murdered under suspicious circumstances while on their quest to find gold?

Hunter is determined to protect his boss and the precocious young lady who he suspects holds a key answer to his questions.

Mr. Michael wants only to be left alone to attend to his property, but what can he do when Destiny refuses to leave and captures the heart of every one of his employees?

Destiny almost forgets her quest when she falls in love with Mr. Michael's ranch and all the people there. And then Mr. Michael is much too alluring to ignore. The preacher man back east where she took her schooling tried to claim her heart, but the longer she stays the less she can remember him. She only came west to find a little boy she knew years ago. A little boy all grown up by now...unless, of course, he's dead.

Three children, connected through tragedy and separated by time, are fated to reunite and re-right some powerful wrongs.

My Review

Brown’s latest story-telling chops take her fans back to gold rush days, with all the deviousness mankind can wrought. Three youngsters, gathered by tragedy and separated by time are fated to reunite and re-right some powerful wrongs. Rich setting and always excellent scenes will enchant the lover the romantic historical suspense.

Brown’s stories tend to be rich on nuance and detail, spiritual and wholesome tales. In this  story, we hearken back to gold rush days in Colorado, where men become impatient and fools rush in. Three children, orphaned at the outset of the 1870s, are brought together for a very brief time after suffering tragedy.

Young Caleb is a determined protector; Destiny is a spitfire young girl, and Hunter, a young man with a loyal heart. They all witness horrifying crimes. The story picks up fifteen years later when Destiny travels back to the west in an effort to learn more of her history, Only a child when sent to Boston, she longs for a sense of family and friendship she once knew after losing her mother. Her reintroduction to Colorado is a rather violent one, and she’s rescued by the local landowner—a man burdened by secrets.

Caleb’s Destiny continues to unfold as the past slowly opens to reveal the intrigue and reasons behind the sorrowful events of the past. Lovingly researched with well-fleshed characters, Brown unwinds her story through multiple viewpoints, great dialog and realistic events. Fans of historical fiction with all the romance and suspense of classic westerns will find much to love.

A brief Interview with Carole:

Is there a story behind Caleb's Destiny?

Actually, a few years ago, I wanted to enter a book for a contest. When I brainstormed with my hubby, he came up with the plot for the book. I began writing but didn't complete it. This year I decided to finish that beginning. I'd just recently began a Chore & Writing Crawl, which I've been following meticulously (or almost). Doing this has helped me complete this approximately 90,000 word novel in around two and ½ months.

Where do you get the names for your characters?

In this book, it was easy. Our niece lost her baby girl whose name was Destiny. This niece is so special. Loves us and my books. It was decided almost from the first that the female protagonist would be called Destiny. :)  For me, it seems that the names just came to me. I use origins for some names to suit the personality of a character. I use a baby name book. It just depends on the book and character. But it's so much fun choosing!

As far as Mr. Michael's name, it came from a nephew who died unexpectedly and devastated the family. It was a good thing to use his name.

Do you have favorite research books?

I do, and they are such simple but important ones to me. A dictionary, a synonym, a baby's name book, some crime books, personality books. These are my go-to research books. For other research, I use the internet and try to find specialists in whatever I need to learn about some detail. Lots of fun!

About Carole:  

Besides being a member and active participant of many writing groups, Carole Brown enjoys mentoring beginning writers. An author of ten books, she loves to weave suspense and tough topics into her books, along with a touch of romance and whimsy, and is always on the lookout for outstanding titles and catchy ideas. She and her husband reside in SE Ohio but have ministered and counseled nationally and internationally. Together, they enjoy their grandsons, traveling, gardening, good food, the simple life, and did she mention their grandsons?

Personal blog: http://sunnebnkwrtr.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaroleBrown.author

Amazon Author Page:  http://www.amazon.com/Carole-Brown/e/B00EZV4RFY/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1427898838&sr=8-1

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/browncarole212

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/carole-brown

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/browncarole212/?hl=en

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sunnywrtr/boards/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5237997-carole-brown

Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/carole-brown-79b6951a/

New YA fiction from Kent Raddatz on bullying

The Boy Who Dreamed

Kent Raddatz

Young Adult

Fantasy

Kent Raddatz, publisher

May, 2020

Ebook - $2.99

Paperback - $7.99

197 pp

ISBN: 979-8638-8225-07

Buy on Amazon

About the Book

Twelve-year-old Jacob Tannin is being bullied by Willard and doesn’t know what to do about it. He pretends to be invisible in the hopes that Willard will pick on someone else. It doesn’t work. And sometimes, while he’s being picked on, something sarcastic pops out of his mouth—which never goes over well. But Jacob’s also a dreamer. And when his dreams take him to another world called Chimeran, things begin to change. In Chimeran, he’s attacked by Haggeldies, a new set of bullies. But he also makes friends who try to teach him how to stand up for himself. As he goes back and forth between these two worlds, he’s forced to see others in a new way. And he’s encouraged to believe in the power that comes from what he thinks about himself. Will Jacob ever stop being afraid? What will give him the courage to speak up for himself? And how will he learn what he’s worth when bullies in both worlds say he’s nothing?

My Review:

Debut author Kent Raddatz has produced a winner for kids who like to read, especially those who read to escape problematic reality.

Jacob is every boy, on the verge of becoming a young man who is learning about the tough side of life, and deciding his path. Will he join the side that walks over those who are different, or will he develop empathy, no matter how much it hurts?

When Jacob takes that first step of reaching outside of his own insecurity, and wondering what life is like for others and realizing that everyone is a potential friend, life doesn’t get easier. Every encounter with someone in his greater, wider world shows him another piece of his developing life puzzle. Even family members become heroes when viewed through his newly maturing sight.

Raddatz’s story is told through young Jacob’s eyes, in the well-drawn voice of a twelve-year-old learning that life is bigger than himself. Reminiscent of my favorite book of all time, Dandelion Wine, readers, both boys and girls, who appreciate coming-of-age tales, watching their narrator get the big lessons and grow, will enjoy The Boy Who Dreamed.

About the Author:

Kent Raddatz is a writer and author of The Boy Who Dreamed, the story of twelve-year-old Jacob Tannin whose dreams transport him to another world. Yet the most important thing to know about Jacob is that he’s being bullied.

Professionally trained as a Pastor, Kent worked with many children who were bullied in a variety of ways. Some were physically attacked while others were verbally abused. All were forced to put up with angry people. He listened to their stories and encouraged them to accept and love who they are.

He is well suited to write about this subject because, in his own words, “at times I was bullied; while at other times I did the bullying [I was too small to use anything except my words].”

A member of SCBWI and the Wisconsin Writer’s Association, he attended the 2015 and 2017 Novel-In-Progress Book Camp where he was awarded the Fox Ridge Scholarship.

Legends from Moms Closet by Sasha Olsen child activist

Legends from Mom’s Closet

Sasha Olsen

Child Author, Environmental Activist

Non-fiction

Publisher: BCH
Release Date: May 19, 2020
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780578620091 

$24.94

Buy on
Author book website

Amazon 

Barnes and Noble

About the Book

10-Year-Old Girl Uses Imagination and Vintage Fashion to Emulate Female Icons

A lesson in using creativity and learning at home

When 10-year-old Sasha Olsen was forced to spend a summer indoors because of rainy weather, she refused to spend all her time in front of a screen. Instead, she read through a stack of books detailing the lives of famous women throughout history. From Frida Kahlo and Audrey Hepburn to Billie Holiday and Joan Jett, Sasha’s imagination began to run wild as she learned about these accomplished and creative women who had become legends.

Soon, Sasha was in her mom's closet picking through her clothes and her grandmother’s vintage pieces to dress up like all the women she had been reading about. In her upcoming book, Legends from Mom’s Closet (May 2020), Sasha recreates the looks of her favorite female icons, from dresses to lipstick to hairstyles. She also offers highlights of their lives that she learned about while reading.

By dressing up in these clothes, Sasha also learned the difference between fast and vintage fashion, including the positive environmental impact consumers can have by choosing vintage or secondhand over newer items.  She encourages readers to embrace vintage as she has in an effort to help the planet in their own small way.

Complete with photos of the looks she created and tips for other young girls on how they can emulate these iconic women, Legends from Mom’s Closet will inspire kids to use their creativity at home, spending time to delve into the lives of truly remarkable people from the past to learn a thing or two about what it means to be legendary today.

A Brief Interview with the Author

Legends from Mom’s Closet

By Sasha Olsen (age 10)

In your book, Legends from Mom’s Closet, you share tidbits about and dress up like legendary women you read about during a rainy summer spent indoors. A lot of kids your age would spend a rainy summer watching TV or playing video games. What made you decide to start reading books about famous women?
Well, I actually love to read, especially biographies. I don’t usually spend a lot of time using any devices. I didn’t specifically start reading books about famous women, but I started looking around for books to learn more about legendary people. I just happened to meet these iconic women through their amazing stories and spending a day in their shoes!

Who was your favorite female legend to read about?
My favorite legend to read about was probably Frida Kahlo! I felt like she had a very inspiring story. She had a lot of difficult times in her life, but no matter what, she worked hard to achieve her dreams and become an artist.

What is the biggest lesson you learned from getting to know all of these female legends?
I learned many lessons! Most of all though, I learned that women are super strong. Women work very hard and can get through anything that might stand in their way of achieving their goals. Women are so inspiring!

What inspired you to use your mom’s clothes and your grandmother’s vintage pieces to recreate all of their iconic looks?
Actually, I just went into my mom’s closet and started trying on her shoes and dresses. This was after I read about Frida Kahlo. So, I just got the idea to try and dress up as her! I thought my mom might be really upset with me for playing with her things, but she loved the idea. If the legend was wearing something like I really couldn’t figure out where to get, I would call my grandma for advice. Most of the time, she had exactly what I needed!

Who was your favorite legend to dress up as and why?
My favorite legend to dress up as was definitely Yayoi Kusama. I love her bright artwork, and I was able to get even more creative to dress up as her!

How did you decide which legends to include in Legends from Mom’s Closet?
I didn’t choose them before. I just started to read about people who I didn’t know much about yet and it ended up being all women! After, I just decided to share them in this book.

Your other passion is the environment. Tell us what you learned about vintage fashion versus fast fashion.
When I was started my movement Iwantmyoceanback and this project, I was doing a lot of research during that time. I wanted to know more about what are the biggest things that pollute our oceans and cause problems for our planet. I found out like clothing is one of the biggest ocean pollutants and some fabrics, like polyester, have plastic in them so it breaks down and hurts our sea animals. After finding this out, I realized that it’s very harmful to buy fast fashion because people just buy the clothes and throw them away soon after. It inspired me to learn more about vintage and how we can buy secondhand instead, and just reuse clothing!

Ultimately, what do you hope your readers take away from your book?
I hope readers learn how important it is to let your creativity run wild! I want other kids to know that we can get inspired and have fun while also learning new things and growing our knowledge. It’s also very important that we learn more about how fast fashion affects our oceans and that we stop it! We need to win the war against fast fashion to help save the planet.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about the book or what you learned while writing it?
I just want to share that this book project is super special to me! It means a lot to me, and I worked very hard on it. I hope that everyone enjoys my stories and experiences dressing up as these legendary women. Most of all, I hope readers try it themselves and that it inspires them to think outside the box! I learned a lot from reading and getting to know these women, especially that we can do anything if we believe in ourselves.

About The Author

Sasha Olsen is an author, environmental activist, ballroom dancer, bookworm, pianist, and enjoys anything artistic. She always finds new hobbies and things to do, which usually ends up in her trying to juggle everything. She lives with her family in Bal Harbour, Florida, where she also spearheads the conservation movement “I Want My Ocean Back.” Legends From Mom’s Closet is her first book.

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