Charlie Barshaw coordinates our regular Writer Spotlight feature and interviews writers of SCBWI-MI. In this piece, meet Kelly DiPucchio, a prolific picture book writer who's collaborated with a Queen, visited with Oprah, and is currently writing scripts for PBS.
You were born in Warren, MI in 1967, yet there is talk of a goat and a manure pile. Was Warren more rural back then? What was life like for young Kelly?
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| Kelly and brother |
I was born in Warren, but I grew up in Rochester, Michigan which was very rural back in the 1970’s. Like many long novels, my childhood had a Part One and a Part Two. In Part One, my family lived on a small farm, and I had a lot of freedom to explore the outdoors. I loved spending time in nature. I talked to animals and the trees, and I was an extraordinarily imaginative child.
In Part Two, my parents got divorced. I moved with my mom into
an apartment near the city, changed schools, and life was drastically different.
One thing that was consistent in both parts of the story was my unending love
for books. When I was young, they were fuel for my imagination and when I was
older, they became a lifeline and an escape to other worlds.
You revealed to an interviewer that it wasn’t until you had children of your own that you considered writing as a work-from-home career. Was it the bedtime stories, gifted books, eventful trips to the library, or something else that whispered, “You, too, can write children’s books.”?
The initial catalyst came in the form of a dream in which my
deceased grandfather appeared as a turtle. But that’s a story for another
article! I also credit Jon Sciezka for
playing a role in my journey because it was after reading his absurdly funny picture
book with Lane Smith, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, that I
began to fall deeply in love with picture books.
You mentioned you had a dream where a relative was a turtle, but that story would have to wait. Fair enough. But, do you find your dreams are part of your creative process? You talk of being in the Zone. Are dreams part of your unconscious, subconscious zone?
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| Kelly and Queen |
Much has been made of The Sandwich Swap, written in collaboration Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan, including your appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s TV show. With 14 years in the rear-view mirror, what stands out most in your memories of that time?
Honestly, when I look back at that special time in my life it all feels a bit surreal. I think the thing that stands out the most is the memory of being at the Oprah Winfrey Show and pinching myself.
A decade earlier
I was a stay-at-home mom watching Oprah on television and feeling inspired by
many of her guests who had overcome challenges and made their dreams come true.
So for me to be there, in Harpo Studios, having just co-authored a children’s
book for a QUEEN was absolutely mind-blowing to me. It still is!
There was some talk that you made a deal with your Higher Power that you would give back to the world for all the blessings and good
fortune you’d experienced. Are you more comfortable with your success these
days?
I don’t know if I would call it a deal. At one point early in my career, I decided to get out of my own way, and I asked my Higher Power to be used as an instrument for the greatest good of all.
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| Switzer Welcomes Kelly |
Of course, I
always hope my books will be well-received and people will want to buy them,
but I’ve come to learn that success is relative and fickle, so I try not to
dwell on it.
I did! In 2014, I saw the world premier in Portland, Oregon. It was hilarious and the music and lyrics were to die for.
Grace For President was also turned into a musical and I had the opportunity to see a
show in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is an incredibly wild and humbling
experience to be sitting in the audience watching a bunch of strangers bring
your characters to life on stage in such a creative, entertaining way.
You told an interviewer, “When I’m in the Zone, I’m
pretty much taking dictation and writing the stories I’m hearing in my head.”
Do you find that “Zone” often?
I would say I find “the zone” fairly often and when I do, I
know I’m on the right track because there’s an ease and a flow to the writing.
It’s never a good sign when I’m trying too hard to make a manuscript or an idea
work no matter how much I love it.
You told another interviewer that your creative process involves meditation, and visualizing the book as completed. How often does the completed book match up with your original vision?
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| Kelly and audience |
I don’t get too attached to a specific vision when I’m meditating because my vision will always come with limitations.
So I try to be a little vague and open with my visualizing and instead focus on my feelings: How would it feel to be holding the published book in my hands? How would it feel to be reading it out loud to an audience?
I think whenever we can generate
feelings of joy or excitement or love during the creative process our stories are
somehow imbued with those higher vibrations.
What’s next for Kelly DiPucchio?
Over the past year I’ve been busy writing episodes for a new children’s series that premiers in November on PBS Kids called Carl the Collector. It’s the first ever animated show featuring multiple neurodiverse characters.
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Website: www.kellydipucchio.com
