We recently had the chance to connect with Maureen Stlouis and have shared our conversation below.
Maureen , a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What is a normal day like for you right now?
A normal day starts off with me getting my kids ready for school, make breakfast, wrestle with my 14month old to put his clothes on, then head off to work.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Maureen Stlouis and I’m a wife, mother of 3, a children’s book author and an early childhood educator here is the Georgetown/Round Rock area. I love working with kids and on a normal weekday I’m in a room with 10 infants from ages 9-15 months. It’s great working with this age group because they are exploring and learning new things on a daily basis, it is mesmerizing. They are my inspiration for writing children books. I have written 2 books and the 3rd will be out next year. My first books is called Lost At Night and my Second books is called 10 Silly Bugs.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
A close cousin. I remember as a child, I believe I was 8 or 9, I loved writing stories in my notebook and I would draw characters and the background. One day while visiting relatives, I showed one of my older cousin a story. Her response was, one day you will be a children book writer.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Absolutely!! My first book, I didn’t know what I was doing or how I was going to publish it. I tried sending my manuscript to publishers only to either not get a response or a denial letter from them. I also wanted to illustrate the book myself but didn’t know where or how to do that. I went through a lot of trial and error until I met my illustrator. Since she was still in college and learning how to illustrate, we went through the process together. I think having that extra hand and brain through the process made things seem easier. We tried a Kickstarter campaign for the book to only come up short on the fundraising. Needless to say, I learned a lot of do’s and don’ts with my first book. If I had given up, I’d never would have continued writing and would never been an author.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Oh absolutely! What you see is who I am. I’m silly to the max and if you ask my kids they’re say I’m crazy but fun.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
I would stop trying g to perfect everything and just write and publish books. Sometimes, I am my worst enemy when it comes to a project. When I have an idea in my head but the layout doesn’t quite match I have to start from scratch. If I only had 10 years left, I wouldn’t care so much about what others thought about my books and only focus on what children’s point of views/ interests of my books. I think sometimes as an adult I get too caught up on imagery and rules instead of just simply using my imagination
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childrenbooksbymaureen?igsh=MXkwNGVmbWRnenpreA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
