Monsters Need Breaks Too! follows well-known monsters who, after a hard day of work, doing whatever it is monsters do, need some downtime to process their own feelings and just relax. What was the inspiration for your story?

After the Pandemic, it felt like the world just hit the ground running as everyone around me, myself included, was getting back into activities and making themselves busy again. I saw my kids struggle to get back into the routine of schedules and places to be. We were talking about how to create balance in our lives again after such an upheaval, and taking more frequent breaks was one of our ideas. I often use drawing as a way to take a break and reset. During one of my fun drawing breaks, I began drawing cute monsters and started with the Lochness monster. I thought it would be funny to imagine the Lochness monster taking a bath in a tub. Soon after I imagined the Kraken with an ice cream and drew him under the sea with sunken ships. I would post my images on Instagram with funny captions because they made me laugh, and I thought others would find it funny as well. This book started with a few funny illustrations, but as I looked at the images, I started to imagine the pictures as snapshots of the story. What had happened before this scene, and why would the Lochness monster be taking a bubble bath? Why would Kraken be eating an ice cream? Since childhood, I’ve been fascinated by monsters, mythical creatures, and cryptids, and love to think about them being a lot like us. It was funny to imagine what kinds of things would be frustrating to monsters, and then my book grew from there.

What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?

I wanted the idea that monsters were a lot like us to really come through in the story so that anyone could identify with the emotions in the book. I think using monsters gives the story a universal reach because there are no limitations on who could see themselves represented in the story. I liked the idea that monsters have feelings and that sometimes their feelings get hurt, or they get frustrated like we do. Secondly, I really wanted the readers to think about ways they can take breaks in their own lives when they get overwhelmed or are feeling uncomfortable emotions. I wanted to help the reader brainstorm in a humorous way, things they could do to reset.

What were some goals you set for yourself as a writer in this book?

This is my first book, and some of my goals were simple at first; to simply accomplish the task of writing, illustrating, and publishing a book. Beyond that monumental goal I set for myself, I wanted the illustrations to tell most of the story, and I wanted my story to be clear and well-written. This was a huge learning experience for me. I’ve been illustrating for years and have written many stories in my life, but I’ve never shared them with the public until now. This was a major milestone for me as I’ve wanted to publish a children’s book since I was in college. It was one of those dreams in the back of my mind that would come and go. I took some courses during the pandemic and afterwards that introduced me to the tools needed to accomplish this goal, and I was finally able to bring it to life!

Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out, and what can your fans expect in the next story?

I am currently working on another book in this series that is called (for now) Monster Problems from A-Z: Addiction to Zoning Out. We loved reading books to our children, and I really appreciated writers who wrote funny books that we could laugh with and also books that were geared toward the parents, too. Books that are fun for kids and parents to read together promote more interaction and conversation and is a BIG goal in writing the Monsters series.

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