Katie Pye is a New Zealand-based author with a daft sense of humour and an uncanny ability to make anything rhyme. Katie launched headlong into her hilarious journey of re-crafting fairytale favourites when she discovered how powerful stories are in getting kids to chat. Katie’s books are delightful, but they aren’t just that. Each Fairytale Fraud highlights a different character’s struggle with wellbeing themes that don’t compromise the story value or come across preachy. Each story has a ‘Behind the Scenes’ section, with even more resources available on her website: www.fairytalefraud.com
Join her ‘Fraud Squad’ so you don’t miss out on her new Fairytale Fraud releases and enjoy finding out the TRUTH behind fairy tales!
Amanda: Katie, I’m so excited to speak to you. I’ve been wanting to interview you for a while because I’m such a massive fan of your ‘Fairytale Fraud’ series. What inspired you to write such brilliant books?
Katie: Thank you for the warm welcome! The main thing I can say about inspiration is this: When your mother is a prolific children’s book author, you find that you are forever coming up with fun ideas to craft into a story. But it was only after I had a great interaction with my son, using a cartoon I had created, that it occurred to me that I could be the one doing the crafting!
After being given a list of ‘The 12 Fundamentals of Mental and Emotional Health’ at a psychology course, I wanted to interpret the rich material for children. I had a fun idea for a ‘The Three Little Pigs’ retelling to teach wise trust, and thus the Fairytale Fraud series began!
Amanda: Did it take you long to get your project off the ground?
Katie: Between writing that first story and publishing was a long journey, both because I had two international moves but also I really wanted to launch my books as a series. Unlike most, I invested over three years in the project before launching a single book!
Amanda: Oh my goodness. I don’t think I would have the patience to wait that long. But you’ve clearly done the right thing, because your books are fabulous and doing great! What challenges did you face along your journey?
Katie: The biggest challenge I face in my writing is being a one-man band. I struggle with having a vision much bigger than the time I have available. I also miss having people I can readily bounce ideas off. Being on my own means that instead of being able to focus on the things I am strongest at or enjoy most, I also have to tick off a range of tasks that are difficult or tedious for me. It can also feel incredibly lonely.
One thing I am super thankful for is that my writing is focussed on growing mental wellness. On a daily basis, I am immersed in messages that help me journey through these challenges. Bonus, right?
Amanda: Oh, absolutely! I personally listen to motivational audiobooks which help me a lot. I find them useful because now that I’m a mum, I (sadly) don’t have time to sit and read like I used to do. Having kids has also affected my goal-setting. I’m sure you can relate?
Katie: Of course. For years I waited for an elusive pregnancy, wondering whether I would ever get to be a mum. It was a difficult journey and it has defined how I do motherhood now.
My goals certainly feature, but the very fact that I am writing instead of returning to the traditional workforce shows how much having kids has impacted on my dreams. As one of six kids, with a mother as a writer, I know firsthand what it is like to not get enough attention. As an author I also know how a story can grab you, making you mentally unavailable. You’ll be listening, but not fully listening as you simultaneously run different variations of a line through your head like a computer running an algorithm. To avoid that happening when I am parenting, I often do myself out of ‘me time’, using my potential downtime for work so that I can be more present for my kids.
Amanda: Of course… there’s not enough time, is there? Speaking of time… how much of it do you spend on marketing?
Katie: This is, hands down, my most unpalatable task in being a self-published author, and one that I haven’t yet figured. In fact, this month I will be launching ‘The Fame Game’, a ‘Sleeping Beauty’ retelling about online wellbeing. It challenges kids to think about the value of looking for ‘likes’ and ‘shares’.
I realise marketing is how I reach people with a product that has value for them, but to resonate with my ethos and brand I want to reach people in a way that brings value too. I don’t want to be another ‘noise’ in their lives. As a result, my growth has mostly been organic – as people discover and share my books and resources with others. I’ve also provided people value online in terms of resources, interesting research, or promotions and competitions. In person, I’ve visited markets and schools and reached out to influencers with free books, hoping they would share my wellness vision.
Amanda: And has this helped?
Katie: My books capture people’s imagination, and so I have had some amazing help along the way from enthusiastic parents, educators, and writers. This means that people sometimes approach me with opportunities, which really helps, as I have limited bandwidth or patience for investing time online.
Because I’m still trying to figure all this out, I needed to have great self-talk about everyone’s journey being different and everyone having different capacities. I mention this because online author forums can feel overwhelming as I’m both inspired but also challenged by the range of creative ways people are hacking the marketing.
Amanda: Yes, sometimes I feel like I’m crushing it, and other times I feel like I’m swimming in treacle! It’s all part of the journey. What are you working on at the moment?
Katie: There is never a short answer to this question, as I love having multiple books on the go – in part so I can keep to my publishing schedule, but also so I can keep rotating them through my editing process and making them tighter and stronger.
After launching ‘Sleeping Beauty: The Fame Game’ in July, I hope to release my ‘Three Little Pigs’ retelling on Wise Trust in October. I’ve got that in the final stages of editing, while at the same time I’m working on a very early draft of ‘The Elves and the Shoemaker’ retelling about resilience. I hope to launch that prior to Christmas. Fingers crossed for no lockdowns!
Amanda: I’m genuinely so excited to read all of them. What’s the best thing that has come out of following your dreams?
Katie: I was reluctant to become a writer. My mother is a prolific children’ book author and I have always felt that that was ‘her thing’.
I was drawn into writing because I wanted to help grow connections and mental wellness in families. That is the best thing that has come out of it! I, my family, and a whole host of other families I’ve never met, have memory hooks into really healthy life messages. For me, that’s awesome.
Amanda: It’s so strange to hear you say you were reluctant to become a writer, because anyone who’s read your books would think that you’ve been writing since you could hold a pencil! Who’s helped you along the way?
Katie: My family have stood behind me in this journey. My daughter has been my first beta reader on every story; my son begged me not to stop writing when I had a fantastic job opportunity; my husband has encouraged me to keep going despite spending more money than what I am bringing in; and my mother cheers enthusiastically on nearly every social media post I put up!
I’m still ‘in progress’ to achieve my goals, and the other person who has been instrumental is…ME! It takes an extraordinary amount of resilience to work nearly solitary for 4 years and cling to a vision when faced with challenges, tedious tasks, and a long road to profitability. I think it’s important that authors stop to cheer themselves every so often!
Amanda: I think it’s brilliant that you take into consideration just how resilient and hard-working you’ve been. I fall short in that regard. Is there someone else in your life you admire?
Katie: I admire my husband. Like me, my husband works more for love than he does for pay (though thankfully he is paid!). Every day he gets up at the crack of dawn to have conversations across the globe to help support developing countries through the Covid crisis. I’m really drawn to his heart and social mindedness.
Amanda: That’s lovely. Before we wrap it up, what’s the best advice you can give to anyone who has a dream?
Katie: When her Fairy Godmother fails to show up to help her to the ball, Cinderella has to find her own way out of her unpalatable situation.
That’s the draft blurb for my ‘Cinderella’ retelling, releasing 2022. The whole entire book is advice about identifying your dreams, putting steps in place to get there, and keeping on track. It has been an inspiration to me!
In the meantime, my best advice is to practice gratitude. Notice what you have to be thankful for at each stage of your journey. Not only does it make you feel better, it expands your resilience…and resilience is absolutely necessary to achieve your dream!
Kia kaha (Maori language for ‘be strong’)
Amanda: Thank you so much for your time, Katie. I loved chatting with you.
I highly recommend checking out Katie Pye’s books. My personal favourites are ‘Breaking News‘, ‘Ready for Rescue‘ and ‘Dressed in the Best‘. Click on the names to buy them from Amazon.
