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Writer's pictureCarlotta A. Berry, PhD

Author Spotlight - Kayla Hicks

A children's book author/illustrator with stories about community, careers, hope, and inclusion.



I met Kayla on Twitter/X and always engage with her content because she posts insightful questions that get me thinking about my books and writing journey. When she put out a call for a book swap, review and author interview, I jumped at the chance. This was such a unique opportunity, how could I pass it up? So without further ado, introducing Kayla Hicks and two of her children's picture books.


 

Reviews

I reviewed Dandelion and gave it a 5-star review, see it on Goodreads and below.


I also gave a 5-star review to Today I'm Not Laurel, check it out here.

 

An Interview with Kayla Hicks

Can you tell us about your journey to becoming an author?

I had always wanted to be an author, having used a computer program as a kid to create stories with clipart illustrations. When I had the chance to make it a reality, I used a service called CreateSpace which I spent three thousand dollars on to publish my first book, Kale Stone: An Outliers Tale. After my first book, I wasn't sure I could sustainably publish another book until I met a group of writers on X who taught me more about self-publishing. Long story short, I now am close to publishing 15 books and now focus on helping other authors to not make mistakes I made and learning about publishing, writing, and audience building.


What things do you hope young readers gain from your books?

I was a preschool teacher for 9 years before I became a stay-at-home mom/ indie author, and I saw a lack of books that came with branch-off teaching opportunities. I had always wanted to branch off into children's books, and when I finally did, my main goal was for young readers to continue to love reading and use what they read in my books to continue to ask questions and learn something valuable.


Can you tell us a little more about yourself?

I'm a multi-genre author who writes in Young Adult (contemporary romance, dystopian, family drama, and soon-to-be horror), superhero fiction, and children's picture books. I am also part of the Malarakey anthology series with lots of great authors.

I really enjoy reading, obviously writing, photography, movies, video games, and getting outdoors.

I have an active 6-year-old who always has us on the go.


Do your books have branch-off activities or suggested branch-off activities for young readers?

Yes, they do!

For each of my books, I provide a lesson plan/ activity sheet that can be used at home or in the classroom as well as matching game activities, coloring sheets, and more. And I make it all available for free on TeacherPayTeacher.com

I have been fortunate enough to go to elementary schools with my books and activities for Read Across America days, and several of my books are in their school libraries. In addition, I gave free learning kits to daycares in my area with a copy of Dandelion before it was released.


It appears that you write in several genres, how do you decide which ones?

If I am being honest, it depends on my mood. I jumped to different genres in writing because I got bored sticking to one, and I write in all the genres I read.

For the most part, I have a system, but it doesn't always stay the same. Sometimes I write a superhero novella, then a different genre, and then a children's book and rotate that way, but again it all depends on my interests and creativity at the time.


Do you have any more books planned?

Find out about Kayla's next projects here!


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