Julie Bohmer’s Path to Captivating Children’s Stories

Rich Bennett 0:00
Thanks for joining the conversation where we explore the stories and experiences that shape our world. I'm your host, Rich Bennett. Today, I'm excited to welcome Julie Boomer, a talented children's author who brings joy and imagination to life through her storytelling. Jolie's creative journey has led her to write enchanting books like The Strange Thing Forest Capturing the wonder of childhood with tales that inspire and delight young readers. We'll be diving into what it's like to be a children's author, exploring her writing process and discussing the heart behind her captivating stories. How you doing, Joy? 

Juli Bohmer 0:37
Good. How are you? 

Rich Bennett 0:39
I am doing good. And I. I got to tell you, I'm excited because when I was looking at your Web site, for those of you listening and have been listening, you know, I play Santa. You've got a book called Seeing as Reindeer How. 

Juli Bohmer 0:51
I sure do. And you even get to learn all of Santa's reindeer names in that book. 

Rich Bennett 0:57
Right. Okay. I says Ah, the pro it is. How many does he have? 

Juli Bohmer 1:01
Eight. 

Rich Bennett 1:02
You only have eight in the book. I got hundreds, I mean. 

Juli Bohmer 1:04
I think. Actually, I don't. Coward. But here's a pop quiz for you. Can you name all their names? 

Rich Bennett 1:12
I got over 200 of them. 

Juli Bohmer 1:14
No, just in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The song. Can you name all of those names? 

Rich Bennett 1:20
Oh, you would ask me a trick question, like, do you have Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Prancer, Vixen. 

Oh, I miss. 

Juli Bohmer 1:32
You see. 

Rich Bennett 1:33
Oh. 

Juli Bohmer 1:33
Realized as a 45 year old, even I couldn't name after name. So I thought all of the kids know Rudolph. They all know the song. The song starts with Santa calling out to each of the reindeer names. So I thought, What a great way to write a book, to teach kids, children, all of the reindeer names, and then listen to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. 

Rich Bennett 1:53
And I have an excuse for not knowing them all because Santa Claus is very old, you know, And 

I feed all the reindeer up at the North Pole, which is hundreds. Fell. 

How long have you actually been writing children's book? 

Juli Bohmer 2:13
I've been writing for a few years now. My first publication came out in October of 2023, and since then I 

Rich Bennett 2:21
Oh. 

Juli Bohmer 2:21
have had four total hit the market, so I have four published works available right now. 

Rich Bennett 2:28
Women. So your first book was only published last year. 

Juli Bohmer 2:30
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 2:33
How many manuscripts do you have written that aren't published yet? 

Juli Bohmer 2:35
Oh, I probably still have eight more to publish. I wrote them all 

Rich Bennett 2:39
Are 

Juli Bohmer 2:39
at once 

Rich Bennett 2:40
you? 

Juli Bohmer 2:40
over the period of a few months, and I started soliciting an agent and started soliciting publishing companies. And it's a very long process. So to date, I have one published through a publishing company and three self-published. 

Rich Bennett 2:54
Wow. So. Well, I know. I usually ask, how long does it take you to write? But you've only been doing these for a few years. And gosh, look how many have done already. 

Juli Bohmer 3:08
Yeah. And the writing part is actually the easy part for me. I started making 

Rich Bennett 3:12
Yeah. 

Juli Bohmer 3:12
up stories for my own kids and if they liked it, I would just type it up quick. So the actual writing part took maybe 30 minutes per book, but the formatting, the illustrating, the researching, the looking at agents, publishing companies. That whole process took many hours and many months and even years a year at least. 

Rich Bennett 3:35
Wow. Now, were you did you always want to be a writer or were you doing something else? 

Juli Bohmer 3:41
I've always enjoyed writing. And back in 2010, I was nannying for a cousin of mine who is kind of like a little nephew. And I took a children's book writing course back in Temecula, California. It was about a three day seminar, and I realized it was a lot of work and not a lot of money, and I had to pay bills at the time, so I just kind of put it on the back burner and it just became a hobby of mine. And I really hadn't that much about writing more manuscripts or creating stories and publishing until I had kids of my own were really inspired me to pursue it. 

Rich Bennett 4:18
All right. So because a lot of people don't realize this being a children's author is a lot different than, say, writing novels, because the novels in all of them, you can turn can also be in audio form. 

Juli Bohmer 4:31
Right. 

Rich Bennett 4:32
A children's book, Maybe not so much because the kids like to look at the illustrations. 

Juli Bohmer 4:37
Right. The pictures tell the story more than the words. 

Rich Bennett 4:39
Yeah, but do you know if there's anything or have you seen anything where children's authors are doing more to get the kids involved, where they want the books besides just having the book, whether it be, I don't know, 

another book that goes with it, like a coloring book or something like that. 

Juli Bohmer 5:04
Yeah. Even my kindergartner at the time, when I asked him what else I should do with my books, he said, Well, kids like plushies and freebies and stuff. I said, What's a plushie? I had never heard of a plushie. It's basically a stuffed animal. So I did make puzzles like 36 piece puzzles to accompany my books. Most of my readers are anywhere from 2 to 8 years old, so a 36 piece 

Rich Bennett 5:28
Right. 

Juli Bohmer 5:28
puzzle goes pretty quick for them. And then I created some activity sheets that I can print out and hand out in person at events. And I did have one protocol plushie made for the character on the strange thing Forest. However, the publisher asks that I do not mass produce those, so I'm going to need new ideas for my other books. 

Rich Bennett 5:50
Wait a minute. Okay. The publisher doesn't want you to mass produce them. Is the publisher doing the marketing for you? 

Juli Bohmer 5:57
No. 

Rich Bennett 5:58
Do you have to do? All right, I'm lost. Why don't. The match for gruesome. 

Juli Bohmer 6:03
So any time you sign a contract with a publishing company, you're basically bound to their rules. And in the rules in this particular contract, I am not able to recreate any images without direct approval from the publisher. And they ask that I don't do that. And reason being, I'm guessing it could be because their marketing wouldn't be getting a cut of the profits, of course. So it could be a money issue. Maybe they feel it would take away from the book. Maybe they feel the illustrator would expect more compensation. I really didn't hear why. As to why they don't want those mass produced. So that's one con obviously, of publishing through a publishing company. You have to look at the contract terms for self-publishing. You know, I can do unlimited add ons and creations because they're all my own. So maybe looking, maybe doing something with my other books and adding on some plushies to accommodate those in the future. 

Rich Bennett 7:05
So with the one that that is published and you have to handle the marketing. They got news. A plushie plushie. I just love that is great marketing, but of course you can't do it, so. How else? I mean, what do you do in the market that bill besides getting on podcast? 

Juli Bohmer 7:24
Yeah, well, I attend podcast. Of course, I try to post reels on Instagram, Facebook, you know, social media. I use that outlet. But where I've found I've been the most successful has been in person. So most recently our community did did an event called Breakfast on the Farm, where the county host breakfast to promote farmers and they have kids activities. And I have a book called Ten Little Pumpkins Hide and Seek, where kids help the farmers find the pumpkins in time for Halloween. And that brought about 2500 people out to that venue. 

Rich Bennett 7:58
Wow. 

Juli Bohmer 7:59
So I got a lot of exposure there and a lot of new business. I've also attended Christmas expos locally where I go to vendor shows and set up a table with my Santa books and Santa puzzles. I've gone into local schools to read to kids, local libraries. And that's really where I have the most results as far as marketing goes. So I'm getting to know everybody one on one. They can touch my book, feel the books, see the book, ask me questions, hear me read it, watch the kids interact with the books. And that tends to have the most positive impact, I think. 

Rich Bennett 8:36
Okay. So. And correct me if I'm wrong, but you have to hide and seek books, right? 

Juli Bohmer 8:41
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 8:43
I explain them and I explain what they are about. About the books himself and why you decide to write those two. 

Juli Bohmer 8:54
Okay, So the first book I actually wrote was not the first book that got published, but the Santa is Reindeer Hide and Seek. I wrote while I was waiting for the strange thing for us to get published. And while I was waiting for this strange thing for us to get published, it was a few months away from Christmas and I was starting my Christmas shopping and I noticed a lot of books with a plushy or some sort of add on that made a great gift for young kids. Well, my kids love everything. Christmas, everything. Rudolph And they love the game, hide and seek. So we will listen to the song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and I realized if I tried to tell my kids the reindeer names, I had no idea what they were and what I would ask my kids all of the reindeer names, they wouldn't know what they were. So I thought, What a fun way to create a holiday book, a Christmas book that could be a gift where kids learn the names of the reindeer and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer enjoying a game Just about every kid lives hide and seek. 

Rich Bennett 9:58
Right. 

Juli Bohmer 9:58
And I created the images on my own with the help of my kids to picking out the images they liked. And it just really came together as a Christmas book. Hide and seek book. They also really responded to Rhimes files. So the book Rhimes. 

Rich Bennett 10:15
Oh, okay. 

Juli Bohmer 10:17
Yeah. So we go through all the reindeer names. I'll read a bit to your listeners just so we can hear it. So the name of the book is Santas Reindeer, Hide and Seek. And it starts out with a picture of Santa on the left page, and he's calling out Dasher. Dasher, where could you be? And then there's a picture of a reindeer hiding on the next page, and it says, Do you see Dasher hiding from me? You have Santa on the left calling out the reindeer names, and then you have the reindeer hiding on the right page and the kids. It's a pretty easy hiding spot that the kids get to spot each reindeer while learning their names. 

Rich Bennett 10:54
And guess what? You can actually find plushie reindeer. 

Juli Bohmer 10:57
I think so. 

Rich Bennett 10:59
Good way to hide them. 

Juli Bohmer 11:01
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 11:02
I guess. What's the other one? Was it ten little pumpkins? 

Juli Bohmer 11:05
Yes, we have dry roads, Santas, reindeer, hide and seek. It was September. And the kids or a friend of mine, I don't remember who it was, but they said, Why don't you radar hide and seek book about pumpkins? Because for Halloween every year, we'd go to a pumpkin patch again. They love hide and seek, and the pumpkin patches tend to be on farms, at least in Minnesota, where I'm from. So I wrote a book called Ten Little Pumpkins Hide and Seek where is similar to Santa? But this time you're helping the farmer find the pumpkins on the pumpkin patch. 

Rich Bennett 11:38
Okay. 

Juli Bohmer 11:39
In this book, you're also learning to count to ten. So it'll say one little pumpkin hiding from me. One little pumpkin, Where could you be? And then the kids point to the one pumpkin and count. And then on the next page, two little pumpkins hiding from me. Two little pumpkins. Where could you be? And then the kids can point to the pumpkins and say, One, two. So this is more for that two and three year old age group. It's a festive Halloween book, teaches them to count. The pictures are bright and colorful. Just a really sweet and innocent book. That's a festive Halloween book. 

Rich Bennett 12:14
You know what I love about these two? These are. Those remind me of books when I was in kindergarten. We're taught you how to count where nowadays a lot of those, you don't even see them. And. 

Juli Bohmer 12:27
No. 

Rich Bennett 12:29
It's more talking to. It's like a story 

Juli Bohmer 12:33
Right. 

Rich Bennett 12:33
which is three and now. But what you're doing there, I love it because you're teaching the kids how to count. And something today I just had another young lady on who's who reads children's books and we talked about this. The kids nowadays, 

you need to teach them to start reading and counting in pre-K on up. 

Juli Bohmer 12:58
Oh, absolutely. Even before pre-K, you know, by the time they get to kindergarten. No, the alphabet. They can count to 25 or higher. You know, they're smart kids. There are these days. 

Rich Bennett 13:11
Well, and they say, and we discuss this when you're pregnant, it's always a good idea to read a book to the baby while the babies are in the womb because they I don't know how true it is because, of course, I never carried a baby. But they say that the child, the baby takes that in somehow. 

Juli Bohmer 13:30
Yeah. And even, you know, before my kids could read, just looking at the pictures and bringing your fingers along the words left to right, they learn the format to read, left to right, left page to right page, turn the page. And when they're young, repetition is the fastest way for them to learn. So with the rhyming, you know, if you if you're reading this book to a kindergarten or first grader, they'll be able to tell you what the 10th page is going to say before you start reading it. But if you have a two year old, it's really going to start to sink in. The only word 

Rich Bennett 14:03
Yeah. 

Juli Bohmer 14:04
that's changing is the number. And then they're counting the new number of pumpkins on each page. So really, you know, in the context the counting part stands out because that's the only change from the rhyme. 

Rich Bennett 14:18
Yeah. No, I love that. So before I get to the Forest book, because this one just cracks me up and I hope I say it right. But you got to explain this book to me. Wacky, wacky yuppies, riveting pine. 

Juli Bohmer 14:36
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 14:39
See that real figure 

Juli Bohmer 14:40
I. 

Rich Bennett 14:40
ten times. 

Juli Bohmer 14:41
A tongue twister, isn't it? 

Rich Bennett 14:43
Man. Wow. 

Juli Bohmer 14:46
So between the ten little pumpkins, hide and seek in Santas reindeer, hide and seek. It was really great for the early learners, but a little too easy for the older readers. And when I wrote The Strange Looking Forest, that was more for the 4 to 6 year old, even 4 to 8 year old readers, they liked more of a story that was unpredictable. And each book I read all three of them. The kids keep telling me, Make them longer, Make them longer. And I noticed they listened to my books, but they had pretty serious faces. You know, they were focused. They were learning. They were guessing what was going to happen next. So I thought, I need to make these kids laugh and add a little bit of humor. So I came up with quirky lapis rubidium pine plunge and created a story about a duck that falls or crash lands into a pond full of frogs. Doc has to rely on the frogs to find its flock and get out of the pond. So the doc is kind of having, you know, a one sided dialogue. The stories from the ducks perception where the duck walks up to the frog to introduce itself, and when he asks the frog what its name is, the first frog says Ribbit. So quack. UAP thinks Ribbit is the frog's name, so continues to talk. The frog keeps saying ribbit. So quack, quack. He gets frustrated and goes on to the second frog who happens to be named croak. At least during the introduction. The frog says croak. So quack, quack. B thinks that's the frog's name and quack Yaphe just talks the whole time. So it's a really Daffy Duck. Just talk, talk, talk. And the whole book is told from quack, quack. His perception the frogs don't have much to say, but it's more of a short story type of picture book. It's a bit longer. The kids will chuckle and laugh. There's all kinds of puns and humorous dialogue going on in that story. 

Rich Bennett 16:42
How did you come up with that one? 

Juli Bohmer 16:44
I don't even know. 

I've read so many books with my kids over the years. I feel I pick up on a lot of what they like, and some other stories really inspire me. I know there 

Rich Bennett 16:57
Yeah. 

Juli Bohmer 16:58
was one book about a Jack where the Duke lost his mom and walked around and asked the other animals, Can you help me find my mom? So in this context, the Duke is moving around talking to only frogs, asking to help find the flock. So similar, but different 

also. There was a funny book they like called You Frogs Drink Hot Chocolate where you learn. Frog or facts about frogs. It's not really. It's kind of funny, but also educational. They got a kick out of the frogs in that book, so I thought the frogs could be a funny animal. And then I needed an animal that was flying. And they really like the movie migration that just came out. So I kind of had a goose in my mind. But geese eat frogs, so I had to switch to a duck because ducks don't eat frogs. So it's just kind of like, you know, all pieces of inspiration from other stories, other movies, noticing what my kid likes all coming together to create a new story. 

Rich Bennett 18:00
And the great thing about that and even the two hide and seek books. These are these are books that kids will remember ten, 20, 30, 50 years from. 

Juli Bohmer 18:15
Oh, I hope so. One of my goals is to create a timeless classic. So it's not just. 

Rich Bennett 18:19
Yeah. 

Juli Bohmer 18:20
It's a book that a kid can pick up no matter what's going on in the world at any time and enjoy it. 

Rich Bennett 18:27
All right. So growing up, what was your favorite book? Children's book. 

Juli Bohmer 18:32
I liked a lot of the old classics like Little Red Riding Hood and even The Three Bears. But when I 

Rich Bennett 18:40
Okay. 

Juli Bohmer 18:40
told my kids those stories, you know, I'm thinking, I love these stories. My kids are going to love it, too. And I tell it to them verbally at nighttime, at the lights off. And when the wolf grandma in Little Red riding Hood, they were terrified and they didn't want me to leave their room. 

Rich Bennett 18:55
I guess the. 

Juli Bohmer 18:56
The light's on. So I thought, okay, that's a little scary for kids, you know, I don't know if I was scared as a kid. I don't remember being scared, but as an adult, watching my kids react. Mike Yeah, that's. A comforting bedtime story. So I decided I was not going to make any scary endings for my kids or even, like, you know, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It's kind of like, yeah, this lady is basically breaking and entering into a Random House. You know, it's like, I don't really know that this is a good story for kids either. So I kind of just try to make more innocent kid friendly stories with happy endings, if that makes sense. 

Rich Bennett 19:36
You know, I never looked at it that way. Now it makes me wonder, what in the world were they trying to teach us when we were younger? 

Juli Bohmer 19:43
I don't know. And I know they were all trying to teach us some sort of, you know, behavior by fear, maybe. But I don't even know what that book was trying to teach. I got a kick out of this. As a kid, though. My kids. 

Rich Bennett 19:56
Meaning with freedom. Now, even with that, you mentioned all that. Even Winnie the Pooh, he was always stealing. 

Juli Bohmer 20:01
Right. 

Rich Bennett 20:03
You know, the honey. I mean, like, Come on now. 

Juli Bohmer 20:06
Right. 

Rich Bennett 20:07
My one of my favorites was always caps for sale. 

Juli Bohmer 20:10
I don't think I've read that one. 

Rich Bennett 20:12
I don't know why, but that and of course, Dr. Seuss book. 

Juli Bohmer 20:15
Oh, Dr. Seuss. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 20:18
Yeah, you can never go wrong. So which leads us to your other book. About the fort. Was it the strange thing for. 

Juli Bohmer 20:27
The strange thing for is Yes. 

Rich Bennett 20:31
And that's your lead. Is that your latest one? 

Juli Bohmer 20:33
That was no. Fallon came out January of 2024 and quirky, Wacky 

Rich Bennett 20:38
Okay. 

Juli Bohmer 20:39
came out in June of 24. 

Rich Bennett 20:43
Oh, 

Juli Bohmer 20:43
The strange 

Rich Bennett 20:43
okay. 

Juli Bohmer 20:43
thing for us was the first book I pursued publishing, but it was the third book. The market. 

Rich Bennett 20:50
Right. So explain the strange red lips here. The strange thing. Forests to us. 

Juli Bohmer 20:56
This was actually inspired by my oldest son's homework assignment. He came home from second grade and his assignment in school was to listen to creepy forest sounds and listen to Pleasant Forest sounds. And then the kids had to choose either creepy or pleasant and write their own story about it. So my son chose the creepy sounds, and he wrote a couple of sentences that said the forest was creepy. It smelled like dead fish. And I thought, 

Rich Bennett 21:29
Oh, 

Juli Bohmer 21:29
dead fish. That's strange. So that night of bedtime and after we read our books, they asked me to make up another story. And I tend to make up stuff based on whatever I'm thinking about in a moment. And I thought of his 

Rich Bennett 21:43
right. 

Juli Bohmer 21:43
homework assignment. So I thought, okay, I'm going to make up a forest. That's strange. So I started talking, creating as I was talking in a first make it all picked up on it and he said, You're just copying my forest. I said, No, no. I said, My forest is much different than your forest. You need to listen to what happens in my forest and then tell me if it's the same. So now I was really under pressure to come up with a good storyline and I thought about Pete the Cat. I love my white shoes. 

Rich Bennett 22:16
Oh, God. 

Juli Bohmer 22:17
The kids and I all of that book. And what we really loved is that his shoes were always changing colors. Every time he step in a new pile of berries, his shoes would turn another color. So my character was a boy based on my own son, and he entered the forest wearing red tennis shoes because my son had red tennis shoes. And as he walked, one turns green and one turns orange. So there was your shoes, changing colors. And the inspiration behind that from Pete the Cat. I love my white shoes. All my kids love ice cream. And they always complain, you know, as soon as we eat, a few minutes later, they're hungry again. So I thought about, okay, he's walking through the forest and he gets hungry. He looks up. And what does he see? An ice cream cone tree. Because kids love ice cream cones. Ice cream cones growing on trees would be kid friendly. Strange, right? 

Rich Bennett 23:06
Oh, that would be adult friendly, too. 

Juli Bohmer 23:10
So then the boy picks it and eats it and turns out to be all of his favorite flavors. Well, after he says ice cream, he feels thirsty. Well, then he finds a stream that tastes like bubblegum. Because my youngest son had a gumball machine and loves bubblegum. So I kept thinking of things my kids like and what would be kid friendly, strange. And after he comes across all these strange things in the forest, he decides it's too strange and he's going to get out of there. So as he's running towards the edge of the forest, he feels like he has to burp. And this is where, like the little old lady who swallowed, you know, whatever it is that. 

Rich Bennett 23:48
Yeah. 

Juli Bohmer 23:48
Is of her books that my kids love. So in this particular case, okay, the Kid Burps comes in orange balloon with the green string, the same color as his shoes. It has a picture of an ice cream cone on it, and it floats into the strange looking forest or a cartoon boy who's chewing bubble gum catches. So it's a cartoon version of the boy from the beginning of the book. And oh, I forgot when the boy drank out of the stream, his hands turned into cartoon hands. So he started as a normal boy, turned into a cartoon boy. So it all kind of ties together at the end when he's leaving the forest, inverts the balloon, floats to the cartoon boy. The two boys look at each other. The original boy waves to his cartoon self and runs all the way home. Or nothing is strange. And that's exactly how he likes it. So he gets home to find his mom and everything's normal. Home is normal. There's nothing scary. There's a comforting ending. 

Rich Bennett 24:46
All right. So we with this one, because this is the first one that was published. 

Juli Bohmer 24:52
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 24:53
Correct me if I'm wrong, You had it. You didn't have the same illustrator as you did in the other books, right? 

Juli Bohmer 24:58
Correct. So the strange thing for us, it was published by Nightingale Books, which is an imprint of Pegasus Publishers out of the UK. So this book is also in Barnes and Noble. This publishing company is, you know, it's in the library in Britain is one of the official books. It's available not only nationwide, but internationally as well. You can get it on Amazon. It's in person in Barnes Noble, in the Saint Cloud, Minnesota location. It's also Barnes and Noble Online. Pegasus, Amazon. So this one's available everywhere. And the publishing company provided their own illustrator. And I actually found this to be really interesting. So, you know, if you read a book or you write a book, I guess you have a picture in your head of how things look. And then say you go to a movie and it looks different than the picture in your head. The same holds true for writing inside a picture of what the story looked like in my head, and then to see an illustrator come up with their own pictures really brought out a new visual for the story. So that was really neat. 

Rich Bennett 26:02
The illustrations are actually very good. 

Juli Bohmer 26:04
I thought so too. It was. They did a great job. 

Rich Bennett 26:08
But I'll be honest with you, the other three books. I really love those illustrations design all done by the same person. 

Juli Bohmer 26:17
Those are all done by me. 

Rich Bennett 26:20
What? 

Juli Bohmer 26:20
So I didn't draw those. But ten little pumpkins, hide and seek Santa's reindeer. Hide and seek in quirky rapids, riveting adventure. I actually used clip art to create all of those illustrations. So normally you can just copy, right? Somebody else's clip art. But if you take multiple images and put them together to make a new image, you're able to use that. So I self-created those images and self-published. 

Rich Bennett 26:47
I love them. 

Juli Bohmer 26:48
Well, thank you. 

Rich Bennett 26:50
I do. Especially quack, quack, quack, quack, quack. God, I am having. Why am I having a hard time saying his name? 

Juli Bohmer 26:59
It's a time to. 

Rich Bennett 27:00
Yep, it is. All right. 

Oh, I think that your next book, Julie. 

Juli Bohmer 27:07
Tongue twisters. 

Rich Bennett 27:08
Yeah. The one thing about it is kids, we love them. 

Juli Bohmer 27:13
Yeah, absolutely. 

Rich Bennett 27:16
We got. I mean, at least I got irritated by. But I didn't give up. You always try. 

Juli Bohmer 27:22
Right. 

Rich Bennett 27:23
Going. 

Juli Bohmer 27:23
Like the woodchuck. How much would would a woodchuck, Chuck, if a woodchuck could, Chuck would remember that one. 

Rich Bennett 27:29
Oh, God. Yeah. Was she. She says she. Seashells. Seashells down by the sea. 

Juli Bohmer 27:36
Yeah, that's right. 

Rich Bennett 27:37
I'm not even going to try. 

Juli Bohmer 27:39
Those 

Rich Bennett 27:39
I'm 

Juli Bohmer 27:39
might 

Rich Bennett 27:39
not 

Juli Bohmer 27:39
be 

Rich Bennett 27:39
even. 

Juli Bohmer 27:39
more challenging to create, though. If I can think of some, I'll put them out there. 

Rich Bennett 27:44
It could be fun. 

Juli Bohmer 27:45
Could be indefinitely. 

Rich Bennett 27:47
It may be a lot of fun. So we know you do children's books. You got a lot of manuscripts written. Have you ever thought about, you know, doing some other types of books, whether it be novel romance or whatever? 

Juli Bohmer 28:02
I thought about doing 

novels. I've actually kind of started, but I've noticed when I write novels I tend to write like I talk when I'm talking to somebody. I'm telling them what happened. And when you write a novel, you can't do that. You really need to write it as though you're the character. So I don't. Yeah. So it's just a different style. And, you know, writing is my hobby. I still have two kids and a full time career, so time is also limited. So I think. Kids are out of high school and out on their own and I have more time. I might pursue it at that time. But then. Ten with children's books. 

Rich Bennett 28:43
The children's books. 

Juli Bohmer 28:44
Yeah, my both of my kids. Not sure if you're familiar with the Dog Man series or bad guys. They're kind of like graphic novels. Dog Man is kind of like a comic book, a graphic novel. They really like those books, and they told me I should write one. So I did get 50 pages into a graphic novel, kind of a humor little boy humor type of graphic novel. And the words flow to me. But again, I can't draw those. And it would be too much work to use clip art. So I think I'd really need to pick up, you know, either an illustrator publishing company with experience who has an illustrator. 

Rich Bennett 29:23
Right. 

Juli Bohmer 29:24
In order to make that come to life. 

Rich Bennett 29:26
Yeah. And I would think, you know, the illustrations for that would be completely different than say because 

I mean, I'm sure illustrators are different. Not everybody can draw the same thing. But some might say, you know, drawing the little children's books like what you have going do that like your. What is it? What do they call it that? Almost like DC Comics or whatever. 

Juli Bohmer 29:55
Right. And, you know, comics, it's almost like sketching is not. 

Rich Bennett 29:59
Yeah, 

Juli Bohmer 30:00
Does need to be, you know, like like Dog man, for example, it's like a dog's head on a man's body in the character's early square looking so it doesn't need to be very realistic. It's more just like freestyle sketching almost. And I think a lot of the authors that have been successful are those guys who do the sketches to their own comics. 

Rich Bennett 30:23
yeah, 

Juli Bohmer 30:23
And I don't have that artistic ability, or at least not that I'm aware of, You know, I have no idea how to do it. So again, 

Rich Bennett 30:31
yeah. 

Juli Bohmer 30:31
I started writing it, but I don't really know what I'll do with it. I'm kind of torn whether I should continue on with it or just focus on other projects for now. 

Rich Bennett 30:41
Well, let me ask you this. Do you enjoy writing it? 

Juli Bohmer 30:43
I do. And then I'll read it to my kids, like, I'll write one part of it and I'll read it as far as it's gotten at bedtime. And then the next night they're like, Can we hear more? So then I'll read the next part so I know my kids like it and they enjoy it and they're quiet and they actually listen while I'm reading it to them. And then they might tell me maybe this character should do this, or they'll put it in their perspective as well, which really helps in getting a, you know, now an eight year old and nine year olds boys input to me are my audience. So I take what they say and incorporate it into my story. 

Rich Bennett 31:17
I would definitely keep writing it. You'll find the illustrator. And have your boys actually. Why not invite their friends over and read it to them? This way it's like you're putting together your own focus group. 

Juli Bohmer 31:33
Oh, I've already done that. So I do have a. 

Rich Bennett 31:35
Oh. Oh. 

Juli Bohmer 31:37
Well, not on this particular book. I mean, on the other books they read to them once they were published and. 

Rich Bennett 31:42
Okay. 

Juli Bohmer 31:43
I have one manuscript right now called The Giant Gumball Machine, and my kiddos had a sleepover one night, and I think there is like five of them. So I read it to all of them and they all liked it. One of them said, I should change the colors on the giant gumball, but otherwise the book was great. So I've gotten feedback from my pilot group, I guess you could say. 

Rich Bennett 32:10
It's great when you have kids because you you can put together your own group or have them create the group for you. 

Juli Bohmer 32:16
Oh, yeah. And they're not worried about your feelings. They are brutally. 

Rich Bennett 32:19
Oh, no, they're not. 

Juli Bohmer 32:20
Tell you exactly what they think. So I really like the honest feedback as well. 

Rich Bennett 32:25
Yeah. Oh, yeah, without a doubt. They 

they're quick to tell you whether or not they're, whether they like it. 

Juli Bohmer 32:33
That's right. 

Rich Bennett 32:35
But that's important too, because if they don't like it, then, you know, you're you need to go back and change it 

Juli Bohmer 32:41
Right. And I'm not writing 

Rich Bennett 32:42
when you. 

Juli Bohmer 32:43
for adults. I'm writing for the readers. So I think there's a bit of a disconnect there, too, because even when I look into querying agents and you look at what they're looking for, they're not looking for a timeless classic that a kid will love. They're looking for what's trendy, what's going to sell, what 

Rich Bennett 33:00
Yeah. 

Juli Bohmer 33:00
will make them money. And that's not my why for writing. So it's hard to even find someone that's a close match to what I'm trying to. 

Rich Bennett 33:10
Right. All right. You say you still work full time, right? 

Juli Bohmer 33:13
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 33:15
All right. So how soon do you want to be able to walk away from that job and be a full time children's author? 

Juli Bohmer 33:25
Well, isn't that everybody's dream? I'm not that much of a risk taker, so I'll probably stay put for a decade or more. 

Rich Bennett 33:34
Now see that Juliet was her only. 

Juli Bohmer 33:37
I know. I'm sorry. 

Rich Bennett 33:39
You're supposed to say, Well, Rich, when I started getting what I'm making now from my full time. Plus another 50% just from the books. Then I'll consider it. 

Juli Bohmer 33:51
Okay. If that happens, they will absolutely consider it. But I'm. 

Rich Bennett 33:55
I'm sure you would. 

Juli Bohmer 33:58
I'm also staying very grounded and practical about the life of an author, so I don't expect it to be a full time gig anytime soon. 

Rich Bennett 34:07
You know what? But in all honesty, I am glad you said you said that because a lot of people 

that want to become authors, I think, get discouraged because they find out how hard it is. It can. You may not ever make a lot of money from it. You may not ever make a living from it. 

Juli Bohmer 34:29
Right. 

Rich Bennett 34:30
But you may make a living from it as well. Important to me is just don't give up. 

Juli Bohmer 34:37
Yeah. And 

Rich Bennett 34:37
Keep 

Juli Bohmer 34:37
I think 

Rich Bennett 34:38
doing 

Juli Bohmer 34:38
as 

Rich Bennett 34:38
it. 

Juli Bohmer 34:38
long as you love it, you enjoy it. And it's a. 

Rich Bennett 34:40
Bingo. 

Juli Bohmer 34:41
That's going to shine through. And, you know, if I can 

Rich Bennett 34:44
Nope. 

Juli Bohmer 34:44
make money from it, eventually, great. If not, it doesn't matter. I'm doing it, you know, because they love it. My kids love it. And it's fun to get the creations out into the world and. Kids who do have access to it. So I really enjoy that. 

Rich Bennett 34:59
Well, and I noticed. Okay. Because you said the strange thing for us is the only one that is being published. You self-published the other ones. 

Juli Bohmer 35:07
Correct. 

Rich Bennett 35:09
Okay, because it looks like Kwaku Yap is doing very good on Amazon. 

Juli Bohmer 35:13
All good. That's great news. 

Rich Bennett 35:16
Yeah. I mean. Oh, wow. 

Okay. And I don't know if you ever look at the seller's rent, but it's always changing. But as far as children's cartoons, human books. 

Juli Bohmer 35:28
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 35:30
Like right now as of today, like 774. 

Juli Bohmer 35:33
All right. 

Rich Bennett 35:34
That's awesome. 

Juli Bohmer 35:35
Well, good. I don't know. 

Rich Bennett 35:35
Also. 

Juli Bohmer 35:36
Good or bad. I should probably figure that out. Huh? 

Rich Bennett 35:40
Well, not good. And you got a lot of reviews on it, too. Which all of you listening. You know what I'm going to say right here now? When you purchase her books, make sure. Well, first of all, if you give it to your kids and your kids read it, ask them what they thought about it. Because most kids cannot go on Amazon or Goodreads and leave a review. But you can when they tell you about it. Also, if you read it to your kids, leave a review. So be sure to leave your review because it's just going to, again, drive the algorithms up and more people are going to see books. And of course, want to buy it. And here's a good idea. So if you're like Jolene, she's got two kids by two books because you need our kids to fight over toys. I buy two books, but all of them buy two books for each of the kids 

grandparents. If you have grandkids, buy books for each of the kids. Any, gee, the grandkids and your nieces and nephews just buy all these books 

Juli Bohmer 36:47
That's 

Rich Bennett 36:47
for. 

Juli Bohmer 36:47
right. You have Christmas coming up, too. You could get Santa Surprise if you're a Santas reindeer. Hide and seek and give that to them for Halloween. Surprise. You'll see them at Christmas time. Santas Reindeer. Hide and seek is a unique gift. And it's a great family read, too, if you're looking for a Christmas activity to do together. 

Rich Bennett 37:08
Right here and now. Santa Claus endorses. 

Juli Bohmer 37:10
All right. Thanks, Santa. 

Rich Bennett 37:13
I think. 

Juli Bohmer 37:14
Do they get? Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho! To. 

Rich Bennett 37:18
Oh, well, that hurt. I'm not ready yet. 

So what is next for Jolie? 

Juli Bohmer 37:25
I'm hoping, like I said, to get the giant gumball machine published that it's a completed manuscript. I looked at a couple of illustrators I haven't quite found the right one yet. I am on pause as far as soliciting agents and publishing companies right now. I had a few reply that they liked the idea, but it wasn't quite what they were looking for. So I don't know if that means it's just not what they want to publish right now, because that's not what's selling. Or if there's 

Rich Bennett 38:00
Right. 

Juli Bohmer 38:00
something else. They don't always get the detailed feedback, but just to have a couple of responses, I had at least three say they liked the idea or they like the concept, so I know I'm on the right track there. 

Rich Bennett 38:11
Well, I think I'm going to have something for you and I'll show you once we're done here. When it comes to illustrators and. Even even the marketing and everything. 

Juli Bohmer 38:22
Great. 

Rich Bennett 38:23
But is there is there anything you would like to add before we wrap it up besides, of course, your website? 

Juli Bohmer 38:28
Oh, yes. My Web site, you definitely want to check it out. All four books are available on there as well as the about me, the background. If you want to read more about me. It's w w w dot Julie Bomer books dot com. So j. U. L. I. B o. H. M e r Julie Bomer books dot com. You'll find all four books there or on Amazon as well and greatly appreciative of any purchases and feedback. I also like constructive feedback from the kids, so I know what did the kids want so I know what to write to next. And if anyone has any questions you can find me on social media, reach out, drop me a message and I'll respond if I can. 

Rich Bennett 39:11
And I don't know if I did. I see this on your Facebook page. Did you just do something at Barnes and Noble? 

Juli Bohmer 39:18
Yes, I just had a book signing there a few months ago, so that was exciting as well. 

Rich Bennett 39:24
Nice. Right. As an author, you get the kids coming up to you at a signing like that. How exciting is that just for a little kid? Cold to say, Will you sign the book for me? 

Juli Bohmer 39:39
It's pretty exciting. And what's even more exciting is reading and just watching them pay attention and saying, I loved it, or that was so good. Or, you know, just hearing their genuine joy come out. That's my favorite part, is just watching them light up over a book, especially when it's my 

Rich Bennett 39:58
So. 

Juli Bohmer 39:58
book. 

Rich Bennett 39:59
Well, yeah. Now, do you go and read at the schools and daycares? 

Juli Bohmer 40:03
Yeah. So I've read at the local daycare centers, both in my own city here in the neighboring cities, and I've gone into two or three school districts as well. And I'll read to the whole class. So that's been really rewarding, too, to see all the kids. 

Rich Bennett 40:20
Good. 

Juli Bohmer 40:20
You know, a lot of them will come up and give me hugs afterwards. They're just so sweet. Love it. 

Rich Bennett 40:26
Yeah, that's. It's just kids could put a huge, huge smile on your. 

Juli Bohmer 40:32
Absolutely. And it just reminds me that they they are the reason I'm writing so soon. Fire too motivated to keep creating as well. 

Rich Bennett 40:42
Oh, it feels good. Well, Julie, I want to thank you so much. Everybody listening again? Go out, buy these books and keep your eyes open because, well, like Julie said, she's got a lot more manuscripts written. And I think that your kids are going to appreciate these books, and I think they are going to become classics and your kids are going to end up buying them for their own kids in the future. Julie, thanks a lot. 

Juli Bohmer 41:09
Q. I enjoyed it. Take care.