Welcome to the 2024 ARIA Author Showcase and Giveaway Event! 

  

  

How to enter – Comment on the daily showcases to enter the daily giveaway. Comments close four days after the initial Showcase post. GRAND PRIZE drawn on Dec 5th (1 -$250, 1 -$100, or a 1 -$50 Amazon gift card. One grand prize pp) – For every showcase you post on, you automatically gain one entry to the grand prize. 30 Authors = 30 entries.    

Lindsay Bartholomew will be at the Rhode Island Author Expo   

On to the Showcase! 

 

What name do you like to write under? Lindsay Bartholomew

Where do you call home? MA, on the RI border

What genre(s) do you write? Children's, Travel, Nonfiction

What genre(s) were you drawn to when you were younger? Was there a reason that genre(s) appealed to you the most? 

I have always liked true stories - whether inspired by real stories, historical fiction, or adventure. I love getting that unique angle or new perspective on the real thing that comes from a real person telling the story, or being a part of the story.

What were some of your favorite books growing up? Why?  

The first book that comes to mind now that I loved as a kid is Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. I read that one several times. It has such vivid descriptions of the natural environment, and of a way of life that was different to mine. But I think mainly I was enamored by the character of the young girl who was so strong and resilient in incredible circumstances.

What are some of your favorite books today?

My favorite will always be Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The characters are so brilliantly drawn and the dialogue so sharp and outright hilarious. I recently read The Radium Girls by Kate Moore, and could not put it down, being equally sad for the women and infuriated by the corporate evil. I'm reading now Walking with Sam: A Father, a Son, and Five Hundred Miles Across Spain by Andrew McCarthy. Having traveled a lot myself, with the dream of writing about it, I love to see such a personal view of exploration.

What inspired you to become a writer? 

I think storytelling is a part of everything I do. Being a museum exhibit developer, I always try to make content meaningful and thought-provoking. I have taught in a rural village school in Namibia, have led science communication work on research expeditions in Antarctica and the Arctic Ocean (writing blogs and connecting with schools around the world), and have become a mom. All of that is a continual source of inspiration for me to write, to connect with people and share stories.

I Love You Bigger Than Everything That’s Big

 

How much can you love someone? Higher than you can reach? Longer than a river? Bigger than the sky? The real answer - bigger than everything that's big!

Tell us a little about how “I Love You Bigger Than Everything That’s Big” came to be. Did it start with an image, a voice, a concept, a dilemma or something else? 

It started with a bedtime routine my daughter and I created from saying “I love you.” Every night we’d think of different “big things” (Jupiter, the Empire State Building...). One day she said, “I love you bigger than everything that’s big!” What evolved is a story that shows a mother and daughter, each with a physical difference and different skin tone, having a bedtime adventure in their imaginations. But more important for me is that it’s not about what makes us different. It’s just showing that each of us can be a part of any story we want to create for ourselves.

Which scene, character or plotline changed the most from first draft to published book? 

What evolved the most was the realization that I had a unique opportunity to make a statement on representation. My daughter and I both have a physical difference in that we have unique hands. We are also in a mixed race family with different skin tones. It made me think about how books that have characters with physical differences are usually, at least in part, about that physical difference. I wanted to create a relatable yet aspirational story with characters who - although they may look different - are just living their own stories.

 

Which character was the most challenging to create. Why?  

In the simplicity of this children's story, my hope was to create more of a feeling between the characters. I wanted a conversational yet intimate feel, in how they talk to each other, and in the expressiveness of the language and the illustrations, to create the interaction between the mother and the daughter.

What do you like best about being a writer? 

Mostly I love seeing the world through my own new eyes as I experience a place or an idea for the first time. Now as a mom, I'm amazed at seeing the world through my daughters’ eyes, as they see it for the first time. Writing for me is about sharing that feeling. For now, my favorite moment as an author is seeing my daughters’ faces as they saw my book about them – about us – in their hands and in front of their eyes. When we read together at bedtime (whether me reading to them or them reading to me), they will say “I want to read our book!” I can't imagine anything better.

If you could collaborate with any author past or present, who would it be? What would the title of the book be? (If possible) - Give us a one sentence blurb.  

I would honestly love just to have a conversation with Jane Austen, let alone collaborate with her. I'd want to learn about how she thought about drawing characters, and if I'm really allowed to daydream here, I would love to go back in time and develop a story with her in her own world, while immersing myself in that time and place in the process. As for the title and story we'd create, I'd need to work with her to see how that would evolve!

 

You can follow Lindsay Bartholomew here - 

Website -https://iloveyoubiggerthan.com/  

FaceBook -https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61566502657540) 

Instagram -https://www.instagram.com/booksbylindsay 

Lindsay is giving away a copy of I Love You Bigger Than Anything That's Big.

 

To enter, comment below → As a parent, I value the role of children's literature in development and it's profound impact on young minds. What’s your all time favorite children’s book, and why?

(Comments are open for 4 days)