Inspired by Books, Nature, and Hairy Beasts

By Amanda Cleary Eastep

I wasn’t sure whether to title this post “How a Young Reader Helped Inspire My Book,” or, “An Interview in Which I Say ‘Just’ 263 Times. I went with something different. The important word here is (no, it’s not “hairy beasts”) INSPIRATION. In this episode of the BookWorthy podcast with host Valerie Fentress, we discuss:

How young readers inspire authors
What folkloric cryptid inspired The Beastie of Brambly Bald, book 5 in the Tree Street Kids series (Moody Publishers)
How nature, curiosity, and playfulness inspire writing
The three books that most inspired me to become a writer
The two words from Madeleine L’Engle (A Wrinkle in Time) that inspire me to keep writing
And, BONUS–find out which “tree street” host Valerie lived on as a kid!