DEERWOOD — When asked what pushed Julie Guth into making her own children's books, she had her past self to thank.
"I was cleaning out my desk, and I ran across a list that I had made when I was in my early 30s, just some things that I wanted to do during my life," she said.
She noticed she had completed everything on that list except for one thing: write a children's book.
"Books were like magic. They took me to places that being a little kid, I couldn't go any other way."Julie Guth
"That's when I started getting serious about writing the book."
That first book was Bailey's Big Spirit. It's based on her previous dog, a miniature schnauzer, overcoming her fear of big dogs after a bad experience.
Guth told Area Voices on the KAXE Morning Show she wasn't necessarily planning to write another book. However, she found inspiration from her current dog, Nikki.
"She started out really naughty, but she was very sweet at the same time. That's kind of where the story started."
The new book is called Nikki the Nice, Nikki the Naughty, and it tells the story of a challenging puppy that has both a nice and naughty side. However, the dog discovers the secret to becoming an excellent companion.
Like her previous project, Guth both wrote and illustrated the book. Drawing has been something she's been interested in since she was a child.
"People often ask me ... 'Why did you do the illustrations, too?’” Guth replied, "Well, it kept me from having to argue with the illustrator about what I wanted."
She said the writing comes first and then the illustrations. She made notes of what she wanted the pictures to look like while writing and then draws them.
As for what got her interested in writing children's books, it was because of her childhood.
"Before I could read, my parents would read stories to me before bedtime. ... And I think for me, it was like books were like magic. They took me to places that being a little kid, I couldn't go any other way," Guth said. "So, I thought I would really like to provide that experience for other kids, because it was so important to me.”
Nikki the Nice, Nikki the Naughty is available on the Dragonfly Arts MN website and area bookstores.
Listen to the full conversation with Guth where she discusses her process and more by clicking above.
Tell us about upcoming arts events where you live in Northern Minnesota by emailing psa@kaxe.org.
Area Voices is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.
