Yvonne O’Halloran of Living Vegan and Author of Empowering Children’s Books On How To Write A Book That Sparks A Movement
An Interview With Jake Frankel
Quality is Important: Research companies (if self-publishing) to ensure that your book will be printed well. After all your work don’t fall at the last hurdle by going with a cheaper option that reduces your book quality. This also includes editors and formatted for your book- don’t cut corners here!
As a part of my series about “How to write a book that sparks a movement” I had the pleasure of interviewing Yvonne O’Halloran.
Yvonne is the founder of Living Vegan and an accredited practicing dietitian. She has a Masters in Nutrition & Dietetics and a flourishing business where she helps clients achieve better health and vitality through diet and lifestyle changes. Yvonne is also author of empowering children’s books including Plant-Powered Animal Protectors and We Are Love. Through her works, she is committed to educating children about essential subjects including love, empathy, unity, nutrition and equality. In her latest book, We Are Love, Yvonne helps young readers connect with their hearts in order to remember their true purpose. This reawakening is designed to inspire the next generation to live a life of joy, purpose and impact.
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you share the “backstory” of how you grew up?
I grew up in the Republic of Ireland in a small village with my parents and two brothers. I was raised catholic but never took to religion as it just did not resonate with me, even as a child. I grew up around dozens of cousins and I had a wonderful childhood and always loved animals and travelling. However, by the age of about 20, I started to realize I was quite different to other people. I questioned everything, I got into spirituality and was curious about the world. At 23, I moved to Australia where I still am today.
When you were younger, was there a book that you read that inspired you to take action or changed your life? Can you share a story?
As a child I loved to read. I would sit in my bed and read a book from start to finish in one night, I felt like I was being transported to another world and my favorite books included Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton. One that stands out is The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton as it sparked my creativity and brought me so much joy. That book is a huge part of my childhood and still inspires me today as an author myself.
What was the moment or series of events that made you decide to bring your message to the greater world? Can you share a story about that?
Prior to writing We Are Love; I had already published a book called Plant-Powered Animal Protectors and so I was in creative mode and always thinking of ideas for a new book.
As someone who loves the idea of creating change with younger generations, I began to realize that I love to spread positive messages through my words. I have three children aged eight and under. One day my youngest, who was three at the time, said out of the blue: ‘Mommy did you know that we are love’? I was blown away it melted my heart that such a young child could say something so profound, so I asked her why she thought to say that, and she simply replied: ‘because my heart told me to’. A couple of days later I was driving my car, and a rhyming story began to form in my head with the names of the fairies and other fairy folk coming naturally without much rational thought. It flowed so beautifully, and I just knew this was the beginning of my next book. I had to pull over my car to record the rhyming story into my notes and that’s how We Are Love was born!
What impact did you hope to make when you wrote this book?
My hope for this book was for it to impact younger generations in a positive manner instilling important values and beliefs about themselves and the world around them. I hope it will remind them to be kind, look after themselves and other beings we share the planet with and to love everything including themselves. When young people awaken to the knowledge that we are all one, it instils respect, love, and joy in everyone they interact with an in everything that they do. As the children of today have the capability to change our future, this knowledge is fundamental to positive world change, and I believe these messages will help to lead humanity down the path of light and compassion.
Did the actual results align with your expectations? Can you explain?
Yes, there has been an overwhelming positive reaction to my book and I am honored to hear how it is impacting our little people already! People have commented on the effect it has had on their children, the conversations that were had about kindness and inclusion and respect following them reading the story and the pure excitement and love of the book itself with its rhyming story, profound words, and eye-catching and colorful illustrations.
If my book has a positive impact on even one child, then it was worth creating. The feedback though has been incredible. I have had parents and grandparents comment on the impact this book has had on them personally bringing some to tears, along with the beautiful reactions children have had from the words, the vibrant and enchanting characters, and the rhyming aspect of the story which children seem to love.
What moment let you know that your book had started a movement?
I realized this was something special that was starting a movement when I witnessed grown adults weeping while reading my story. One example is of a lady who got a copy of my book and loved it so much she ordered 30 copies for her great-grandchildren because she loved its message so much.
Many have said it has touched their heart in ways they did not expect. Children who have either read the story or had it read to them absolutely love the book. They mention the colors and the characters, and many children have told their parents how they are going to be kinder, be more loving and share with others after reading the story.
What kinds of things did you hear right away from readers? What are the most frequent things you hear from readers about your book now? Are they the same? Different?
Every comment so far has been 100% positive. I got comments such as “every child should hear this story’ and ‘amazing messages for little minds’, ‘powerful and beautiful’, ‘one of my favorite children’s books of all time’ and so on. Most of the feedback has been about the profound messages in the book that are written in a way a child can grasp, the way it’s touching hearts of adults and children alike, the beautiful illustrations and the quality of the books pages and color.
What is the most moving or fulfilling experience you’ve had as a result of writing this book? Can you share a story?
I think for me, it was when I shared my book with friends, family and colleagues and many were in tears before reaching the end. It not sad tears, more an emotional reaction to the story itself, the beautiful messages it contains and the characters! That’s when I knew I had created something special.
Have you experienced anything negative? Do you feel there are drawbacks to writing a book that starts such colossal conversation and change?
I have yet to experience anything negative in terms of feedback. It’s such a loving, high vibration story that’s all about learning, being kind, and loving yourself and others. I do think it takes passion and guts to be an author as I believe writing is a creative way to show other people who you really are, and you may face backlash for that. For me, I am doing what I love and trying to help raise the vibration on the planet by instilling positive energy through words and storytelling.
Can you articulate why you think books in particular have the power to create movements, revolutions, and true change?
Books can be incredibly impactful and especially as a child when you are very impressionable, being connected with books that plant the seed of love and compassion and kindness to others is so important. As I said I still remember my favorite childhood books and perhaps they even helped me become who I am today.
What is the one habit you believe contributed the most to you becoming a bestselling writer? (i.e. perseverance, discipline, play, craft study) Can you share a story or example?
I think it’s important to know that the writing aspect is likely the easiest part! It takes a lot of hard work and discipline for sure. I also think experience in writing, knowing who I am and what I am passionate about, learning about the world of marketing (which I am still navigating) and perseverance can help create a best-selling author. Writing must be a passion to succeed, and it takes time, so I think to keep going when it gets tough is paramount to success. As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day!
What challenge or failure did you learn the most from in your writing career? Can you share the lesson(s) that you learned?
One thing I learned from my first book was that publishing a book is pointless if you don’t have a marketing strategy and a long-term goal. Becoming an author has been a steep learning curve. As an introvert, I think many people write thinking they won’t have to be in the limelight, but authors need to put themselves out there as much as possible to be seen!
Many aspiring authors would love to make an impact similar to what you have done. What are the 5 things writers need to know if they want to spark a movement with a book?
- Write With Passion: Find you niche and your passion and work on your story from there.
- Write When Inspired: Being a writer can be frustrating, sometimes you sit to write, and nothing comes, or it feels forced. Allow it to flow through you when the time is right. I find meditation or quiet time can help with this.
- Learn How to Market: Marketing a book is essential, otherwise no one will know it exists! Study it and learn the best strategies.
- Put Yourself out There: Getting media opportunities such as podcasts, radio, magazines and even TV appearances will help you to spread the message about your book.
- Quality is Important: Research companies (if self-publishing) to ensure that your book will be printed well. After all your work don’t fall at the last hurdle by going with a cheaper option that reduces your book quality. This also includes editors and formatted for your book- don’t cut corners here!
The world, of course, needs progress in many areas. What movement do you hope someone (or you!) starts next? Can you explain why that is so important?
I am working on a couple of books; One is about plant-based nutrition for kids and the other is about Mother Earth. I think these are also very important topics for children to grasp at a young age to help care for and save our planet.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
https://www.instagram.com/yvonne_plantbaseddietitian/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvonne-o-halloran-ⓥ-a03219173?originalSubdomain=au
https://www.facebook.com/livingvegandietitian/
Thank you so much for these insights. It was a true pleasure to do this with you.
Yvonne O’Halloran of Living Vegan and Author of Empowering Children’s Books On How To Write A Book… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.