Writing for Your Life: A Conversation with Brian Allain

April 9, 2022

One of the joys of writing is the people you meet.

Over a year ago I was getting ready for the launch of my (then) new book, Breathe, and was thinking about who might consider writing a endorsement for it. At the time I had just discovered that one of my favourite writers, Brian McLaren, had written a children’s book called Corey and the Seventh Story. This made me think that he might be sympathetic to my own aims of writing thoughtful books for children. Asking people to read and endorse your work can be a bit scary, but I decided it was worth a try. To my delight, Brian not only wrote a beautiful endorsement for Breathe, he also mentioned my book Mira and the Big Story on his blog. Those acts of generosity make a big difference to writers like me who are trying to get their work out there.

Another thing Brian did was introduce me to another Brian–Brian Allain, who is the creative force behind Writing for Your Life, an organization that helps support and promote writers of “books with substance and soul.” When Brian invited me to join him in conversation about my path to publication, and my two newest books (Sun in My Tummy and The Astronomer Who Questioned Everything) I was delighted. For me, words always come more easily when I write than when I speak, but Brian made me feel so welcome and relaxed I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with him.

You can listen to our conversation here.

To learn more about Writing for Your Life: https://writingforyourlife.com