Emily Dangremond

Hi everyone. Welcome to October’s Author Interview. I hope you enjoy reading about Author, Emily Dangremond. 

Emily Dangremond is a scientist, educator, and writer. She developed her love of trees in the Midwest, though she happily travels to other parts of the world to visit their trees. Emily has a PhD in integrative biology from the University of California, Berkeley and a BA in environmental studies and Spanish from Washington University in St. Louis. She is the creator and host of the podcast Kids’ Questions Answered.  

Where are you from? I grew up in the Chicago area—I lived in Vermont for the last two years, but I recently moved back to where I grew up. 

When did you know you wanted to become a writer? It was roundabout. I didn’t identify as a writer because I didn’t feel like I studied it enough. I studied ecology, hoping that being a scientist would help me tackle environmental problems. To be a scientist, you have to write, but in a specific way that is very concise. I got a job as a technical writer, so I started calling myself a writer even though I didn’t feel like I owned the title because I wasn’t doing much creative writing. 

However, I drafted my first picture book manuscript before that, when I was working as a scientist and wanted to document the dramatic things that can and do happen to trees. I knew I wanted to write about trees when my son was a toddler and we read a lot of books about construction trucks. I thought, this is crazy that kids can name every single construction truck and don’t know the names of any trees. I wanted to change that. 

Where do you get your inspiration? Nature is super inspiring for me—there is so much going on if you pay attention. The more I learn, the more interesting bugs and plants become. My kids inspire me because I have forgotten a lot of the challenges and emotions that children go through, and that has been helpful as I try to make nature interesting to people who aren’t already obsessed with it. 

Describe your process of writing a children’s book? Do you already know the story line? Or do you write it as you go? Recently I have been writing as I go, but trying to identify the problem or conflict so at least I have some idea of what needs to happen. Usually, I can write a bad first draft, which is an important first step. The challenge is going back and making it better, and then revising and revising and revising. I’m sort of impatient so I like to be done with things quickly, but having the patience to work on revising for months is necessary and probably good for me. Spending time on character development has been important for me too—even if the character descriptions don’t end up in the text of the book, it helps to fully think through what their personalities are. 

Tell us about your book: My book Meet the Trees introduces readers to three characters that are trees: Juneberry, Aspen and Oak. Each has a different personality—Juneberry is pretty and a little vain, Aspen is laidback and chill, and Oak is calm and unflappable. Each tree encounters a scary situation and we go through an emotional arc with them as they get hurt or damaged, and then show us their unique way of recovering. 

What has your publishing experience, been like? Once again, I’m impatient, so I didn’t like the idea of querying a million agents and waiting for years and years. I decided that I would do that but before I started, found a publisher that I could submit directly to, and within two months they responded that they wanted to publish Meet the Trees. 

What has been the most challenging for you as a writer? It’s hard to decide how much time to spend on marketing when I know I should continue writing! It’s also hard to know how much time to devote to learning and developing the craft instead of continuing work on a specific project that I’ve started. 

Tell us about your favorite place to write and why. My family’s summer home in Minnesota is a great place to write, because it’s in the woods and there aren’t a lot of modern-day distractions. There is water all around, and lots of birds and trees doing interesting things throughout the summer. 

Tell us about your podcasting? Young kids ask a lot of questions, and I know a lot of parents give up answering at some point. But as a biologist (and former professor), I figured I could answer a lot of questions that my son was asking. So, I started a podcast called ‘Kids’ Questions Answered’ and we discuss the answers to various questions about the world around us, like where do Scorpions poop and do alligators climb? I love answering questions submitted from listeners! The episodes are short (less than five minutes, usually) for short attention spans.

What is next for you? I’m working on more manuscripts about trees! I have several ideas that need some development and several more developed manuscripts. 

You can follow Emily on Instagram @drdangerscience. And her website address is  https://emilydangremond.com

Much success to you, Emily! 

CONGRATS TO MY OCTOBER GIVEAWAY WINNER: Me Me Grant-Pittman from Virginia!