The And She Looked Up Podcast
Every other week The And She Looked Up Podcast sits down with inspiring Canadian women who create for a living. We talk about their creative journeys and their best business tips, as well as the creative and business mindset issues all creative entrepreneurs struggle with. This podcast is for Canadian artists, makers and creators who want to find a way to make a living doing what they love. Your host, Melissa Hartfiel, left a 20 year career in corporate retail and has been happily self-employed as a working creative since 2010. She's a graphic designer, illustrator, writer, community co-founder and has owned and operated a multi-six figure a year creative content business. She resides just outside of Vancouver, BC.
The And She Looked Up Podcast
EP177: Beka Shane Denter Explores Canadian Creativity in Bloom Across Canada
If you need a good dose of hope and inspiration this week, then Episode 177 is for you. Canadian writer and author Beka Shane Denter joins the show to talk about her latest book, Bloom Across Canada - an inspirational collection of conversations with 50 diverse women and non-binary creatives entrepreneurs from all across Canada.
Beka shares how a pandemic, her nomadic life and a career as a features and content writer helped inform her decision to embark on bringing the "Bloom" series to life and, how this book in particular, is a love letter to Canada.
This is a great episode for creatives who...
⭐️ need a little boost of encouragement to take on those big, dream projects
⭐️ want to be a more effective storyteller in their work
⭐️ need some real talk and encouragement about not taking no for an answer
⭐️ are searching for community for themselves and for their work
⭐️ need a good dose of hope right now
This episode is brought to you by our Premium Subscriber Community on Patreon and Buzzsprout
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- bekashanedenter.com
- Bloom Across Canada - where to buy
- Heritage House Publishing
- @beka_shane_denter on Instagram
- Find Beka on LinkedIn
You can find Melissa at finelimedesigns.com, finelimeillustrations.com or on Instagram @finelimedesigns.
You can connect with the podcast on:
- Instagram at @andshelookedup
- YouTube
- Tik Tok at @AndSheLookedUp
For a list of all available episodes, please visit:
And She Looked Up Creative Hour Podcast
Each week The And She Looked Up Podcast sits down with inspiring Canadian women who create for a living. We talk about their creative journeys and their best business tips, as well as the creative and business mindset issues all creative entrepreneurs struggle with. This podcast is for Canadian artists, makers and creators who want to find a way to make a living doing what they love.
Your host, Melissa Hartfiel (@finelimedesigns), left a 20 year career in corporate retail and has been happily self-employed as a working creative since 2010. She's a graphic designer, writer and illustrator as well as the co-founder of a multi-six figure a year business in the digital content space. She resides just outside of Vancouver, BC.
This week's episode of the and she Looked Up podcast is brought to you by our premium subscriber community on Patreon and Buzzsprout. Their ongoing financial support of the show ensures I can continue to bring the podcast to you. Want to help out? Head over to patreoncom. Forward slash, and she looked up. That's patreon p-a-t-r-e-o-n dot com. Forward slash, and she looked up. That's Patreon P-A-T-R-E-O-Ncom. Forward slash, and she looked up. There you can join the community for free or you can choose to be a premium supporter for $4.50 a month, and that's in Canadian dollars. Paid supporters get access to a monthly exclusive podcast episode only available to premium subscribers. You can also click the support the show link in the episode notes on your podcast player to support us via Buzzsprout, where you will also get access to each month's exclusive premium supporter episode. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all our monthly supporters. They are the engine that keeps the podcast running and they're a pretty cool bunch too. And now let's get on with the show.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the and she Looked Up podcast. Each week we sit down with inspiring Canadian women who create for a living. We talk about their creative journeys and their best business tips, as well as the creative and business mindset issues all creative entrepreneurs struggle with. I'm your host, melissa Hartfield, and, after leaving a 20-year career in corporate retail, I've been happily self-employed for 12 years. I'm a graphic designer, an illustrator and a multi-six-figure-a-year entrepreneur in the digital content space. This podcast is for the artists, the makers and the creatives who want to find a way to make a living doing what they love. Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of the and she Looked Up podcast. As always, I am your host, melissa, and this week I am so happy to be welcoming author and writer Becca Shane Dentor to the show. Welcome, becca, it is lovely to have you here.
Speaker 2:Hi, thank you for having me. I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 1:Yes, I'm really looking forward to our conversation today. For those of you who may not be familiar with Becca's work, she is a Canadian writer and author whose work has been greatly inspired by her life of living abroad, which we are going to talk a little bit about on the episode. Her professional life began as a high school English teacher and it continues to be a journey of ongoing learning. She's a mom to two sweet and sassy girls and has a passion for denim and dark chocolate, because who can resist a good square of dark chocolate?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a sort of obsession.
Speaker 1:Yes, so we are going to be talking today about Becca's brand new book that has just been released. It is called Bloom Across Canada. I'm just going to hold it up for those of you who are on YouTube, but it is 50 inspiring conversations with women and a few non-binary folk from across Canada, mainly I think almost entirely in the arts and creative entrepreneurship realm.
Speaker 2:And entrepreneurs? Definitely yes, but the focus is primarily, I guess, the arts.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's the second in a series of books that Becca's been working on. The first was called Bloom, where you Are Planted, and it followed the same format, but it focused on people in British Columbia. So we're going to be talking about all of that today. But, becca, the first question I ask everyone who comes on the show is did you feel like you were creative as a kid?
Speaker 2:Definitely I was exposed to everything creative at a very young age. Both my parents were very creative by nature and it started with dance lessons and art classes and, I think, just being exposed to galleries. I grew up in Ottawa so we had the National Gallery. My dad lived in DC so it was a lot of going to museums and galleries there as well, and just this constant exposure to anything and everything creative really was put into everything we did in our lives as a family, and I remember even making magazines at the age of, I think, seven or eight and found one of those recently and yeah, so I definitely have had it in me for a long time.
Speaker 1:Creating a magazine has been on my bucket list since I was five. Never too late I know it's still there. It is still percolating in the back of my brain.
Speaker 2:I would make them for my mom who would travel a lot for work and they had like crosswords in them and like Q&A.
Speaker 1:I love it. That is awesome, the things we do when we're that age. It is so cool to go back and look at them and and uh, just I, because I think we forget about them and then somebody presents you with this thing that you created when you were seven and you're like, oh my goodness yeah, it all comes full circle.
Speaker 1:It does. It really really does. So you are from Ottawa, but you have spent the last 20 years living and working abroad quite a few different places. So what was it that sparked you to get out there and see the world and tell us a few of the places that you've been?
Speaker 2:Well, it's been 25 years now, so I guess, when I was 24, I decided I wanted to travel and my mother said well, as long as you can make some money while you're doing that?
Speaker 2:that would be great. So my first excursion, in addition to traveling as a young child with my parents through the Caribbean and Mexico excuse me and Canada, through the Caribbean and Mexico excuse me and Canada I had my own desire to go and seek things. And so I ended up in Mexico at the age of 25. And I was working with Club Med Resorts and that kind of was my first experience, kind of going on my own and working abroad, and that took me from Mexico to Australia, to Bali, to St Lucia, and that was kind of the beginning of that part of the journey. And then later I met my soon to be my husband, my at the time my boyfriend, christian, and he was working for global affairs, canada and he was getting ready to go to Japan on his first posting and I was all right, I'm all on board, let's go.
Speaker 1:And I was a teacher at the time.
Speaker 2:So Japan seemed like a very great place to be. So Japan was our first place. We lived together as a couple and since then we've lived in Boston and the Philippines and a couple stints back in Canada, and now we're in Denmark and in addition to that I've traveled extensively through Southeast Asia to Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and throughout the Caribbean as well, and you've got two young daughters at this point, so do they.
Speaker 1:that has got to be a great experience for them getting to travel.
Speaker 2:Usually. They were very young when we lived in the Philippines, so they most of their memories are based on the photos we show them and videos. And Denmark for sure, they're a little bit older now but they really have a love for travel. They love airplanes. The longer the journey on a plane, the better, because that means more snacks, more fun food and more movies. They love to travel. I mean it changes a plane the better, because that means more snacks, more fun food and more movies. They love to travel. I mean it changes, as they, you know, go through different stages of life, but they're at a perfect age right now, which is it's great to be in Europe and Scandinavia right now and we all love to travel and we really enjoy being in new cultures and new countries and just kind of seeing what that's like, because when you live in a country it's very different than visiting.
Speaker 1:Yes, it is. I think it's easy to have a great time on vacation, but when you actually have to get into the weeds of living a life. It's different. Yeah, Are there any places that have really had an impact on you as a person, more so than others? Maybe?
Speaker 2:For sure. I mean, each place definitely presents some memorable moments, for sure, and memories are formative in different ways. But I would have to say, probably for me, japan was kind of my first, you know, deep experience with Asia and Asian culture was kind of my first, you know, deep experience with Asia and Asian culture.
Speaker 2:And also Bali before that my time in Indonesia was very, very important and interesting and unlike anywhere else I'd ever lived before the people, the culture, the peacefulness of it. This was back in 1999, 2000, before tourism, kind of like Instagram and social media. But living in Bali was really a unique and special experience for me and I'm still in touch with a few of my Balinese friends, and Bali has played an important part in my life, with my husband as well. He proposed to me there and it was just. It's just a beautiful place with beautiful people and I'm planning to take my daughters there in the next few years as well.
Speaker 2:And Japan, because Japan was just so different and, again, the people were just so welcoming and interested in who, who. I was as a woman, as a Canadian, and it really kind of sparked my, my love for fashion and creativity in a new way as an adult after being a teacher for many years, and so I found myself really kind of gravitating towards more galleries, more fashion shows and just really kind of looking at that part of who I was. And then also the cherry on the top was meeting the emperor of Japan oh wow yeah, how did that come about?
Speaker 2:rainy spring morning and I remember just waiting for hours in the rain and when the emperor and his daughter came to us they actually apologized to me for making me wait in the rain. And I looked at my husband. I said what do I say? The emperor apologized to me. This is just so bizarre, what do I say? And so I just did my little curtsy, my bow, and I was very polite and smiled and it was very lovely. It was a lovely experience. Japan is just a really special place. I recommend people have the opportunity to go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it's a bucket list destination for a lot of people. Yeah, for sure, something about it that's very intriguing. Yeah, how do you think this? Well, first of all, let's step back a little bit. How did writing become something that was so important in your life? Is that something you've done since you were a child? You mentioned making magazines, but, yeah, where did writing start to become really important to you?
Speaker 2:Writing kind of came from initially and I speak about this, I think, in the introduction to to this book and and especially the third one I'm actually working on, bloom International and it's about this kind of fascination and connection with magazines. I grew up an only child and I think I really lost myself in words, be it books like Judy Bloom books and any magazines that were hanging around the house. I just really got lost in the characters and stories and the lives of people and words and music. I love music and I think that I would always like look at the lyrics on the back of album covers and made album covers.
Speaker 2:And yeah, I had a dream when I was younger to be a reporter for a Rolling Stone magazine. That was kind of like I was going to be a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine. That was kind of like I was going to go to New York and do that, but anyway. So yeah, writing is just something I always kind of did. I remember doing a little bit of journaling in high school and working on my university paper at the University of Ottawa and that's where I started doing like interviews and that kind of thing and I just really kind of liked it. I just kind of always kind of had my hand in words and um I kind of put it aside for a long time and became a teacher, but I was teaching English.
Speaker 2:I was teaching how to write.
Speaker 1:You're still teaching words. Yeah, I was still teaching words, but I really enjoyed it.
Speaker 2:And then you know, eventually, when my first daughter I was pregnant with her in Boston and I took a break from teaching, writing kind of just came to me it was the time of starting online platforms and so I started writing about sustainable fashion in Boston and it just kind of went from there, and that was 2010. And here we are, 14 years later.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean that whole era of early blogging launched so many writing careers.
Speaker 2:Oh I know, it's amazing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was. It was such a unique opportunity to be able to put your words out there without a publisher or an editor or anyone standing in your way, and it really kind of those early. I always refer to it as the wild wild west of the internet.
Speaker 2:I was actually writing for another blog. I don't remember the name of it, but I was like their fashion reporter in Boston and then that kind of moved on to magazines at some point. But yeah, it was a very kind of safe stage of writing where it wasn't as competitive. You could really kind of explore your interests, which was something I really did.
Speaker 1:You could. You weren't writing for SEO. You were able to dive into things and it was really interesting because it didn't matter how niche you were, there was an audience out there for you For sure, yeah, which was. I think what made it so interesting is things that you weren't able to find to read previously.
Speaker 2:Curiosity, yeah, curiosity on the part of the writers and the readers, which was wonderful.
Speaker 1:It's evolved considerably since then but. I do miss those early days. It was really it was. It was a lot of fun that led you to doing more magazine features and things like that. But going from a magazine to writing a book is Well, the pandemic happened, okay, okay. So that's where this kind of sparked.
Speaker 2:okay, that's, it was my pandemic passion project. The first bloom book kind of came about. I was reading at the time to my daughters, who are younger, good night stories for rebel girls and they just loved the series. We had all the books and I just saw their eyes light up every time we'd read about one of these fascinating women. And when the pandemic kind of started, freelance work kind of slowed down to a bit of a snail's pace and I realized there's only so much Netflix and homeschooling I could do. I needed to do something for myself and so while I was reading these books I thought about well, what about all the women, people who are doing the work but aren't necessarily famous or well-known? And I started to just interview moms during the early days of the pandemic for an online platform called Bust. And people really enjoyed that. Just people. How are they parenting? How are they mothering? How are they partnering? How are they working? How are they parenting? How are they mothering? How are they partnering? How are they working? Right?
Speaker 2:And during that time we also moved our family from Ottawa to Vancouver. We just thought that was a better place to be. We didn't know where things were going. We weren't going on a posting anytime soon. And with that transition I had this idea, kind of halfway across the country, I think we're in Saskatchewan I thought, huh, what about a book about all these incredible people doing incredible things during this time? And initially I was like, well, maybe to keep it safe, I'll keep pitching it as a magazine piece, a weekly piece to support creatives and entrepreneurs during this really difficult, challenging time in our history. And it didn't really sit with anyone, but that's okay. I was like, well, I'm going to keep doing this. And I arrived in BC and within like six weeks I think, I had 50 people. Oh wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah 50 just seemed like a really nice number because I knew a lot of people there in the creative field and I had other people, so you have to meet this person, that person.
Speaker 2:I was all through introductions or other people I've written through about magazines and it just kind of organically, really kind of came together really quickly and I just kind of went ahead and did it and it was just a way to kind of keep my spirits up and positive and I just put together the book in about I think it took me about 10 months of interviewing and within a year and a bit it was picked up. Thankfully, after several pitches it just landed in the right person's lap at the right time and I think we were all kind of in a need for something positive and more local and BC. I focused on BC because that's where I was and that made sense to me and I wanted to kind of start small and I didn't know where.
Speaker 2:But halfway through that book I knew I had to do Canada.
Speaker 1:I wondered why it started in BC. I thought initially I thought you were probably from here, but that my husband is from Vancouver, which is why we moved.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we moved there, so it made sense to kind of transition. It had kind of been a home base for us.
Speaker 1:Right. So, so, yeah, that is so. So you didn't have a publisher initially lined up or anything like that. This was just purely a passion project that you were going to, which I think the pandemic we're just. I think we're just starting to hear now about all these projects that were hatched during the pandemic and I think, oh sure, I'd like to think that's one of the positive things. We'll look back on it.
Speaker 2:I have to agree. I think that's got to be. A lot of us had to dig deep and think outside the box.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. This is something that comes up a lot and with a lot of our audiences, particularly those who have the idea for a book in their head or thinking of doing a book. But what were your steps to get it in front of people like decision makers and pitch it?
Speaker 2:Oh, I'll be honest, it takes a lot of energy and self like motivation which, let's be honest, we don't have every day all day long. But I think I was so committed to the people in the book I felt this responsibility. I still do, even on the second and third book. I feel this very strong sense of responsibility and sharing the stories of people. I find people fascinating and I just so enjoy shining the spotlight on other people and celebrating other people.
Speaker 2:I think we all need a little bit more of that in our lives, and so what I did was I felt this strong commitment and this determination, and there were many rejections, and that is probably the hardest part. It still is, because it's the unknown, it's chartering into unknown territory, especially as someone who's never written a book before, and it's still a learning process. It's all, and I will say it does get easier with each successive book and each project, for sure, but it was just about really knowing your target audience, and that's something that is really important. No matter what your, your storytelling is or your niche market or your genre of book, you really have to do the research, and that's something I really did extensively for months before I even started pitching it and yeah, so you have to just really be clear on what you want from this and who you want to work with and who you want to represent the work, because that's important as well. And, again, you're going to learn as you go.
Speaker 2:We make mistakes all the time, everybody does but I feel like determination is so important and if you believe in it, if you really really believe in it and it feels right, just keep at it. And if it's not your full-time day job, which is the reality for most of us then just set aside time and prioritize that, because what you get back from that, that sense of fulfillment, is so rewarding, and you know that you did it all yourself.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:No one's holding your hand.
Speaker 2:You have to do it yourself.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely yeah and be organized too, about it.
Speaker 2:You know, like you know, write up your dream list of people and publishers, and or agents, so you know whatever direction you want to go. But it's really important to give yourself that time and and and some space too, because sometimes you need to step back from it because it can become overwhelming. Yes, yes, yeah, the rejection, yes, which is a real part of it. But I do believe if you believe in it, someone else will too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's very true. Sometimes you have to find the person who sees your vision.
Speaker 2:It's really about the right person, the right time, the right moment Exactly.
Speaker 1:A lot of no's are exactly that. They're just no not right now, as opposed to no never.
Speaker 2:It's still something I'm learning, even at 50, even as I go into my third book. Now you just have to really believe in yourself, and it's hard and I didn't really appreciate that.
Speaker 1:no doesn't mean never, it just means not right now.
Speaker 2:until I was a person saying having to say no, yeah, it's not personal and I'm still learning. It's not personal.
Speaker 1:It's not, it really truly is.
Speaker 2:It feels like it was.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, our projects are our children. Well that's it Right. And you want to bring them out into the world, you want to grow them, you want to do all those things, and so when somebody says no, it feels like they're saying, no, your, your kid's not good enough and that's that's. Nobody wants to hear that.
Speaker 2:They have to believe, you have to believe.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes. So there is definitely something to that just being very determined and just keep knocking on the doors until you find that right person, or switching up your pitch until it hits the right note with somebody who would want to take it forward yeah, and sometimes also taking that space right.
Speaker 1:Yes, and recalibrate re-energize yourself yes, yes, you can burn out doing that kind of thing very quickly, yeah for sure. So without having, uh, an actual book deal in place, when you were reaching out to all these women and and a few other folks that you had come into that you featured in the book, how did you convince them to do this? Because I find getting creatives to talk about themselves extraordinarily hard. It is.
Speaker 2:And not everybody responded with a resounding oh yes, some took a little more convincing and some just believed in the project and some just were really at. You know, it was a pandemic for that first book. With the second book I had a little bit more. I had a little bit more credibility, credibility. I had the first book put out into the world. I can show them here's a physical, actual thing that was actually, you know, done, it's accomplished. So I definitely would say that the second group had a lot. It was a lot easier, for sure, in some ways, but I think people really just believed in it and they welcomed the opportunity to share a snapshot of their journey, because a lot of them realized that if I had interviewed them five years prior or five years in the future from that moment, it would be a totally different interview and they were really excited about that. And I think what convinced people was they liked the, the realistic, honest approach I had for this.
Speaker 2:It was about sharing, about the journey, which is not one-dimensional, it's not just a straight up, it's really up and down, especially for women, especially for non-binary or transgender um, well, for everybody actually.
Speaker 2:You know, we're seeking out our passion, whether really up and down, especially for women, especially for non-binary or transgenders Well, for everybody actually. You know we're seeking out our passion, whether it's a creative, entrepreneur, advocacy it requires so much of us, but I think that my credibility and my passion and my heart really came through and they really felt that they felt safe with me. I had a lot of people say to me you know, you're the first person I've really opened up to about this and it was not about exposing everything. Some things are really important to keep close to the heart and I made sure that they only shared what they wanted to. But it was about sharing a snapshot of the reality, of what does it mean to be under undertaking? You know, this kind of journey as an entrepreneur, as a creative, that really appealed to a lot of people. I think they really felt like, hey, and you're interested in me, wow, that's really cool.
Speaker 1:Like they think they're responsive to that and and it's one of the interesting things about the book is that a lot of the questions you ask and and the conversations you have really made the interviewee think about what it is that has shaped their journey and you mentioned this in the intro to the book, in that how, when we, when we do these things, it's not just this idea that just came to us out of nowhere, like it is a path of progression from from when we're very young, or like how all the little pieces in our lives lead up to the moment where we create the thing or we we make the thing for sure.
Speaker 2:It's all a part of the person. You look at all their layers I call them the layers of life and they really if we're lucky enough in this lifetime to actually understand and know what that is and access that and do something with it, I feel that's an incredible gift, no matter what it is.
Speaker 1:I've realized at this point in life is that all the things I have done in my career or my working life, whether I enjoyed them or not, have all led me to exactly where I am right now, and I love what I do right now. So I needed to do all those other things in order to get to here. Like it's, you don't see it when you're younger and you're in the thick of it, but as you get older.
Speaker 2:You look back and you're like, no, you don't.
Speaker 1:You're like, oh it all, it all kind of makes sense. I was where I needed to be at the moment. I needed to be in it all.
Speaker 2:I do believe that. I think that's the only way we can really get through this life without feeling so much regret and resentment. I think that does come with age and experience.
Speaker 1:Definitely, Definitely. I wouldn't have seen that in my thirties.
Speaker 2:No no, Even in my early forties maybe not. Well, it's getting on the cusp there.
Speaker 1:But, yes, no, definitely not my twenties, no, no, In your twenties you're really just trying to figure out how to function as an adult in the world. At least I was. Oh, true, yeah. So you mentioned that the first book you kind of hit upon the idea halfway across the country and you started with British Columbia because that's where you were, and then with the second book you have grown that to be people from all across the country. So how did you find these people you mentioned? With BC? It came together very quickly, but what was your process of looking for people, or or or finding the people you want to talk to? I will admit, that I my.
Speaker 2:My creative escape escapism is on Instagram. And so I follow a lot of people in fashion, in art, food, you know things that I'm really interested in, and that was really one way of connecting with people.
Speaker 2:And again through other people who I knew, or because I've worked in magazines. I had met an extensive range of people across the country in different sectors, and it was just a lot of introductions. I would find one person and say, oh well, you have to meet this person, and they'd introduce me to like two or three other people. Sometime they should be in this book, you know, and it wasn't just about like how many followers you have, that was definitely not the criteria.
Speaker 2:It was more of what are you doing, why are you doing it, how are you giving back to your community and what does that look like, and that was really interesting, and so for me, there were definitely places in Canada that I wish were more represented. But you know, people's time, people's timelines and lives they don't doesn't always match up right when it's something, and it was just again very organic. And the second one came together really well and beautifully when I was in my last year living in Vancouver and I actually submitted the manuscript, I think a few months after I learned we were going to be moving to Denmark, but I really thought of it the last two books as like as someone who's been living away from Canada for so long.
Speaker 2:I was actually in Canada from 2018 to 2023, the longest stretch I'd been in Canada since I was 25. And it was a wonderful way for me to kind of reconnect with my country and kind of see what was going on. I mean this whole idea of blooming where you're planted. It's like you know. That's how I kind of connect wherever I am. It's like who's doing what and why are they doing this right? And it was kind of like a love letter in a way to my country?
Speaker 1:yes, and because I am very proud to be Canadian.
Speaker 2:Even though I'm not always there, it's a huge part of who I am yeah, no, I love that.
Speaker 1:I love the idea of it being a love letter. I think that's a very lovely way to to talk about the books. When you we alluded to it a little earlier in the in the conversation but when you were going through the process of, of talking to all of these people, how did you, did you have any who resisted or who flat out said no?
Speaker 2:well, there are definitely some who flat out said no, definitely.
Speaker 2:But I respect that and I respect, and people always have an option to say no, it's you you have to be 100% on board and comfortable and if it's just not your jam or just not the right time in your life or not the kind of platform you're interested in, that's 100% okay. You know, keep your mask, keep your and say no. Um, there were definitely two people who who were, for understandable reasons, were kind of ambivalent unsure at first and because one was transitioning and one is identifies as non-binary, and the way I kind of approached it with with one of them was like, well, you know, your story is so important. Just think, like you know your younger self, if you had read that kind of story of somebody, how they're like oh yeah, that kind of makes sense, because they kind of resisted a little bit and you know I understand that I wasn't going to push anybody into.
Speaker 2:It had to be very organic, it had to like come from them, and it turned out to be two beautiful interviews with two really beautiful individuals, one of whom was in the first book and lydia o'kello, who penned the forward and for the bloom across canada book and um, it's just yeah, that's okay. Yeah, but it worked out really well and again, I place no pressure on anybody.
Speaker 1:It has to be something people want to do yeah, I was going to ask you, given that you haven't lived in Canada for quite a while but I didn't realize you had had that moment in between there, like what made you, oh, I did I stuck that in yes we did live there for five years. Yeah, so that's interesting, that, uh, that is where you decided to, I'm guessing, to focus on Canadian women for the book.
Speaker 2:Of course yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so and this I'm asking this this is kind of a, this is kind of a selfish question but, as an interviewer, how did you go about your research for when you were going to talk to each of these women? Because with both books now, you were at a hundred people that you have done interviews with. That's a lot of people, that's a lot of stories to draw out, and I find when I'm doing interviews, the more well-prepped I am research-wise, the easier it is for me to draw stories out of people. So how did you go about your research process for each individual?
Speaker 2:Well, initially, we would try and set we would usually do like a phone call or a Zoom call to personalize the process, because all the interviews were done in a written format. Because with this kind of interview, I felt that people needed the time two to three weeks each to sit down with 10 questions in a Q&A format, which gave them the time to, you know, really think about it. And so I would. Before I put the Q and A's together, we would have this conversation on zoom. I'd ask them to send me some key points they want to cover and then I would do my research on them and I would just kind of through their websites or whatever platforms they were on and kind of piece something together.
Speaker 2:There were some repetitive questions, of course, like one of my big ones is like where did you grow up? How did this shape and inspire you as a person, as a professional?
Speaker 2:but they were all really tailored and the more I did the easier it became and they were really great at sharing with me what was important. And I always said to them if you find something's missing from this Q&A you, you write it in there and we'll incorporate it in. And I think giving them that kind of voice in it and keeping it in a Q&A format just kept me kind of as like the guide for the conversation and the focus on but research was really just, it wasn't super in-depth, but it was like through conversation and then just looking at what they were doing and really getting into the work, listening to their music, um, you know, looking at their art, reading their books, that kind of thing and I really just I'm curious by nature and so it really seemed to me and I think the Q&A format worked really well for both the interviewee and interviewer.
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely gave them some time to think about their words and be intentional, and that was important that they had time to work on it when they had the energy and they weren't feeling under pressure to respond.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they needed time to reflect, but not too much time.
Speaker 1:That's the flip side. You still have to go and gather 50,. You know Q and A's and get everybody.
Speaker 2:I'm still working through with this last one, yeah.
Speaker 1:So there's, there's that whole side of it too. I always say the interview is the easiest part of what I do, like the actual sit down and the conversation is the easiest part. It's all the stuff behind the scenes. For sure it's not as interesting to do all the paperwork and admin stuff, all the paperwork and admin stuff. So are there any stories from either book that have really stuck with you or really impacted you as a person? I'm sure they all have in their own way, but Definitely.
Speaker 2:I mean each, each interview definitely impacts me in some way. I that's the truth, and you know I've interviewed now with almost 150 people and one has resonated with me in some shape or form, which is why I think I'm drawn to them too initially. But with Blimacross Canada, there was Carla Tack, who's a Vancouver artist, has a really strong, layered story and is coming from a place of trauma with her art, and just to see her strength and the beautiful work she creates out of that has just been so beautiful and inspiring. She came to art later in life, but it it was always in her and you know she had to work through things before she kind of got to that place and I think that her story I mean all the stories speak to different people for different reasons Hers really resonated with me for some reason. We just really connected when we talked and some similarities in our past and I learned a lot from her and kind of motivated me and moved me to do some things in my life too, which was really interesting.
Speaker 1:Those are always the ones that have yeah, where it pushes you forward as well. Those are always my favorite too. You've spoken to well 150 women now. Now that you're working on the third book, um what?
Speaker 2:has that shown you about us as humans? What is it that word keeps coming up, layered right?
Speaker 2:layers like our life, that we're all like these different beautiful layers, and what you see, just you know superficially, is not necessarily what is. And um, especially as someone who has lived and who has had to kind of bloom where I'm planted, literally over and over again, this is the 10th place I've lived, denmark being the place I've actually lived in my since I was born, and it shows me that, no matter where we are in the world our culture, our country, our language we do have a lot of shared stories, shared experiences, and I think that's the beauty of these books is that someone in Tokyo could be reading about someone from the.
Speaker 2:Yukon and have a connection and or be inspired like, hey, maybe I want to become an artist now, or maybe I want to like go back and learn to dance, or maybe I do want to like take this idea I have for business to the next level, and I think that's a wonderful thing, as human beings is that as big as the world is, it's also really small, and I've learned that connection is key. Yes, community is key, and I think, for me, diving deep into creating these books and sharing these stories was my way of trying to find community, as someone who doesn't always feel that where I am someone who doesn't always feel that where I am and that's.
Speaker 2:you know, that can be complicated, but I feel like if you're doing what you love and what you're interested in and you're connecting with those kinds of people, no matter where you are, you will find some sense of community, whatever that means for you. Yeah, but definitely it's about that that we share stories, no matter where we are as humans, and as women in particular, like if you're a mother, you're a daughter, you're a sister, you're a partner, you're a wife, grandmother, you know, there's similar shared experiences there, no matter where you are in the world or the country.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's funny.
Speaker 1:Every year for the show I have a theme that is not necessarily a theme that I share, or anything but I always find that it sort of coalesces into a theme, even if I don't have one off the top of my head. And the thing I've noticed this year for the season that has been coming up over and over and over again and we're only a fraction of the way into the year is community and connection, like it just seems to be at the heart of every interview I have done so far this year and I just I find that very interesting that we are so focused on like that, that. That that's where we're all kind of going this year. I've always been a huge believer in it but this year it really seems to be.
Speaker 2:You think maybe we're craving it because we're so disconnected in some ways, like we have all the access to technology, but yet the personalization of that has been kind of.
Speaker 1:I think that's part of it I know, for me anyway yeah, I know I definitely catch myself scrolling and not feeling particularly happy and it's because I'm experiencing things vicariously and when I really what I really want is to experience them with other people as opposed to watching other people, if that makes sense. So, yeah, I think that's definitely part of it. I think I think part of itpandemic, and we are kind of coming out of this hibernation and looking to make up for lost time, for lack of a better word or I think it's a lot of things.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there are definitely a lot of reasons why we do what we do. I know. For me the shift happened even before the pandemic and I speak about this I think in the introduction to the first book, a little bit in the second book. I lost my mom about this, I think in the introduction to the first book, a little bit in the second book.
Speaker 2:You know I lost my mom very suddenly when I was living in the Philippines and it completely changed the way I walked through the world and at the time I was doing fashion copywriting for a high end brand in Europe and wanting to focus more on people, and it just sometimes we need a little bit of a shake up, unfortunately, and we have to grow from that. We do, we do learn and our hearts expand in grief. That's one thing I've learned. But I think people haven't really addressed the idea that we were grieving in the pandemic as well. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:I think, that that was one reason I really threw myself into the first and now the second bloom book. Was I just I really needed to find some source of positivity and inspiration, a reason to keep going, a reason to keep smiling and believing in the power of good and people and all the great things that all these wonderful people are putting out into the world through their brands, for their music, their words, their art yeah, yeah, yeah, I was going to kind of touch on that with you.
Speaker 1:Given everything that's going on their brands, their music, their words, their art, yeah, yeah, yeah, I was going to kind of touch on that with you. Given everything that's going on in the world today, we won't go, we won't dive into all of that, but but does doing working on these books, does it give you hope that we're going to be okay?
Speaker 2:Yes, I hope so.
Speaker 2:I think you know as a parent and being in the state of the world, sometimes I get really scared and I think that, as someone who had the luxury I call it a luxury of traveling unencumbered and unafraid in my teens and 20s, I really fear for my daughters. You know I'm like I want them to have those experiences. And are we gonna have that for our children? Are we gonna have a planet? And for me, yeah. These books were definitely a way to try and focus on the good stuff happening and the good people are really pouring their heart into doing, and I think it's really important. We watch the news and we can become very easily overwhelmed and frightened and anxious, and so it was definitely selfish in some ways, for me to kind of focus my energy and time and energy on this, these types of books and these types of not to say they didn't come with some hardship, because people do share about hardship.
Speaker 2:I share my hardship in the introductions as well, and I think that that was the beauty of it to show the yin and yang of the human experience, especially as um, as someone trying to pursue their passion in the world yeah, yeah, yes, very, very well put.
Speaker 1:So you, I was going to ask you what's happening next. You have another book in the works, and I was very curious about this because it did sound like this was on its way to being a series, which I'm very excited about. So the next one is Bloom.
Speaker 2:International. So, yeah, when I arrived to denmark, um, my intention was to write a very different kind of book, to kind of challenge myself, maybe do a piece of fiction or a memoir and, of course, reach out to some magazines. But I found myself really drawn in meeting all these other incredible people here. Um, an American here who started up this amazing magazine, and then you know, a Singaporean, malaysian woman who's here doing incredible work and advocacy, and I started meeting all these people and, like, I arrived, and I think, the end of July of 2023 and by like November, I had more than half the people already. It was just really snowballing really quickly. And again, because I was we talked about this earlier in the podcast how you know, with each successive one, it kind of be streamlined it a little bit yeah.
Speaker 2:Just became so clear and it just felt so right to be doing. I'm like I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it and my family's like you're crazy, why are you doing this again Another 50 years? What are you thinking? But it just felt so right and again just came together so easily, and so my hope is, you know, this one is the third, one is almost done, but my focus right now, of course, is on Blooming Cross, Canada, and I'm feeling real pangs of homesickness, I'll be honest, because I am due back for a trip. I think we're going back in February, but you know it's great timing and it's a great time of year, Cause I love this time of year in Canada. But yeah, the third and final book will be, you know, hopefully out in the world in the next year or two.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's awesome, Awesome. Um cause, that was going to be one of my questions. Are you going to do like an international one? And here we are then, then I have to like do something different yeah, yeah, but it'll be a nice bow on the series, I think, yeah and it's a nice reflection of me as someone who's had to.
Speaker 2:Yes, and I felt like a real representation, reflection of who I am as a person.
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah. Well, becca, thank you so much for being here today. It was really such a pleasure to get to talk to you and learn more about what went on behind the book, because it is a beautiful book, everyone. I was lucky enough to get a copy of it, and I also have Bloom, where you Were Planted on a hold list with my library, so that I can read that one as well, because I really enjoyed it. So where can people find you online and where can they find the book and tell us all that juicy?
Speaker 2:good stuff. You can go to my website, which is just wwwbackashamedentercom, and you just drop down the menu and you click on the Bloom books are on the side and it'll take you right to a tab that says buy here and it takes you right to Heritage House Publishing, which is my publisher, and that gives you different options on where to buy If you want to buy locally, independently, on Amazon and, yeah, it's going to be out October 22nd officially. I know you can do some pre-orders now and it was chosen by Indigo as one of the most anticipated Canadian titles for this year.
Speaker 1:Oh nice.
Speaker 2:Nice, that's where I am. I'm on Instagram as well. Yeah, and we will put my other work. Like my website has my other work I've done oh great. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And we will put links to all of this in the show notes for everyone, so you don't need to worry about how to spell things or anything like that.
Speaker 1:We'll have links to all of it so you can connect with Becca and so you can get your own copy of the book. It is definitely one of those books to have on your bookshelf and go back to when you need a dose of inspiration and creativity in your day. So, yes, thank you again so much for being here. It's been such a pleasure and for all of you listening. That is it for us for this week. We will be back in another two weeks with another brand new episode. We will be back in another two weeks with another brand new episode and we will be continuing on with our Prep for the Holidays mini-sode series. And, as always, if you are enjoying the show, please subscribe or feel free to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify, and if you are on YouTube, you can give this video a thumbs up. You can also leave comments on YouTube, which is nice because it's one of the few ways that I can interact with you all after an episode, so that is always appreciated. So that is it for this week. We will talk to you all again very soon. Thanks for listening. Thank you so much for joining us for the and she Looked Up Creative Hour.
Speaker 1:If you're looking for links or resources mentioned in this episode. You can find detailed show notes on our website at andshelookedupcom. While you're there, be sure to sign up for our newsletter for more business tips, profiles of inspiring Canadian creative women and so much more. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe to the show via your podcast app of choice so you never miss an episode. We always love to hear from you, so we'd love it if you'd leave us a review through iTunes or Apple Podcasts. Drop us a note via our website at andshelookedupcom, or come say hi on Instagram at andshelookedup. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next week.
