Meet Our April Guest Guru Erin Dealey

Buy Book Here: https://amzn.to/41FQkAd

This month, we're excited to have multi-published, award-winning playwright and author Erin Dealey as our Guest Guru.

Up to four 2026 Members will have the opportunity to get a feedback and rating from her. Members can request Erin as a Guru from Judy, Admin Assistant and In-box Coordinator (RateYourStory@gmail.com), and if there are available spots and your manuscript seems like a good fit, you will receive the benefit.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

The  world’s BEST, Olympic Gold Medal…Tetherball player. 

What were your hobbies growing up? 

You could find me climbing trees, or playing (yep) tetherball in our backyard. 

What was an activity you enjoyed as a child, and why?

I liked making birthday cards for family members. I loved how surprised they were to get a handmade card from a little kid. I remember after I gave my uncle a birthday card, he thanked me by giving me a set of colored pencils and a sketch book. I also loved playing with words and making up puns and jokes with my friends. 

What was your favorite book as a child? Why? 

We were not a household full of books, but (and this will definitely date me) my parents read the newspaper every night. My sister and I liked reading the comic section. So, my favorite books were comic books–today’s graphic novels. 

Buy Book Here: https://amzn.to/4meER3L

Share a childhood experience and how it inspired one of your books.

“Don’t tell Mom whatever you do…” is a line from Little Bo Peep Can’t Get To Sleep (Atheneum/ illus. Hanako Wakiyama), and an almost direct quote from my older sister. I honestly don’t remember what she thought I would tell Mom she did, but she pulled her Big Sister rank on me many times. Don’t worry, we get along quite well now! 

6. What is your current profession / role in your company?

Besides my role as an author, and head of the Theater Dept at Sugarloaf Fine Arts Camp each summer, I am assistant to the fabulous Deborah Warren of East/West Literary Agency. My job includes beta reading pb submissions and client manuscripts and handling social media PR for our East/West accounts.

Please share a little bit about your latest book.

Squirrel Draws BIG Feelings, illustrated by Luciana Navarro Powell (Beaming Books) is a rhymed picture book about Squirrel, Porcupine, and Bear, who react to big feelings very differently. Sometimes they get so stuck it’s hard to make friends, until they discover Squirrel’s bucket of chalk (and ART).  

Please share a little bit about an upcoming book. Squirrel Draws Big Feelings releases April 7th so it’s actually my latest and my upcoming book. As for what’s next, I’m happy to say I have recently signed a contract for a cannot-say-more-yet book that will come out in August 2027 and I’m hopping up and down over here.  (See what I did there?) 

What is a common issue in submissions that you review?

Hmmm… I’d say sometimes writers work on a story so hard – because they want to get that book published –  that they lose track of the heart and rhythm of their story. And the heart and rhythm are what will hook an editor or agent. 

What is a suggestion that you have to fix those issues?

I know this sounds weird, but let go. Make ART. Remember the term Language ART? Writing is an art –just like pottery or painting. Look at your story as the “clay” of your project. Play with it, rearrange it, write it from different perspectives (SQUIRREL… was originally Bear’s story.) See which version shines above the others. 

Please share a Submission tip with our Members. 

Don’t stress about your Query letter. Keep them to one page and be professional, but it’s your story that counts. As a beta reader for East/West, I always read the manuscript first, and then if I love it, I go back to see who wrote it. 

Please share a Revision Tip for our Members. 

As you revise, try writing your picture book manuscript out longhand. In my opinion, just like an artist sketches, writing in longhand helps you feel the rhythms of your words and sentences. Write it as you might a poem, with different stanzas –even if it doesn’t rhyme.   

Name subjects you would like to read about, or, if you are an Editor or an Agent, see in your in-box. Kid-centric picture books. Rhymed picture books only if rhyming is your thing–not because you think a good story should rhyme. Non-rhyming picture books with rhythmic text. Ah-ha surprise endings.   

Name subjects you would not like to read about, or, if you are an Editor or an Agent, see in your in-box.  Nonfiction & PB Bios are not my wheelhouse. I love reading them but I’m not sure I could give very helpful feedback. 

Also is there anything in particular you want or don't want to give rating and

feedback on? See above. I’m not keen on stories about devastating diseases or family tragedies. 

Share a fun fact about YOU! 

While I wait for news from children’s book editors, I write one act plays for young adults to perform at festivals and showcases. (I taught & directed high school theater for decades.) See Uproar Theatrics: https://www.uproartheatrics.com/authors/erin-dealey 

A credentialed English/Theater teacher & award-winning playwright and children’s author, Erin Dealey’s picture books celebrate kindness and inclusion, including her latest, SQUIRREL DRAWS BIG FEELINGS (SEL + Art); JUST FLOWERS –A 2025 recipient of the Junior Master Gardener Growing Good Kids award; PETER EASTER FROG (a JLG selection); DEAR EARTH…From Your Friends in Room 5 (New York State Reading Assoc. Charlotte Award), and SNOW GLOBE WISHES (Anna Dewdney Read Together Honor Book). “Once a teacher, always a teacher,” Erin Dealey welcomes any opportunity to motivate students to read and write, and remind them that writing is a Language ART.