Fun Freetime: Mother-Daughter Book-Writing Team

Author Elizabeth Gorcey has been creating her entire life - with paint, film (starred in Footloose, Teen Wolf, Max Headroom), and words. Her new book series is inspired by her daughter, Olivia, who as a three-years-old began to spontaneously deliver wisdom and advice to anyone who was listening. Elizabeth dubbed her daughters musings as "Liv-Isms" and each book in the series is based on these everyday insights. Sometimes kids are the best teachers, and in encouraging her own daughter to embrace and use her authentic voice, Elizabeth realized how much adults can, and must, learn from the purity and honesty of a child's perspective.

Going to the Park tells the story of Liv and Bowie recognizing that Mom and Dad need a break from the stresses at work. Liv and Bowie convince their parents to put down technology and head out for a fun day at the park. Olivia is the go-to-girl for kids and parents looking for advice on how to navigate our modern, technological world.

Elizabeth and her daughter worked side-by-side creating the book series and are having a blast doing it. I had a chance to interview them to learn more. 

·         What was the inspiration behind the book? My daughter Olivia (AKA Liv).  When she was barely 3 years old I started to write down her words of wisdom, which we now call Liv-isms.

·         What was it like working with your daughter to create the story? Working with Olivia is exciting and fun.  We call Olivia the Creative Director.  She gets last say on all phases of finalizing the books, including words, design, images, etc.  When I read a story to Liv and we work on it, she is usually playing with a doll or something at the same time but doesn't miss a beat when it comes to adjusting or correcting or telling me 'a kid wouldn't say that', or 'that's too heavy for a kid.'  I would not call it ‘working’ with Liv, it is FUN!

·         What has been the most surprising thing you've learned from your daughter?  It's surprising that my daughter knows more about life than me. Every day she teaches me something. One day I was very sad that my mother was in the hospital and I was walking around the block with Liv and our boxer dog, Bowie. Liv saw how upset and distracted I was and she said to me "you are all sloshy, I know you are worried about grandma but you are right here now with me and this is life right now! Look how beautiful the sky is.” She made me look up and enjoy it, see the beauty of it, appreciate the positive in life.