Interview with Author Jimmy Price
Author Jimmy Price is an award winning children’s book author, creator of the adventures of Harold from the Hood social skills building series for grades kindergarten through sixth grade. He is also an educator within the public school system working as a school counsellor which brings him a lot of inspiration for creating the social lessons that embed within all his social skills stories and is a professor for the school counselling program with American International College where he graduated from with his Doctorate of education. His children’s book series has been featured with Studio 17 Live, CBS, FOX and ABC news networks and the morning show Inside South Florida as well as many podcast shows internationally. The series has been featured with KidLio Magazine which is a kids literature magazine and has been the cover feature with Token Magazine which he is humbly grateful for all the plethora of doors opening for opportunities to expand the Harold from the Hood brand.
His first book in the series entitled the Adventures of Harold from the Hood a Trip to the Park won the Kingdom Indie Author Award for top children’s book category which definitely has been a highlight on his author journey. His work as a professor led him to write the book entitled A Retrospective Report of the Effects of Poverty on Youth of Color which looks at poverty through the lenses of mental health, employment opportunities and discrimination in regards to people of colour, while also exploring the historical aspects of poverty from the past to the present throughout the U.S.
Outside of the work he does as a public school counsellor and professor, he was able to start his new program entitled Children Developing Social Skills Through Literacy which is about delving into why social skills are so important for families, businesses, and communities. He does professional development training around his program and read out louds virtually and in person for schools and libraries of his children’s books which brings him such joy to do. He is also working with a production company on a project to have his books become animated cartoon episodes. The first episodes will be based off the first book in his series A trip to the Park which he is very excited about as it will be premiering soon. He has been just tremendously blessed with the opportunity to meet and connect with so many wonderful people from all walks of life on this author journey.
In his spare time he enjoy reading about history and love to cook as it is a means of therapeutic escape for him. As they say, even people who give counsel to others need to not forget about their own needs mentally and physically which can come in the form of self-care. He enjoys getting hot rock massages which are recommended and extremely relaxing and being a kid at heart he still relish in his childhood activities of playing video games. He likes to play role play video games as they are similar to books as when we read books we are going along with a main character on an adventure and seeing the world created by the author through the main characters eyes while experiencing what the character and supporting characters go through in the story. These are all a part of his self-care process that help him keep life in perspective and stay rejuvenated.
Tell me more about your latest book
My latest children’s book entitled The Adventures of Harold from the Hood When I Feel so Annoyed focuses on the social skill lesson of handling frustration in a healthy way. Oftentimes children will become frustrated about a situation and will let that frustration be expressed in a way that can be unhealthy such as yelling, throwing objects or just shutting down and becoming reclusive to name a few examples. Being able to learn tips, strategies and having kids utilize coping skills that the child can pull from their social skills toolbox can alleviate having problematic situations become even a bigger issue. My newest book looks to help explore all these aspects while giving tips and strategies for children to use for dealing with feelings of frustration. I would always express to children from the counselling aspects of things that its okay to be angry or frustrated. Those are natural and normal feelings that we all feel at times and it is the actions behind those feelings of anger or frustration that can cause the problem. We want to be able to make good choices in situations that may cause frustration so that we can have good outcomes versus making bad choices when having those strong feelings and having bad outcomes. We have free will to make decisions and choices in our lives but we can not choose our consequences for those actions and decisions that we make, we have to live with those consequences based on our actions and decisions.
What was the most challenging aspect of writing this book?
The most challenging aspect of writing my newest book in the children’s series was formulating the how I would incorporate the tips and strategies for the lesson of dealing with frustration so that part of the story is highlighted while coming up with a problematic situation for the cast of characters to be able to work through so that there could also be elements of problem solving with others, understanding patience and empathy towards others as well as turn taking, sharing etc. which can also be a part of the process of dealing with a frustrating situation. I feel that I was able to incorporate all these elements into the story for this newest instalment of the children series. That was very challenging for me and I was glad that I was able to work though all the writer’s block that occurred creating this book and to see it come to fruition.
What is your normal procedure to get your books published?
The normal procedure for me to get my books published as been through my friend Ms. Sheree Carradine CEO and owner of Carradine Publishing Company who has been so instrumental in helping bring the Harold from the Hood series to life. I highly recommend Carradine Publishing Company to everyone to help provide all your publishing needs as well as promotional items for your published materials. It will usually take me up to 7 months to fully come to completion of a book since I go through much editing and revisiting material in the books to make sure it’s in line with the vision I have of a book and that the book will be an enjoyable read for kids and families as reading with your child can help strengthen bonds with them and reading literature is noted to reduce stress and build self esteem in children when they do engage in reading.
How important are the elements of character, setting, and atmosphere to a story, and why?
The elements of character, setting and atmosphere are all very important for the overall expressive art of the story. For me my main character Harold the purple snail has elements of myself within the character such as with the glasses Harold wears and the high top fade that is Harold’s hair style which connects with the hairstyle that I had when I was in middle school and high school many moons ago. The setting and atmosphere for the book is labelled as being from the hood which I connect to being resilient, resourceful and able to overcome adversity through my experiences of poverty growing up and also looking at where I am today which I make it part of my purpose to give back to the community and mentor the youth because I do have that understanding.
One of my basketball coaches gave me fabulous advice based on dealing with adversity and difficulties in life. He said that the struggles and adversity that you go through in life actually make you grow stronger so that when you get to where you want to be in life you will appreciate it so much more because you will know all that you went through to get there. This advice has always resonated and stayed with me and inspired me to push further and I feel that the Harold from the Hood series reflects that aspect of myself as a person that believes in self love, knowing your worth and the continued work with being the best version of yourself that you can be.
How many books have you written so far?
I have written four children’s books so far in my social skills building Harold from the hood series. The first being the award winning the adventures of Harold from the Hood a trip to the park focused on learning to accept others differences, diversity and inclusion, the second book in the series is the adventure of Harold from the Hood Friends like Different Things focused on making friends, empathy, turn taking, sharing, trying new and fun activities and much more. The third book in the kids series is the Adventures of Harold from the Hood Fun Time Lunch Time which focuses on the importance of healthy eating habits, exercise, advocating for yourself, and social interactive skills. The fourth book in the series is The Adventures of Harold from the Hood When I Feel So Annoyed which focuses on dealing with frustration in a healthy way through means of using coping skills, tips for de-escalation when frustrated , problem solving with others, having patience, empathy for others and more.
I also published a book that is based on my doctorate dissertation entitled A Retrospective Report of the Effects of Poverty on Youth of Color which focuses on the dynamics of poverty through the domains of mental health, employment opportunities and discrimination while exploring all its implications historically within the U.S. cultural society which connects with the classes that I teach as a professor at AIC. It’s a great resource for colleges across the country and for those doing research in this particular area of study. I am currently looking at creating the next instalment which would be book five for Harold from the Hood children’s social skill building series.
What’s the best way to market your books?
I found for me personally that the best way to market your books is multi-layered in many aspects. I join a lot of online book groups that I use to network with other authors and to use those platforms to help promote my books. Many of the opportunities I have had to be featured on tv media platforms and guest on podcast shows and radio shows came from networking within those online book groups that I have joined. It is a good way to get your book out there to get possible new readers and be able to collaborate with other authors for advice and to help expand your brand and get people to get to know who you are on a more personal level outside of being an author.
I also use social media as a promotional and marketing tool as well. I invest time to create content that connects with social media platforms to bring awareness to my Harold from the hood brand. Sometimes I will go live on some of these platforms to help foster more personable connections with readers and the literature community as well as bring in new readers to the fold through promoting on social media. I also use social media to bring traffic to my website which is recommended that one should create one as it can become the main hub for all your work and makes it easier for people to purchase copies of your work by just going to your website. I also recommend that business cards are kept around cause you never know when or where a lead might happen.
I also reach out to libraries and schools to set up read out louds of the books and attend community events as another way of networking with businesses that could generate more leads or opportunities to market your book. So when I express that it is a multi layered approach this is what I mean. You have to invest in yourself and invest the time to market and promote your books to create opportunities. Publishing the book is just one part, marketing and promotion is another. Both demand equal time and your investment.
What is your writing routine? When you write, do you plan or outline ahead?
My writing routine usually is based around putting together an outline or framework for what I want the social lesson to be and what situation will be used for providing the backdrop for the social lesson to take place. Once I have a framework together then I just build onto that framework and continue to flesh out the story until I feel the story is where it needs to be. I also like to have a written hook within the book that pertains to the social skills lesson for the book. Similar to how a song will have a hook saying within it that makes it catchy and memorable. I like to do that with my books and as an author it is enjoyable to be able to just let your creative mind run its course and create something that your readers can enjoy.
How hard or easy is it to establish and maintain a career in writing?
For me personally I balance writing and employment so that I do not overextend myself to committing to more than I can handle on my plate. I may begin writing a book and then life happens and I do not get back to continuing writing the book for a bit of time but the most important thing is that I do get back to it. I am also a dad and have a wonderful smart daughter named Milani that motivates me and assists me with figuring out what works and does not work when putting together social skill stories. She has definitely been a tremendous blessing in my life and brings me a sense of balance with maintaining my career in writing as well as all the other work I do connected with my purpose in life.
What is your advice for aspiring writers?
My advice for aspiring writer would be to say that your book does not have to be perfect I feel that aspiring authors get caught up in trying to make the book perfect when in fact it’s the imperfections that show readers that you are just human just like anyone else and that makes an author more personable to readers. I would also say to network with other authors and pick their brain about matters of your writing craft. I have been fortunate to have been able to connect with so many fellow authors, many award winning authors or others are New York Times best sellers that I can reach out to and ask questions about enhancing the brand or just writing tips. This is why I suggest that online social author groups should be joined so that these connections can be made for additional resources available to you. Believe in yourself and do not let any rejections by publishing companies discourage you. Your message needs to be heard and incorporating prayer into everything will lead to the doors opening to get your work where you want it to go. That would be the advice I would share with aspiring writers. Thanks for the opportunity to share a bit of my author journey and stay blessed.
Website : jimpricebooks.education (for all childrens book purchases)
Email : [email protected]
Twitter or X : @jimmyPr74639009
Facebook : @jim.price.9822
Instagram : @childbookauthor
Youtube Channel : @jimprice3934
LinkedIn : Dr Jim Price
Tik Tok : @jimmyprice276
His book based on his doctoral dissertation entitled : A Retrospective Report of the Effects of Poverty on Youth of Color, is available with Amazon.