Facing Fears Together with Alysson Foti Bourque and ‘Alycat and the Sunday Scaries’

A podcast interview The Growing Readers Podcast, a production of The Children’s Book Review and presented in partnership Alysson Foti Bourque.

In this episode of The Growing Readers Podcast, we welcome special guest Alysson Foti Borque, author of the beloved Alycat series.

Alysson shares insights into the creation of her heartwarming children’s books and the inspiration behind her characters. Join Bianca and Alysson as they delve into the latest addition to the series, Alycat and the Sunday Scaries, exploring themes of friendship, bravery, and overcoming fears. Discover how Alysson infuses valuable life lessons into her stories while captivating young readers with engaging adventures. Get ready for an insightful conversation about the power of children’s literature to inspire and uplift.

Alysson Foti Borque Talks About:

• The inspiration behind starting Expound Publicity with her co-founder during the pandemic.
• Their journey from starting with a podcast interviewing authors to expanding into a full-fledged publicity firm assisting nearly 500 authors.
• Alysson’s transition from teaching elementary education to practicing law to becoming a children’s author and publicist.
• How personal experiences and her children inspire her children’s books, particularly the Alycat series.
• The importance of showcasing supportive friendships and problem-solving skills in children’s literature.
• Alycat’s adventures in each book and the life lessons they impart to young readers.
• Incorporating extension activities at the end of each book to further engage readers and extend the story’s themes.
• Discussion on the latest book in the series, Alycat and the Sunday Scaries, and its focus on overcoming fears and anxieties.
• Sneak peeks into upcoming books in the Alycat series, including Alycat and the Copycat and a Christmas-themed book.
• Encouragement for readers to find resonance with characters in books and utilize them as tools for learning and growth.

Listen to the Show

Read the Transcription

Bianca Schulze

Well, hello, Alysson. Welcome to the Growing Readers podcast.

Alysson Foti Borque 

Hi. Thanks for having me on.

Bianca Schulze

Oh, my gosh. This is an absolute pleasure because we have been working together between The Children’s Book Review, and you are one of the co-founders of Expound Publicity, previously Forward Publicity. And I feel like it’s been quite a few years that we have been emailing backwards and forwards, and we’ve met briefly once on the Zoom before, so I’m really looking forward to chatting with you in person a lot today, and I thought maybe you could talk a little bit before we get into books about Expound Publicity and how you came to sort of go down this path of being a publicist.

Alysson Foti Borque 

Yes, absolutely. So, it’s been a pleasure working with you as well. It’s been so fun. And my co-founder, Lori Orlinsky, and I started our publicity firm during the pandemic. So I had an idea to start a podcast where we would interview different authors so that schools would be able to show the interviews virtually because everybody was going virtual. And Lori and I had been author friends for a while, and so we both thought it would be a great idea to start this and create exposure for authors everywhere. So we started that during the pandemic, and authors started asking us to help with their marketing. 

Lori and I each have several published books, and we love marketing. Lori has a background in marketing for PBS, and we thought it’d be a great idea to start this firm. And so it started back in 2020 with one author, and it turned into now close to 500 authors that we have helped with Expound Publicity.

We have a range of services such as virtual book tours, social influencer outreaches, satellite media tours, news outreach, content marketing, so many different services to list. But we love what we do, and being a part of an author’s journey is so rewarding. I used to teach elementary education back in the day, and then I practiced law for nearly eight years. And this is way more fun. This is so much fun to be a part of an author’s journey and get their story out there.

Bianca Schulze

Yeah, absolutely. So on that note, why don’t we go into the question I love to ask, which is, what is it that drives you and guides you in writing books for kids?

Alysson Foti Borque 

So usually I’m inspired by either my own kids who are now teenagers, so it’s getting a little tricky because their problems are more of teenage problems. It used to be when they were four and six, they’d have little kid problems, like, I didn’t get invited to a birthday party, I felt left out. And that was easy content to write about. 

So now I’m kind of focusing on the things that I can reflect on as a child of what were the things that I had to problem solve, what were the things that I wanted to see in a children’s book when I was that age. And so that creates the fire inside of me to keep writing. If I am going through anything within my own life, I find it as a form of therapy to write. And so all of the books really tell a tale of my last eight years, things that I’ve gone through, my children have gone through, and how we work through those things. And the books just serve as a resource and tool to help others.

Bianca Schulze

Yeah, absolutely. I was actually just having a conversation with another author who was in my critique group. A lot of writers will do critique groups. And we were just talking about the sensation of, like, if something’s really meaningful to you, there’s a really good chance that it’s very meaningful to other people as well and that the problems that arise in life, sometimes we feel as though they’re just happening to us. But actually, no, these problems, they show up in different ways, but these sort of life issues that we run up against are usually happening to someone else. So being able to articulate that in a book and be able to share it with others is such a great feeling.

Alysson Foti Borque 

Absolutely. And talking about it, writing about it, giving others tools to help through it, and giving ourselves a little bit of grace to accept that things aren’t going to be perfect and others might be going through the same thing. That’s what these books are for.

Bianca Schulze

Yeah. Amazing. Well, there is a common saying that to be a writer, that you need to be a reader first. And so I always love to, I mean, I don’t like to assume that everybody agrees with that, so you’re welcome to say that’s not a statement you agree with, but I love to ask if there was a pivotal moment in which you first considered yourself a reader.

Alysson Foti Borque 

Yes, absolutely. It’s kind of funny because in high school and college, I read the books that I was kind of forced to read, assigned to read, and then I had young kids and didn’t have time to read. Once I got into my thirties, I found more time, and so I picked up the Twilight series in my thirties and couldn’t put it down. And that was the first real novel that I read on my own and picked out, and I couldn’t put it down. I ended up getting the whole series, and read through it in about two weeks. I mean, I was reading every day, every night, and that’s when I knew that I was a reader and I enjoyed it so much.

And I enjoyed seeing what other authors’ imagination was and transforming yourself into another world. And it’s so much better than getting on your phone and seeing all the things on social media.

Bianca Schulze

I know, like, while I always have the saying, not every book is for every child or for every person, but for every person or child there is a book. And so while Twilight might not be for others, I loved Twilight as well. And I just think it’s so amazing that sometimes a book can come along or a series in the case of Twilight, and just be a gateway to somebody’s love of reading. And so that just, to me, makes any book a winner when it becomes that for somebody. So I love that you had that gateway series to remind yourself of that love of reading.

Alysson Foti Borque 

Yes, and just recently I had the best compliment that I’ve ever received. I was at a book signing and a little girl named Andie came up to my table, and her mother told me that she has found a love of reading by reading the Alycat series. And that to me was everything. That was the goal, and if I can help others find a love of reading, then it’s perfect.

Bianca Schulze

Yeah, that’s amazing. All right, well, I have to, before we dig more into Alycat, I do want to know who are the authors that inspire you besides ,obviously, the Twilight series?

Alysson Foti Borque 

So I’m a huge fan of Peter Reynolds, of course. In, you know, the children’s book genre, I love Jennifer Niven. She is such an inspiration. She’s a hard worker. She writes all the time. Her book All the Bright Places was such a great hit. It was on Netflix. And she has provided some mentoring to me throughout my writing journey. And she actually wrote a forward in Alycat and the Monday Blues. Of course, everybody loves Colleen Hoover. She’s amazing. So there’s a lot of great writers out there.

Bianca Schulze

I mean, I almost feel embarrassed to say, but I might be one of the only people in the world who has not read a Colleen Hoover book. I bought one and then I gifted it to my mom, so I’ve purchased Colleen Hoover, but I haven’t read. I obviously do a lot of children’s book reading, so I’ll get to Colleen Hoover at some point. I know it.

Alysson Foti Borque 

Yeah, don’t worry too much about that because I just bought my first copy about four months ago. Yeah, but once you buy one, you buy them all.

Bianca Schulze

Yeah, she’s a gateway author for sure. All right, well, let’s talk about your books now. So can you tell us more about the inspiration behind creating Alycat and her friends?

Alysson Foti Borque 

Yes. So when I was little, probably about six years old, we had a lot of cats. My parents had horses, and so we would go to the barn and check out all the horses, and there was always cats around. And then we brought six of them home and I loved cats, and so they all became my best friends, and I fell in love with one. His name was Spotty, and he was such a great cat. When I would have a bad day at school, I would come home, he would be on my bed, and I would sit and talk to him as if he was listening and he’s purring. And I just felt like he was a good listener and a good friend at six years old. 

And so all of the characters are inspired by, just, different people or children I’ve run across. And I wanted to have a diverse set of characters that readers could relate to. So Alyat is, she’s pretty bold. She’s going to get into some troubles, but she’s going to find ways out of it. Spotty is that character that will be your friend for life. He’s your ride or die, and he’s there for you. He’s the voice of reason. And so Phoebe was a rescue cat that we had, and she was the new kid in class because it was our new cat. And so they all have their different attributes based on some of our own pets and some people that we know.

Bianca Schulze

I love it. Well, friendship definitely seems to be a central theme in all of the Alycat books, so I would love to know why it feels important to you for children’s literature to showcase such supportive friendships. And I love how you said Spotty’s, like, your ride or die friend, because I feel like everybody needs a ride or die friend, and when you’ve had one, you totally have that “Yeah, I know what she’s talking about.”

Alysson Foti Borque 

Yes. The characters in the story are all friends. Some of them aren’t as close. Some of them are closer. And just going through elementary school and high school and seeing my own kids, you realize that friendships are very dynamic, and sometimes you remain friends, some friends are there for just a moment of your life to provide some support, and I think it’s important for readers to see that you can have different, diverse friendships, and those friends can be helpful in conquering the scaries or helping you when you feel left out. 

And so we need to rely on our friends and our family when we need help and not to be scared to ask for help. Some of the friends in the books go through similar circumstances. So you can relate to that as well and not feel alone. And so it’s important to have just an awareness of your friends and be grateful for their help and recognize when they’re being there for you.

Bianca Schulze

Yeah, absolutely. Well, I really want to dive into Alycat and the Sunday Scaries since it’s the latest book in the Alycat series. But there’s one more commonality that is in the books that I want to discuss, and it’s that each book includes an activity at the end to help young readers form a deeper understanding and connection with the story and the characters. So do you want to share a little bit about the activities and why you love to include them?

Alysson Foti Borque 

Yeah. So I kind of channeled my past experience in teaching. When I would teach, I had a group of third graders, and we would have storytime still. They loved to be read to, and at the end of a book, if they really loved it, they wanted that book to continue, and they wanted to have these extension activities that they could still feel like they’re a part of the character’s life. And so that was my purpose in creating these extension activities. 

Within Alycat and the Thursday Dessert Day, there’s a recipe in the back, and I wanted kids to be able to work together within their home with their friends or their family and do something that is an extension of the book. In Alycat and the Monday Blues, there’s a song in the back that’s on iTunes. Friendship Friday, you can make a bracelet. I think it’s really important to keep that love of reading going, and you don’t have to just read to keep that love. You just have to be in tune with the characters and share some of their experiences, just like Alycat made the friendship bracelet, then you can make one with one of your friends.

Bianca Schulze

Yeah. All right, well, let’s get into Alycat and the Sunday Scaries now. So Sunday Scaries brings the series, and tell me if I’m incorrect, up to seven books now, so we have one for every day of the week. So I think that the Sunday scaries is such a relatable concept. I may know a few members of my own family who suffer from the Sunday scaries, so I would love to know how you came up with the idea of turning the Sunday scaries into an adventure for Alycat and her friends.

I’m wondering if there’s any personal experiences that maybe influenced the storyline, and I know this is now becoming a really loaded question, but just in case somebody is like Sunday scaries? I have no idea what Bianca and Alysson are talking about right now. Will you sort of clarify what the Sunday scaries are?

Alysson Foti Borque 

So, the Sunday scaries can be different for everybody. So for children, it’s probably the don’t wants, when they don’t want to go to school the next day, if it’s usually on a Sunday after you’ve had a really nice weekend. For adults, it could be that you kind of maybe party too hard and you wake up and you’re tired and you feel like you don’t want to get on with the day and get out there or go to your exercise routine, anything that makes you fearful and makes you kind of stop in your tracks. And so that’s what the Sunday scaries are. 

So over the years, I’ve been in the classroom teaching. I’ve been in the classroom with author visits. I’ve been in the courtroom practicing law, even while I was nine months pregnant, I’m in the courtroom. I’ve done a lot. I’ve done a news segment called KidLit Picks. I’ve been in the public eye for a while. 

One day, about a year ago, I was doing a news interview, and I became very overwhelmed. And my lips felt like they were quivering. My throat started swelling. My palms were sweaty. I felt weak. My blood pressure was rising. It was a very, very scary moment for me. I had never felt that before. And so it turned out that I was having a lot of adrenal fatigue.

I was having high blood pressure, rapid heart rate. All of these things kind of pointed to my lifestyle. I had a schedule that was over committed, color coded, running here and there, trying to do it all, never saying no to anything, eating on the run, not eating healthy or as healthy as I should, not exercising or finding the time to. And so after seeing cardiologists, internists, different doctors, it showed that my body was failing me because I wasn’t giving myself what I needed, and it was a wake up call. And it was really scary for me. It’s still, just to be honest, it is scary for me to get out there after feeling out of control of my own body.

But with anything, I decided to write about it and to put it out there. I felt like by doing that, I would give myself a little bit of grace because I was embarrassed. I always felt in control, and this was the point in my life where I didn’t feel in control.

And so I wrote Alycat and the Sunday Scaries, where all of her friends go through different things that make them fearful, and they have to band together to conquer that fear, whether it’s Spotty in a treehouse, and he climbs this treehouse all the time, but one day he realizes he’s just overwhelmed. He can’t get down. So they all kind of band together and they focus on giving him courage, telling him to take it one step at a time, and just being really good friends. I had some really good friends that were there for me when they could tell that something was definitely up.

And so I hope that this book gives adults and children the tools to know that when you are feeling nervous or anxious, take it one step at a time. Give yourself grace. Turn to friends and family. There’s different exercises you can do, like breathing in slow, and eating right, and exercising, and so it was motivation for me to try to get things back on track.

Bianca Schulze

Yeah, I’m glad I asked you if there were any personal experiences in there. I didn’t anticipate the response that you were going to give, and I feel like some of the stuff you said is going to be so relatable to listeners because it was relatable to me. I’m a member of the SCBWI, the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators. I believe that you are, too, and I was at a conference, and Vanessa Brantley-Newton, who’s an incredible author and illustrator, was the keynote speaker. And her keynote was all about using adversity as your superpower. That adversity is your superpower. And so I feel as though that statement summarizes what you just said, is that when you take that adversity and you use it as your superpower, you can help others. And while helping others, you’re also helping yourself. So I loved what you said just then. 

Well, Alycat and her friends are such a fantastic bunch. So would you like to talk about some of the ways in this story that they demonstrate teamwork, kindness and positive attitudes throughout the story?

Alysson Foti Borque 

Yes, so, you know, for example, Eleanor has a lemonade stand and she has it all set up. It’s really nice, and she’s not getting any customers. And the fact of the matter is that she’s really not putting herself out there. But whenever the whole band of friends come along and see her and see how she’s reserved, she’s not very happy with not getting any lemonade sales, they grab the signs. They’re in the middle of the sidewalk trying to get customers and helping her out, and so they’re making lemonade out of lemons. 

And Alycat is having an issue with not wanting to go to school on Monday. And so I guess this is a spoiler alert, but at the end of the book, they start talking about all of the things that they’re going to do and what they’re looking forward to throughout the week. And so I always put different literary Easter eggs in the book, and so readers will find that they’re talking about all of the other events that happened in the other books. And so there’s going to be a sleepover next Saturday, they’re playing hopscotch on Wednesday, and there’s a tournament on Tuesday. And so it’s just a great way for readers to look forward to something and help each other out whenever one of them might need that help.

Bianca Schulze

Yeah, I love that. I think that’s such an important message, is always having something to look forward to, and when you find yourself in that spot where you can’t think of anything you’re looking forward to, then it’s time to create something to look forward to.

Alysson Foti Borque 

Absolutely.

Bianca Schulze

Okay. Well, this Alycat book includes tips for having a successful lemonade stand. So you’ve kind of touched on this, but can you share why you incorporated this element into the story and why maybe it’s important for children to learn about entrepreneurship and teamwork?

Alysson Foti Borque 

Yeah, so it’s about getting out there and doing things and being active. That alone can help you with the scaries. Everybody says make lemonade out of lemons, and so it’s a metaphor that the whole book is based about. You’re giving in a situation and you don’t know what to do about it. Let’s make it positive. Let’s problem solve. Let’s get out there and let’s be brave.

Bianca Schulze

Yeah. All right. Well, I think, do you have a copy right by you?

Alysson Foti Borque 

I do.

Bianca Schulze

I’m kind of hoping that you would share a highlight or, like maybe, a favorite quote or a favorite illustration.

Alysson Foti Borque 

Let’s see. I absolutely love this storyboard. So this is when Spotty is stuck in the tree and his friends are down here and they’re trying to kind of give him the positive influence of you can do it. And so I love whenever they’re talking amongst themselves and some of them are not very sure if he could do it, but they’re going to give him the courage anyway. And so it says,

“There are only ten steps,” said Alycat. “We will count down as you take it, one step at a time.”

“But what if I fall?” cried Spotty. 

“We’ll catch you,” replied Rue. 

“We will,” asked Kit. 

“He’s done this before,” said Sam. “He won’t fall.”

“ I hope you’re right,” said Kit. 

So you can tell that they have different personalities. Some of them are your ride or dies. Some of them are a little more reserved, like, are you sure? Maybe we should think this through. And some of them just go full force and say, you’re doing this. And so I love it. And then, of course, on the next spread, they count down for him, which is a great tool for kids to be able to learn about counting, too.

Bianca Schulze

Yeah, absolutely. Oh, my gosh. It’s so fun. And I think what you just said, too, it really does, just through that little portion of dialogue, show the different personalities that we have in friendships. And I think that’s my favorite part about the Alycat series, is that it is about Alycat. And Alycat’s such a strong character, and I love her, and she’s certainly my favorite, but I feel as though any kid that comes to these books is going to find a character that they can relate to, so I think that’s a special quality that your books have.

Alysson Foti Borque 

Thank you. They have different personalities, and some of them are really funny. Some of them are serious. Some of them take school way too seriously. And we all have those friends.

Bianca Schulze

Yeah, for sure. Well, what do you hope readers will remember most about Alycat and her friends after reading this particular book, the Sunday Scaries?

Alysson Foti Borque 

So I hope that readers can take away from this book the ability to conquer your fears. And so my dad often reminds me that bravery is not the absence of fear, but bravery and courage are doing the things that make you scared despite the fear. And so for a long time, I thought, I’m brave. I can handle this. I’m in control. Being brave is not that. Being brave is doing the hard things, digging deep and working through step by step, the things that make you fearful.

And so I hope readers can learn that it’s okay to be fearful, it’s okay to be nervous, because we all go through it, but just kind of do hard things better every day and you’ll get really good at being brave.

Bianca Schulze

Yes. That’s an outstanding response. I love that. All right, well, I feel like we have to know if we should be expecting any more Alycats because there’s seven days of the week and we have a book for every day of the week. So where does Alycat go next with her adventures?

Alysson Foti Borque 

So I couldn’t stop. After this Sunday book, I started writing another book, which was just picked up by my publisher. It’s Alycat and the Copycat, because there’s always something out there, someone out there that you might feel like you’re in competition with. And so I think it’s important for us to know how to handle, especially authors, how to handle the competition. We’re all in this big world together and we can work together.

Bianca Schulze

Absolutely. There’s so much space and room in this world for all of us, so I love that. And as a mom of three, and my kids range between nine and my oldest just turned 18, so it’s so bizarre to feel like I’m the mother of an adult now. But I’ve seen it all. Well, probably not. I haven’t seen it all. I’ve seen a lot, and particularly in the elementary ages, which is kind of the sweet spot for picture books.

There’s so much competition in terms of who’s faster, who can read better, who’s better at math. There’s so much of that. And some kids can feel confident in one area, and then others feel like because somebody’s stronger that they’re just not good at it anyway. There’s so much that goes into that. So I’m excited to read the next one.

Alysson Foti Borque 

Thank you. And so I am also, just a little sneak peek into my writing life, I’m writing a Christmas Alycat book because I love Christmas and that should be out after the Copycat.

Bianca Schulze

That’s so funny. And I don’t want to have to plug my own book, but I’m also working on a Christmas story for my dragon, so this is so fun.

Alysson Foti Borque 

I can’t wait to read it. I love your books.

Bianca Schulze

Well, I love yours. So it’s a mutual thing, right? There’s plenty of space for all of it. All right, well, I want to know what is the most important point that you want the Growing Readers listeners to take away from our chat today?

Alysson Foti Borque 

So I want them to know that books such as the Alycat series are great lesson-based tools to be able to help better your friendships, help create imagination, help conquer some of the things that you might face, and use books as tools and resources to find those problem solving skills. They don’t have to be laid out for you. They can just be a situation that you read about, but you’re learning. And so find those characters that resonate with you and see how they conquer some of these everyday problems.

Bianca Schulze

Yeah. Amazing. Well, the Alycat stories are adorably entertaining. I love how they showcase the importance of having those supportive friends who encourage and uplift each other through all the ups and downs. There’s the teamwork and kindness and positive attitudes. And I just think all of the characters make great role models for kids. So I’m so glad that Alycat is out in the world. I’m glad that you’re out in the world. I know that young readers are glad that Alycat is out in the world, too. So just a general thank you so much for writing the Alycat stories and thank you for coming on the show today.

Alysson Foti Borque 

Well, thank you so much for having me. I’m so thrilled to be able to share these stories and so thrilled to be on The Children’s Book Review podcast and the tour. It’s so much fun.

Bianca Schulze

Yeah, absolutely. And I’m really glad that you mentioned the book tour because that’s up and running right now. If you’re listening to this podcast on the day it came out, there are so many fun book reviews taking place and there’s an amazing giveaway, and so if you head over to The Children’s Book Review, you’ll find the Alycat tour for the Sunday Scaries and there’s just lots of fun and buzz happening around that. Thanks, Alysson.

Alysson Foti Borque 

Thank you.

About the Book

Publisher’s Book Summary: It’s Sunday, the day before the school week begins, and Alycat is nervous. She just knows that Monday is going to be the Mondayest Monday ever! On the playground, Alycat realizes she isn’t the only one suffering from the Sunday Scaries. It’s hard to ride a bike. What if Kit falls? The treehouse is so high. Will Spotty make it safely back down? The kittens band together to overcome their fears, but can they turn the Sunday Scaries into a Sunday Funday? The themes of the books in the Alycat Series all reflect a reliance on friendships, imagination, and creativity towards problem solving.

Fans of Alycat and her friends will enjoy spotting references to the kittens’ daily adventures within these pages. Tips for a successful lemonade stand are included!

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Show Notes

Check out the virtual book tour for Alycat and the Sunday Scaries!

Thank you for listening to the Growing Readers Podcast episode: Facing Fears Together with Alysson Foti Bourque and Alycat and the Sunday Scaries. For the latest episodes from The Growing Readers Podcast, Subscribe or Follow Now.