Kim Tomsic
Welcome in to the Rainy Dais Writing Studio!
I'm so glad you're here. Grab a beverage. Gather your thoughts. Get comfy and stay a while.
Aug 01, 2026
Hello beautiful humans! I’m jazzed for two things:
#1 - My newsletter is now monthly instead of quarterly. Welcome to AUGUST, y’all!
#2 - I get to introduce you to my friend Kim Tomsic today! We both write books for kids and graduated from Hamline University with our (and this is a mouthful) Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children through Young Adults. Crazily enough, we were able to find time to talk about what she’s been up to lately—she’s been busy working on some pretty cool projects that teachers, librarians, writers and parents will definitely be interested in.
Here’s our interview.
Meet the Author: KIM TOMSIC
KIM! Welcome in to the Rainy Dais Writing Studio!
Thank you so much for inviting me to chat.
My goodness, the honor is mine! This interview has been a long time coming—I’m jazzed it’s finally here. When did we start talking about doing this? November? December, 2025?
You’re right - I was either carving a pumpkin or carving a turkey when we decided we’d do this.
If memory serves, we met at Hamline University in the summer residency, just one semester before the pandemic hit. I ended up graduating virtually, sitting on my couch at home with my husband on one side of me and my uncle and my tia on the other. That was the same year that The Elephants Come Home came out with illustrator extraordinaire, Hadley Hooper.
Book Cover by Hadley Hooper
Not to be Miss Correct-y-Magoo, but I was there in the wintertime! My cohort helped make sure I didn’t slip in the snow.
Oh, I don’t go to America’s Ice Box in January on general principle.
Smart! It must be all those Covid-time Zooms that allowed us to become friends! I’m so grateful there were solutions to continue our MFAC program together. I wish I’d also had a summer with you!
SAME!
And thank you for acknowledging the “illustrator extraordinaire”, of The Elephants Come Home, Hadley Hooper. I was grateful to be paired with such a talented artist. Not only did Hadley create gorgeous illustrations, but she also cared deeply about representing accurate information, since this is a nonfiction book.
Credit: Hadley Hooper
Credit: Hadley Hooper
I’m always astounded at how artists can take a picture book manuscript and decide which portions of the story they can tell through their illustrations.
INSIDE SCOOP: You know this, but many new authors and illustrators are surprised to learn that publishers keep the author and the artist separated. They do this to allow maximum creativity - the author can’t dictate to the illustrator as if they are a hired arm. The work process is that the author works with the editor. The artist works with the art director. And the art director and editor work together to make the story cohesive.
That is true!
But sometimes conversation can be helpful.
That is also true! I can’t say who, but I know an author who crossed paths with their artist at a conference and jumped into a cab together and went… somewhere. I don’t know what was discussed—only that there was a conversation and both writer and artist were very glad they had that moment!
One time, Hadley and I were both on the same email thread.
Oh, lordy… that could be dicey!
Right? Afterwards, she emailed me to ask about the biome and if I had any photos to share. I did! Hadley made sure that every tree, bush, and bird truly lived in Zululand, South Africa. I appreciated her dedication to nonfiction.
What a gift! And what a debut for you! The Elephants Come Home: The True Story of Seven Elephants, Two People, and One Extraordinary Friendship is absolutely exquisite—one of my favorite picture books. I read a lot of them, particularly nonfiction, and you’ve written two. The Elephants Come Home and GUITAR GENIUS: How Les Paul Engineered the Solid Body Electric Guitar and Rocked the World with another fantastic artist, Brett Helquist. We’d love to hear what inspired you to write these particular books.
Thank you so much for your kind words! This is such a great question, because it makes me smile and think of Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert - such a great book for creatives.
The first creative spark for The Elephants Come Home came to me in a yoga class in Boulder, Colorado. The theme of the class was that we are all connected. The teacher read part of an article from the New York Times - the story spoke of Lawrence Anthony and his incredible connection with a herd of elephants in Zululand, South Africa. I ran home to read more and was profoundly moved by this human and animal relationship.
These elephants had been bullied and hunted. They were moved from sanctuary to sanctuary. Lawrence and his reserve at Thula Thula were the herd’s last chance to stop escaping and scaring villagers! The rangers at Thula Thula were unsure about the elephants when they arrived - they seemed misbehaved and angry. However, Lawrence (also known as the elephant whisperer) understood that they were nervous and afraid. Instead of forcing his will on them, Lawrence used patience and kindness to earn their trust - to earn a relationship. Since you’ve read the story, you know how much this mattered in the end. I won’t say much more here, so that readers can discover and enjoy it on their own!
But I will add that it takes a lot to make me cry. This tender story got me! It also made everyone in my critique group cry. Francoise Malby Anthony (Lawrence’s wife) says that the relationship with the elephants then and now feels almost supernatural.
TRULY!
And for our guitar enthusiasts out there? I believe you have your very own ‘Guitar Genius,’ is that correct?
Credit: Unknown to me/Kim with her talented son!
I do! GUITAR GENIUS: How Les Paul Engineered the Solid Body Electric Guitar and Rocked the World is dedicated to my son Cayman, a musician. On many weekends when he was in middle school and high school, he’d ask me to go guitar shopping with him. He’d say, “If you come, they’ll let me hold the expensive guitars.” So off we went!
Credit: Brett Helquist
Best mom ever! Of course, he had to hold the expensive guitars!
We were in Wildwood Guitars, a cool and famous store in Louisville, Colorado when I asked Cayman, “Who is this Les Paul guy whose name is on the headstock of the most expensive guitars?” Cayman was gobsmacked—how could I be his mother and not know!
That’s hilarious…
Ha! So, I sat on the red vinyl couch and began my research. I came across an article stating that when Les Paul was a kid, he’d tie a string to his big toe at bedtime. He’d dangle the other end of the string outside his bedroom window. It had a note attached to the end that said, “Tug here if anything interesting is happening.” That was it! I had to know more!
Absolutely! That’s a guy who deserves to have a book written about him.
I reached out on LinkedIn to Sue Baker, Program Director of the Les Paul Foundation (she was also one of Les Paul’s best friends during the last ten years of his life). That same day, we got on the phone and talked and talked and talked!
I love it…
Not only did we become instant friends (and remain friends today!), but Sue also remained an important part of writing this book. She helped me navigate the truths and lies that live on the internet. I highly recommend primary sources when writing nonfiction!
Primary sources are LIFE!
I am truly inspired, Kim, but I have to admit… I find picture books to be so colossally difficult to write! I’ve made two solid attempts, and those books are now becoming early reader chapter books because CONCISION IS NOT MY STRONG SUIT! I can knock out a 90,000-word manuscript long before I’ll ever get a book down to 800 words. How do you do it?
Great question! As you know, the industry standard word count for a picture book is so limited, 500 words or less for fiction and a bit more for nonfiction (let’s call it 900 words or less for nonfiction as a guide but not a rule). Being concise is tough! It makes me think of a quote that is often attributed to Mark Twain. (Did he really say this? I don’t know.) It goes something like this, I wanted to write you a short note, but I didn’t have time so I wrote a long one instead.
Oh, yeah… that sounds like Mark. And I can SO relate!
My advice to my students at UCLA Extensions: Say everything you want to say on your first draft. During revisions, zero in on your theme and heart. If a section doesn’t move the plot forward with a trajectory toward the earning/landing the theme and heart, it might not belong in this story. I would have loved to have included the details about Les Paul’s big toe and the note in Guitar Genius, but the theme is perseverance (with stem) and the heart is making the impossible possible and you can do anything you put your mind to. The big toe anecdote didn’t move the plot forward toward that theme. It was a darling that got cut. At least I still get to share that detail on school visits!
Yes! I’m sure that was a jagged little pill to swallow, but those types of treasures have so much value for our in-person events. We can still make use of the content that didn’t make it into the finished product.
I definitely want to talk about the picture book writing retreats that you’ve brought into being because what an extraordinary side-hustle you’ve created. But before we get to that, you’ve had three other books published that I want to make sure folks know about.
You’ve written books for middle grade, two of them are on my reading list: The 11:11 Wish and The 12th Candle. Those seem connected. Is that a fair statement?
Credit: Brett Helquist
Yes and no! My agent sold The 11:11 Wish in a pre-empt as a two-book deal. HarperCollins wanted the second book to have a number in the title. However, The 12th Candle is a stand alone - check out the audiobook version. It’s really fun and I love the narrator, Cassandra Morris!
Credit: Mark Parisi
They sound wonderful! I’ll definitely be getting to those. I have read your latest book, The Truth About 5th Grade with Mark Pasili illustrating, and all I have to say is, KIM! OH, MYLANTA! This book!
You and Kate Messner absolutely knock me out. I’m loving these epistolary books. Did you read Kate’s The Trouble with Heroes? It’s not strictly epistolary, but it’s got recipes and poetry assignments…
Credit: Jeanette Levy - https://statelibraryofiowa.gov/programs/all-iowa-reads/kids-program-resources
That book is on my TBR list!
It’s so good!
I am a HUGE Kate Messner fan!
GURRRRL, SAME!
Not only is she a talent powerhouse (the Over and Under series is one of my favorite series) but she is a generous and supportive human who has helped so many kidlit writers.
A bazillion percent.! She’s definitely helped me on my writing journey. I met her in Boise where she did an event, and I was blown away! How can one human know so much about so many topics? Her History Smashers series is my fave—talk about primary sources! She’s the queen!
Women’s Right to Vote, The Mayflower, Pearl Harbor—Dylan Meconis/The Underground Railroad—Damon Smith/ Plagues and Pandemics—Falynn Koch
The American Revolution—Justin Greenwood/The Titanic—Matt Aytch Taylor
Yes!
But we digress!
I would love to tell folks what I loved about The Truth About 5th Grade.
Please!
Credit: Mark Parisi
So, in this little masterpiece, we have two best friends—our heroine, Charli, and our hero, Alex—both keeping diaries, so this is multi-vocal. The back-and-forth ‘he said/she said’ layout is the bomb-diggety! How two characters can come away with such different interpretations about the same set of circumstances in 5th grade is mind-bending, and it was so funny!
Thank you, Daisy.
Of course! Having taught fifth grade for a couple years, it brought back memories. The text you wrote for the diary entries were so spot on, and the way Mr. Parisi illustrated each characters’ pages really accentuated their personalities so precisely. I mean, you had to have been so pleased when you first laid eyes on his work.
Credit: Mark Parisi and Kim Tomsic
Mark is a riot. He’s absolutely hilarious. And that’s not just my opinion—he’s won the TOP award as a cartoonist (Mark Parisi. Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year). Make sure you look him up on Instagram or Facebook, or find him in over 100 different periodicals, “Off the Mark.” Mark’s character’s pages were supposed to be the only ones with illustrations. However, I sent the editor (Dave Linker) 80 sketches and said that my character would doodle in her diary. He agreed! So I am proud to say all of Charli’s sketches were made by me.
I had no idea! That is fantastic! Now I want to go back and look at those sketches again.
Most important sidenote: Mark and our editor, Dave Linker, were a joy to work with!
I’ll bet! You can’t go wrong when you work with funny people. They make it so it doesn’t even feel like work sometimes.
Let’s pivot a little bit and talk about authors’ hustles and side hustles. We both know that authors do a lot more than write books—our primary hustle. I took Elana K. Arnold’s Revision Season class (it was life-changing—highly recommend it) and she said many full time writers pretty well have to generate multiple streams of income. Now that I’m retired from teaching, writing is my primary hustle, and I’m working on a few side hustle options.
Having said that, let’s circle back to your writing retreats because that’s SUCH a great opportunity for aspiring picture book writers. In fact, I was all signed up for your Ink & Agave Writing Retreat this year, but then we sold our house and moved! The least I can do is share that opportunity to my subscribers. Will you talk about that?
Thank you so much for bringing up the Ink & Agave Writing Retreat. I’m so proud of creating this intimate experience for children’s book writers. The 2027 retreat is limited to just 50 participants and is designed exclusively for aspiring and published children’s book authors (PB, MG, and YA). Nestled in 22 acres of breathtaking desert landscape, the weekend offers an intimate, soul-nourishing space for creativity, craft, and community. Attendees receive direct access to editors and agents through small workshop groups (a maximum of six authors are placed in a group and paired with an industry professional.) Not only that, but there are further connections through shared meals, our firepit ceremonies, lectures, panels, and free time. I hope you can come to the next retreat, April 9-11, 2027!
I would love to! Do you have any other side hustles I don’t know about?
I speak at conferences and regularly and passionately teach writing at UCLA Extension. It’s why I pursued an MFAC. I also offering private consulting on manuscripts, query letters, and industry questions through my website, KimTomsic.com
Where can we find your next speaking gig?
Thanks for asking! I’ll be presenting at the in-person conference hosted by RMC SCBWI in Denver, Colorado on October 10-11, 2026.
I would love to go to that! What wisdom will you be imparting upon us?
Six Surefire Ways to Get Readers to Root for Your Characters!
Story is like a magician’s act—if you pay careful attention to an author’s sleight of hand, you will discover hidden doorways that can lead to a reader’s heart—passageways that make readers laugh, cry, cheer, and turn the page. The very first charmed act must be the development of a protagonist that readers care about—one in which readers invest their emotional energy, so much so that they cheer for the goals and worry about the stakes, journey, and ultimate outcome. In this session, we will discuss the SIX ways you can make readers root for your hero. (For novelists and picture book authors.)
Also…
Earning the Ending:
In this session, we’ll discuss THEME, STAKES, and EMOTION and how to knit those craft skills together to earn your story’s ending and leave readers talking about your book long after the last page is closed. (For novelists and picture book authors.)
And one more…
Dynamically Paced Stories: Mastering Your Pace and Plot Movement (For novelists and picture-book writers.)
Whether you’re writing a novel or a picture book, pace matters! In this workshop, we’ll use the “microcosm” of a picture book to unlock big-picture storytelling skills. Novelists will see how the Hero’s Journey plays out in just 500 words, while picture-book authors will explore how to hit crucial story-beats at a rewarding pace.
Through award-winning examples, we’ll cover:
Freytag’s Pyramid and the three-act structure
The Hero’s Journey in miniature—this presentation is created from an amalgamation and 15-years of study and my favorite craft guides (The Hero’s Journey, Wired for Story, Save the Cat, the Hero’s 2 Journeys, Story Genius, and others.) We’ll dive into story-beats including what makes a great setup and inciting incident, act breaks, rising action, the “big gloom” and more!
Pulse points—we’ll break down how to move a story forward and keep pages turning; and we will discuss precisely what has the highest currency in storytelling. Be ready to dive into character agency, emotion, theme, “survival” and stakes.
By the end of class, you’ll have practical tools to strengthen your storytelling muscles and craft plot-points that move at just the right speed—whether in 500 words or 50,000.
I am so goll-danged proud of you! And thank you for connecting with me today. I appreciate you taking time out of your phenomenally busy schedule. It means a lot to me.
Daisy, thank you so much for inviting me into the Rainy Dais Writing Studio. This has been so great.
Well, you are a brilliant writer and educator, so the pleasure is mine. You have been so gracious and kind to me and so many of our mutual friends. I’ve been so excited, not only to showcase your work, but to introduce you to my own circle of influence.
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Folks, especially teachers and librarians and parents whose kiddos go through books at lightning speed, please do something nice for yourself and for the young readers in your life and get on www.kimtomsic.com! Find her books, buy them, read them and make sure your local libraries carry her books on their shelves. They’re wonderful.
Also, if you’re a Kid Lit writer, definitely follow Kim on social media—she has those links on her website. I can’t tell you how many times she has so generously shared writing tips, publishing guidance and intel about how the writing industry works. She really does care about us!
Sitting down with authors for interviews is one of my favorite things to do, so stay tuned!
Love y’all!
Daisy Rain
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Daisy Rain Martin has spent the bulk of her career in education as well as advocating for survivors of abuse in any form. She has earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology, a Master of Arts degree in Curriculum and Instruction and, most recently, a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
She was honored to receive the 2023 Idaho Human Rights Educator of the Year Award from the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights. Shortly thereafter, the Wassmuth Center asked Daisy to collaborate with a team of amazing educators to create 4th grade social studies and language arts curriculum called Ida-Gem. She was featured on a Get Caught Reading poster in 2024, sponsored by Every Child a Reader, featuring the book, Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921Tulsa Race Massacre by award-winning author, Brandy Colbert.
Daisy currently writes full time, provides professional development for educators and writers and takes every opportunity to speak to audiences of all ages about making the world a kinder, better, safer place for ALL.
In the spring and summer, she is an avid gardener and practitioner of doorbell-ditching copious amounts of zucchini, tomatoes and cucumbers on her neighbor’s porches. She has yet to be caught.
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