Today I’m interviewing Rocky Callen, the author of the Young Adult novel, A Breath Too Late, which debuted in April of 2020.
Rocky is the daughter of an Ecuadorian immigrant and has long lived a life of service ever since she was a 13-year-old advocating for the undocumented immigrants in her community. She interned at NASA at 12 years old, started lobbying congress at 13, and wrote and produced student radio stories at NPR at 14.
She was a behavioral therapist for over ten years. She received an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and lives outside of Washington, DC with her husband, daughter, and baby boy.
Rocky founded the Bleed Ink Foundation, a creative hub and resource center for writers, and the HoldOn2Hope Project, which unites creatives in suicide prevention and mental health awareness.
Today, we’re talking about creating and maintaining safeguards to protect your mental health, listening to your body when it’s begging you to take a break, and cherishing every season of a creative life.
I experienced such a range of emotions listening to Rocky speak and she said so many things that I personally really needed to hear. I hope that by listening to our conversation, you’ll find the same much needed optimism and clarity. So grab a pen and notebook, because trust me, you’re going to want to write all of this down, and then enjoy my conversation with Rocky Callen.
If you’d like to learn more about Rocky or her book, please visit her website at http://www.rockycallen.com/ or find her on social media @RockyWrites on Instagram and @Rocky_Writes on Twitter. And be sure to buy her book, A Breath Too Late, published by Macmillan, at your local indie bookstore.
