Second Listen: Andrea Beaty: Award-Winning Children's Author

23:23Andrea Beaty:No, it is not. It's so slow. And I think it used to be slower when I decided I think I want to try to get published. And maybe I think I can do it. In fact, one day I was riding my bike along. And this I do remember a very distinct moment when I was biking along. And I thought, well, why not me? Why can't I be the person who gets published? People aren't born to being published. They're not born children's authors. They may have the talent. They may have the opportunity. But why not me? So that was very liberating and sort of gave me the confidence. I don't know where it came from out of the blue, but it really kind of gave me the confidence to say, well, why not?

24:00Andrea Beaty:Let's try. You know, I did research. Who are the publishers? What do they want? Where do you send manuscripts? And I was sending out dozens of manuscripts. I think I had 25 or 30 manuscripts making the rounds. Wait, what? Yeah, I did. I had a lot of books. I was prolific. I was sitting and writing so many books. And I look back and some of those should never have left my house. so I do apologize to the editors who got those but yeah I had a lot of them out there and what would happen is you'd send a copy of your story with a cover letter to an editor and it would go into something called the slush pile which is a gigantic pile of bazillions of other things and then they would either be read or not read and eventually you'd get like a note thank you very much for submitting to blah blah blah our publishing house this is not right for our list whatever.

24:47Andrea Beaty:But then eventually, the thing that started to happen was that you get a little hand note scribbled on that printed note that would say, send us more like this, or really like the story. Sorry, it didn't work, whatever it was, which was such a big deal. And that told me, okay, I think maybe I'm on the right track. The other thing was, because it was such a slow process, I learned pretty quickly not to sit and fret on it, not to sit and worry about that book. And so just go and write something new. That helped take your mind off of what's going on or not going on with the previous book. But eventually I thought, well, you know, what about trying to get an agent and getting an agent is kind of done in the same way.

25:28Andrea Beaty:So I started sending off to the slush pile of different agents. And when read When Giants Come to Play and another book I had, I forget which one it was, and said, yeah, I'm interested. And then he then sold When Giants Come to Play and Iggy Peck Architect. And Iggy came out in 2007. So that was like a five-year window before that happens. Iggy was one of those books that came out and was sort of a slow burn, where bookstores really fell in love with Iggy. So they were hand-selling that book, and it just picked up a little bit by little bit by little bit. And the publisher's like, do you think you could write another book about Iggy?

26:05Andrea Beaty:And I tried for two years, Hillary. I tried It's so hard. And finally, I'm like, no, I can't. It'd be boring to trod on that same space. I can't do it. Well, what about the other kids in the class? And so I went back and looked at the kids in that class and thought, who are you? And then I noticed the little blonde girl who sits at the front. She's very small. And she looks like she's trying to be invisible. And her hair swoops over one eye. You never see both of her eyes. And I thought, what is your deal? And so she became Rosie Revere Engineer. Talk to me a little bit about the reaction to Rosie Revere, Engineer, because while Iggy Peck was a slow but steady burn, Rosie Revere spent nearly three years on the New York Times bestseller list.

26:52Was it an immediate hit? Were people just falling all over themselves? Like, what was your marketing strategy like? Tell me everything, please.

27:00Andrea Beaty:So every time I've had a book come out, I just knew that the world was going to stop spinning for just like one heartbeat. And everyone on the planet was going to go, what was that? Oh, Andrea has a new book out. My goodness. Yay. Collective cheers from the whole planet. And in fact, what happens is nothing. Not even crickets show up for it. It's just like silence. Maybe you get some reviews and then maybe it's really nasty reviews on Amazon, which is a whole show unto itself. but for the most part you don't have a clue if anything is happening with it for months until you see a royalty statement to see if you sold any copies and I put in a lot of effort for marketing those books like every book I tried to do whatever I could to go and get in front of kids to go to conferences you know anything I could and my publishers have always been wonderful doing what they could to help promote a book but you know they also have just a limited amount of funds and they have, you know, 20 books that they're doing.

27:56They really depend on you, the author, to do it. For the record, Abrams has published all three of the books I have written. And I realized very early on, I was like, oh, this is on us to do the marketing. This is on us to get out there. And that's fine because honestly, as a control freak, I feel like I have a better idea of what I would want to say and do for it anyway. But talking to other friends who are published authors, that part was a little bit surprising to realize. So I'm glad that you brought that up that like, ultimately, there's so much onus on the author to market it.

28:26Andrea Beaty:Yeah, I mean, and I do think they do an amazing job. So they have certain things that they will always do. And that's get things out to the library markets get to the booksellers and such spots. But by the time Rosie was about to come out, I had come to the conclusion, it didn't matter what I did, nothing was gonna make a book go wahoo. And it just whatever, It wasn't going to be a big deal. But I was so excited to have the book. I love the story. But I didn't know that I was really going to go out and put a ton of time into doing anything for it because it hadn't really paid off, I didn't think, to do before.

29:00And then about four months before the book was about to come out, I saw David's art for the book.

29:07Andrea Beaty:And I burst out in tears. That art was so perfect. I thought, come on, Andrea, if David can do that, you can do something. Get your gears going and figure out a way to try to help as well. And so I hired my daughter, who was between her high school senior and freshman college year. And she worked for me for the next few months. and this was a time when there still were blogs, I said, go out and find me every blog about science, engineering, women in science, women in engineering, historical groups for women, you name it. Anything I could find that would in any way be tangentially or directly appropriate for this book.

29:50Andrea Beaty:And plus mommy bloggers and you name it. Girls in STEM, which was like, what is STEM? That's a new thing. And so we came up with hundreds of possible places and started sending out emails to them and then gave Abrams that list and said, you know, can you send things to them as well? And it was amazing. The timing also was just so perfect for that book because it really was a moment when, for whatever reason, everyone's focus sort of came to understanding like, oh, we really have a shortage of engineers and scientists, and we have very big shortage of women in engineering and science. Maybe we should think about that.

30:29Andrea Beaty:And then here's this book that is basically that. It's about following your passion. So the timing could not have been better. So we started sending things out. And, you know, I was doing emails all day, reaching out to people and sending out review copies. And the publisher was sending copies. And I got this, like, I don't know what it was, just like this fit of, I think we can do everything. And I remember writing a list of big, hairy, audacious goals, things I wanted to happen for Rosie Revere. And I mean, I don't know. I had a lot of coffee that day. But I came up with the I want her to be on The New York Times.

31:06I want her to be the face of Girls in STEM.

31:10Andrea Beaty:I want those things to happen. And I think maybe we can make those happen. And you know what? They all did. They all happened. And she went on The Times and was on there for over three years, I think. Then Ada Twist came out and she was there over a year. And all of the other picture books since then have gone on the Times and that's just been crazy. But it was realizing that this was a special book. Once that happened, what I realized from that was that there are many people in the publishing industry and librarians and booksellers and they are so important and I love them all. But they have a certain segment of the population that will look to them for recommendations.

31:46Andrea Beaty:But then people who are engineers, they desperately want their kids to know what an engineer is. Yeah. Because they don't know what an engineer is. And so by reaching out in more direct ways to people who might personally want the book, but not have their eyes on the publishing industry, not be aware of what's going on, we've just kind of found this gigantic market that would really be interested in and embrace Rosie. And they did. What did it feel like this time around? Like to have that kind of response? at this point in your career where you had been doing this for a while and you had been published before and you had had success before.

32:23But then this, I would imagine, felt like unlocking a whole new level of awareness, success, accolades, all of it.

32:31Andrea Beaty:It was really mind-blowing when Rosie went out into the world and just all of these amazing connections started happening. And I have to say, it felt like sending my kid off to college. You don't know what's going to happen, where they're going to go, what adventures they're going to have, but they start having this life that's outside of you and that you're not really controlling. And it's so cool. It's become like these kids are their own universe and they are their own people and characters, which sounds hokey, but they really do have a life of their own. And it's a life that's important to kids.

33:09Andrea Beaty:it's important to other people and that our job now is to really be the best stewards we can be of these characters and to never make things or do things that are going to detract from them, but to try to sort of expand their world. I get very emotional about it because they do have a place in kids' hearts and parents too. And I meet parents everywhere who just say, you know, my kids love these books. And I have to say, there are a few things that have just been so gobsmacking to me. One of the biggest things, sounds very small, but it's extremely enormous to me, that I started getting emails early on where people would send me pictures of their kids, mostly their daughters, making things.

33:54Andrea Beaty:And I mean like crazy, awesome inventions. And the most amazing part to me about that was the way they would talk about themselves. Because their parents would say, do you want to be an engineer when you grow up? And the kids would say, I am an engineer, not I'm going to become an engineer. I am an engineer. And then the same with Ada Twist. I am a scientist. And the look that goes with that is, what is wrong with you that you do not understand? Clearly, I am a scientist. And I've thought a lot about why that is. And I think it's because it's sort of the transitive property of these books is what I'm going to call it, where Rosie Revere has a situation where she feels like someone's laughing at her.

34:39Andrea Beaty:She has tried something and it has failed. And it really broke her heart and she didn't know what to do about it. But every kid has experienced that. Every kid has had a moment where they were just crushed. They thought something was going to go a much different way. And it didn't. So they look at Rosie and see her failure and then her persistence and they see themselves having done the same thing in some way. And they say, Rosie's an engineer. I've had that same experience. Therefore, I'm an engineer. And the same for scientists. Ada is curious. I'm curious. Ada is a scientist. I'm a scientist.

35:15Andrea Beaty:And it's just this unquestioning acceptance of the ability to become anything and to do anything. And that's been the most amazing thing of all. And that is an extreme responsibility that I try to live up to when I write new things. And I take it very seriously, because that's a precious thing and a rare thing, I think. I love that. I think, you know, demonstrating resiliency and talking about resiliency is so important, especially for women, especially for girls. I mean, one of the questions I ask on this podcast is ultimately about failures. And how do you pick yourself back up from that because I think women need to hear like you can fail and move through it.

35:55It's okay. It doesn't mean it's over. I think we all put such pressure on ourselves starting at such a young age and that both limits what we're willing to try. And then also, you know, on the flip side, if you can push through that at a young age, like the sky's the limit. So it's hugely important. And that's really lovely to hear like what a responsibility, but also what an honor. It is.

36:19Andrea Beaty:It's a real privilege, I think, to just have a role where you have any interaction with kids. I mean, adults are fine. They're great, whatever. But kids are amazing. Yeah. And they're not going to pretend that they like something if they don't like it. So you're getting a real audience. Yeah. And sort of going back to the things we talked about earlier, they do not have time to stick around for a story that's not going to work for them or amuse them or teach them something or connect with them in some way that's real. So you have to honor that and then try to make something that does all those things.

36:50Andrea Beaty:And at the same time, I mean, when I'm writing something, I'm writing it to amuse myself because if I'm bored, everyone's bored. Fair. I want to talk about Ada Twist for a minute. In addition to being an incredible book, the book was also adapted by Netflix and co-produced by the Obama's production company. We all know the theme song, Around My House. Talk to me about how this happened, what it felt like when you got word about this. And do you have any involvement from the TV side? Or is it more of like a you give your blessing and now it's just off in the world? What is that relationship like?

37:25Andrea Beaty:Yeah, that was such a fun ride. I have to say that has just been one of those things that really did not anticipate happening would have been a great but then when it did happen, it was so much fun. So what happens by the time Ada came out, we were starting to get a lot of interest in the books for a possible show or a movie. And so I had maybe five or six people from different parties that came and expressed interest. And there was a producer named Mark Burton from Wonder Worldwide, who just had a view of the stories and the characters. He seemed to just get the characters in a way that I don't think other people did.

38:02Andrea Beaty:I mean, he just had a better sense of who they were. And I thought he would be the guy to go with. And so he optioned the books, the first three books, because Sofia Valdez wasn't even written or in my mind yet at that point. So he optioned them and then shopped them to various studios and things. And we had a lot of interest. And that was really fun being flirted with by all the studios and things. That was crazy. We decided to go with Netflix because they also seemed to really get it. And just shortly, I think after that happened, after they bought the property, Chris Neat, she was the creator of Doc McStuffins, came to Netflix to be in charge of all the preschool programming.

38:41Andrea Beaty:and then right after that also the Obamas had their deal and came in and they really loved Ada and so they wanted to produce it so then it all kind of snapped together and became this really fantastic show it's so much fun so they just had such talented writers and such talented illustrators and everyone loved the books but it was very cool so I got to review scripts and give my feedback on them. And I have to say they did such a great job of staying true to the material and staying true, especially to the illustrations, like to the point that if you look at Ada Twist in her room, and also like in her house on the TV show, the things on the walls, they are from the book.

39:25Andrea Beaty:They're all the details that are there. And it was just a real joy to see that happen. And so it was amazing. And then, you know, weird or crazy things happening, like they had a Macy's Day parade balloon. And here's a gigantic eight of flying down the street. How does that even happen? That's amazing. I mean, you're a Halloween costume. Yes. That to me is how you know you're part of like the culture in a different way when you're a costume. Yeah, absolutely. That has been one of the biggest delights from the beginning. That is a big deal. Like you only have one shot at Halloween every year. So if you're going to be somebody, you're going to be some character you really love.

40:06Andrea Beaty:So that's one of those. Okay, you know, you've arrived, Rosie, you've arrived, Ada, those moments for me, for sure. Unbelievably fabulous. And I have to say the shows are smart. There's real science in them, but the songs are such earworms and they're delightful. So it's all still on Netflix. There's four seasons. A lot of good stuff. So it's very cool. How wonderful. So now at this point, you've been writing professionally for over 20 years. I'm wondering how your creative process has changed over the years, how you find inspiration. What does it take these days? And how is that different from the Iggy Peck days?

40:45Andrea Beaty:I think one is I have learned the value of just having my butt in the chair time where, like, if I'm not feeling it, it's like, okay, well, too bad. Go sit and work because the inspiration will come to you. A lot of it is being out and gardening and doing things that are not at my desk, and that's where it'll show up when you're not looking. But also just the value of the hard work of sitting and trusting myself to know that I'll be able to get from the start of a book to the end. And that's particularly true with chapter books and novels. Because that's a whole different thing than writing a picture book.

41:18Andrea Beaty:Picture books are like writing a scene, a snapshot. And then a chapter book or novel is like writing a whole movie. And so understanding that through just figuring it out, I'll be able to get there. So I think that has been good. Also, I've kind of gotten much better about the whole plot thing. And just still having fun with it. Life is short. And if you are working on a project you don't love, to me, it's like, I'm going to park it and find something I do love because I know I've got more ideas. And I know that it will really work if it's something that I really am interested in, something that delights me or cracks me up, that there's a sparkle to that that's going to come through just in the making of it.

42:01So you're so prolific and you clearly are not worried about running out of ideas. How do you cultivate that? Like, have you always been that way? Because I think that for a lot of people, there's this fear of like, I have this one idea. And if it's not this one thing, then it's not going to work. Whereas it feels to me like you come from a place of abundance when it comes to ideas.

42:23Andrea Beaty:You know, I think part of it's just giving yourself permission to fail, permission to write something that stinks. Because I have plenty of really stinky manuscripts and I keep them in a drawer and once in a while I'll take them out and go, oh yeah, that one stunk. But it's a thing that just give yourself the space to do it. Like what's the worst case? You're writing a story. What is the worst thing that's going to happen if it stinks? No one's ever going to see it. Well, then you're no different off than you were when you didn't have it written. So write it, See what happens. If you don't like it, start again.

42:52Andrea Beaty:Try something new. The only thing you're never going to get back is time. So give yourself the permission to just try stuff and fail at it and learn from your failures. Also learn from what you read. Learn from what you like, but you can learn just as much from what you don't like. Why didn't that story work? Why do I hate that character? But just go out and let yourself do it because really life is very short. Worrying about what other people think about you is the fastest way to never find out what you really think about yourself and to go really be amazing. Just do it. Just do it. I love it.

43:27So one of the other things that I really love about your stories is how they are progressive and inherently inclusive. And all of that has taken on even greater meaning during the last few years. For example, Sofia Valdez, Future Pres, which we spoke about a second ago, which is a story about democracy, was banned in a couple of libraries in 2023 because someone spotted a pin that resembled a pride symbol, which feels insane to me on a number of levels. And I hate that banning books is even a conversation touchpoint in our cultural vocabulary at this point in time. But one, it shows the impact and the power of your books that someone somewhere could possibly be scared of it, which is insane.

44:09But can you share any other moments when you realize like, oh, there is like some real impact from this work that I'm doing? Like, this is actually like moving the needle for folks in some way.

44:20Andrea Beaty:Yeah. First off, just about the bans, you know, what a waste of energy and time. We have such big problems to fix on this planet. Seriously, like, this is how you do not fix them, which is the point, I suppose. Look at history. Are you ever on the side of the country that's burning books? Not usually. Not a good place to stand. Not the right side of history. And the other thing about book banning is that the people who do it are often so lazy. They literally crowdsource the naughty bits or the bannable parts, whatever, and have databases so that if you're in California or you're wherever, you can see what somebody else read and put it in there.

44:59Andrea Beaty:And they don't even read the books themselves. So boo hiss on book banners. But I suppose that kind of makes me feel a little better about it, that if no one ever knew the books existed, then they wouldn't know. So that's an upbeat way of looking at it. But it still makes me very cranky. But back to your question, I've had a lot of moments. The big one, as I said earlier, was when I started hearing people say their kids go, I am an engineer, I am a, you know, a scientist. One of my favorites, it still cracks me up, and I probably shouldn't even tell the story, but I love it. I got an email from someone who said, yeah, so my son, who's three, came up to me the other day and said, Mom, can boys be engineers?

45:37Andrea Beaty:I know. No, they can't. Evidently, I guess they cannot be. Obviously, they can. Not been a problem. But that was like, wow, okay, did not see that coming. So many times, I have to say just lots of times, one of them was when I got to go to the Smithsonian. And at the Hirshhorn Museum, they had an event where they had kids from all over DC come and build cities out of cardboard boxes and cereal boxes. And I looked at this group of kids and it was every kind of kid. It was just the coolest thing. And here I am, this girl from this tiny town in Southern Illinois, who's like literally a million miles from me as a kid.

46:20Andrea Beaty:And I thought, that's amazing. We have sent something out there that has touched people. That one really got me. got to speak at the Science March in 2017. That was cool to stand up and there were, you know, looking at like 20 or 30 ,000 people going, hey, and most people were like, what? But the kids were like, yes. So that was cool. And we have also a musical. TheaterWorks is a group that makes musicals from kids' books. They're like an hour-long musical and they tour around. And I've had the chance, I think three or four times, to go to the show and I sit way in the back and just watch. And to see an audience of 500 kids, a lot of whom come undressed as one of the characters who know those characters.

47:04And when Ada comes out, they go, oh, it's Rosie.

47:09Andrea Beaty:That was amazing. That's like, wow, these characters have a life. They are doing things that I didn't do, but other people have taken then these stories, these characters and sent them even further out into the world. So that's heady and fun, but it's also just beautiful. I mean, it makes me really proud. Yeah. I'm very happy. As you should be. That's amazing. Okay. So I want to talk about your most recent book, Billie Jean Pete Athlete. So this book feels particularly Second Life coded for a number of reasons, mostly because the main character feels like she's not good at anything and then stumbles into her unique passion.

47:44Talk to me about the inspiration for this book and how it relates to your own career trajectory.

47:52Andrea Beaty:Yeah. So in the pages of Rosie Revere, all the kids make inventions and they're there in the classroom doing things. And my very favorite one is a pair of springs that are at the edge of the book. And the person with these spring shoes is completely out of the book, except for her two long braids. And so it's where this girl who ends up being Billie Jean Pete, has made bouncy shoes and gone boing off into the other worlds, you know, off the page. And I have loved that so much because it has so much energy. When I read that to kids, I always go boing, boing, because I love a sound effect. So I thought, okay, she's a kid who likes sound effects.

48:30Andrea Beaty:She's a kid who's like a little disheveled. Whenever you see her, her tag in her shirt is always sticking up. And her hair's just always a little bit askew. So I sort of took those things and thought she's a kid who likes noises, but she's the kid who also just sort of rushes in before thinking. And she just sort of jumps in without going, oh, what's the plan here? So she's all in. But it also means she doesn't maybe stick around for the instructions or she's not prepared enough to do a thing. And so as a result, she doesn't end up being really great at some things. And that's hard in any case.

49:04But just imagine being in the room with Iggy Peck

49:08Andrea Beaty:and Rosie Revere and Ada Twist who are like, you know, building helicopters with cheese engines and crazy talented people who are wonderful and we love them. But kids compare themselves to their peers all the time. And I thought, well, what's that got to be like for a kid who just feels like they can't do anything? And so it's her story about how she gets out and she tries making music. Her siblings are great at it. She's bad at it. I mean, she scares the pet mouse and the neighbors freak out. It's not good. And so she tries all kinds of things and ends up with basketball. She's okay at it, but, you know, not great, but whatever.

49:42Andrea Beaty:She'll just keep trying it. And she's trying and she's trying and she gets better. She gets a little better. And then one day there's the big game and she's out there and she gets the ball and she makes the shot. And she does that for the other side. She has scored against her team and the world just stops. What happens next kind of takes her to figuring out maybe what her true talent is. And there's part of me in each of those stories. But that one, I have to say, is probably the most like me because I have not really known what I want to do. I've not known where I would end up and just kind of blindly went and tried this and tried that and then like ended up here, unexpectedly finding this thing that kind of combines all of the steps I've done along the way.

50:29Andrea Beaty:I liken it to looking at a picture of a baby. When you look at a baby, you cannot say this is what they're going to look like as an adult. But when you look at an adult, you can look back and go, yeah, I recognize that would be the kid. And that's how I feel about my career. And I feel like that's how Billie Jean is. She's got this thing together where she's like, oh, this is what I'm good at. And it's a weird thing that no one else is good at, but it's hers. That's really cool. So yeah, she's kind of special to me. Oh, I love that. And it's true. It's like you can see the whispers of it, even if you couldn't see the path forward at the time.

51:03That's so cool. Okay. So for the final three questions, we ask the same three questions for everyone who comes on this podcast. The first one is about mistakes because we all make them during the course of our career and we don't always talk about it. And I think it's really important to talk about mistakes because it shows resiliency and how important it is to be okay, especially if you're a high performing woman, you're going to fail sometimes and that's okay. You can still come back from it. So can you tell me about a mistake that you've made and what you've learned from it?

51:35Andrea Beaty:I would say for me, one of my mistakes was just, I knew when it was time, I should have left the other job, but not feeling brave enough to go figure out what's the next step and where to go and what to do and sort of just things just sort of, you know, petered out after that. And I wish I could go back and change that because then I'd be like, no, go out and try something new. Try something you haven't done before. Try something that you're curious about. Find a place to bring the creativity you know you need, that you have, and you require in your day-to-day life. Go find a way to make that happen.

52:08Andrea Beaty:So I wish I'd been a little braver. So I'd say, yeah, go be a little braver, Andrea. So speaking of that, many folks who listen to this podcast are in their first lives, and they're standing there on the precipice, thinking about making a leap into that second life, whether that's staying in the same industry and just tackling a different part of it or switching industries altogether. What advice would you give someone who's a little scared? I would say find a way to make the job you're in to make it your own, to make a contribution in it that is yours. Like where you are, you can try to expand in a way that will help you build up the skills you want or explore something that you're interested in.

52:48Andrea Beaty:And if you can't do that in the job you're in, then do that outside of the job. It is okay to have a job where you go from nine to five, and then you leave, and then you go do the thing that you really get passionate about. And you never know when that thing might itself morph into a career. And the other thing I would say, just have your mind open to what are possibilities. And I think this is more true now than has ever been in history. Historically, there are people who are really good at doing thing A. And there are people who are really good at doing thing B, but there aren't people in that white space between who can connect those worlds.

53:25Andrea Beaty:So find the things that interest you. It doesn't have to be one thing. Find things and skills that you really find your groove on when you're doing them, and find ways to explore that in-between space, because it's less crowded there, but it's also more interesting. So you don't know. You can find a way to make your own mark, and it's challenging and interesting and creative. And trust yourself to do it. Just trust yourself. You'll be fine. I love it. Okay, last question, which is, if you could get into a time machine and give your younger self some career advice, what would you say? Well, first of all, if I could get in a time machine, I would want to be in that time machine with David Tennant, and I would want it to be the TARDIS, and we would be on some very big adventures, but...

54:09You wouldn't be wasting time with advice. You would be out there living. I get it. I get it.

54:14Andrea Beaty:I'm out of here. honestly I think I would tell myself to lighten up a little like be serious about yourself but don't take yourself so seriously like the things and the challenges that I look back now that really had me so upset back in the first career world there I look back and think wow who cares those were not big problems I was not a brain surgeon nobody died so it was okay you know so cut yourself some slack and learn from it and maybe talk a little less and listen a little bit more. That'd be a good one. And also, where is David Tennant? I want the time machine. So if you have one, please do come over.

54:52Well, you know, you've inspired a generation of future engineers. So hopefully they're working on that right now. I should hope so. Andrea, thank you so much. This has been such a pleasure. This one was really personal for me. So thank you very much.

55:07Andrea Beaty:Well, thank you for sharing our books with your family. That really is a big deal to me because there are lots of books to choose from. And that's prime real estate. But it's been my pleasure and your joy. And this has been great fun. Thank you.

55:26That was children's book author, Andrea Beatty. For more inspiring interviews with women like Andrea, head on over to secondlifepod.com, where we have so many more for you to peruse. If you like today's show, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And don't forget to rate and review us. We love seeing you spread the word on social. And now you can tag us in your posts. We are at Second Life Pod on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. We always want to know who you're interested in hearing from on the show. So send in your requests to hello at secondlifepod.com or you can DM us on Instagram.

56:06I'm at Hillary Kerr. The show is at Second Life Pod. Our DMs are always open. I'm Hillary Kerr, and you've been listening to Second Life. This episode was produced by Hillary Kerr, Summer Hammeris, and Natalie Thurman. Our production assistant is Raven Yamamoto. Our audio engineers are at Treehouse Recording in Los Angeles, California. And our music is by Jonathan Leahy. Thank you.