Ashley Belote on Squirrel Lock Holmes, Creating Books Kids Love, and the Art of Children's Storytelling

On this episode of the Big Time Talker Podcast, Burke Allen welcomes back award-winning children's author and illustrator Ashley Belote to talk about the latest chapter in her creative career, including Squirrel Lock Holmes #1: The Pet Rock Mystery and Little Red and Big Bad Fred. Ashley shares how Squirrel Lock Holmes became her first early chapter book in a graphic-novel style, following squirrel detective Squirrel Lock and her mole partner Watson as they operate the Lost and Found Detective Agency. She explains why she chose a female lead, how working in comic-style panels challenged her illustration techniques, and the lessons about perseverance woven into the mystery. She also dives into Little Red and Big Bad Fred, her humorous twist on Little Red Riding Hood, and explains why humor is one of her favorite tools for introducing meaningful lessons without allowing the message to overwhelm the fun of the story. The conversation also takes listeners behind the scenes of children's publishing, from Ashley's beginnings as an illustrator to finding a literary agent and working with major publishers. She discusses critique groups, testing ideas with young readers, developing a distinctive artistic style, and her perspective on AI and the future of human-created illustration. For Ashley, one of the greatest rewards still comes from meeting young readers, showing them how books are created, and watching their excitement when they discover that they can create stories and art of their own.This episode of Burke Allen’s Big Time Talker was recorded live in the great city of Chicago at the American Library Association Podcast Pavilion, thanks to the Next Generation Indy Book Awards, Headline Books and Speakermatch.com!