Carmen Oliver

Episode 6 – Carmen Oliver How did a magazine quiz, an episode of Oprah, and her daughter’s school reading buddy program set Carmen Oliver on the path to her first published book, Bears Make the Best Reading Buddies?Find out in this episode of My First Book Story, where Meredith Davis talks with award-winning picture book author and founder of The Booking Biz, Carmen Oliver. They’ll trace the winding journey from stay-at-home mom to published author of the beloved Bears Make the Best Buddies series. Carmen shares how a magazine quiz and an Oprah episode first sparked her writing path, how years of volunteering with SCBWI built the community and mentorship that sustained her, and how research for one manuscript planted the seed for the book that would introduce her to readers worldwide. From a pivotal conference-floor conversation to a Christmastime phone call announcing her first deal, Carmen shares her story with warmth, faith, and hard-won encouragement for every writer still on the path.Books mentionedBears Make the Best Reading Buddies (Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Bears-Reading-Buddies-Fiction-Picture/dp/1484691415)Bears Make the Best Math Buddies (Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Bears-Make-Best-Math-Buddies/dp/1684460794)Bears Make the Best Writing Buddies (Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Bears-Make-Best-Writing-Buddies/dp/1684460816)Bears Make the Best Science Buddies (Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Bears-Make-Best-Science-Buddies/dp/1684460832)A Voice for the Spirit Bears (Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Voice-Spirit-Bears-Inspired-CitizenKid/dp/1771389796)Building an Orchestra of Hope (Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Building-Orchestra-Hope-Chavez-Children/dp/0802854672)A Sock Is a Pocket for Your Toes by Liz Garton Scanlon (Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Sock-Pocket-Your-Toes-Book/dp/0060295260)The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper (Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Little-Engine-That-Could/dp/0448401010)LinksCarmen Oliver (https://carmenoliver.com)Meredith Davis (https://meredithldavis.com)Institute of Children’s Literature (https://www.writingforchildren.com)Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (https://www.scbwi.org)The Booking Biz (https://thebookingbiz.com)The Writing Barn (https://www.writingbarn.com)Highlights Foundation (https://www.highlightsfoundation.org)Texas Library Association (https://txla.org)Episode Webpage (https://meredithdavis.substack.com/p/carmen-olivers-first-book-story)Theme music by Nate DavisProduced by Clay Davis