Chloe Stromberg
Author Laura Anne Bird recently celebrated one year of her middle-grade novel, Marvelous Jackson, which was awarded Gold for Children’s Fiction at the 2025 Midwest Book Awards ceremony. In addition to Marvelous Jackson, Laura is also the author of Crossing the Pressure Line. Both novels tell beautiful stories of young people who suffer a loss but find ways to cope, and ultimately discover purpose and meaning in their lives. Check out Laura's work here!
Born in Milwaukee, Laura now resides in Madison, Wisconsin. Earning her degree in English from the University of Notre Dame, Laura spent 20 years working for nonprofit organizations before ultimately writing middle-grade books.
Laura will join The Chippewa Valley Writers Guild for a 12-Hour Writers Retreat at Forage. This event will be a spectacular opportunity to get your creative juices flowing and make your ideas come to fruition. Start a new writing project or continue a piece with the support of other writers, all while sipping on a coffee or tea and enjoying delicious meals provided. The retreat welcomes writers of all levels and genres. It’s an opportunity you won’t want to miss!
I asked Laura a couple questions about her influences and what her involvement in this retreat means to her.
CS: Can you describe how you go about writing young characters? Are there particular influences in your life that you turn to for your characters?
LB: Well, it helps that I’m the mom of three big kids. They’re all old now, they’re all in college. But when they were in that 8-to-12 year old range, that certainly gave me a front seat to all the growth that happens during that time, and all of the push-pull that goes on with kids, you know? Also, I take a lot of notes. I just have a lot of memories of being 12, and to this day, as I’m writing my young characters, I always use that as sort of my gauge: would this resonate with my 12-year-old self? One of the greatest challenges that I always face is just nailing that tone and that voice, and making sure it’s exactly right. I think it’s really easy for adult writers writing for kids to want to go into preaching mode…You have to back that adult voice and perspective out of it.
CS: Have you gone to writing retreats before? How do you believe retreats influence writers and their perspective of the writing process?
LB: What’s funny is I have not gone on a writing retreat myself. I wrote both of my books really in sort of, the nooks and crannies of motherhood. I would just have to steal an hour here, steal an hour there. But a retreat can offer all kinds of benefits. Just carving out some really good quality chunks of time where we can have quiet, and where we can have space to breathe and to listen to what’s going on in our head, and to get things down on paper. I think it is absolutely invaluable.
I’m excited to be a part of the 12-Hour Writers Retreat, because I think it’s going to be such a special day. What a pleasure to be surrounded by other literary-minded people who can be encouraging and supportive, and just sit back and do some good writing.
CS: What is something that is unique to your writing process?
LB: This is not unique, but I am a really slow writer. I think that there are people out there who might follow authors on Instagram and feel that they are not as fast as that author or as prolific as that author. I think we have to get rid of messaging like that, because we all go at our own pace.
I think that’s okay. I won’t rush through it. I want to savor the words that are coming to me. Whether I’m crafting them, or whether I’m consuming them, I think it’s really nice to slow down and take the time that it deserves.
CS: In an interview where you were asked about what activities are on your bucket list, you noted your appreciation for meditation and living in the moment. Where is your favorite spot to meditate? How do you believe meditation may influence creativity in writing?
“‘Keeping your mind where your body is…’ That’s sort of my mantra.”
LB: For me, meditation has been absolutely critical. I get a lot of voices in my head, telling me that something’s not good enough. It’s been really important to me to find tools that sort of take you out of your head and into the present moment. “Keeping your mind where your body is…” That’s sort of my mantra.
What’s great about meditation is that you can do it anywhere. I will meditate in my car, I will meditate in the bathroom, I will sit in my closet…When I’m able to devote that time to just decompressing and breathing…it does clear my head, and it makes it easier to write. So, I think it’s all connected to living a creative life.
CS: Are you currently working on any books or projects, and if so could you share a little bit about them?
LB: Yes! I’m really excited. I’m working on my third manuscript right now, and it’s another middle grade book. It connects with my first two books, so they’re all considered companion stories. The main character of this manuscript I’m working on is different than my two other main characters, but she is a character that you actually meet in Marvelous Jackson. So, she’s part of this little group of kids, and I’m so excited to tell her story. She is vibrant, and creative, and she finds that she needs to stand up for something that means something very much to her and the town that she lives in. So there’s kind of, like, some activism, you might even be able to call it. Assuming I can get this third book written and published, when you read all three of them then, you really can read them out of order…Each of their stories is so different, and each of the kids is so different.
Join Laura at 9AM on Saturday, Oct. 18th, for an inspiration-packed 12-Hour Writers Retreat at Forage! Space is limited. Register now by clicking here.