This Month’s Featured Article

If you’ve ever had those “whatever happened to so-and-so from elementary school” moments and wondered how that person was doing or if they ever achieved their Hollywood dreams, well, wonder no more about Julia Finley Mosca who hailed from Pine Plains, NY. We recently caught up with Julia from where she now resides with her family in Ohio, and she shared with us her whirlwind life story, from her early and informative days in Pine Plains to how her dreams ultimately took her to Hollywood. The surprising twist is how her life took the best and most unexpected turns. One of those turns is a full-circle moment when her alma mater, Seymour Smith, recently celebrated her achievements.  

How does it feel to know that your alma mater, Seymour Smith, devoted a whole week to you and every grade read your books?

It definitely feels like a full-circle moment. As a kid in Pine Plains, I used to sit on the front porch of our old Victorian house for hours and daydream about moving to Hollywood. I had never even been to California, but I loved television and movies and was always focused on that one goal – it was a quiet fire that fueled me through many tumultuous years. 

Now that I’m older and actually got to live out that dream, I find myself seeking out the peace of the country a lot more. I love visiting the beautiful Hudson Valley as often as I can, and I love how much more culture and opportunity there is in the small upstate towns – opportunities that were harder to access when I was a kid. Visiting the area always centers me and brings me back to the quiet mindset that encouraged my imagination to wander in the first place. When I see the students at Seymour Smith studying my books, I’m reminded of myself as a kid in that tiny town – a kid who once allowed myself to dream big and envision something so far away. Elementary kids are just at the beginning of their lives, and I’m honored to be one small part of the many Pine Plains alumni stories that show them all the thousands of different paths that are possible.   

Can you tell us about your path from Pine Plains to Hollywood? And about becoming an author. 

It might take a novel to explain what led to my life today as an author, but I think what it boils down to is that I was always interested in storytelling. As a kid in the 80s, my siblings and I used to hit the streets of Pine Plains with our Fisher Price camcorder and interview all our neighbors on the news of the day. We’d also film movies at the Seymour Smith playground and host premieres for all our friends. My parents recognized these interests and did their best to find outlets for our creative ambition, which wasn’t always the easiest in a rural agricultural town at that time. We were very involved in school and local theater productions, which was an influence on my choice of a theater minor in college. But I think one of the biggest elements that influenced my career path was the summer between eighth and ninth grade. I attended a broadcast journalism camp for kids at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY. We spent two weeks using the television studio to make a real news broadcast. By the end, I knew that I wanted to be a TV reporter or weather forecaster, even though no one in my family was part of that industry. Until that point, I was set on being a teacher like my parents. There’s really so much truth to that old saying, “You have to see it to be it.” I needed that hands-on camp to illuminate a new path. 

Eventually, that path led to a broadcast journalism master’s program at Syracuse University (Newhouse School of Public Communications), and then my first job as a reporter for an ABC news affiliate in upstate New York near the Canadian border. Still, I always had my sights set on California. In 2002, I quit my job and headed west without a plan (something only a 25-year-old might try!). My younger brother, who was just out of college and doing some acting at the time, decided to make the move with me. We were small-town Pine Plains kids at heart and really had no clue what we were in for. Like a scene out of a movie, we were even robbed in Las Vegas on the way there. They stole our car and took everything we had, even social security cards and birth certificates. So, we arrived in Los Angeles with literally nothing but the clothes on our backs and a zillion hopes and dreams. I still believe those first few years shaped the person I am today. It took everything we had just to stay and survive in a city that loves to chew up and spit out young hopefuls. 

Ultimately, I was able to network and meet some television executives, and I wound up posing as a college intern on the Paramount Studios lot. (In my defense, the executives were the ones who suggested it!) Even though I’d previously worked as a professional reporter, I began doing a lot of free grunt work in the Entertainment Tonight newsroom for quite a few months while working night shifts at a restaurant to make ends meet. When the head writer of Breaking Celebrity News had to take family leave, they asked me to fill in for her. Long story short, I ended up with the position permanently, and that was the start of some of the most stressful and exciting years of my life. 

I used to wave at my parents back in Pine Plains some nights during the show’s “Live from the Newsroom” segments. It was really another one of those full-circle moments – the kid who used to sit on her porch and dream of Hollywood was now waving back to that house from the most famous movie lot in the world. 

Eventually, as many journalists know, the daily grind of the news business – even celebrity news – takes a toll. I was ready for a break, and maybe even a change of career. I took a job with the greeting card company American Greetings, and I ended up staying for almost a decade. I got to do a lot of fun copywriting during that time, and it was there that I met my husband, an artist and creative director originally from Cleveland, OH. After we had our daughter, I left the full-time corporate world and started doing a lot of freelance writing for some major brands – many of them related to children’s products. That’s when my publisher, The Innovation Press in Seattle, came across my writing portfolio and reached out with an idea about a cool new children’s book series. Fast forward to where I am today: an author, runner, and mom living in my husband’s hometown of Cleveland – still eternally grateful and amazed at how things have all panned out. Life has really led me down a winding road, but again, at the heart of the journey has always been that unwavering love of words and storytelling.  

Talk to us about your books: What is the significance of the age group that your books are meant for as well as the subject matter?

The Amazing Scientists series is a fun and educational collection of biographies for kids. Each book details the life of an inspiring American female pioneer in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). What makes our series unique is that we specifically chose innovators who overcame significant personal obstacles in their journey to bring groundbreaking contributions to the world. 

The first book in the series, and the bestselling by far, tells the story of Dr. Temple Grandin, who was diagnosed with autism at a young age. Doctors told her mother that Temple would never speak and should be institutionalized. But Temple persevered. With dedication and a great support network, she used her unique mind to invent devices and systems that revolutionized the slaughterhouse industry, making it more compassionate for animals. Today, despite those early predictions, she travels the globe as a renowned speaker and advocate for autistic people. Some of the other phenomenal scientists in the series are Dr. Patricia Bath, who founded the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness, Raye Montague, an engineer known as one of the US Navy’s “Hidden Figures,” and Dr. Ellen Ochoa, the world’s first Latina astronaut. 

The books are written in rhyme, so they’re fun read-alouds for smaller children, but they also contain extensive biographies and backmatter at the end for those who want to dig deeper. To put it simply, they’re stories of badass women we all should have learned about, but probably didn’t – women of many different backgrounds who broke down barriers and accomplished amazing things. 

I clearly wrote them to inspire little girls, but I’ve been quick to correct a lot of parents who think this series is only for girls. It’s just as important (or even more important) for boys to see and celebrate accomplished women. We wouldn’t think twice about buying a book about Albert Einstein or Benjamin Franklin for a girl, so why should the mindset be any different when it comes to boys reading books about female pioneers? I’ve also had lots of adults tell me they enjoyed the book as much as their kids did and loved learning about these heroes they hadn’t known.   

Writing this series was a natural fit for me as a journalist. While I do enjoy writing fiction, nonfiction is easier, simply because of my former career. In television news, you’re basically writing a short story for the air every day. You have a very limited period of time to hit the high points and convey the information in a compelling way. You also want to carefully choose the best images/video that support your story. All of this is the same in picture books, so in a way I had years of practice before finally getting my lucky break as an author.

How did it feel to publish your first book, and then consequent books?

It felt beyond my wildest dreams. I think one of the most pinch-me moments of my life was when a friend stumbled upon my first book displayed in Barnes & Noble at The Grove LA, a famous Los Angeles shopping district. As a young “starving artist” in my twenties, I spent so many afternoons sipping coffee and filling out job applications in that very store. But my dream was always to be a news reporter or to work in television. Writing books was not something I ever expected or sought out, at least not children’s books. If anything, I always hoped I might write a novel one day. So, this whole children’s book author part of my journey is an unexpected side act that ended up taking center stage. That’s why it’s difficult to give people helpful advice when they ask about the path to being published. It wasn’t a path I purposely pursued. 

When I was pregnant with my daughter and working as a copywriter for a brand and show called StoryBots, I wrote a lot of the copy in rhyme – copy that taught kids about different science topics in a fun way. My publisher, The Innovation Press, happened to be looking to publish a new children’s book series about women in STEM. They were a fan of The StoryBots style and reached out to me through my LinkedIn portfolio. I liked their idea and wrote some sample stanzas for them. They must have liked them, because they ended up offering me a two-book contract with a real advance (money paid to the author upfront). 

The whole thing was so exciting, because I knew nothing about the publishing world. I would also learn later that this was not how the publishing world usually works at all! In fact, my husband wasn’t sure I should sign the initial deal, because he said, “This sounds pretty shady. Publishers don’t look for authors; it’s the other way around.” We now joke that it’s a good thing I didn’t listen to his skepticism, or I’d probably be unpublished to this day. 

At the time, I figured writing these books would be a really fun passion project, and it would be cool to have something printed – a real book that I could give my family for Christmas. That’s truly as far as I imagined it would go. But then, the first book about Temple Grandin was released, and it sold 10,000 copies in its first month. I was completely shocked. I thought, “Oh my God… okay … maybe this really is something.” Four years after that, The Innovation Press was named a Publisher’s Weekly “Fastest Growing Small Press” and my Amazing Scientists series had sold approximately half a million copies. 

Today, we’ve reached roughly double that number, with translations in over a dozen languages and distribution deals with educational giants like Scholastic Book Clubs, National Geographic, and Follett. The books have been awarded and recognized by prominent groups and associations including The National Science Teachers Association, School Library Journal, PBS, HuffPost, A Mighty Girl, and the New York and Chicago Public Libraries and have won state awards including “The Grand Canyon Reader Award” (Arizona) and the Connecticut Governor’s “Summer reading Challenge”. Knock on wood, the books continue to get press (especially during Women’s History Month), which every author will warn you is something you should never count on. I know that there will come a day when we make our final print run and the books are no longer relevant in the marketplace. In the meantime, I feel privileged and lucky every single day that I’ve been able to continue to make a steady income and be a stay-at-home parent for my daughter. That is truly winning the lottery in the world of writing, and I don’t take it for granted. I also can’t take much credit for it. If anything, my publisher deserves that, since I believe the success of this series is in big part due to timing. 

These books were some of the first in the big wave of girl power biographies that flooded the market around 2017. We caught that wave at precisely the right moment. It’s something even the industry can’t predict. At the end of the day, the only thing I will accept credit for is staying dedicated to my craft. While this story of being discovered by a publisher is rare, it wasn’t random either. I spent almost two decades writing all kinds of copy for pennies (and rarely a byline). Even when I was working nights as a restaurant hostess at a celebrity hotspot, Morton’s Steakhouse in Burbank, where Jay Leno’s Tonight Show guests would dine after the show, I turned that into an opportunity to write. I started a restaurant newsletter about the stars that had dined there that week, and I interviewed the servers and bussers (most of whom were aspiring actors themselves). I found a way to bring writing into every single job I ever held. And so, when my publisher came across my extensive writing portfolio online and offered me a book deal, that was the culmination of all that writing and honing my skills. 

My advice to young people is that you never know which way your path might turn. A job that seems menial, or unaligned with your ultimate goals, could actually turn out to be a stepping stone to reaching them … or it could be the thing that launches you into a whole new unexpected and even better universe!        

Can you talk about the illustrations in the books?

Daniel Rieley, a freelance illustrator based in Europe, was the perfect artist for this series. Since science can sometimes be so abstract, it’s often difficult for little kids to conceptualize certain concepts (I’ll even admit that science was my worst subject in school!). Good illustrations are key. There are times in these stories that I wasn’t able to explain things in depth with words, so I relied on Daniel’s talent to convey those aspects through art. For example, in the story of Temple Grandin, he did a wonderful job illustrating many of the ways she made farms more compassionate for animals. I also love his use of color and youthful, exaggerated images. One thing people always find interesting is that he and I have never spoken or met in person – even though I would love to! Our publisher coordinated everything, which is pretty common.  

What is your favorite book that you’ve published?

All of them! A parent can’t choose a favorite.

Do you have any literary heroes or authors/books that inspired you?

I have too many favorites to count. Wally Lamb is probably number one. John Irving (who I was star-struck to meet in Los Angeles once) and Jeannette Walls are another two lifetime favorites. Some newer authors I love are Helen Oyeyemi, and I’m currently reading the memoir Solito by Javier Zamora with my 11-year-old. Our favorite middle-grade author is Sharon Draper who wrote the book Out of My Mind, and we also loved Fish in A Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, about a child with dyslexia. My daughter is like me: we are drawn to darker books with a major main character struggle or trauma of some sort. Nothing like a little light reading! 

But seriously, I just love reading. I was the kid who wouldn’t put down a book, and if there weren’t any books around, I read whatever was in sight, cereal boxes (which I’m sure helped me in later life as a copywriter), insurance pamphlets on the kitchen counter – it didn’t matter, I was just drawn to words. As an adult, I don’t read as much as I used to, but I’m an unreliable member of multiple book clubs and have gotten pretty good at speed reading. Book clubs are fun, because I like the pressure to explore and discuss a book that I probably wouldn’t have chosen myself.

What does the future hold?

These days I’m spending the majority of my time running, as I train for the Cleveland and Chicago Marathons. But I’m always working on a few projects. One is an adult novel (so that could be years away!), and I’m finalizing a manuscript for an annual children’s book contest I like to enter every spring. It’s another STEM biography – this time about an inspiring woman in the automotive world. The subject matter was actually brought to me by a fellow Pine Plains classmate! So, we’ll see how it’s received, and maybe I’ll have some news on that one in the future. Fingers crossed! •

To learn more about Julia Finley Mosca and her books, find her on Instagram and Facebook @JuliaFinleyMosca, and to learn more about the book series visit amazingscientists.com.