Episode 048 - Kristin Beale

In today's episode, I welcome Kristin Beale! Kristin is an author and illustrator, with a powerful story to share about overcoming an accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down. She shares her advice for aspring artists, her experience publishing three books and producing a TV show, and so much more. (Fun fact: the cover image of this episode is of Kristin holding a copy of her book, "Greater Things!"

 

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Episode 48 - Kristin Beale

Lindsey Dinneen: Hello, and welcome to Artfully Told, where we share true stories about meaningful encounters with art.

[00:00:06] Krista: I think artists help people have different perspectives on every aspect of life.

[00:00:12]Roman:  All I can do is put my part in to the world.

[00:00:15] Elizabeth: It doesn't have to be perfect the first time. It doesn't have to be perfect ever really. I mean, as long as you, and you're enjoying doing it and you're trying your best, that can be good enough.

[00:00:23] Elna: Art is something that you can experience with your senses and that you just experiences as so beautiful. 

[00:00:31] Lindsey Dinneen: Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Artfully Told. I'm your host, Lindsey, and I am so excited to have as my guest today, Kristin Beale. She is an author and illustrator and she has incredible stories to share. And I just am so excited to dive in. Thank you so much for being here, Kristin.

[00:00:51] Kristin Beale: I am so happy to be here. Thank you for having me.

[00:00:54] Lindsey Dinneen: Of course, and I would love if you would just share a little bit, maybe about your background, kind of what got you into what you do now and all that fun stuff, if you don't mind.

[00:01:05] Kristin Beale: Yeah, definitely. So I have quite a story. When I was 14 years old in 2005, I was in a jet ski accident. It was the summer before my sophomore year of high school. So I was about to turn 15 years old. The accident was tragic, life-changing, all those things. It killed the driver of my jet ski and it paralyzed me from the mid- torso down. I had a traumatic brain injury and a spinal cord injury. Doctors told my parents  "Your daughter is never going to live." Or, you know, "If she does, she's not going to breathe or talk or swallow or all that stuff." And then I did, I'm talking, breathing, swallowing. So they, then they said, "She's going to be a vegetable." first of all, 'cause I had a traumatic brain injury, and then if "She's not, she's going to, I'm not going to have, I had a traumatic brain injury on the left side, so I'm not going to have the ability to use my right side," is what they said. And they said "I'm never going to feel or move below my injury level again."

[00:01:55] So that's a lot to load onto my poor parents, but they did, and I have overcome all those things. I am not a vegetable, et cetera, and I'm still working. And I started, I started on my journey to recovery in going to California, traveling the world, getting stem cells, et cetera, to regain feeling and movement in my lower body to walk and feel again and prove the doctor's wrong on that. So I got out of the hospital in December of 2005. And then I came back and then I went to California for, you know, a month, worked out five or four hours a day, five days a week, just out of control, came back, started my sophomore year of high school. And I was looking for a easy class to take, and I heard that the teacher of creative writing was kind of a slacker and also you can't really, you know, fail a creative writing class. So I took a creative writing class. I really, I kind of, this is where I can start to kind of discover my creativity.

[00:02:51]I discovered that I love to write. I'm pretty good at it. I have a lot of things going on that are new experiences that I can write about. And to accompany it, so I took creative writing class and I took an art class, two classes that you can't really, you know, do badly in because it's all subjective. So creative writing, I realized that I love to write. In art class, I realized that I love to draw and, you know, they were both there. I use them both as kind of outlets to discovering this new world of disability and all of this new things going on in my life. And it was kind of like a venting, but it was a relaxing 'cause you know, all the craziness of my new paralyzed world. But I'm, you know, just in my drawings and I was just expressing myself that way and I'm, you know, expressing myself and my frustrations in a way that I don't in my normal life, 'cause I'm like a super sweet girl and you know, it was kind of an outlet for me.

[00:03:43]So I started to make drawings when I was 15 years old surrounding my disability. I kind of define my character. I drew, I drew Molly. My main character is a girl in a wheelchair, which is me. And I'm just going through, you know, situations in life, which I really go through. And I actually, for the first three years of me kind of discovering how to draw her, that I liked to draw. I did a comic every day. I did a three block comic every day. Just like things that happen, usually, you know, mundane, just boring things that happened. I did it every single day for the whole entire year. And then on Christmas, I just gave my mom, you know, the year's worth of drawings, because I didn't really care 'cause I didn't really want them anymore. And she wanted them and it's an easy Christmas present and it's just like, you know, a year of a day in the life of me. And that's when I kinda really started to get into it.

[00:04:35]So, it was my first book "Greater Things" in 2017, and that was a book that's about like the weekend before my accident, where we see, we meet this boy I have a really big crush on, and the next weekend he actually hits me in the jet ski and it's kind of the weekend before my accident, all the way up to 2014. So I'm traveling the world, I'm working out, I'm getting stem cell surgery. I'm trying all these adaptive sports. I'm graduating high school in college, doing all these things, published a book in 2014 in March and in February the month before it came out, I quit my job cause I, you know, I'm not interested in mortgage banking. I was looking for an excuse to get out of it. I published a book. So I said, "Okay, please God, make me successful in this enough to like eat and sustain my life." So the book was a great success. And three months after my book came out, I said, "All right, I quit my job. I either need to write another book or I need to get a job." So I decided I'll write another book. So I started, so what I did, as I said, what do I do? A lot of that, I know a lot about that I can write a book about, and my answer was go on first dates.

[00:05:39] So I was very, very, very single at the time. So I, you know, updated my profile in-- Bumble was my app of choice, updated my profile picture. I went on 32 dates in two and a half months, and that looks like a lot. I know it's crazy. A lunch date, a dinner date, you know, four different boys a week. Kinda like at the end of it, of course, as you can imagine, I've kind of lost my desire for you know, a successful relationship. And I'm just kinda chasing the story because these boys were that I went on dates with were like way too rude. Everyone can relate to a bad first date, but throw disability into it and dating gets a little bit more difficult. So what I was doing is, I was going on these dates. I was enduring these, you know, it makes me sound like such a warrior, but like I was enduring these rude comments, the like, the bad jokes, like the offensive jokes and just mainly just rude comments.

[00:06:32] Gross people are gross dates, I guess, in my experience. And I was going home and I was making a comic of them, changing their name like that, getting home from the date that night changes their name, making comic of it and moving on. It was my way of coping, I guess, but it was also documenting these dates and trying to add a humorous angle on this very relatable situation. So at the end of it, when I reached 32, I said, "I can't do this anymore. Like, I've had enough. I need, I think, I finally have enough." So I published a comic book called "Date Me" and and it had all, all my first dates in there. And it also had comics around being single, being in a wheelchair, like, you know,  people make or jokes they make, or things people say, or just like kind of adding a funny angle on a kind of crummy situation.

[00:07:19]And I published "Date Me" in 2018. And, you know, I started drawing in 2015. It's been a very fun book to publish because I'm, you know, it was a subject that is a lot of dating as a subject. It's a lot of fun, but, and it was also fun because these guys, I went on dates with some of them, like five or six of them, like, "Hey Kristin, what have you been doing?" I'm like, actually I published a book and you're in it. I changed your name. And some of them bought it, some of them didn't and never talked to me again and all of them didn't talk to me again, but I was completely honest. So if you don't want to like be published in a book, just don't be mean to me

[00:07:55]Lindsey Dinneen: That's just great life advice in general. Just-- if you don't want to end up in someone's book, just be nice. Yeah. Easy.

[00:08:02]Kristin Beale: I told them I was an author. What did they expect?

[00:08:06] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, exactly. I love it. I love it. Oh my gosh. Well, first of all, you are such an overcomer and I just love your story. Thank you for sharing that. And gosh, I, I feel like you probably glossed over how challenging all of those-- I mean, you had so much to overcome, but like kudos to you for just never giving up, never accepting the doctor's word for it, that you couldn't do something just because they said. So good for you.

[00:08:36] Kristin Beale: Thank you. I gave you the quick and easy for the full version. You can read "Greater Things," but...

[00:08:40]Lindsey Dinneen:  Perfect. I love it. Well, and with "Date Me," I just, first of all, that sounds like such a great premise. I can't wait to read the book, but do you have-- like, what is the funniest story that you encounter that kind of stands out to you?

[00:08:54] Kristin Beale: Oh my gosh. So, funny depends on your definition of funny. Once I became into the more callous zone, like the ruder they get or the more ridiculous it is, the funnier it is because I'm just like, whatever I'm thinking in my head, "Whatever, I'm going to publish you in a comic book when I get home" or like When I'm going to make a comic of this later. So things like-- one of the most relatable to wheelchair users comic that I have is, I guess you would call them jokes. The jokes people make like, you know,  "Do you have a license to drive that thing?" Or like "Slow down, you're breaking the speed limit," but stupid things like that. Like, " We need backup, backup blinker so we can know when you're backing up, or like blinkers to know which way you're turning." Just like all the vehicle jokes around my wheelchair. It's like exhausting, but for whatever reason, like people love to make it.

[00:09:41] It's not offensive to me because whatever, I don't care, I'll make a comic of you. So it's fine. But I can, but I can take that comic, 'cause I, in one of the comics I put, I know there's six block comics, so I have five, five of those jokes. I have six of those jokes, I'll put together in one big comic and I can show that to a wheelchair user and they can just, I mean, laugh in agreement because everyone's heard them because everyone makes something. I don't know why people make them. It's just like, it's not offensive, but it's just dumb. It's just bad humor. No offense to listeners who make those jokes, but it's just not fun.

[00:10:12]Lindsey Dinneen:  No, they should probably hear that too, right? Like, you know, things that are funny to you are probably just like ridiculous to the people you're telling them to. So maybe just stop, just stop, to sum up. Oh man. Okay. Well, yeah, that makes complete sense. So now that you've done that and you've gone on from there, it sounds like you're still on a journey to continue to be, you know, writing more books and maybe doing other things too. I got kind of a hint to that before we started recording.

[00:10:45] Kristin Beale: Yeah. So being an entrepreneur, working from like saying I'm not going to get a job, and working for myself is a constant, you know, at all hours of the day. I guess not struggle, but a constant job because I have to keep, keep the money coming in and keep doing things, keep doing projects. But that being said, it is so much fun and I love it. And I love my work so much. And I like don't mind if I have to, you know, write for a little bit past five o'clock. I don't, I don't mind the work at all. So what I'm doing, two things, the "Date Me"  comic book of all those dates.  Last June, I was approached by Salt Fire Studio and their local production company, and they told me that they wanted to turn "Date Me" into a TV show. And before I lost my mind, because I had, I had done this before, cause I had two people, two producers come to me and say, they want to make "Greater Things" a video.

[00:11:39]So I get very, very excited and then it falls through and then I'm very, very disappointed, you know, as it goes. So when Tyler Darden, the owner and producer of Salt Fire Studio, he told me that he wanted to make "Date Me" to a TV show. I'm like, "Yeah. Okay. Like, let's talk when, when you get serious." So about a year later, Tyler comes to me and he says," All right, I'm ready to make it into a show." And in about a month of, you know, my dream coming true, we cast a girl to play Kristin from the other side of the country. She's from California. We had to cast my best friend, Katie, my dad for the first episode, my dad, and four dates, four different men. In the first episode, I go on seven dates. And so much fun. We recorded it. We put out the pilot episode, it's on YouTube. If you search "Date Me." We're also on Instagram as "Date Me" show and Facebook, at "Date Me" series, and we are raising money to make episode two and the rest of season one. So you know, we're on Patrion and stuff. But it's so much fun in the videos out there.

[00:12:39] So I want, I'm excited to be able to share my experience and, you know, my funny and bummer situations with everyone. So everyone go on YouTube and watch the first episode. So that's, that's my active, latest project, but also my ongoing projects. So ever since "Date Me "the comic book came out, was published in 2018, I started a weekly comic Instagram page where it's just every week on Instagram, it's every Tuesday comes out. And it's just like something that happened during the week. Something I thought about just something funny that it wrote it's it is six block comics again, because that's my style. And it's found on Instagram at Greater Things Comics. So that's a really fun thing. So if nothing else, check that out and follow along, because I have a lot of fun with that because it's my ability to consistently put out art, and consistently have a reason-- I mean, there's no reason for me to be doing that, doing those weekly comics, except for it's fun for me, 'cause I'm not like making any money off of it, but it's, it's fun to like have an audience and being able to share my art. And that's been one of the biggest blessings out of this ability to share and ability to have an audience.

[00:13:48] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, that's amazing. And to help inspire other people because your story is so amazing. And then you're able to also talk about the fact that art was such a big part of, you know, finding out what you wanted to do with your life, which is so cool. I mean, I think it's just ironic and, and entertaining how, you know, at first it was like, well, these are the two classes that will  be kind of easier credits and then you end up falling in love with it. Like, I love that. Wow. That's fantastic. Congratulations. That's such a big deal for this TV show and everything. So this is so exciting. Oh, my word. Yeah. Congratulations.

[00:14:28] Kristin Beale: Thank you. Life is so much fun. Life is so much fun. It's a little bit stressful when you're working for yourself and you're unemployed, but it's one of the best things that I have ever done. 'Cause it's, it's just so much fun 'cause I'm doing what I love every day and, you know, and people, people say that they're like, "Oh, I love my job." And I've always wondered, "Do they really love their job?" Like, "Do they really look forward to going into work in the morning?" And then I quit my job and started my own thing and I truly just love my job.

[00:14:55] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Well, and speaking of that, because that is such a big undertaking, is there any kind of advice you would give somebody who might be interested in doing that? Like they, they want to take their side gig, their side passion, and make it their full-time thing. I mean, how, how do you make it work? Like on a practical day-to-day basis?

[00:15:15]Kristin Beale: So before you take the leap, figure out how much money you need and make sure that doing your side gig, that you have the ability to make money off it. Like, for me, it's a little tight, but I have my books and book sales, and then I have some of the it's, write for Chris Reeve Foundation every month, twice a month. So I have that income coming in. I just do a bunch of side gigs, which again is fun because it's, you know, side stuff like writing. And I love to write, and like drawing, which you know, is not profitable yet, but one day. And so make sure that the money part is taken care of. And then if you're trying to turn a hobby into a job, be very mindful of, of that. Because if once, once I start dreading drawing or dreading writing or, you know, just doing it, 'cause I have to do it  is when it turns into less of a fun thing and more of a responsibility and the, the love for it is lost. So you have to closely manage your feelings closely so that you don't-- you know, I used to love to draw, but then I quit my job. Like I choose to be my best friend and then I moved in with her. And then, so now we're enemies. That's like a common roommate thing. So it's kind of the same thing with art, like make sure that you still love it and that it's still fun for you because it's miserable if it's not.

[00:16:32]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, no, that makes complete sense. I, I was thinking along the exact same lines when you were talking about the transition of something that you love to do on the side and make it and how fun that can be, but then when you have to do it in order to, to make money. Yeah. I really appreciated your advice on that. Make sure you got the money thing figured out, so it doesn't become burdensome and frustrating all of a sudden, you know, instead of your joy. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Well, cool. So I'm so curious, is it really odd to watch someone else portray you in a TV show?

[00:17:09] Kristin Beale: People ask me that all the time and yes, it is always, it is always a lot. And it's because it's this, it's this girl who she's not in a wheelchair, but I taught her. I mean, I teach her how to be a wheelchair. It's not that hard, it's kind of like, sit down and don't move your legs. It's a little more complicated than that. But she's using my old wheelchair. I taught her how to be in a wheelchair. I taught her how to do things like transfer and I taught her how to do wheelies. And it's, it's odd when I'm behind the scenes directing it and, you know, she says something and then I can stop and say, "Hey, like, say that a little less cheesy," or like, "Say that, you know, a little more excited or not," and just to be able to direct someone to be me, which is very cool. And when you guys watched the episode, look for me in the background. I make a few cameos in there. Enough to learn that I love to be behind the scenes and I'm not an actress. I'm not an actress. I had a couple of lines. I'm a wheelchair fencer too.

[00:18:05]So I had a couple of lines in the fencing gym to the girl who plays Kristin. And by couple, I mean, like, I think I had three lines and we had to shoot it five or six times because I kept forgetting, you know, three sentences, three lines, or I'm like, I'm giggling in the right place or I'm like snorting, or like, it's just kind of like, what are you? But for what, like, I'm not nervous, but I get in front of the camera and I like lose my sense of I'm a human being. And so anyway, I love to be behind the camera and I love to direct people to be me, which is fun. And I love to get myself to get my passive aggressive revenge. Once again, 'cause these, these guys who were rude to me or like gross or, you know, whatever they were, I'm publishing in the comic book, which is like exposing you and, you know, teaching you that lesson maybe. But now I'm taking it one step further and I'm, you know, portraying them in a video. So it's really like, don't cross me. I'm just kidding, but really.

[00:19:02] Lindsey Dinneen: But seriously. Amazing. Oh my goodness. Okay. And I feel like, so you had a moment where I was like, wait, what? So, okay. You also fence.

[00:19:12] Kristin Beale: Oh, yeah. So the first episode is really fun because I am a wheelchair fencer. I've national- level competing wheelchair fencer. That's been really fun, but doing that for about two years, it's kind of me, who is a very soft and friendly and happy person. People say, "Oh, you have an outlet. You have an outlet is your fencing." And I'm like, "I don't, I don't have anger that I need outlet." So it's a very like out of character to be a fencer, but it's very, very fun. And it's one, I've tried over 14 adaptive sports and it's one of my favorites. My second favorite is hand cycling. I've done nine marathons, very active. That's very fun. That's like the equivalent of running. It's like a bike with three wheels that I push with my arms. So I, when I do marathons, it's like the equivalent of running and that's been awesome because before I was in my accident, I was a lacrosse player, field hockey player and competition cheerleader. So I was very active. And so when I got in my accident, my biggest heartbreak was I can't do sports. Like I can't, you know, I don't have that outlet. I'm going to get, you know, I'm going to get fat and I'm just going to be sitting there. I'm not going to have any way to like exercise my body, except for ,you know, arm, arm exercise in the gym, but adaptive sports are so much, in my opinion, so much more fun than regular sports. And hand cycling and fencing have been my two favorites.

[00:20:29] Lindsey Dinneen: Wow. That's amazing. I love that. And honestly, I wasn't familiar with the term "adaptive sports." so what all kinds of options are there out there? 

[00:20:37]Kristin Beale: So I'll try to remember them all. I've done lacrosse, tennis, archery, rowing, and cycling, fencing. What else? I've tried everything that is available to me except for basketball, because I'm just really not naturally good at it at all. But I'm just not into basketball. Let me think what else? So there's an adaptive sports like team league, I guess. And I'm from Richmond. And they have, I think 15 sports, 15 or 16 sports available to people who sign up. So that's how I'm getting all of them. And then I went through the adaptive fencing through the VA hospital. They were just having a clinic and then I got onto the-- I'm not on the national team-- but I compete with the people. I'm not good enough to be like Olympic on the national team, but I fence alongside-- I'm friends with the people who are going to, you know, Tokyo next year or like one guy has been two, two Olympics. And he was just like here fencing with me. And it's very cool. So. All the opportunities and the places I get to travel for that, like I have been to the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs for two years in a row. I guess pre-COVID actually right before the pandemic started. I was coming over from Colorado for a week of training, like five hours of fencing per day in this beautiful Colorado Springs. And it's, it's the best.

[00:21:53] Lindsey Dinneen: That is so cool. And I love the opportunities that you've gotten to have because of it. And, oh my goodness, the people you get to interact with, how awesome is that?

[00:22:01] Kristin Beale: Yeah, like being at the training center, and you're surrounded by people from all different sports. I mean, able-bodied and disabled. We were actually the only wheelchair users there. But, but just like being, being like in the environment of, you know, that level of athleticism. Being around all these Olympians, just walking around, eating next to you in the dining hall. It's, it's really, really cool. I don't know a stronger word for that, but it's really cool.

[00:22:25] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. I was going to say if it seems so surreal, just like, is this my life?

[00:22:31] Kristin Beale: Where am I again?

[00:22:33] Lindsey Dinneen: Do you think you'll ever write about your sports adventures? Like your fencing and things like that, or is that just like part of other things, do you think?

[00:22:43]Kristin Beale: Definitely. And I have, so in "Greater Things," my first book is where I was very new in my disability, so I was learning. Skiing was also a big one. I went to Colorado a couple of years in a row to ski at the like Breckenridge . That was really fun. So that was my first adaptive sport. And my first book, I think I'd tried nine or 10 of them. And there's a chapter for each one. You know, skiing, for example, it looks very cool. And you're in this mono ski and I'm, you know, I have like little mini skis, sitting down, of course. I have little mini skis on each hand and it looks very like, you know, awesome and fun. But then if you read my book, you see the perspective of like, I have snow in my nose. I don't like the cold. I keep falling. So you see the very real experience of it and it's unique of course, 'cause I'm, you know, paralyzed. So not a lot of people can relate to that, but then you see the reality of like, "Oh, she's doing this, you know, totally unique thing." But she's also like, you know, kind of just like me, 'cause she has snow in her nose and she doesn't like the cold and all that stuff.

[00:23:44] So. That was my first book is I did all those sports. And then I found my love for for hand cycling at the end of that book. And so I did the New York marathon was my first, my first marathon. So I, I did that marathon. I fell in love with sport, all that stuff. And then I published my third book, which is called "A Million Suns." And there's a chapter where it's like of that clinic where I discover wheelchair fencing. And, and then later on in the book, you see, actually I love wheelchair fencing. And so, so you're kind of going through all these new sports and experiencing that for the first time with me. And then you realize, you know, I found the two things I love: hand cycling and fencing.

[00:24:24] Lindsey Dinneen: I love that. Oh, perfect. Oh, I can't wait to read those books. Obviously I would like to, to continue to follow your journey and I'm sure some of our listeners would too. Is there a way for us to connect with you or where can we, you know, support you and follow you and everything?

[00:24:40] Kristin Beale: Awesome. So like I said, well, okay. Like I said, The Greater Things comics on Instagram. We have "Date Me" show on Instagram and I'm also Kristin Beale on Instagram, lots of Instagram here. And then my website is kristinbeale.com and that's where you can watch a video of me talking about my accident a little bit. You can read an excerpt, you can buy a book, whatever. You can also buy books on Amazon.

[00:25:04] Lindsey Dinneen: Perfect. Well, I have three questions that I always like to ask my guests. So, first of all, how do you personally define art or what is art to you?

[00:25:14] Kristin Beale: Ooh, so I define art as an outlet because that's what it is to me. It started as an outlet. And so now , it's turning into an outlet for me when I got hurt and all this stuff. And now it's an outlet for my creativity and for my humor and for my personality. Whereas before it was an outlet for my frustration. I mean, at times it still is not for my frustration, but an outlet for my frustration and my new experiences and kind of digesting the world around me. So it looks like for me, it looks like, you know, real life experiences are relatable things or just things that will make you laugh or things that's a way to entertain people. Yeah, so an outlet for my creativity.

[00:25:55] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. I love that. Okay. And then what do you think is the most important role of an artist?

[00:26:01] Kristin Beale: Hm. The important role: to entertain and not to entertain others for that is a big plus, but to entertain yourself, to keep yourself happy to stay while you're doing it for it to be a good, you know, way to keep yourself happy. And, you know, it's a major plus if it can bring happiness to other people too.

[00:26:24] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Okay. And then my final question, and I'll define my terms a little bit, but do you think that art should be inclusive or exclusive, and inclusive referring to an artist who puts their work out there and provide some context behind it, whether it's the inspiration or title or program notes, something just so that we kind of know what the artist was thinking. Versus an artist who puts their work out there and it doesn't provide the context behind it, so it's left entirely up to the viewer to determine what they will.

[00:26:56] Kristin Beale: I like the idea of an exclusive, I'm not putting context into it, because it allows people to have their own experience with your art and interpret it based off of, you know, things in their life and make it personal to them on their own terms. Instead of someone, you know-- they're both right ways-- but instead of someone forcing you and saying, "This is how you should take in this art," but saying "You know, do what you will with it." Just putting it out here.

[00:27:22]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Makes complete sense. Well, thank you so very much, so much for being here today, Kristin. Your story is just incredibly inspiring and humorous, and I cannot wait to-- well the humorous part, being all your dating stories, I mean don't get me wrong-- but I just love, I just loved what you were sharing with us and I cannot wait to read those books and I highly encourage anyone listening to this episode to do so too, and follow Kristin on Instagram and all the different ways that she's doing that. Go, if you can support her endeavor with the TV show and, and all those things. So seriously, Kristin, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it.

[00:28:06]Kristin Beale:  It's so much fun. Thank you.

[00:28:08] Lindsey Dinneen: Of course. And thank you to everyone who's listened to this episode. And if you're feeling as inspired as I am, I would love if you would share this with a friend or two and we will catch you next time.

[00:28:21] If you have a story to share with us, we would love that so much. And I hope your day has been Artfully Told.

[00:28:30]Hey, Artfully Told listeners, Lindsey here. And I just want to share with you a little bit more about the SpeakEasy Method. Now, if you've had a chance to listen to Gregg Gonzalez' interview on Artfully Told, you're already a little familiar with the process that is so unique, so cool that is the SpeakEasy Method is for people who are ready to write their books, but maybe aren't super confident about their own writing ability, or just want a more streamlined way of doing it. Gregg and his team at SpeakEasy are experts at these amazing questions that help your authentic voice to shine through. So what they do is they go through recorded audio interviews with you and these recordings are then transcribed and put into manuscript format ready to go. So what's cool about that is instead of months and months, or years and years of you writing a book, they will actually take you from concept to published and it can be as little as nine months. That is one of the most recent success stories that they have accomplished. And it is just a really innovative method that I am personally so excited to help represent and help share the word about because what Gregg and his team are doing is absolutely life-changing for prospective authors. And I highly encourage you to book a discovery call with Gregg  or another member of his team to learn more and see if this could be the perfect fit for you. It's a hundred percent complimentary and you can do so easily by going to his website and that's www.joy-ful-iving.com/speakeasy. And again, that spelled out is J O Y dash F U L living.com/speakeasy.