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Ryan Rae Harbuck - Author and Disability Representation Advocate

Writer: litkidsmagazine
litkidsmagazine
19 minutes ago
3 min read

Her award-winning debut memoir, WHEN I GROW UP I WANT TO BE A CHAIR, set off sparks in Ryan’s belly and a yearning for change within disability representation in literature. Not only did she want to be a chair, she wanted to write books. Big books. Small books. Make-believe books. Heavy books. Colorful books. All the books. So when Ryan was asked to write a children’s book based on her real-life experiences as a wheelchair user, she took it and rolled with it. Ryan has shared her own life experiences as a wheelchair user, caused by a spinal cord injury in her teens. Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Ryan has been a teacher, coach, mentor, and mom, and she’s on a mission to change the perspective and the narrative of disability, one word at a time.


1. Why did you begin writing? Was it because of a person or something else?

I’m not sure when I truly began, because I have always been writing. But I do know when I started writing books—that was when I became pregnant with my youngest child. I suppose I got scared that I was about to have less time to do things for myself (writing is a big one of those things), so I started compiling the adult stories I had written from my past and created my memoir.


2. Where do you get your ideas from?

Sometimes my ideas come from my kids—something they are struggling with, a silly phrase they can’t get out of their head, or a big lesson they need to learn. And sometimes my ideas come from the thing I am struggling with, a silly phrase I can’t get out of my head, or a lesson that I need to learn, ha!


3. What or who was your biggest inspiration to enter your field?

My biggest inspiration is my kids. They, like me, think of authors as movie stars, and I know they are proud of the things I am accomplishing in the publishing world.

 

4. What is something in your field that you don't yet know how to do, but you would like to learn?

I would LOVE to learn more about illustration! Ever since my kiddos were young, I have written and illustrated special books for them for their birthdays. I’ve always enjoyed drawing and painting, but have no really schooling in it. One day, I’d really love to publish a book that I write AND illustrate. That’s a real dream!


5. How has your profession impacted your life?

Being a writer forces me to stay creative in my everyday. It allows me to use my imagination, and as a grown-up, that’s almost unheard of anymore! I’m grateful to say that my writing grounds me and offers me a sense of self that I just can’t get anywhere else. I guess you could just say that writing has made me happier!


6. Do you write more than one thing at a time?

ALWAYS! And not only do I write multiple projects at a time, I often try to write in multiple genres and age ranges at a time! I suppose it keeps me from getting bored or over-focused on a project.


7. Do you only write for one genre?

I just answered this above, but no way! I love writing picture books, and I’ve been playing around with things from fantasy to STEM to rhyme! I also enjoy writing for older kids and even adults. I have a finished middle grade novel as well as an adult novel I hope to publish one day.


8. Do you carry around a journal to note inspiration?

I use the Notes app in my phone all the time. I have hundreds of Notes, and many of them make very little sense when I go back to them, ha! I tend to get inspiration at strange times, so grabbing my phone and jotting down a couple of lines here and there works really well for me.


9. What do you do when you feel stuck?

Often when I feel stuck, I move on to another project for a while. I will also use my Notes app and talk-to-text into it the problem that I’m having, and oftentimes it resolves itself. Exercise is also a really great way of getting unstuck—I love to swim and go for long walks in my neighborhood!


Ryan, thank you for sharing your story of becoming an author (and hopefully an author/illustrator in the future)! Please follow Ryan on social media and check out her marvelous book, When I Grow Up I Want To Be A Chair, in our Bookshop. Keep shining!







 
 
 

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