Q&A With Randi Lee Bowslaugh 

Mickey Mikkelson whose a  publicist to many authors, one of which is New York Times Bestselling author, Tosca Lee who I did a Q&A with has been so kind to connect me with so many authors. One of these authors is Randi Lee Bowslaugh. On top of writing Randi is a speaker for mental health, parenting and fitness and has a youtube channel titled Write or Die. 

Q: So Randi you write, you’re a public speaker and you have a youtube channel. How do you juggle doing all three?

A: I don’t think of it as juggling since I love doing all of them. I record the Write or Die Show on Wednesdays, so that is always blocked off. Public speaking is prebooked in advanced and I write when inspiration hits me (which is frequently)

Q: So what made you want to write non-fiction and children’s books? When you knew you wanted to be an author, was it you felt like you were called to do it?

A: Non-fiction was a natural progression for my writing. I started writing at a young age but really got into it as a teenager. I wrote poems about my depression which became my first book Thoughts of a Wanderer.

I received such heartfelt feedback that I was inspired to keep sharing my story through writing. 

However, since non-fiction can be quite heavy I needed to break it up with some fun. That is where the kids books come in!

Q: If you’re writing something new now, can you reveal any details?

A:  I recently finished my next non-fiction book Good-Bye Too Soon. It is about my brother’s death by a drug overdose. The book goes beyond just my story of grief and describes risk factors, constructive coping strategies and bringing light to a difficult topic. 

It is on pre-order now and releases on May 20 (the 2 year anniversary of his death). https://amzn.to/3K2kfKF

Q: What other genres would you explore writing in the future?

A: I have a collection of short scary stories and want to go a little further into that in the future. I love reading and watching horror and want to continue trying my hand at writing it. 

Q: How did you come up with the concept for your youtube channel? What is your advice to others who want to start a youtube channel but don’t know where to start? 

A: I knew I wanted to have a Youtube channel and knew it would be about mental health. But I was struggling to figure out exactly how I was going to do that. I was talking to another business owner who suggested I speak with other authors and it was perfect! 

The name Write or Die Show was my friends idea. We were throwing around different names when she came up with that as a play on words from ride or die and it hit the nail on the head for the show’s purpose. Writing saved my life as a teenager. 

Figure out your purpose, to inform, to make people laugh, to try something new, etc. From there build the format (interview style, lone person, sketches). And then don’t give up because it takes time.