Monday, March 4, 2019

Cheryl L. Butler's Second Book Published This Spring



From Kate’s Writing Crate…


Cheryl L. Butler Publishes Her Second Book
By Kate Phillips


          After Cheryl L. Butler’s years of writing as a columnist and then publishing her first book, Pregnant Women Don’t Eat Cabbage, she was offered the position of writing the Macmillan Publishing’s Mighty Mommy column and hosting the franchise podcast which is available on Amazon Echo, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Google Home, PodChaser, PodBean, and TuneIn. Podcast airs every Monday. Visit www.quickanddirtytips.com/mighty-mommy.
          She co-founded this blog, has written for national publications as well as penning her second book Mom Ops: Observations, Laughs, and Solutions for a Happier Family Life that will be published in early spring.
          Here she tells us all about her life and future plans:

KP: How long have you been a writer?
CB: I’ve been writing and keeping journals since I learned to write! It all started with my innocent lists of what I wanted to accomplish at the ripe old age of seven. (Barbie and Ken kept me quite busy!) Once I was in high school, I became consumed with journaling and writing short stories and never looked back.
My career path led me to working in a very progressive dental practice for nearly 20 years so my writing was placed on the backburner. It wasn’t until I became a stay-at-home mom with my eight children that I pursued my love of writing. After the birth of my seventh child, I had an essay published in a newspaper—a humorous reflection of what it was like to be raising a large family.
I received countless positive comments about that piece, decided it was time once again to fuel my passion for writing, and applied for a job with two local magazines. That was over 15 years ago, and I’ve been writing professionally ever since.


KP: What is your favorite part of writing a column about family Life?
CB: When I began writing, I wrote articles of interest pertaining to the many wonderful facets of community life. I’ve always loved writing these types of pieces because it gave me the opportunity to meet and interview so many interesting folks that make such a positive difference.  
Soon after, I was asked if I’d like to begin writing a monthly family column about the many facets of parenting and family life. Excited, I agreed without hesitation because to me this was like hitting the writer’s jackpot. Not only would I have another chance to write, I would now be able to ponder my favorite subject—my family in a never-ending variety of ways. Without their knowing it, they became fodder for column after column (I say this lovingly, of course!) and the best part was I now had a permanent way to capture all these moments in a published format.
Sharing a monthly column about the people most dear to me in the world—my kids—is a very personal thing. I’ve written about my favorite moments, funniest and most embarrassing accounts (yes, I’ve forgot my own daughter at her First Communion as we proceeded to her celebratory brunch in Newport without her! Sigh.), heartbreaking times, and I’ve even shared a rant or two that I felt was worthy of a read. But my absolute favorite columns have been about the mundane and ordinary happenings that are part of any parent’s journey (meal prep, laundry, bored kids, carpools, homework battles, and more laundry—because those are the moments that families can relate to the most—the parenting moments that define us and quite truthfully that I will treasure for many years after my nest is empty.


KP: What else do you write?
CB: I’ve been a freelance writer for a handful of other magazines over the past 15 years including publications such as Family Fun, Good Housekeeping, and Real Simple.
I’ve also been published in several Chicken Soup for the Soul books as well as other parenting anthology series. In 2009 my first book was published, Pregnant Women Don’t Eat Cabbage—a whimsical look at pregnancy and childbirth. While it wasn’t a NYT bestseller, it was a fantastic first-time experience which ultimately opened several new doors for me.
At one of my book signings, it just so happened a producer from Macmillan Publishing in NYC was in attendance—a total fluke. We met briefly and exchanged pleasantries. At the time, I didn’t realize she worked in publishing.
A couple of years later, she contacted me about a job opening. MacMillan has a website and podcast network known as Quick and Dirty Tips (QDT)  with experts in a handful of fields—finances, nutrition and exercise, science, psychology, organization and productivity to name a few.
QDT was originally founded by Mignon Fogarty, the popular NYT bestselling author and host known as Grammar Girl. One of their first hosts on the QDT network was a parenting expert known as Mighty Mommy. They were looking for someone to replace the original Mighty Mommy and the Macmillan contact that came to my book signing thought of me.
Six years later, I’ve been enjoying my position as QDT’s Mighty Mommy where I write a weekly column and record a podcast that is related to all things family/parenting. I’m surrounded by top-notch professionals in the industry and still have to pinch myself to believe I am living my dream—writing for a living!


KP: Please tell us more about being Mighty Mommy?
CB: As the host of the Mighty Mommy podcast, I choose topics ranging from pregnancy and newborns to toilet training and tantrums right through to teen drama and sending your kids off to college. As any parent knows, the topics for raising a family are endless and plentiful so I never worry about running out of fresh ideas.
At present, the Mighty Mommy archive has over 500 podcasts, 300 of which are mine. As part of my role I am introduced to many NYT bestselling authors who I’m privileged to interview as guests on my show. Most recently popular author and organizing guru, Julie Morgenstern, was my guest, and we discussed strategies for keeping it real when it comes to running a smooth household. She was fantastic!
All of the QDT podcasts, including Mighty Mommy, can be found as written content on our website for easy reference.
I work remotely but do travel to NYC to stay connected to our QDT team. (Navigating Penn Station, alone, is something I’m quite proud of!) I’m also in contact with hundreds of sponsors who help to promote our shows. I’m so lucky to be able to sample and try a wide variety of family-related products that I can recommend to listeners.
The Mighty Mommy podcast airs every Monday. Visit www.quickanddirtytips.com/mighty-mommy  to listen and visit the Mighty Mommy archive.
All QDT shows are available on the following podcast platforms: Amazon Echo, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Google Home, PodChaser, PodBean, and TuneIn.


KP: What is your favorite part about being Mighty Mommy?
CB: My favorite part of being the Mighty Mommy host is that I’m exposed to a whole new world of sharing parenting information. Working for one of the world’s largest publishers offers many exciting avenues that I otherwise wouldn’t have had. I have a myriad of professional editors and producers, family experts, and advertisers at my disposal who help me deliver the best content possible.
I also get to interact with my listeners on a weekly basis as they write in with questions and comments. Communicating and being able to share tips with other parents is definitely another reason I love being the Mighty Mommy.


KP: You are also an author with a second book to be published soon. Please tell us all about it.
CB: As I mentioned earlier, my first book, Pregnant Women Don’t Eat Cabbage was published 10 years ago. I had all intentions of diving in to write more books, but life and raising eight kids pushed those plans to the back burner.
I now have several projects happening at once, and one of those is my second book which will be published in early spring. Mom Ops: Observations, Laughs, and Solutions for a Happier Family Life will be a collection of my favorite parenting essays along with new material, indexed by subject matter for quick reference. So if you’re having a bad parenting day and just trying to survive, you can quickly turn to the appropriate section for a solution and a bit of comic relief. You can look at it as a humorous guide book to help you through nearly any part of your parenting journey.


KP: What inspires you to write all these columns, podcasts, and books?
CB: My inspiration is quite simply my family. For those who may not know, I struggled with infertility for five years before we adopted our beautiful first daughter at birth. One of my favorite phrases is ‘Be careful what you ask for’ because one year to the day that we adopted our sweet daughter, I delivered our first son, and then went on to have six more babies!
I was pregnant for a decade, and the fact that I survived the summer I had four kids under the age of three was a small miracle. When you enjoy a stick of gum for breakfast and learn to sleep in the bathroom shower for 15 minutes just to catch a few winks you realize you have two choices: Laugh or cry. Crying takes way too much effort so I chose to go with the flow and did so with my pen and journal close by my side so I wouldn’t forget a thing (especially my own name).
I’ve experienced infertility, adoption, childbirth, raising kids with developmental delays, popular and athletic kids, introverted and nerdy kids, college and non-college bound kids, a stay-at-home mom and an outside the home career mom, divorce, dating at age 50, and recently became a new grandmother.
I’ve always been a people person so I don’t mind putting myself out there and sharing and inspiring my life experiences, especially if it might help just one other parent.


KP: Are the solutions and tips you give all tried and true for your family?
CB: Absolutely, yes! The book is jam packed with everything that worked (and was a disaster) for the many facets of child rearing. Some of the contents are quite commonsense approaches to keeping your kids’ toys organized rather than under your feet, and other strategies I discovered by pure luck—surviving many 10-week summer vacations without losing my mind completely.
I think there’s definitely something for everyone in Mom Ops including grandparents, aunts and uncles, babysitters, and, of course, parents.


KP: What do you love most about being a mom?
CB: There are so many things I love about being a mom, but if I had to pick one thing to hone in on it would be that I feel so privileged and blessed to be responsible for raising eight unique human beings who will each, hopefully, make a positive impact in their own special way on the world.
For instance, a couple of years ago my son and I were driving to a Boy Scout meeting. It was a frigid, dark winter’s night, and we were on a stretch of road that was practically deserted. Almost to the end of the road we witnessed a dog get hit by another car. It was devastating. My son immediately got out of the car to check on the dog. It was obvious the injuries were serious so my son held the dog and cradled him until he died. The driver who hit the dog found the owner and they eventually arrived on the scene. I’ll never forget how the dog’s family looked at my son and thanked him for not letting their dog die alone.  
Proud moments like that remind me that every sacrifice and hardship I’ve experienced as a mother for the past 25 years is why I love being called mom.


KP: Do you think pets are an important part of family life?
CB: In addition to the crazy love I have for my kids, I can’t imagine our family’s life without pets. We’ve had guinea pigs, hamsters, fish, rabbits and a lizard here and there, but the biggest love of our pet lives have been our dogs.
Pets offer unconditional love and so many life lessons. They teach responsibility and accountability and you’ll never find a more loyal greeting when you walk in the door every day then from your eager puppy who is just as excited to see me if I’ve been gone for five minutes or five days!


KP: What is your best advice for parents?
CB: If there is one single piece of advice I would give every new parent it would be to practice consistency in all areas of parenting. Deep down, all kids (even moody teens!) crave boundaries, regardless of individual temperament. When they have structure, routines, and rules in place it offers them a sense of security because they know what’s expected of them. Boundaries help your child thrive by teaching them responsibility, consequences, and respect for others as well as themselves.


KP: Your first grandchild was born in December. How has he inspired you?
CB: My grandson is only a few weeks old and I’m still in awe of this surreal and breathtaking experience. After 25 years of motherhood, I didn’t think I could feel the love that I have for my own eight kids for another human being. But after cutting my grandson’s umbilical cord and hearing him cry for the first time, I can honestly tell you that my heart grew right out of my chest.
I couldn’t quite put my finger on why I was so overwhelmed. Sure he was incredibly beautiful and adorable beyond words. And yes he is the newest branch of our family tree. Of course I loved listening to his newborn coos and holding him tight, smelling that newborn baby smell that is so intoxicating. But that wasn’t it. What really melted my heart and soul was watching my daughter’s eyes gaze upon her son and seeing her unconditional love as she soothed him in the first moments of his life. It took my breath away.


KP: What are your future plans?
CB: I often get asked what my future plans are mainly because I think people are curious to know what’s on my radar as the youngest of my eight kids prepare for high school graduation.
I’ve been in the trenches of motherhood for 25 years now, with my sixth child graduating from high school this year and two more will be graduated within the next five years. That said, I feel that in a sense, I have a brand-new life that will be starting, and I couldn’t be more terrified or excited all at the same time!
          Besides the love of my children, grandson and, of course, my writing career, I also have a love of adventure. I’m 50 and fearless and ready to take on new challenges such as public speaking (gulp!), writing a seaside romance series, and many more freelance writing gigs including a life-long dream of launching a magazine (stay tuned!). Now that I can navigate Penn Station I intend to be visiting the Big Apple on a regular basis and who knows, someday soon I may be rubbing elbows with Hoda on The Today Show.




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