18 Aug Danna Zeiger, REWRITING THE RULES, plus a GIVEAWAY!
Another day, another interview with a wonderful author! Rewriting the Rules, written by Danna Zeiger and beautifully illustrated by Josee Bisaillon, is a lovely and important picture book biography. The subject of this book is an incredibly inspiring woman named Kathleen Friel, who was born with cerebral palsy. When she was just a toddler, a doctor told her parents that she should be institutionalized. Happily, her parents didn’t agree, and with their help, this extraordinary child grew up to be an extraordinary adult.
EL: Welcome Danna! Congratulations on this book! After reading it, one of the many things that impressed me is how you skillfully wrote about complicated issues and scientific facts while keeping it accessible to children.
I know that book is personal to you. Will you please give us a little insight into your personal connection?
DZ: Absolutely! This book is very personal to me. As an undergraduate, I came to work in Dr. John Martin’s lab at Columbia’s Medical School researching the corticospinal system and its development, which I found fascinating. Dr. Martin assigned me to a postdoctoral fellow mentor in the lab, Dr. Kathleen Friel. Kathleen was kind, supportive, and wicked smart, as we say in New England. She was also the first academic, let alone scientist, I had met with cerebral palsy.
I grew up with a close family friend who was my age, who had CP. Unfortunately, unlike in Kathleen’s case, this friend’s cognition was impaired, so our experiences and play were quite different. Despite Kathleen’s sharp mind, I watched and heard about countless experiences of ableism and discrimination against her. All the while, Kathleen impacted my scientific career dramatically because she and Dr. Martin were both science mentors who were warm, personable, and felt like real cheerleaders for my journey. Kathleen was also an incredible role model for me and showed me that a woman in science could not only persevere but that she could succeed in spades. Kathleen’s scientific accomplishments, discoveries, papers, and writing are wildly impressive, yet she remains humble while confident and compassionate.
Kathleen was there for my senior thesis (even though I had worked at Merck prior, this felt like the scariest science presentation!!), and she helped me prepare. My favorite memory is that she caught my image of a spinal cord that was completely backwards 😊. She came to my wedding, as well, along with Dr. Martin and another scientist from the lab. They played important roles in my graduate school applications process, as well as my application to an NIH grant while in graduate school.
Despite distance after college, I kept in touch with Kathleen and watched and read about horrible scene after horrible scene. Crazy things I do not have to experience, like people trying to pretend they are Kathleen’s guardian on public transportation—and almost being kidnapped! Flight attendants unwilling to talk to Kathleen, only to her friend.
When I dove into this children’s book author’s dream, I immediately knew I had to write about Kathleen. I was nervous, but I reached out to her and asked if she would be okay with it, and she was! I’m so grateful that even though I was extremely nervous, Kathleen trusted me with her story. I’m not sure either one of us really had an idea of what it might entail, or whether a publisher would be interested.
I already knew Kathleen for many years at that point and had heard many stories and knew about much of her background. Plus, Kathleen is an ardent activist on social media, and she is really transparent about her (often utterly horrific) experiences, including ones of exclusion, ableism, and blatant discrimination. I had lots of material to work with, plus my own memories! I did scour the internet and social media and documented experiences, pictures, etc to really build the story.
Kathleen was involved in the editing process with the publisher, and Kathleen so generously sent pictures of herself from her childhood and with her family, as well as detailed pictures of various physical aspects of her CP. From the beginning, it was very important to me to find an illustrator who could really capture Kathleen with authenticity and compassion, and I think Josée knocked it out of the park!
EL: I agree. I think the illustrations are perfect for your book. Did you get to communicate with Josee? 
DZ: Josee’s illustrations are truly beyond my wildest dreams for this book. I did not communicate directly with Josée, but we had lots of indirect communication through my editor and art director. I know it isn’t necessarily common, but I wish for everyone to have a debut experience as wonderful – it felt like a true partnership! My editor reached out with top illustrator selections and weighed my input. Then, my editor sent me thumbnails, rough drafts, sketches, and was always happy to hear input. I saw drafts of the cover before the color was completed, etc. I really felt like I was kept in the loop, and it was thrilling to watch the progress! I think perhaps in the case of this particular book, there were a lot of technical scientific illustrations that had to be accurate, so I was able to help there. Josée was always open to feedback—at least, indirectly—and I felt we had an amazing team working together to create something beautiful and important.
- EL: Do you have a writing routine? If so, will you share it?
DZ: Great question! I know some writers who are very disciplined and run for miles every early morning, then sit and dive into their work for prescribed hours.
Because I homeschool my kids (and gladly so!) my writing time is a lot more fragmented. When I started writing, I had a little baby, so my writing times were entirely unpredictable, and I never knew just when he would wake up from his nap or when independent playtime would be over and the kids would need me to snap out of my writing world. I stuck only to picture books then since I had shorter bursts of time!
Nowadays, my schedule is quite seasonal. This summer, I have had a gift where my kids have been in (day) camp, and I’ve tried to maximize every minute! During the regular school year, I do build in times where my kids are in activities, and I have a couple of hours each day.
Ever since I became a mom while a graduate school student doing research in the lab, I had to learn to be super thoughtful about my time. While I missed out on some of the casual fun, like a relaxed lunch or coffee chat, I did learn to be hyper-efficient with my experiments, analysis, and lab bench time away from my baby. I’ve transferred those skills now, and my writing time is precious, sacred, and productive! I’m not sure that counts as a routine, but it works for me 😊. Like anything else in small supply, I greatly value the time that I do get, and I’m always excited for my next available chunk of time!
EL: Do you have anything else in the pipeline you can talk about?
DZ: Yes!! I have some exciting vague news (hint hint, wink wink, YAY!) and I have a bunch of things I’m working on. I’m also co-writing a middle grade novel with an author I revere and also personally love, who has many successful and impressive books to her name, so I’m thrilled to be working together! It’s also a hilarious book that is a riot to write, so I am having SO much fun.
EL: That sounds great! What or who inspires you?
DZ: My kids!!! Each and every day. I watched an author’s webinar once, possibly Tara Lazar’s (and I’m pretty sure that Heidi Stemple has also said this) where they said they tried to write all of the funny and awesome questions, nuggets, stories-in-hiding that their kids said because they knew, once the kids grew up, they would finally have lots of time but not the same inspiration! This is definitely a fear of mine, and I’m not great about writing every single thing down. But hanging out with my kids is absolutely my greatest muse!
EL: Anything else you’d like our readers to know?
I’m currently a 2025 PJ Library Sephardic Stories Initiative Fellow, and am loving spending the year diving into my childhood growing up with a Bukhari family. I’m working on a MG there, and a couple of PBs.
I have other writing projects, as well. Writing brings me so much joy and excitement. I can honestly say that the cliché of loving what you do actually is true for me, so even though it sounds like a lot, I’m itching to work on it all!
EL: I know our readers will want to read Rewriting the Rules, so here are some places to get it.
Amazon: https://a.co/d/dLgTSX6
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rewriting-the-rules-danna-zeiger/1146739557
Target: https://www.target.com/p/rewriting-the-rules-by-danna-zeiger-hardcover/-/A-94494518
And don’t forget independent bookstores! One of Danna’s favorites is Newtonville Books: https://www.newtonvillebooks.com/book/9798765647271
EL: Danna, thanks so much for joining us today! And now it’s time for a
Danna is happy to do a 20-minute AMA or a non-rhyming picture book critique for a manuscript up to 800 words. As always, comment on this post and let me know if you share it or if you are a subscriber. Danna kindly requests that you sign up for her newsletter (https://www.dannazeiger.com/) to be included in this giveaway.
On a personal note, I’m currently scheduling school author visits for the 2025-2026 school year. I’d love to visit YOU or a school near you! Please check out https://EllenLeventhal.com.
Ellen Leventhal is an amazing presenter who tailors her presentations to meet the needs of all students and age levels. I am amazed at how she can talk about her love of writing, how to become a writer, encouraging students to do what they love and how we can all be kind into a 45 minute presentation. A school visit from Ellen Leventhal is a treat for everyone! Suzanne Ritchey: Carroll T Welch Elementary School Clint, TX
Until next time,
Ellen
Mona Pease
Posted at 14:19h, 25 AugustWhat a busy woman you are, Danna! Rewriting The Rules sounds like a book that should be in school libraries and discussed in classrooms. Kathleen sounds like a brilliant woman who had to live with her disabilty and all the taunting that she took, only to keep forging on to become this amazing person. So special that you got to write about your friend, your mentor. Congratulations to both of you and your wonderful illustrator.