How A Highway Rescue Became A Children’s Book Series

A tiny dog sprinting toward freeway traffic should have been a tragedy, but it becomes the beginning of a story that changes everything. We sit down with author Heidi C. Heisel to hear how she rescued Gizmo, brought him home, and slowly realized this little dog was about to become her muse, her travel buddy, and the center of a children’s book series that families actually want to read together. If you love dog rescue stories, heartfelt family storytelling, and children’s books with meaning, you’ll feel this one in your chest. 

We talk about how the Gizmo Goes books are built: rhyming picture books told from Gizmo’s point of view, illustrated by Heidi’s grandson Rivers, and finished with real photos from real adventures. That format lets Heidi blend fun with substance, weaving in life lessons about kindness, discipline, mindset, and self-acceptance alongside travel, geography, and history from places like Yellowstone, Ireland, and Germany. It’s a refreshing take on educational kids’ books that still feels light and playful. 

You’ll also hear the behind-the-scenes journey from self-publishing to Scholastic, the family’s move into audiobooks with a narrator who brings the pages to life, and how new tools like AI can support creativity without replacing it. The conversation takes a tender turn as Heidi shares Gizmo’s passing in 2024 and the “meant to be” adoption that helped her keep Gizmo’s legacy alive through a new pup named TikTok. 

If this story moved you, subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next, share the episode with a fellow dog lover, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show. Find Heidi's books on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4oYUk9y

And at gizmogoes.com

Transcript

Unexpected Rescue Finds Gizmo

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Sometimes the best stories begin with an unexpected rescue. Today's guest turned one unforgettable dog into the star of an award-worthy children's series that's inspiring imagination, adventure, and family connections one rhyme at a time. Please welcome author Heidi C. Heisel to the Elsa Kurt Show.

SPEAKER_02 0:17

Well, hello there.

SPEAKER_03 0:18

How are you? Oh my gosh, I'm so excited to be here. Thank you so much for having me as a guest. I am beyond thrilled.

SPEAKER_02 0:25

Oh, it's my pleasure, a hundred percent. I'm so excited to learn all about your adventures with Gizmo. He sounds so cute. He looks so cute. I see all the book covers. He looks absolutely adorable. And I I love, I love the whole story. So I'm not gonna spoil it for everyone. I'm gonna let you kind of tell the story. And um, let's start right from the the day that you found Gizmo. Tell everybody a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_03 0:50

Oh, yeah. So I was leaving work and I was getting on the freeway and I see this little white ball of fur run out, about to merge with traffic. The lady in front of me slammed on her brakes. I slammed on my brakes. I ran out and got him. I picked him up and he put his head right here and I drove home with him. He had a little red collar on, so I thought, oh my gosh, somebody is missing their little dog. I took him to the vet. There was no chip. The vet said he was around six months old based on his teeth. Um, I put up notes on Facebook with the Humane Society, but nobody claimed him. And after about two weeks, I took off his collar, took down everything, and he was my baby. And from that moment on, I mean, both of our lives changed forever. Yeah. And I'm a photographer, so I would go on a lot of trips to take pictures, and I just couldn't bear leaving him home. So I started taking him with me on all these trips. And um, the very first one, we went through to take a tour of a baseball game, and the actual owner of the team was renting a house for my mom, so they just built the stadium. And he's like, Would you guys like to come take a tour? We have a game tonight. And I was like, Can I bring Gizmo? I was like, sure. So I took Gizmo and when we finished with the game, it was just such a good time. Um, my grandson was with us, and my grandson was eight at the time. So I wrote a little poem about it. My grandson, who's always been very good with his crayons and colored pencils, I asked him to illustrate it. And we did our very first book, and I had it self-published, Gizmo Goes to a Baseball Game.

SPEAKER_02 2:19

That is so cute.

SPEAKER_03 2:20

Yeah. And so for the next 12 years, that's what we did. We traveled and I would write stories about it, and then my grandson would illustrate them. And at the end of the book, I would put the real pictures from the real adventures, and they're always from Gizmo's point of view.

SPEAKER_02 2:32

That's so what a brilliant idea and so fun. Anytime, you know, when I talk to my grandchildren who are four and under, um, when I talk to them on FaceTime, the one of the first things, besides their grandfather who they want to see more than they want to see me, which is rude, um, the the next thing they always ask for is to see all the dogs. So we have three, we have three little ones, and that's what they want to see. So, like just from that perspective, like you know, anytime where there's a there's an animal, particularly dogs, like they they are all over it. So, what a brilliant idea to share, first of all, share these stories at all. Um, but then to do it from Gizmo's perspective and to have those pictures is just the sweetest thing. And I have to go back to the whole like rescue part in itself. Um, so you you and I are kindred spirits. I would stop in the middle of traffic and and cross everything and go get a dog, you know what I mean? But there's a lot of people that, you know, would drive by and and think, oh, I hope somebody stops, you know, I hope somebody does it. So I especially love that you're somebody who would stop and go get that dog. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:36

I was raised by my mother, who has been rescuing her dogs ever since I was little. She's been rescuing any animal. Um, and then my sister also. They both have so many rescue fails that they wound up adopting. As a matter of fact, my second dog is I call him Little Mean Jimmy Dean, is one of my mom's rescue fails that she just talked me into adopting. He's a tripod. So they've been adopting dogs their whole life. As a matter of fact, when I was growing up, and just a quick story, my mom had heard that the Warz racetrack, we lived in El Paso, was on strike, and the way they were striking was by starving the dogs. Oh no, I was 15 years old when I found out my mom had a van and all of her friends went in there and they stole the dogs. They brought them back over the border. So we raised El Paso Linda, and then she gave birth to Hotfoot Benny and Flying Fritz. So if you hear those names in the Greyhound Circuit, they were saved by my mom.

SPEAKER_02 4:29

That's amazing. What an incredible story. Yeah, yeah, it's it's in your DNA to do that. That's so amazing. Did you know that? By the way, I feel like those should all be stories as well. Not to put more on your plates, but I feel like those are all stories as well. Um, when you took Gizmo home, did you know that he was gonna like did did you have any kind of sense or was just like, listen, this dog needed rescuing and I rescued this dog?

SPEAKER_03 4:55

Yeah, I had only ever had big dogs. Um, well, growing up we had some little dogs, but and I also worked and I had a cat. I mean, we had a full house, so there was no room for another dog, and now I can't imagine the home without him. You know what I mean? And and Gizo just became your heart dog. I mean, that the one dog that just makes you just see things differently because they are such unconditional love. I mean, there it's a reason it's G-O-D backwards because they teach us how I think God wants us to be just kind of grateful and fun and

Turning Trips Into Rhyming Books

SPEAKER_03 5:30

happy and appreciative. I mean, you're not worried about everything that's going on, you're just kind of relaxing and enjoying life. And Gizmo taught me how to do that instead of being so upset all the time.

SPEAKER_02 5:41

Sure, yeah, I know. Well, we we get in our heads real easy, don't we? Like just to get wrapped up in things, and they do, they make you just kind of pause and and see things. Well, I guess from like their perspective, you know, and they're like, you know, they're happy if they've got food and comfort and shelter and you know, love and affection, life is good, like it's that simple. So I love I love that about them too. Is uh is was Gizmo um like sweet from the get-go, or was there any spice?

SPEAKER_03 6:09

Gizmo, oh my gosh, so funny. Gizmo loves all people, especially kids. Oh he runs up to everybody, he is but when he sees another dog, I call him Cujo. He turns into he cannot stand other dogs. Anytime we hear him like anywhere, you have to hide other dogs from him.

SPEAKER_02 6:28

Oh, yeah. It's that little dog syndrome, right? Yeah, exactly. Tell me a little bit about so you said your grandson, which I I love this part of your story as well. This is such a sweet, beautiful um bond that you two have through this. Um what's it been like creating these with book your these books with him?

SPEAKER_03 6:48

It has been amazing because he's he was eight years old when we started.

SPEAKER_02 6:52

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 6:52

And he's always had the love of art, and he his oil paintings are amazing, but he does all of the illustrations in every book, and and he's he's about to graduate college now. Oh yeah, so now he's moved on the videography a little bit and he created our first commercial. And my daughter who does our PR, she's absolutely gorgeous, um, and she's also a hospice nurse, so she has a very big heart. Uh, she is the star of our very first commercial, and it was completely Rivers' idea. And he used AI to fill to do some of the gizmo part, but he's just he's my business partner 50 50-50, and I'm so proud of him. Where my daughter and I both had a little bit of a wild streak as our teenage years, he's has just been perfect the whole time. Just a little unfair to me for my daughter, because she's right, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:36

What happened there? No fair. We're supposed to get our revenge a little bit, right?

SPEAKER_03 7:40

She raised him to be such a good person. Like I said, he's he's the one that read the Bible for the first time from cover to cover. That I and I was like, wow, if he can do that, I can do that. So he encouraged me to do that in 2022. Read the Bible from cover to cover, and it made a difference. I feel like a little uh uh understand a little bit more. Still lost most of the time.

SPEAKER_02 8:00

Right now, saying, Don't worry, same, you are in good company there. Um, so for all of the young ladies watching, he is a young man. We're not asking if he's single ladies, because I know I saw his picture on your website.

SPEAKER_03 8:14

He is like Elvis Presley. Yes, and then I told him that. So he's like, Who is Elvis?

SPEAKER_02 8:20

My heart failed total fail on my part, total fail on his mother's part. Only one fail, though. It's okay. One fail. Oh, yes, I I saw his picture on your website. Uh gizmo goes.com. Correct, is that the website?

SPEAKER_03 8:33

Yes, uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 8:33

And ladies, don't don't go there just to look at that young man. Calm yourselves.

SPEAKER_03 8:37

But he is super handsome and he's tall, and he's very smart, and he's a good Christian.

SPEAKER_02 8:43

I mean, he's literally a great catch. We're gonna have to do another interview just talking about him because it just sounds amazing. He's he truly does sound like an amazing young man. So kudos to to your daughter and to you and your family for just raising such a wonderful young man. He just sounds like we're all very blessed.

SPEAKER_03 9:00

He teaches us how to do things the right way. He has more patience than we do.

SPEAKER_02 9:06

I love that. Yeah, that's the one thing I'm definitely lacking for sure. I don't I want everything, you know, five minutes ago. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:12

But that's what makes you that's what makes you an influencer.

SPEAKER_02 9:16

There you go. There you go. We'll go with listen. We're gonna take whatever positive we can get.

unknown 9:20

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 9:22

Um, one of the things that you said in your in your bio that I right away again, I keep calling you my spirit animal. I hope I hope you take that as a compliment, not an insult.

SPEAKER_03 9:33

Huge compliment. Are you kidding me? I'm not even in your same league.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

Oh, please, you surpass me by a mile. Um you said one of my favorite things that you are a Gen Xer, that uh what was it?

SPEAKER_03 9:47

You uh drink it from the from the hose and you know that's a t-shirt I saw we were raised on hose water and neglect.

SPEAKER_02 9:54

Such a fact, like such a fact. So right away there is I I feel this kinship for you, and and and I I just I just love it. You know, we we were we're raised, we were raised so differently than all of the gener all of the generations after us because we didn't have the smartphones, we didn't have the laptops and the iPads and the all of the things. We had the fresh air, the guard the garden hose and you know the grass outside.

unknown 10:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:22

Yeah, yeah. It's you know, it's it's such a a different um upbringing for for us versus the kids now. So I love that you are writing these books, these tangible books that they can hold in their hand and and you know, read with their parents or look through it on their

Family Collaboration Across Generations

SPEAKER_02 10:40

own, or those early readers, you know, they can read it on their own. So it's just um it's just wonderful. What do you hope children experience through your books that might be missing from this modern childhood?

SPEAKER_03 10:53

Well, I grew up making all of the classic mistakes. And I remember going to my friend's house, and her dad said to her something so simple. He just said, things will get worse before they get better.

SPEAKER_04 11:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:05

And it was just a little quip like that. And then I was like, wow, that's really good advice. I mean, it's just something to know. And then when I started working, I got a book from my mentor, boss, and it was the first time I'd actually read a book like this, and it was Zig Ziggler, see you at the top. And it was like, people don't care about how much you know until they know how much you care. And I was like, oh my gosh, this is like genius advice. I mean, all of these things that I read, and then the stories I just related to them. And so in the Gizmo Goes books, I try to take advice that I learned and incorporate them into the books. Like, for instance, uh, Gizmo goes to a baseball game when we went to the game from Gizmo's point of view, he was going to meet the mascot Chico, who was a little dog too. And of course, things go wrong, he winds up missing most of the game. But at the end, it's about being nice is more important than watching some few home runs. And then the baseball team owner is giving him advice on um, you may not always things work out your way, but don't forget to play, things like that. I mean, it's just little solid tidbits of advice written in a fun, cute way that Gizmo learns. Gizmo goes to Germany, is about because he's about to flunk service school, service dog school. So he goes to Germany with Fritz, named after my dad, as a service dog trainer, and he learns about discipline and you know being on time. And and also when writing Germany, I was trying to make the book very positive about Germany. I grew up there, my dad was German. And yeah, when you grow up in Germany, there's a lot of don't talk about this, don't talk about that, don't wave the flag because you're not allowed to be proud. There was like there's so many things that Germans can be proud of. So the book is about all the German inventions and all the things that Germany contributed to the world. And discipline is one of those things. Gizmo learns discipline, you know, there. Um, I going to Ireland is that luck is not something you find in a floral leaf clover because he was inspired by a box of cereal to go there. It's um yeah, I that luck is something that you create with your thoughts, your minds, and your actions. And I just thought these are great little tidbits of advice that I wish I would have learned younger. It would have saved me some heartaches, some headaches.

SPEAKER_02 13:21

Yes, same. So really, I think, you know, everyone watching in, you know, particularly our age range is all nodding their heads, like, yeah, yeah, same, same wonderful so yeah, and it is, you know, like you said, it's it's just such wonderful, timeless advice that can only set you or anyone up, I should say, um, for success, you know, and and by success I mean just like personal relationship success, which leads to everything else. So um to be sharing that for young children and and it does, you know, the things that they remember. We know the things that we remember that stick in our heads for us, not necessarily all great things. Um, but you know, for young kids to have these these uh notions and these ideas and these uh values kind of just downloaded into their little brains. Talk about using modernized terms for stuff, you know, downloaded into their brains. But but you know, but yeah, so to be getting these this timeless wisdom in in an enjoyable way, in a way that they don't even realize that they're learning something.

SPEAKER_03 14:24

Yeah, you know, doing all the learning. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:27

It's it's just what a wonderful, wonderful idea. By the way, a little side note if you don't mind, uh, I am also half German. My my grandparents and my my mom was born in Germany. So uh another, another connection for us. How fun is that?

SPEAKER_03 14:40

I am so honored.

SPEAKER_02 14:41

That is isn't that the coolest thing? I'm like, as you're talking, I'm like, what? Yeah, I love that. So we're talking about that your book includes, you know, those valuable life lessons. Um and I I kind of started with this and then I sidetracked myself. But um, do you think the children realize that they're they're learning while they're reading Gizmo's adventures? Like I always wonder like what they're what their perfect little brains are are thinking, right? If they're if they're like, oh, I just learned something new or they're just going right along with it. Love and Gizmo probably, right?

SPEAKER_03 15:15

You know what? Yeah, I don't know. But I do know I sprinkle in like every time we go on a trip, we learn something on the trip, whether you take a tour guide trip or whatever. So I include those lessons too. Like, for instance, I didn't know how Yellowstone began. And one of the first books we wrote was Gizmo Goes to Yellowstone. And the story about John Coulter, are you familiar with that?

SPEAKER_02 15:34

I'm not.

SPEAKER_03 15:35

So in the story, I tell this story. John Coulter, when he first went to Yellowstone, he couldn't believe it because there's muddles and I mean um mud puddles that pop and water that

Values Travel History Inside Stories

SPEAKER_03 15:45

springs up from the air. And as he's describing everything, the camera didn't exist, so he's drawing pictures of and describing it. Well, when he went back to tell the government what he's found, they thought he was crazy. They labeled him a madman, they made him nuts. I mean, nobody wanted to work with him or do anything. But of course, years later, more discoverers found out that he was telling the truth. But part of Yellowstone is called Culture's Hell.

SPEAKER_04 16:12

Because I put that in the book, even use the word hell.

SPEAKER_03 16:17

But yeah, yeah, but those kind of little lessons are like when we went to Ireland, we learned about the famine and why they all paint their doors different colors, and that story's in there. So there's little lessons about geography and things that I've picked up along the way too that I thought were interesting and cute.

SPEAKER_02 16:33

Yeah, that's so amazing. All of the elements that you're able to weave, because you said they're they're rhyming books too. So I mean, so the this is so I I hope you're all paying attention because this is so incredible. This is so fascinating to me. So you you married all of these wonderful elements into these stories. So you've got history, you've got values, you've got adventure, you've got geography, travel, all of these elements in these absolutely charming stories based on this real. And this is like the next part that I I love about it, is that it makes it so real because it is real, it is real. Like it, this is you've real, you know, gizmo is a a real dog who really exists, and and the adventures were real. It just such a fascinating thing you've done with these books. Um tell me a little bit about about these travels. Were you traveling for work or were these just um just travels?

SPEAKER_03 17:32

Um, I was working at an NBC affiliate in El Paso, and I was started traveling just for fun. I wound up hanging out so much with the promotions department and the cameraman, and they taught me how to take pictures, and I just became obsessed with photography. So at first we would go to travel just to take pictures, and then it became I got to retire a little bit, and so Gizmo went with me on like our Gizmo Goes to a road trip. That was a 17-day road trip from the from the Mexican flag to the Canadian flag.

SPEAKER_04 18:02

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_03 18:03

So I wouldn't have been able to do that how had I been working. So I got to retire for three years. Um, I since moved to Dallas and have to work again, but it was nice three years.

SPEAKER_02 18:13

That was a great three years. You made the best of those three years for sure. Oh my gosh. No, it's not fun, is it?

SPEAKER_03 18:23

It is not especially in a new big city. But I gotta tell you, Dallas is just as friendly as El Paso. I mean, for being market number four, I expected it to be tough, but they're just the greatest people here. I mean, I really enjoyed moving here. My whole family was here, so that's the wisest move.

SPEAKER_02 18:42

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's um a soft landing in a hard situation, right?

SPEAKER_03 18:47

Yeah, and I remember driving here, it was me, Gizmo, and my camera, my car is filled with stuff, and I'm crying. I mean, my marriage is ending, and I'm like, God, what am I doing? And I just heard him in my head saying, It's okay, I got you. And I was like, Okay, and he has. He hasn't, and as a matter of fact, I had three books done at that time. Um, and when I went back to work, COVID hit, so we just kind of I just stopped. Yeah, stopped writing the books, and then um I had been working at iHeartMedia for about a year and it got tough. And I was like, what else do I can I do? Because this is not working out the way I planned. I thought the superstar was gonna be when I walked in. And so that's what caused me to resubmit the books, where before I was self-publishing, now Scholastic picked them up and we made a deal to do 10 of them because I had had all those trips in the bag. Right. So had I had done better, then I wouldn't have restarted the book. So God does have a plan, and it's not exactly our plan. So we kind of get lost and you don't know what you're doing half the time, but you just have to believe and have faith that you're gonna be led in the right direction.

From Self Publishing To Scholastic

SPEAKER_03 19:55

And I believe that I have been led in this direction. Absolutely. I I spent a lot of time going, what rhymes with this, what rhymes with that. But you used the word earlier, it's they're almost like downloads. You know what I mean? As you're writing, and you're an author and you're a prolific author, so you know how that is. You you you're you go into the zone and then you go back and read it, and you're like, wow, that was really good. Like, wait, I wrote this?

SPEAKER_02 20:19

I don't even remember writing this. Yeah, it's it's an amazing. Um, the process is so amazing to me. You know, there's there's times, and I don't know if you've done this as well, but when you go back to like some of your previous work or earlier work, whatever the case is, um, and you read it and you're like, I mean, I don't even know who wrote this because I don't like you go on almost, it's like autopilot almost. And the the words just, you know, it's a it's a it's a cool experience. I highly recommend it to anyone who's ever willing to try it. It's it's a great experience. And you know, whatever you choose to do with it certainly is uh, you know, all good. But yeah, absolutely. Now you said that there are um there's is there's there's seven books out right now?

SPEAKER_03 21:01

There are seven books, yes. We just finished Gizmo Goes to a rodeo. That was the seventh one. Um, the three trips that we have, quote unquote, that I have pictures for that we've taken that we have left are Prague. That's the one I'm working on now. I'm just trying to think of the story. Yeah, and then Belgium and Holland. So those are the ones that we we have coming up in the next year.

SPEAKER_02 21:22

That's that's just amazing. And scholastic, I mean, that's that's no small accomplishment. That's a that's actually a very big deal. That's a really big deal.

SPEAKER_03 21:30

Yeah, my my sister is the librarian for one of the school districts. She had to get her master's degree for it, and so I make her read all of my books and she tests and approves them. And then, you know, it's so cute is we did a book reading, and I read a story, River read a story, my sister read a story, and then my daughter read a story. And my daughter, River, and I met after the book read. It was like, my dot, my sister has been reading to kindergartners for like 30 years, and now she's a librarian. When she reads a story. It comes to life. So we all made the executive decision that she was going to create our audiobooks. And we're so grateful my sister said yes. And if you have a chance to listen to the audiobook, my sister brings the stories to life like unbelievable. I mean, like Mike Rivers, like she's the Kobe Bryant of story reading. I mean, yeah, there the way she tells a story, it's so animated. I mean, I took her to iHeart with our producers there to read so that we could send the audio files to Scholastic. And all the producers was like, oh my gosh, she is so good. She's that good. She just read it straight through. It's like she's genius at that. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:39

That's incredible. Yeah. So that's really exciting. Yeah, right. Um, that's super exciting too because I I know like my daughter will, you know, she'll play, you know, kids' audio books in the car for them while they're driving, you know. So they're not, she's they've I I'm so impressed. They they've like eliminated, eliminated screen time almost entirely. Like it's just a very limited thing. And in this day and age, that's such a hard thing to do because it's like everywhere and everything. You know, the kids are walking around with their little tablets and the restaurant and all that stuff, and they kind of put the kiosk on it, you know. So they listen to uh audiobooks and of course songs and everything. Um, so I'm so excited to download all of these for the kids to listen to for their drives. I'm so excited, they're gonna love it so much.

SPEAKER_03 23:22

They're so good. Three of them are ready. We Yellowstone is ready, Road Trip is ready, and baseball's ready. And then the other four are in the they're recorded, but they're in the process of being done. So they'll be available in the next week or so.

SPEAKER_02 23:34

That is so cool. Now, if I remember right, you mentioned your grandson. Is he doing stuff with video now as well?

SPEAKER_03 23:40

Is that well, he did one. We did a uh a press release and he did the video for it. Since I work at iHeart um for Jingle Ball, they have this huge Jumbotron at the concert. So we bought that uh 30 seconds on the Jumbotron to play the commercials. So it was it was so exciting, it was so fun.

SPEAKER_02 23:58

Oh, I love that. So I mean, I in my head, I'm already going through like all of the things because this is what my mind does. All of the things that you can do with this and and go with this. Like, is there are there thoughts or plans for any type of either animated or like live action? Yes, there is.

SPEAKER_03 24:16

Yes, there's a matter of things. Tell me in fact, um, I had a phone call just two weeks ago about some people that are interested in putting it together as an animated series.

SPEAKER_02 24:26

Beautiful.

SPEAKER_03 24:26

So we're talking, so it's interesting. And one of the things that I was so excited about with my abilities is I learned how to do Photoshop, and it took me like 10 years to get to be really good at it, right? Like my covers. Obviously, there's a little Photoshop in the covers, but the pictures on the inside are all real and stuff. Now AI can do it in two seconds and better than I ever could.

SPEAKER_02 24:48

I mean, it's it's incredible, isn't it? It's so wild. It's such a game changer for for anyone and everyone willing to take the time to to to learn it and to use it for good, like that. It's so incredible.

SPEAKER_03 24:59

Yeah. I mean, you're still the pilot and AI's only the pilot, and it'll never have a soul, so it'll never be able to create, but it can like especially with numbers. Oh my gosh. Yeah, yeah, it's really incredible. It's changed the world, but yeah, I'm sure it's just gonna get even more sophisticated.

SPEAKER_02 25:16

No question about it. Oh my goodness. Um, so we know what I haven't asked you. What age group would you say that the books are are geared towards?

SPEAKER_03 25:25

Um I would say maybe five on up. I mean, they say even adults um yeah uh get some life lessons from them, and they're cute stories, and they take 10-15 minutes to read, so you're not committing forever. Right. You know, when you get a book and it's like this thing, it's like, oh my gosh, that's right. That's a big commitment.

SPEAKER_02 25:43

Yeah, that's a big commitment. No, no, those that sounds wonderful.

SPEAKER_03 25:48

Back before COVID, when we were doing school

Audiobooks Marketing And Future Animation

SPEAKER_03 25:50

group groups and readings at the schools, it would be like kindergartner, first grade, second grade. I think we did a fifth grade, and that was the oldest.

SPEAKER_02 25:58

That's awesome. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 25:59

But when we get the reviews, all the reviewers always say it's good for adults too. So maybe you're Gen X and didn't get the advice.

SPEAKER_02 26:06

Right? Yeah, exactly. I think that you know, it's funny. It's I do think it's important. I think, you know, things like Disney and stuff kind of for a while, sort of have the right idea, and then they always take everything too far. Um, but to create things that because we're sitting with our kids, either watching or listening, you know, whatever the case is, and if it's driving us nuts and if we're not enjoying it at all, there is a chance that we may not let our kids watch or listen or read whatever it might be. So to give that appeal to the parents as well, to find something in it, you know, is I mean, it's only beneficial. So yeah, absolutely. If you're sitting there reading the reading one of these books to your kids or grandkids in my case and uh other people's cases, you have a grandkid.

SPEAKER_03 26:50

That's just unbelievable.

SPEAKER_02 26:52

Thank you. Yep, four, four, and under. It's a wild, wild ride with those little ones. Oh my goodness. But you know, when you're reading that with them, it's like, okay, you're probably the one as the adult going, okay, one more. Let's just do one more.

unknown 27:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:05

Well, so many kids. I mean, there's no shortage of children's authors. I mean, there's just not. And there's so many kids' books out there. And a friend of mine said it the best way. She says, You read, it's like, a banana is yellow, a carrot is orange, an apple is red. And that's the extent. That's it. I was like, no, I've been writing since I was, I mean, a teenager crying over the boy that broke my heart. I've been writing, you know, a lot of sad poetry. I looked at a notebook, an old notebook the other day. I was like, man, I was a depressing teenager.

SPEAKER_02 27:33

Weren't we all so melodramatic back then? I think that's also part of the reason why we're so chill as adults, too. Like we got all our drama out of our system back then.

SPEAKER_03 27:41

That's a good way to look at it. Right.

SPEAKER_02 27:43

I mean, listen, not only was it, you know, hose water that we were living on, but it was also um um soap operas. Like we grew up on soap our parents, you know, our moms were watching soap operas when we got home from school. Right? Yeah, so we were raised very differently. So you know, we got it all out of our system. We're good.

unknown 28:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:05

Um, I have to ask you, do you have? It's probably really hard to pick. Do you have a favorite gizmo adventure? Like any one of these particular ones?

SPEAKER_03 28:14

Um, the last one I wrote is always my favorite. Um, the last one I wrote, Gizmo Goes to Rodeo. Um this one introduces Little Mean Jimmy Dean, my mom's other rescue dog. And his story, he has his own story. He was hit on the side of the road and he was left for dead. Nobody knows how long he laid there, but somebody picked him up and took him to a kill shelter where he stayed in a cage, and a rescue group called Cody's found him. That's who my mom volunteers for. They tried to save his leg a couple of times. Um, they couldn't. He had a couple of surgeries, so he was only eight months old. This poor dog has been through so much. Yeah. So he's obviously a little angry and a little aggressive, so that's why he's named Little Mean Jimmy Dean.

SPEAKER_02 29:00

Such another great name.

unknown 29:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:03

But my mom fell in love with him and she's like, Gizmo needs a brother. So yeah, but we love him exactly the way he is. And so we just ordered a little wheelchair for him to make his walk because he's starting to um get a little tired at the end of the walk. So I figure this could just help him out and make his walks a little bit better for him. But um, gizmo taught him how to be a little kinder, a little gentler. His circle of trust is still small, but if you meet him the second time, he'll let you in. So he's learning. He's just I love that. Yeah, but Gizmo Goes to a rodeo is how to treat people kindly because you don't know their story. Right. Even when somebody barks at you or you know, maybe think about what they're going through. You know, you never know. And that's what Gizmo Goes to a Rodeo is all about. And and maybe it'll help other dogs that are like Jimmy Dean help get adopted. You know, they're not so new all the time.

SPEAKER_02 29:54

Oh, I love that because those are the ones, man, they need it the most. And those are always the ones that you know get get passed by because they, you know, they have some behavioral issue.

SPEAKER_03 30:04

He was uh uh yeah, he was not adoptable. A couple of people did try to adopt him, but he just barked at the other dog or barked at the kids. He's he's not mean it for reels. I mean, he's just scary.

SPEAKER_02 30:15

Yeah, it's just a fear reaction, right? Yeah, exactly. Oh we need more people like you in the world. Can we just clone you and just please you know multiple right? You're just you're just sweet and wonderful and talented, and you put these wonderful things out into the into the world for other people to uh enjoy. And I think that's such a treasure and such a gift to just put out in the world. Um do you, once this series is done, do you have plans for uh any type of different genres or more children's books, or do you need to put a a pause on that? Because it's a lot of books.

SPEAKER_03 30:50

I mean, it's a lot in a it's seven and we have the ten. Yeah. Um we so I've got three to go, and then afterwards, probably maybe hopefully do some more adventures and start writing some more.

SPEAKER_02 31:02

I love that. Yes, well, I highly encourage that because you have a true and genuine gift, and and uh, like I said, you're putting out wonderful things in the universe. Could you do me the huge favor of telling everybody where they can find uh your books, tell them your website again and and anything else you want them to know that I may have forgotten to ask?

SPEAKER_03 31:21

Um yeah, I do want to tell a little bit of a story about Gizmo. Um the the books can all be found at gizmogos.com. Um, they're available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Walmart, anywhere you can find books online, you can find them there. Um back in 2024, and um this is why I know these books are gonna

Kindness Lessons From Rodeo Adventure

SPEAKER_03 31:45

be they're gonna be fine because um back in 2024, you you I know you believe in miracles, so this is a better sweet one. Okay back in 2024, Gizmo was diagnosed with kidney failure. And we played Matthew West's song, Don't Stop Praying, over and over and over again, and took him to the medical centers. We did everything that we could. Um, Gizmo did not make it.

SPEAKER_02 32:13

Oh, I'm so sorry.

SPEAKER_03 32:15

So I lost him in 2024. I never put it on Facebook, I never talked about it, I just couldn't. He's buried at my sister's house where she's got horses. He's got a little tuft to parry in here.

SPEAKER_04 32:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:28

Um, we had done three books when he passed away, and I had told Scholastic I couldn't do it anymore, so we kind of canceled the whole thing.

SPEAKER_04 32:37

Sure.

SPEAKER_03 32:38

And it was Connard is Scholastic after a few months had passed. He's like, you know, I've really been thinking about this. And had we put everything out there, and then Gizmo got sick, the whole series would have been tainted with his passing. He goes, now maybe we can move forward and create a legacy for Gizmo.

SPEAKER_04 32:57

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:58

And um, there's another song by Ray Stevenson's When We Fall Apart. Oh my gosh, that song. And it talks about I'm your legacy, even though you're it's your love that's keeping me together. So that's what keeps me going. And I I was I know everybody has their heart dog that of course, oh yeah, when we lose them, they're not here. Um so I just continue to have faith and pray. And then after about six months, um I started working with Scholastic again, but the heart was not in the project. Sure, I get that. Um, six months into it, I am doom scrolling on TikTok and I see this little dog that looks almost exactly like Gizmo.

SPEAKER_04 33:46

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 33:46

I'm like, oh, it hurts, keep going. Yeah. Um, the next day I see the same little dog, and this time there's a song playing that says, Pick me, pick me. And I'm like, God, why are you doing this? This hurts, stop. And but I clicked on it and I read his story. This is a little dog that was in a grooming breeding situation. He'd been in a cage for six months. Oh six months living in a cage. Um, he was adopted finally, but the rescue, the adoptive person didn't pick him up. So the foster's like, I don't know what to do, I can't keep him. So she posted me on Facebook, and I just happened to see it. So I was like, you know what, God, give me a sign. Is this is should I adopt this dog? And in my ear, I heard it's gizmo, but he doesn't remember. I don't know if that was wishful thinking or what. So I click on the link, I fill out the adoption thing, thinking for sure this dog is already long gone. No, she calls me.

SPEAKER_02 34:42

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_03 34:43

Yeah, and she says, Yes, this dog is still available for adoption. Now, let me go back for a second. When I first found Gizmo and the the story, Gizmo goes to Yellowstone, Gizmo doesn't have a tail. When he goes to Yellowstone, he's look talking to all the animals to find the perfect tail. And in the end, it's about accepting yourself for who you are, right? Well, so when she sends me pictures of Henry, Henry the adoptive dog, um, I call her back. I was like, Is he missing a tail? And she goes, Yes, the groomer accidentally cut it off. I was like, I gotta go get him. That's my dog. That's my dog. So I fill out the application and they're like, We're sorry, you're in Dallas, we're in New York. Oh we have to do home inspections, we have to do this, you cannot qualify for this dog. Well, after much begging, pleading, and a donation, we did a video home express. They did everything that they had to do. So that weekend I went and picked him up.

unknown 35:38

What?

SPEAKER_03 35:39

And so now we are willing to do book reads again because his name is TikTok.

SPEAKER_04 35:46

Oh, I love it.

SPEAKER_03 35:48

Yeah, and his n his middle name is Gizmo. Oh, and he looks exactly like Gizmo, and he's exactly six months old, exactly how old Gizmo was when I found him. And when I found Gizmo, and this is how I know it's God's miracle for me.

SPEAKER_04 36:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:04

Because I was so brokenhearted, I just couldn't do it. And I know it affects people. Um, but when I found Gizmo, we wanted to give him a birthday. So we counted back six months and we made his birthday Valentine's Day. So we every February 14th, we went to Arby's, which was his favorite, and we celebrate his birthday. Well, TikTok, when I got all of his paperwork, everything was dated February 14th. That's when he got

Grief Legacy And A New Dog

SPEAKER_03 36:30

all of his injections and everything.

SPEAKER_02 36:31

So it's meant to be.

SPEAKER_03 36:33

So that's why I feel so confident that this series is the right thing. Yes. Oh my goodness. He's always a part of me.

SPEAKER_02 36:41

Yeah, absolutely. Oh my, what an absolutely incredible story. And you know every day. Oh, I yeah, and you're so right. We all have that that one dog. And if we're lucky, we have more than one we have that that love for like that. Ours was our Max. He was a big old German shepherd. And just the yeah, oh my gosh, just the best boy. And uh, yeah, so I'm sure everyone listening and and watching this is thinking of of their their dog that uh they they love like this. And you know, what a blessing for us to to have something, someone in our life to love like that. So it's you know, the pain, they always say the pain is is worth, you know, it's uh what's the saying? The price of um grief is yeah, it's like great love, or the price of great love is grief, and it's like, yeah, you know, it's it's the price that um we should, as hard as this, be willing to pay over and over again because there is nothing that takes the place of great love, whether whether it's for another human being, whether it's for your beloved pet, you know, whatever the case is. Um we're so we're just so blessed to have things to love like that in our lives, right?

SPEAKER_03 37:53

And dogs show us how to love unconditionally, they're just so good at it. Where we work so hard and we mess up, they're so good at it. I mean, yeah, it doesn't matter how bad you mess up, there they are, just so happy to see you again. They don't judge you for not hitting budget or whatever, they don't care. They're just they just love you, and I think that's the way God is too. He just loves us, and we're we're just very hard on ourselves, but we sure are.

SPEAKER_02 38:16

We sure are. Thank goodness for our for our animals for sure. And little TikTok. I love you.

SPEAKER_03 38:22

We're in here somewhere. TikTok and Jimmy. TikTok is um tick tock, come say hi. So this is TikTok. Hi, TikTok. Hi, buddy. Hi, honey.

SPEAKER_02 38:34

They never like cameras, it's so funny.

SPEAKER_03 38:36

Yeah, see, this is Gizmo on Gizmo Goes to Germany, and TikTok is on the cover of Gizmo Goes to Romeo. So that's his introduction.

SPEAKER_02 38:43

Love that. Hi, buddy. Well, we're so glad he made an appearance for us.

SPEAKER_03 38:47

Hi, we can wrap the heart back into the project. He's all covered. I'm so glad. Yeah, and he's but he's definitely missing a tale, just like Mr. Giz.

SPEAKER_02 38:57

That's that is just uh uh uh un amazing. I don't want to say unbelievable because I believe it a hundred percent, but it's so amazing. Yeah, oh well deserved. Oh, I know.

SPEAKER_03 39:06

I'm doing the right thing. The stories are a download, it's they're all yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:13

Oh my goodness. Heidi, I can't thank you enough for spending this time with me. And of course, our viewers and our listeners. This was such a treat. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 39:22

Are you kidding me? This was a treat for me. I'm so honored. I was like, when they sent me like, oh Kurt, are you kidding me? I was like, she's gonna have a sit-in.

SPEAKER_02 39:31

Oh, well, thank you. You just you know made my head, my my ego so big, I'm never gonna be able to fit through the door of the studio.

SPEAKER_03 39:38

Well, you'll just have to tell Clay to move over.

SPEAKER_02 39:40

There you go. Yeah, get out of the way, Clay. My ego needs to have more room. Oh my goodness. Thank you again. And uh, I hope you'll come back again another time and and tell us more more adventures and and great stuff. So thank you again.

SPEAKER_03 39:53

I would be honored and thank you. Thank you, thank you so much for what you do and for spreading your light and your knowledge and your wisdom. And you have many followers like me.

SPEAKER_02 40:02

Thank you so much. I appreciate that. All right, my friends, thank you all so much for watching. We'll see you guys in the next episode. We will have all of those links in the show notes for you. Don't you worry, you'll be able to get them right away. Take care. Bye-bye.

Closing And Confident Interview Guide

SPEAKER_01 40:15

You've got a story worth sharing. Now it's time to tell it well. Whether you're an author, entrepreneur, influencer, or podcast guest, stepping in front of the camera or microphone can feel overwhelming. On the other side of the mic is your practical, encouraging guide to becoming a confident, authentic, and engaging interviewee. Written by media personality and best selling author Elsa Kurt, this book blends real world wisdom from hundreds of interviews with a touch of humor, grace, and heart. It's more than a how to, it's a roadmap to presence, professionalism, and peace in every conversation.