Who are you?
My name is Douglas Harris. I am a business executive and write children’s books with my two daughters as a hobby. I live in Santa Barbara with my wife, three children, and two dogs.
What do you write?
I started writing children’s books almost ten years ago when my then eight-year-old daughter, Bailey, asked me if I could help her write a children’s book. She was inspired to write this book after watching Cosmos, A Spacetime Odyssey with our family. In that evening’s episode, the host and narrator Neil deGrasse Tyson said, “The planets, the stars, the galaxies, we ourselves and all of life—the same star stuff.” She wanted to share how amazing this is with everyone! We released the book My Name is Stardust three years later. This resulted in a three-book children’s book series. Four years ago, my youngest daughter asked me if I could help her write a book and we released Elle the Humanist together. Writing books with my daughters and watching them explore their passions is one of the top joys of my life. I’ve since written a book on my own, Don’t Be Mean to 13, that was released in October of 2023.
Where do you write?
We brainstorm and write together in our family room where we can sit around a table together. We use a laptop to make our notes and to outline the stories while surrounding ourselves with pictures and photos from science and philosophy books or from pictures we’ve printed from the internet.
When do you write?
My daughters and I generally set a book release timing date with online retailers and work backwards from there. We give ourselves plenty of time since this is something we do in addition to our full-time schedules at school and work. We start by outlining the story together page by page. This includes roughing out imagery since this plays such an important role in telling a story to children. At that point, we work with parents and children to ensure that the storyline is understood and then we work to refine the story before sending it to our science or philosophy experts for review. We generally send it to our copy editor at every step of the way for feedback as well.
Why do you write?
I believe that is important to teach our children how to think, not what to think. My wife and I have used the scientific method to help teach our children how to find truth and have seen them use this to navigate the world in a constructive way. This has even been important in allowing them to question our beliefs and political leanings and I find that this helps them to be more open-minded and open to other viewpoints rather than believing things dogmatically. My hope is that our books help children learn how to think and also inspire them have a passion for life and this world.
How do you overcome writer's block?
I have an amazing copy-editor who doubles as inspiration for overcoming writer’s block. He’s a better writer than I am and he helps me detangle thoughts when I get caught up.
Bonus: What do you enjoy doing when not writing?
My favorite thing is to attend my kids’ soccer games, but outside of that, I love to get out in the ocean to surf!
My thanks to Douglas Harris for today's interview.