Interview with Laura Carroll & Win Free Kindle Fire HD!


Laura Carroll is the author of The Baby Matrix: Why Freeing Our Minds From Outmoded Thinking About Parenthood & Reproduction will Create a Better World, Families of Two: Interviews With Happily Married Couples Without Children by Choice, and Finding Fulfillment From the Inside Out.
In addition to writing nonfiction books, she has worked over the last 15 years as a business and litigation psychology consultant and used her expertise in behavioral sciences, psychology, and communications to advise business, legal, and nonprofit professionals on their communications strategies and goals.
Laura is a seasoned leader of personal and professional development seminars, and has appeared on a variety of television shows, including Good Morning America and The Early Show. She has been a guest on many radio talk shows to discuss social science topics.
You’ll also find her online at her nonfiction book site, LiveTrue Books, and her top blog, La Vie Childfree.

To learn more about Laura, go to her website: http://lauracarroll.com/


Q: Welcome to The Writer's Life, Laura.  Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how long you’ve been writing?

I have been writing nonfiction for over 10 years. In addition to The Baby Matrix, I am the author of Families of Two: Interviews With Happily Married Couples Without Children by Choice and Finding Fulfillment From the Inside Out.

The inspiration for my books has come in a myriad of ways. My husband and I have no children by choice, and Families of Two came as a result of my own personal curiosity about happily married couples who have made the same decision and who are going the distance. I looked for a book about this, could not find one, so I decided to create one myself!

Finding Fulfillment From the Inside Out came as an outgrowth of what I learned about finding purpose and meaning in life from past work I’ve done with people who were laid off from their jobs.

With The Baby Matrix, I started by wanting to dig deeper into why society finds the choice to have no children hard to totally accept. My research led me to a much larger picture I realized everyone needed to know more about whether they have children or not.

Q: Can you please tell us about your book and why you wrote it?

The Baby Matrix looks at why it is time for us to take a hard look at a set of beliefs that has influenced how we have thought about parenthood and reproduction for generations. That set of beliefs is called pronatalism. At its core is the belief that having children should be the central focus of every adult’s life. The book:

- examines the historical origins of pronatalist beliefs
- explains why these beliefs have become so embedded such that people see them as “true”
- scrutinizes seven major pronatalist assumptions that lead people to accept them without question
- offers alternative mindsets that reflect realities, true reproductive freedom and responsibility in today’s society

The more I learned about pronatalism, the more I saw the negative impacts of its influence, was very surprised that many people aren’t aware of this—and even don’t even know what pronatalism is. I saw the real need for people to know what it is and how it is affecting us today.

Whether readers are parents, want to be parents, or don’t want children, after reading The Baby Matrix they will never think about parenthood in the same way.

Q: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced writing it?

The more I dug into pronatalism the more I saw how embedded the beliefs that comprise it have become. They have become such the norm that people think they are reality. It was challenging to figure out how to structure the book so people would deeply understand their pronatalist beliefs, the origins of those beliefs, and be willing to look at alternative mindsets that reflect realities in today’s world.

Q: Do you have a press kit and what do you include in it?  Does this press kit appear online and, if so, can you provide a link to where we can see it?

The press kit consists primarily of a release that has links to the book. 

Here is the link to the release put out by my radio and television media publicist: http://talkguests.com/lauracarroll.htm


Q: Have you either spoken to groups of people about your book or appeared on radio or TV?  What are your upcoming plans for doing so?

Upon the release of Families of Two, it received national attention; I made many major media appearances, such as syndicated radio and network television, including Good Morning America and The Early Show. The same publicist who worked media for that book is hot on the case for the same with The Baby Matrix!

Q: Do you have an agent and, if so, would you mind sharing who he/is is?  If not, have you ever had an agent or do you even feel it’s necessary to have one?

I have had an agent in the past, but these days, I do not. I decided to self-publish The Baby Matrix. I worked with excellent freelance editors and an amazing cover artist to develop the book. With the digital world as it is today, and with such good editorial, digital and other media publicity experts out there, there is less need to follow the traditional publishing path for excellent book production and promotion.  

Q: Did you, your agent or publisher prepare a media blitz before the book came out and would you like to tell us about it?

My publicist who is working on radio and television media and I devised a plan, and I have done the same with Pump Up Your Book for my “virtual” book tour, which is now underway!

Q: Do you plan subsequent books?

Yes! I only write nonfiction, so the next one that is currently percolating is just that…and that’s all I will say for now!
  
Q: Thank you for your interview, Laura.  Would you like to tell my readers where they can find you on the web and how everyone can buy your book?

Readers can find me at my website: http://lauracarroll.com, my book review site, LiveTrue Books at http://livetruebooks.com, and my blog, La Vie Childfree, http://laviechildfree.com

The paperback and digital version of The Baby Matrix can be found on amazon.com. Digital versions can also be purchased at barnesandnoble.com, itunes Ibookstore, and LiveTrue Books.


To get your copy of The Baby Matrix by Laura Carroll at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Baby-Matrix-Parenthood-Reproduction/dp/0615642993/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1339007434&sr=8-2

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5 comments:

  1. not easy to leave a comment this morning...had to try several times
    Just want to invite you to stop by my blog a moment...
    http://amethysteyesauthor.blogspot.ca/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Should they? No, but they will. People love to demonstrate how they are superior to others and those with sposues, children, good jobs, etc will always find a way to denigrate those who fall short of what they believe is "right." It is how we are taught to behave. (No, it is not "human nature" but a learned behavior.)

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  3. Very interesting. TFS

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  4. No! People should have the choice whether or not they want to have kids.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Interesting topic! Will take a look at it.

    ReplyDelete

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