Ever dreamed of being a New York Times Best Selling author? Well today’s Creative Queso Podcast guest Natalie Lloyd did just that and more. Not just the New York Times, a Snicker of Magic has won praise from Amazon, NPR, Parents Magazine and most recently has been optioned by Sony Tri-Star for television. All of Natalie’s books – The Key to the Extraordinary, Over the Moon and her series The Problim Children are that special type of young adult fiction novel that adults enjoy just as much as the kids. My 10 year old daughter would have loved to conduct this entire interview asking Natalie all about the nuances of her books, but this interview is for those of you who are still dreaming about writing your own book.
Listen in to my entire conversation with author Natalie Lloyd on the Creative Queso Podcast Episode #30 on

The Key to the Extraordinary
Author Natalie Lloyd has led a pretty extraordinary life. In this episode we talk about hot burning questions that aspiring authors might have like….
- What is a querry letter?
- How do you summon the creative muse when working with a deadline?
- Do you need a literary agent?
- How much press and marketing lies on an authors shoulders?
PLUS we of course talk about young adult fiction and why Natalie gravitated to this genre and continues to flourish and thrive there.

New York Times Best Seller
You can’t help but wonder if the expectations of writing change after making the New York Times Best Seller List. In this episode Natalie and I talk about dealing with those pressures, what is expected of an author after publication and how you learn to write even when you are not in the mood. As Natalie herself puts it: “how do I sit down and find the joy and chase a story and not immediately start editing before I’ve even written anything.”
Books by Natalie Lloyd
- A Snicker of Magic
- The Key to the Extraordinary
- Over the Moon
- The Problim Children
- The Problim Children: Carnival Catastrophe

“I used to think I would write novels someday”
As Natalie says: “I used to think I would write novels someday. Someday when I was more talented, had more life experience, more whatever. Finally I realized Someday was a poor excuse not to write the stories burning inside my heart now. I think one of the biggest hurdles in creating anything is just starting. Just giving yourself permission to get it on the page (or any workspace) even if it’s messy. When you get back to it later, you’ll be surprised by the beauty in that mess. ”
The entire podcast episode with Natalie is full of pearls of wisdom for creatives like this one.

Even if you don’t have children give Natalie and her special books a try. All the characters, towns and ice cream flavors come to life in her writing so vividly. Fingers crossed on that Snicker of Magic TV series!
If you loved this episode of the Creative Queso Podcast be sure to also check out…
- Kathy Cano Murillo – DIY Maven, creative motivational speaker and fiction author.
- Andrea Pippins – Artist, author and children’s book illustrator.
- Danielle Kurtz – Director of Marketing for Kid Made Modern.
This episode was brought to you by Sticker You!