Women Who Inspire: Stacy C. Bauer

This week we at Christian Women Living Magazine had the opportunity to interview a self-published children’s author who was featured on her local CBS station in Minnesota. Meet Stacy C. Bauer, teacher, author, and self-publisher.

Cyndi Kay: Please introduce yourself to our readers.
Stacy Bauer: My name is Stacy C. Bauer. I’m a mother of 2 (Camden- 10, Wyatt- 8), wife for 16 years, teacher of 17 years (everything from kindergarten-8th grade math), self-published children’s author and owner of a publishing company. I am passionate about children, writing, reading, music, God, nature, and my family.

CK: Please give us a brief testimony about your journey with Christ.
SB: I grew up Catholic, going to church every Sunday. My parents gave me a great start. I was enrolled in Sunday School and received all of the sacraments. I didn’t really have a relationship with Christ though. I was just “going through the motions”. Sure, I prayed every night and at meals, but the only time I really thought about God and went to church was when I was back at home. My husband and I were married in a Lutheran church (where he grew up) by his pastor and my priest. We had our 2 children, both baptized in the Catholic church, but we didn’t attend regularly. It wasn’t until after we had our second child that we decided to find a church. We decided to “try out” the covenant church down the road- mostly because of how close it was to our house and it wasn’t Lutheran or Catholic. It’s been 8 years and we’ve been there ever since. It’s through that church that I truly found Jesus. My husband has struggled with addiction since we’ve been together; and getting involved in the church saved our marriage and our lives. We joined a life group, made supportive friends, and love that the pastors are men/women who are our age and understand the struggles and stresses of a family. They accepted us for who we were, faults and all, and taught me that God loves me as I am. (I’ve always felt like I wasn’t enough.) We both joined Bible studies and work with the children’s ministry, and I play piano on the worship team. We are at the church 3-4 times/week. Through those Bible studies, relationships I’ve built at church and ministries I do there, I have changed. I have learned so much more about Jesus and the Bible. I enjoy growing in my faith and look forward to continued growth throughout the remainder of my life. I have struggled with control issues and perfectionism my entire life. Getting closer to God has allowed me to let go of that control and the anxiety that things won’t go the way I “think” they should. I am a work in progress and that’s okay. He loves me just as I am.

CK: How does your Christian walk influence your writing?
SB: I am a children’s author. My goal is to write books that will bring families closer together through conversation and through reading the books. My books focus on family values, honesty, kindness, joy, patience, self-control- attributes that I believe are modeled to us by Jesus. I am currently working on books that showcase the fruits of the spirit.

CK: When did you first become interested in writing?
SB: I’ve been writing since I was about 7 years old. I started with journals (and still keep one), then started making up stories. I wrote poetry in high school. I went to college and graduated with a degree in elementary education, became a teacher, got married, and had kids, but I never forgot my passion for writing.

CK: At what point did you know that you wanted to write on a professional level?
SB: I’ve always wanted to publish a book. Three years ago, while on leave from my teaching career to be home with my young son, I decided to go for it!

CK: Tell us the inspiration behind the Cami and Wyatt brand.
SB: My children inspired my brand. I knew I wanted something similar to “The Berenstain Bears”- books that were funny and fun to read, but that taught a lesson. Books that parents and teachers would use to encourage their children and to bring them closer together. I made a list of funny things my kids have done and the lessons they could teach and went from there.

CK: What are the lessons, or the “take-aways” from your books?
SB: So far I have lessons about healthy choices, honesty and listening to your parents (Too Many Sweets), organization, responsibility and having more than you need (Too Much Stuff), treating others with kindness, being patient (Practice Patience) and spending time with family and friends, focusing on what’s most important in life (Too Much Screen Time).

CK: Was the process of becoming a published author what you expected?
SB: No! I thought it would be easy! I remember thinking “I’ll just write a book!” So…I wrote the first book, then didn’t know what to do! I had never known anyone who had published a book before. I asked my family and friends and luckily, my sister graduated with someone who had just started her own publishing company and published her first book. I met up with her and she helped me get started. I never knew that besides an author, I also had to be a marketer, a salesperson, a website designer, a social media expert, a financial planner, an accountant, and more! I had to raise money to publish the books and get them printed (I ran 3 successful Kickstarter campaigns), I had to get the books on Amazon and figure out how to run ads, I had to get involved in social media, I do school visits, TV appearances and more! It’s SO much, but I am so blessed to have many family and friends encouraging me as I pursue my dream.

CK: Do you have any upcoming projects in the making?
SB: I just published my fifth book this week: Cami and Wyatt Practice Patience. It’s part of my plan to do books focusing on the fruits of the spirit. My next book is about being humble.

CK: Can you recall a time when you know that God was the provision in a specific situation?
SB: Yes, many times! The first time I remember really giving things to God was after I had had 2 miscarriages and I found out I was pregnant for the third time. I was SO anxious and worried that I was going to lose that baby too. I remember not being able to sleep, thinking about it nonstop, crying etc. One night, I just prayed and said “God, please take this from me. I can’t do this on my own. Whatever Your will God, let it be.” I felt this huge weight literally lifted from my shoulders and got warm goosebumps all over my entire body. While my husband was struggling with his addictions, there were many times (actually daily) that I prayed, and only when I prayed, was I able to calm myself down and go on.

CK: How has the Covid crisis most impacted your professional (and personal, if you want to discuss it) life? And do you see incorporating lessons learned during this pandemic into future writing?
SB: As an author, I LOVE is visiting schools and talking with students and teachers about writing. I had several author visits lined up when the virus hit- all of which were cancelled. I also love getting out in my community for storytime at the library, author signings in local shops and author events and those have all been cancelled. A couple of the small bookstores that carry my books have closed, which is very sad. In March, my children got sent home from school permanently and that changed things in our house dramatically. I went from having 4-5 hours every day to work on writing and marketing to using those hours to help my kids with distance learning. I now spend time after the kids go to bed doing the things I was doing during the day, resulting in less time with my husband and less sleep. On the bright side, our family has spent a lot more time together, saved money and I’ve learned that it’s okay to just stay home and relax (I’m normally go go go). I may write a children’s book about staying home…

CK: What would you tell someone who would like to work as a professional author?
SB: The best thing I did was join authors groups on Facebook. I’ve met and made so many close author friends who’ve helped and supported me these past couple of years. No one else understands how hard this is than other writers. Have confidence in yourself, take risks, and push yourself out of your comfort zone!

CK: How can our readers get in touch with you?

SB: Website: www.stacycbauer.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/stacycbauer
Instagram: www.instagram.com/stacycbauer

On behalf of Christian Women Living Magazine, I would like to thank Stacy for the opportunity to share her story with our readers.