Kyle Rawleigh

Kyle-Rawleigh---Rise-of-Neon
Kyle Rawleigh is a husband and proud father to four children, He work as a logistics nerd for a garbage company by day, and writes chapter books about unicorns for his kids by night!  The bedtime story he created for his girls is called Chronicles of the Unicorn Kingdom and so far two books have been published of a four part series.

  1. Tell us about the featured book. What is it about, and why did you choose to write this story?
    Rise of Neon is the second book in a four-part series called Chronicles of the Unicorn Kingdom.  The books are an action/adventure fantasy series based on a group of girls that live in Minnesota.  These stories began as a bedtime story that I made up for my children.

  2. Tell us a little about your writing process. What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book? What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
    Each chapter of all my books was one part of the story I told to my three daughters each night before bed.  Usually, they love what I make up, but every now and then they ask me to change some things and I take their feedback and adjust.  After I’ve finished the bedtime story telling and got all my notes from what they liked and didn’t like, I write it down.  After I’ve written it, I have a few close family members help me proofread it.  The final step is my oldest daughter, Liv, reading the book before I send it to the publisher.  She is 9 years old, and the stories are written for children ages 8-12.  She highlights any words that she doesn’t know the meaning of and I adjust them all so it better fits her grade level (and my target audience!).

  3. Are there any writers or authors who have influenced your writing? If not, who are some of your favorite writers?
    I would say I have three favorite authors.  First is JK Rowling because I think Harry Potter is the greatest story ever told!  Second, we love Sarah Mlynowski, author of the Whatever After series.  This is such a fun series to read to my children and it’s perfect for their age.  All the books are a blast and there are tons of them!  Third, I LOVE Mo Willems.  I often incorporate humor into my writing, and I think Mo Willems is an outstanding writer with an amazing sense of humor.

  4. What inspired you to start writing? What is your favorite place to go for inspiration and/or your favorite place to write? 
    My inspiration was 100% my children.  They asked me to make up a bedtime story and I was originally just writing all this down to give them as a gift.  I never dreamed any of the work would be published, but lucky for us – other children seem to enjoy our bedtime story, too!

  5. When you’re not writing, what do you like to do in your spare time? 
    I still work as a logistics nerd for a garbage company for my day job.  In my spare time, I coach soccer, watch the Vikings, hunt, and I LOVE firing up my smoker and cooking gigantic meals for my wife and our four children.  If I have any other free time, I write!

  6. Favorite place to go to in Minnesota? 
    There are several places in Minnesota that I love, but I’d say my favorite spot to take the kiddos or spend a date night with my wife would have to be downtown Stillwater.

  7. Where can readers find you online? 
    Facebook: @cotukstories
    Instagram: @cotukstories