Meet Audrey Galex | author, voice over and on-camera talent, storyteller

We had the good fortune of connecting with Audrey Galex and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Audrey, how do you think about risk?
I decided to take the scariest question on the list, the question about risk, because, by and large, I have been risk-averse throughout my life: I will get right up to the edge of leaping, and then find all the excuses known to humanity not to do it. (i.e., there’s not enough time. I don’t know enough. I don’t have the financial resources. I don’t know where to go for support. )The list goes on and on until, in exhaustion, I’d ask myself why I wanted to take a risk in the first place. I also needed everything to be perfect before taking the risk; even while knowing that nothing is ever perfect in life.

But there’s nothing like a deadline to grab one’s attention. As I started to inch toward an age when people often begin to retire, as people I love began to fall ill and die (i.e., my parents who were only 20 years older than me,) I started to feel less creative and less connected to my primary career I began to feel as if all those earlier excuses not to take a risk were not obstacles but simply questions I needed to address. They were invitations to prepare, not warnings to get off the road. And so, for once, I leaped, even knowing that not everything was perfect but good enough. I told myself that this first writing project, an illustrated children’s book, would be my creative laboratory: I would use it to teach myself how to address all my questions about process, product, pricing, promotion, etc. I would, in essence, learn to take calculated risks, incrementally. That is, one small, instructional step at a time!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Like so many of us, I’ve had a circuitous route to becoming the published author of a children’s book (and, with time, more than one!)

I set out to join the diplomatic corps to bring peace to the Middle East, pivoted into a career in television journalism, then managed volunteers at a nursing home, before returning to work in television programming. Meantime, I’d write in the wee hours of the morning or late at night whatever was on my heart – short stories, essays, poems. They all went into a manila folder, hidden in a hanging file, and were stuffed into a file drawer with other folders that said things like “Storytelling – Jewish,” or “Personal Storytelling Workshop.” Let’s just say that life took many twists and turns, with marriage, living abroad, children, LIFE!

My love of storytelling began in childhood, hearing the family saga as told to me by my beloved grandmother, Sugie. One day, as a young adult, I wandered into a library where a Reader’s Theatre was in progress. I was transfixed. No real stage, no set, just people and words, sound effects, facial expressions, and gestures. The performance allowed the audience to fill in the imaginative blanks. Magic. I wanted to create that, and so started dabbling in storytelling performance. Storytelling would become a “glorified hobby.” My first public performance was a tandem telling of “Casey at the Bat.”

Years later, when my kids were. young, I turned my passion for collecting personal, family, and community stories into a business, Roots & Wings Life Stories. A colleague of mine from CNN became my business partner and trusted, dear friend. We often joked that we didn’t get rich, but our lives were enriched by the people we had the privilege to meet, and the stories they shared. All that time, I’d write in the “between” places, on scraps of paper, dictated into the “notes” function on my cellphone as I commuted to work.

What changed my informal writing into a published book was finally having the courage to show someone else a short story I’d written about facing and overcoming life’s obstacles using turtles as the cast of characters. The woman I shared the story with was already a published author of Young Adult novels. After she read my story she asked me a question that cracked open the story – about something she thought was missing, something that might confuse children. In answering her question I discovered that the story had more emotional depth and that its multiple character-building messages of perseverance, teamwork, grit, courage, curiosity, and friendship needed to be shared with others.

From that moment, it was as if my fears of “putting myself out there” and all those doubts about my skills and resources were replaced by cautious courage: I asked for advice. I weighed my options. Any “gremlins” (aka, anxiety, worry, fear, embarrassment, etc) were told to step aside.

What I want the world to know is that whatever you truly wish to do, get going! Take the first step, find your footing, and then take another. Be vulnerable. Have thick skin. Be willing to think of a Plan B, if Plan A doesn’t work out (i.e., you get rejected by multiple agents, self-publish.)

The journey may not be fast, and you may even lose sight of your goal, but press forward, find allies, ask questions, and be patient (but not too patient!)

And, you never know: Even though peace in the Middle East remains a pipe dream, perhaps the combatants need the very lessons that my book, Turtle Rocks, embodies, including finding creative solutions to seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This is a great question because I love exploring the metro area. There are SO many places I’d take them, but let’s see:

Breakfast – Bomb Biscuit followed by a walk on the Eastside Beltline. Lunch somewhere on the Beltline, probably “Rina” for falafel or a falafel at Yalla in Krog Street Market. High Museum of Art (especially now with the personal collection of Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz!) I’d find one of the metro area’s locally-owned bookstores and browse, and then do dinner at one of my favorite places, Sprig. The brussels sprouts are delish.

If it’s a Monday night, then you have to walk down from Sprig to Napoleon’s for the Joe Grandsden jazz jam. And if it’s a Wednesday night you have to head over to Tin Roof Cantina for the Mike Veal Band. If it’s the first Friday of the month, then we’ve got to check out the “First Friday at First” jazz performance at First Congregational Church UCC. I’d also check out who’s playing at Eddie’s Attic in Decatur.

Dancing is always on my itinerary, so any place with a danceable band or DJ (R&B, 60s and 70s hits, salsa, blues preferable) would be a priority. I’m thinking Northside Tavern and Blind Willy’s would be on our list. Depending on who’s playing, I’d also take them to a concert at The Eastern. Great acoustics and vibe. The historic Fox Theatre might also be on the itinerary for a tour or a show.

I’d also take them to the Dekalb Farmers Market and the Buford Highway Farmers Market for the sights and sounds and their vast selection of treats. A drive along Buford Highway is a must – and pick a random place to grab a bite, or drop by my favorite, Nam Phuong for Vietnamese fare. I’d also make sure to take them to the expansive Westside Reservoir Park and find a cafe in the food hall of “The Works.”

Coffee shops would also be a must: From the”Chattahoochee Coffee Shop” along the river to “Waller’s” and “Opo” in Decatur, “Refuge” in Clarkston, We’d probably try and find some art galleries to wander in and out of, maybe on Miami Circle, and seek a piano bar like Campanolo’s. Atlanta also has amazing street art! We’d have to check out Krog Street Tunnel and Wylie Street near Cabbagetown. We’d take a drive through Inman Park and Little Five Points.

We might check out a few consignment shops and thrift stores and, if they like to cycle, walk, or hike, we’d go to Stone Mountain or Arabia Mountain, or back to the Chattahoochee River to hike some of the trails.

I could go on and on – there’s so much to do in Atlanta!!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to shout out to illustrator/educator/artist Colleen Finn. She was an enthusiastic cheerleader, midwife, and confidant throughout the process of self-publishing “Turtle Rocks.” She believed in the project from the start, even suggesting we consider creating plush toys to accompany the book. Her mother even got so excited that she created a prototype puppet and wrote a song! Colleen even joined me for book signings and donated her time at an event at the Breman Museum in Atlanta. Beyond her amazing talent as an artist, Colleen brought her heart, mind, and spirit into the project. I could not have done it without her. Working with her will forever be among the blessings this project has given me.

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