Thursday, May 6, 2021 • ThE BuLLETIN
GO! MAGAZINE • PAGE 17
LOCAL LITERARY HIGHLIGHTS
bendbulletin.com/goread
Bend author and publisher Findling
balances motherhood and career
BY DAVID JASPER
The Bulletin
F
or more than 20 years, Bend author,
editor and publisher Kim Cooper
Findling has devoted herself to a lit-
erary path. From humble beginnings as a
freelancer and blogger, Findling’s accom-
plishments to date include writing memoirs
(“Chance of Sun”) and travel guides (“Bend,
Oregon Daycations”), serving as editor in
chief of Bend Magazine for the past 3½ years
and purchasing the small publishing com-
pany Dancing Moon Press 2½ years ago.
Now, with the impending Mother’s Day
publication of “The Magic Egg,” a children’s
book from Dancing Moon Press, Findling, 50,
will have accomplished another feat: bringing
to publication the second of two books featur-
ing the work of one of her daughters.
First, Findling and elder daughter Libby,
16, co-wrote the thriller “The Sixth Storm,”
published by Dancing Moon Press two years
ago. On Sunday, Dancing Moon will re-
lease “Magic Egg,” written by Shauna Nich-
olson-Kelly and illustrated by Findling’s
younger daughter, 14-year-old Maris.
In the book, Nicholas-Kelly shares the
story of her difficult journey to starting a
family, which eventually occurred with the
help of an egg donor and surrogate. When
it came time to illustrate her book about the
path to parenthood, Nicholas-Kelly selected
Maris as its illustrator. That may not sound
surprising — after all, the publisher is Maris’
mom. But Findling took a less intervention-
ist approach to matching the author and il-
lustrator.
“I gave her a portfolio of Maris’ work
without saying who it was,” Findling said.
“Because I didn’t want her to feel pressured.
We’d had some trouble finding an illustra-
tor, and my husband said, ‘You know, we live
with a pretty amazing illustrator.’ I was like,
‘Oh jeez, but how do I handle this?’”
She handled it by letting the author assess
the work for herself.
“She loved it,” Findling said. “When she
found out it was my daughter, she was ac-
tually even more stoked because the whole
book is kind of a mother-daughter situation.
She created it for her own daughter, to ex-
“Probably this exact time a
year ago is when I just opened
that Word document again, and
suddenly, I could see it. Partly
because we were all home again,
I just realized that my whole
career and parenting have
always been intertwined, and
that I’m not the only one, right?
Last year, everyone was living
that life suddenly.
the 12th edition of Myrna
Oakley’s popular “Ore-
gon off the Beaten Path”
guide, coming June 1
from Globe Pequot
books.
But this period of
time is special for Fin-
dling because of another
soon-to-publish tome that
addresses the working — or
more specifically, writing —
from home conundrum: “Bad Mommy Bad
Writer: Writing from Home While Keeping
the Kids Alive,” releasing June 8 from Danc-
ing Moon Press.
The book’s origins go back to the late ‘00s.
“The back story is that I kept a blog during
that time,” Findling said. “I was stay-at-home
momming with the girls, but really trying to
get my career — I was already writing profes-
sionally, but I really wanted to publish a book.
I started blogging just as a way to get my voice
lubricated and just get some stuff out there.”
The blog ended up being “a whole lot of
writing about writing,” she said, along with
a lot about parenting and being at home
with her girls. It makes sense that’s where
her mind went as an emerging writer con-
comitantly raising two daughters. Staying
at home with kids while trying to pull off
a full-time career isn’t necessarily an easy
pairing, as many who may have been un-
On Sunday, Dancing Moon will release
“Magic Egg,” written by Shauna Nichol-
son-Kelly and illustrated by Findling’s
younger daughter, 14-year-old Maris.
Submitted photo
familiar learned quickly this past
year — but Findling made it work.
“People had suggested that I try
to make that into a book,” Findling
said. “I looked at the material many
times and just couldn’t really see it. Like,
how does this all go together in an actual
plot-driven (book)? Even though it’s nonfic-
tion, I certainly believe there has to be a plot
arc and all of that, even in nonfiction. So
I’ve looked at it, and never seen it.”
Then last year happened.
“Probably this exact time a year ago is
when I just opened that Word document
again, and suddenly, I could see it,” Findling
said. “Partly because we were all home again,
I just realized that my whole career and par-
enting have always been intertwined, and that
I’m not the only one, right? Last year, every-
one was living that life suddenly.
“I thought, ‘OK, I can see this now. I can
see how this is could be relatable and even,
hopefully, inspiring too,’” Findling said. “I
know women now who are doing the young
parenting thing, and sort of feel like their
career might be dead.”
e e
David Jasper: 541-383-0349, djasper@bendbulletin.com
Kim Cooper Findling, Bend author,
editor and publisher
plain how she came into their family from a
surrogate and donor.”
Maris grew up painting with her artistic
grandmother, and told GO! that her part in
the project “was a lot of fun. I learned a lot
about graphic design and teamwork, and it
helped me feel connected, not only to my
family, but to the art and writing world.”
Mother Findling has kept busy through
these long months of quarantine, revising
IN THE BALANCE OF COMPETING HARMS - WE SHALL PREVAIL
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Sharon Preston