May 28, 2025

Leia Barrett and The Odd Dog on The Children's Authors Alley with Dori DeCarlo

Inspired by Leia Barrett and her own rescue, Layla, The Odd Dog is dedicated to all the rescues who have found where they belonged.

Leia Barrett is a former nonprofit leader turned children's book author. Beginning her career as an education director for a symphony orchestra, Leia re-ignited a love of telling stories while developing musical programs for families. She published her first book in the midst of COVID while serving as an Executive Director for the Friends of Chamber Music, a performing arts presenter in Kansas City. After navigating her organization through the pandemic, Leia pursued her dream of building her own business, Stories by Leia.

Her new series, beginning with The Odd Dog, will be part of her mission to educate, advocate, and fundraise for shelters and rescues throughout the country.

Join host Dori DeCarlo on our Children’s Authors Alley and connect with Leia at StoriesByLeia.com and on Instagram and Facebook . When you buy The Odd Dog from Leia’s site, you will receive an autographed copy, and shelters will receive a donation, too!

Please support UnsilencedVoices.org a global 501(c)3 nonprofit that empowers survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. We thank Smith Sisters and the Sunday Drivers for our theme song, "She is You".

Connect with us on BlueSky , Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , and come tell us your story !

WordofMomRadio.com - sharing the wisdom of women, in business and in life.

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She is sure, she is sure, she is strong, she

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is true, is true, she is brave, she is she

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is you.

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She is she.

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Is sure, she is true, she is strong, she is straw,

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she is true, is true, she is.

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Brave, is bray, is she is you.

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Hello, everyone, Welcome to today's Word of Mom Radio. Here

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on the Word of Mom Media Network. I'm your host,

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Dory Di Carlo. And you know we are here week

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after week, show after show, breaking those myths that morepreneurs

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and business women, especially those of us building our businesses

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from home, that we're just dabbling in between bake sales

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and getting our nails done. We're not. We are smart,

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we are savvy, and we are sharing the wisdom of

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women in business and in life. And I'm looking forward

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to bringing today's guest into our children's authors. Ali Leah

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Barrett is a four or not for profit leader turn

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children's book author. Beginning her career as an education director

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for a symphony orchestra, Leah reignited a love of telling

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stories while developing musical programs for families. She published her

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first book in the midst of COVID while serving as

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an executive director for the Friends of Chamber Music, a

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performing arts presenter in Kansas City. After navigating her organization

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through the pandemic, Leah pursued her dream of building her

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own business. Stories By Leah, her new series, beginning with

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The Odd Dog, will be part of her mission to educate, advocate,

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and fundraise for shelters and rescues throughout the country. I

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have to tell you Leah's book is so charming, it's

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so cute, and I can't wait for her to share

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her stories. So with that all being said, Lee, Welcome

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to Word of Mom Radio.

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Thank you so much, Dory. It's so great to be

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here today.

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I am so happy to have you here, and it

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really I would love for you to take us on

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your journey from that not for profit leader and the

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fact that the education director for a symphony orchestra, so

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really take us on the journey which took you from

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there to now this book absolutely so.

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I'm a b soonest by training, and I was training

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to become a professional musician, and during my master's degree,

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I started teaching after school band for an inner city

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school and really fell in love with outreach and really

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fell in love with working with kids, especially in more

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of an after school capacity. So when I was trying

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to kind of figure out where I wanted to go

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with my career, I did my research and saw that

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education directors for symphony orchestras really got the best of

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both worlds. They got to be really creative, they got

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to stay in the music realm and really work with families.

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Someone characterized it once as you get to be the

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fun aunt instead of the mom. So I spent six

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seasons as a director of education for symphony orchestra, and

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about three seasons in I was talking with parents as

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I was booking concerts and things like that, and I

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kept hearing the same things, especially with homeschool parents. They said,

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you know, your full orchestra concerts are great, but you know,

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I have a wide range of kids, like from age

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three to age thirteen, and my thirteen year olds love it.

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But like my three year olds, we go to the symphony,

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it's kind of a lot because you're in these big

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auditoriums that see two thousand and you know, my kids

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can't really see over the seats, and you have this

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sea of people dressed in black. It's not the same

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kind of experience. Do you have anything that's a little

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smaller and more intimate, and I kept hearing this over

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and over. So I developed a series called Symphony's story Time,

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and this was interactive activities. It was thirty minutes of music,

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thirty minutes of activities where kids got to interact directly

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with musicians. We had illustrations projected over the musicians. We

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made the musicians dress in really bright, fun colors, which

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interestingly was the hardest part of creating this program. They

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did not like that at all. And then since I

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was in Orlando, Florida, I had access to a lot

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of really great actors, actresses, etc. And so we found

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family friendly narrators to kind of take a little bit

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of the onus off of the musicians in terms of

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trying to present and play at the same time. We

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wanted them to be there to play and really create

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this enchanting music and not have to worry about narrating

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through stories. And that was a huge success. But I

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quickly learned that there wasn't a lot of repertoire out

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there that was really family friendly, that was even contemporary,

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and so necessity is the mother of invention. I suddenly

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found myself creating stories. My very first story was a

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twist on Goldilocks, where the bears have a musical home.

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She goes into the home to explore, and at the end,

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instead of the bears chasing her away, they hear her

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playing music and ask her to play music with them.

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Because for me, music brings people together, it really really does.

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And so that was the first time that I really

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just reignited a love of telling stories. And it coincided

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with meeting my first indie author, who I had hired

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to present his story like we created a live version

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of his story, and I said, you know, how do

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you get connected with the publisher? How does all this work?

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It was merely curiosity and he said, well, you know,

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I just published myself. I just find a printing company

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and we do all the publishing through our small imprint

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and we published one to two books a year. And

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I went, huh, I didn't really know that was the thing.

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I didn't know that was something you could do, and

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to be honest, kind of put that dream away until

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the pandemic when I found myself working for a performing

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arts organization with very little to do, and so I

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started just learning wherever I could about how you publish yourself,

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publish that first story, that Goldilock story, and then literally

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got my books in the mail. And a week later

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I was asked to step into an executive director role

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after our founder had stepped away, and so becoming a

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children's book author and really using that platform, as we mentioned,

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to educate, fundraise, and advocate kind of had to take

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a back burner. I felt like my organization really needed

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me to help stabilize, so I was acting. But the

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very first thing I said to my board was Okay,

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so this is not permanent. I do not want this

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job permanently. Just keep that in mind. And two and

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a half years later, we finally felt like things were

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stable enough that I could step away. So I found

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myself independently employed for the first time of my life.

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I was about to turn forty, and I told my husband,

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you know what I want for my fortieth birthday isn't

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a thing. I want a dog. I have had these

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highly demanding, time consuming jobs my entire adult career. I

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love dogs. I have always grown up with dogs. We

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are getting a dog. I will take care of it.

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And so I adopted a sweet little brindle Schnauzer who

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herself had had a pretty tumultuous upbringing, and she was

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really the inspiration behind my book The Odd Dog. She

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was a dog who had been saved from a euthanasialist

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in Texas, brought up to Kansas City, and then escaped

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her foster mom and went on an epic adventure and

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she was on her own for about eighteen days, and

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I just always wondered, like, what happened to her? What

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was she thinking? Did any of the things cause her silly,

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quirky behavior that she has now? And I think big

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that's the big impetus behind The Odd Dog. Half of

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the book is the Odd Dog kind of showing you

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glimpses into the life it had before it was adopted,

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to show you why it's kind of an odd dog.

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And then the second half is that dog adjusting to

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life in a home for the first time. And it's

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silly and it's funny. But in adoption world, you know,

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when we adopt, there's always that mystery to our animals.

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There are things that they do We kind of go,

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why did you just do that? And we don't necessarily

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know because they cannot speak to us. And so one

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of the big takeaways in this book is that odd

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doesn't learn anything, and I think that most of the

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time main characters are supposed to learn, but really, in

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the story, Odd does these really strange things. And the parents,

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because they love Odd and want Odd to feel loved

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and accepted in their home, find places where Odd can

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still be themselves, just in a different environment that makes

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them feel like they can be comfortable and happy and thrive.

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So that's kind of a long explanation, but that's how

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he got to today where The Odd Dog is officially

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launching in about two weeks.

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How exciting it really is. And you know what, it

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is a really cute story, beautifully illustrated. I mean, it

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is just engaging, and it really is true because unless

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you take in a puppy where you know where their

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experiences are happened. My youngest brother is an RV er

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and has an incredibly successful business Coast to Coast, he

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and his dog, and he just did an interview saying

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how he could never do this without a dog. And

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this is now his third dog, that Wyatt. It's so funny.

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We joke that each one of his dogs is the

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reincarnation on the next level, and now this one, it

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really is. Between Jesse and Jenny crazy how this dog

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Wyatt has incorporated all three. But it's so funny because

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his entire life is based around his dog. Yeah, where

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he goes, what he does, and for him as a

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solopreneur without that dog. And he jokes with me all

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the time that you know, come on, it's a dude,

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you gotta get a dog. I travel all over the place.

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I'm like Rick, I got three kids, I have grandchildren.

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I don't have you know I have you are it's

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you know, you got nieces and nephews and brothers and sisters.

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But you know that's it because it is, let's face it,

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having a dog. It's a perpetual two year old. Yes,

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and I have grand puppies. As matter of fact, next

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weekend I will be taking care of two of them.

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And I love on those dogs. I just really do.

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And and I loved it they're there and and there

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is something so special about that relationship and especially when

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you rescue the dog. Yes, and do they take that

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extra care because you don't know what they've been through

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and so I just I really do, and I love

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how kind of the owners are. Okay, we have to

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get used to this dog because he likes to climb

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and he.

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Likes to swim.

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Yes, it's just but you can't swim in the fish take,

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you know.

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Yes, well, and you know, we when we were kind

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of building the story together, we had thought about having

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what would have been a really powerful but sobering two

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page spread that had no words. That was odd, just

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wondering am I going to belong? And we decided no,

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you know what, there's not going to be no doubt

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to this dog that they belong like that that is

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on us, the owners. And I feel like if you

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can really get to know your dog, then you can

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build that trust over that relationship and then those quirks

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don't become things that feel insurmountable. You get to know

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them and then you just anticipate them, you know, just

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like just like you do children, just like you do

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kids that you teach. And I feel like building that

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rapport is so important and being able to read those

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cues is part of responsible dog ownership and responsible pet ownership.

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In fact, on that note, think about responsible pet ownership,

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please really think about what Lea just said. We're going

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to take a quick break. We're going to say thank

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you to our sponsors and We'll be back here in

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just a moment on Word of Mom Radio. She is brave,

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she is bold, She is you, and we want to

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tell your story. Are you ready to share your journey

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dot com and register as a guest. We want to

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tell your story because when you win, we all win.

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In twenty seventeen, Unsilenced Voices was formed to help survivors

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of domestic abuse and gender based violence worldwide. The organization

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currently serves sier Leone, Rwanda, Ghana, and the USA. In

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twenty twenty two, Unsilenced Voices gifted over thirty three thousand

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dollars to survivors in the USA and in sier Leone,

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there are over twenty six young girls who have been

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rescued from sex trafficking and domestic abuse and now going

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through vocational training school in order to better their lives.

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We need your help. Donations are critical in order for

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us to continue our work. We also need volunteers to

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help with research and development. Please visit Unsilenced Voices dot

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org for more information.

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And we're back here on Word of Mom Radio. We

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are talking with Leah Barrett in our children's authors Ali

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about her book The Odd Dog. It really is just

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like I said, it's such a cute book, and I

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love that it's from the dog's perspective of the things

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that they learned and the journey that they've been on.

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And so I'm gonna kind of flip it back to

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you again, how do you feel for you that working

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in not for profit leadership now having your own business,

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how do you feel that that has helped you?

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You know, I always have had a desire to give back,

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and I feel like one of the things that I

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developed during my nonprofit time was being able to build

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rapport with people who come from very different backgrounds and

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being able to find mutually beneficial partnerships that serve both

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of our needs. I feel like years of developing programs

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that were sponsored by corporate hospitals, I really understand what

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they need from a relationship, and I'm able to quickly

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build a common ground that gives them reassurance that partnering

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with me is going to be beneficial. As we talked

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about wanting to advocate in fundraise for shelters and rescues,

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I also understand that so often when you work in

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nonprofit you know you don't have a lot of extra capacity,

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so finding ways to take the onus off of them

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is something that I really pride myself on. Finding ways

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to create events that are simple to execute but effective

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for both parties in the ways they need are things

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that I really work on as a business woman. Even

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though I'm just starting on my business and I'm not

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able to contribute a lot, I'm able to contribute in

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small ways that can add up to large contributions, like

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for example, I often donate auction baskets or fundraising events,

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and what I learned during my time in nonprofit is

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that experiences and unique experiences can really increase the perceived

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value of an auction basket. So, for example, three or

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four nonprofits in town, I've contributed a basket, and because

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I have a new book coming up, I'll say, Okay,

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the winner of this basket not only gets all this

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great dog mom stuff because I definitely want to reach

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the dog lover at this event, but they will also

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get their dog drawn into the book as an extra character.

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And where a basket might be worth seventy five dollars,

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that extra experience, especially when you see really sweet illustrations

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and you kind of see the dogs who inspired those

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illustrations can make a basket go from seventy five dollars

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to two hundred and fifty or even three hundred dollars,

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and that happens consistently because it's just something that is

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unique and that dog is your heart and you want

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to memorialize them in such a fun, beautiful way. And

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I also had really good success during my soft launch

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with shelters and Rescues to do book signing fundraisers where

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I might raise the price of the book a little bit,

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do a fundraiser at a place where they would appreciate

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extra traffic, like a coffee shop, and be able to

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get some visibility for the shelter rescue, sell some books

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for myself, bring in some extra traffic for the coffee shop,

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especially on a weekday where they might not have as

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much traffic as they would on a weekend, and it

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benefits all three parties to the point where I have

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a lot of coffee shops saying come back every month,

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and I'm going I would love to. I don't know

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if I can do that every time, but I think

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really that relationship building is the takeaway that I had

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through my years of nonprofit and just finding those ways

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to quickly build rapport that can be leveraged into long

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term relationships that benefit all of us.

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How can our listeners help in your mission? If this

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is something that they're resonating with, you.

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Know there are always new initiatives that I'm working on,

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and so following me on my social media or joining

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my email list, they will always be in the know

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on that. I'm still Since I am a solopreneur, I'm

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always working on my website to find ways that are

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a little more clear I guess like easier ways to help.

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This year, for example, I'm developing initiatives that help raise

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awareness and raise funds for reading to dogs. This is

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an initiative that a lot of shelters and rescues are

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adopting shelters, especially since they are a physical location. There

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are benefits for both struggling readers and dogs to having

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children read to them. It actually calms a dog, It

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gets some use to socialization on the child's side. If

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they're a struggling reader, they don't feel judged by the dog.

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They can take as much time as they need to

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read through a sentence, especially if there's a word they

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might be struggling with. So I am working on initiatives,

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including during Read Across America Week. I want to do

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a Read to Dogs across America Week, and I really

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want to get a lot of community behind that where

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we can raise awareness about the places who are doing

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these programs, teach people how to get involved, what the

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benefits are, be able to do some really fun giveaways

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with my author friends, and just really try to build

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a community that is passionate about rescue and advocacy and fundraising. So,

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I mean the other thing, I would say this sounds

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a little trite, but I do donate a portion of

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every book sale to shelters and rescues. So if you

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buy a copy of The Odd Dog, especially through me

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through my website, then you will definitely be helping shelters

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and rescues. And I'm constantly working to expand the list

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of partners that I have, not only locally but also nationally.

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I'm going to say it is not trite a portion

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of your proceeds go to help animal shelters and rescues.

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That's not trite. It's a wonderful thing. As somebody, the

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dog that I had, I've always been a rescue person

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and my dog, Stacy, was a shepherd lab. She was

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six months old. She didn't weigh fifteen pounds. The vet

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looked at me. She had one hundred and five fever pneumonia.

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He was like, what made you take a dog like this?

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I said, she loved me and needed a home. It's

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like God bless you. He was like, no dog food,

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people food, rice popped a chicken turkey. Six weeks. I

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was going back and forth for vitamins and antibiotic shots

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and stuff. And after six weeks he goes, I never

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thought this dog was going to live, he said. She

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and she had a great life till she died. She

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had a great life and kids who loved her. She

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was there as I was giving birth to my children.

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There's just something really special about the relationship between a

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child and a dog.

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Yes, definitely, well and like we had growing up. We

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had a dog who had been turned to the shelter

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two or three times as a puppy, and that imprinted

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on her a fear of being in enclosed spaces. She

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could not handle kennel. She you know, she was very,

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very fiercely loyal to us. So we traveled in a Van.

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She came with us on every family trip and so

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that dog it was like having another sister. I mean

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it literally felt like having another member of the family

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because she shared all our memories and that is such

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a special gift to have as a child. For sure.

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What a great way to wrap up this conversation, Leah,

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there really is. So as we are closing out, what

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would you like to leave our listeners with and how

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may they reach out to you?

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Well, I'll start with the first part. Stories by Leah L.

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E i A. Stories by Lea dot Com is where

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you can reach me. And actually, if you sign up

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for my email list can see The Odd Dog for

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free as an e book, And I would just say

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you can reach me through my website. I actually am

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hoping to travel more and do work like this, not

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only in Kansas City but nationally. So if you have

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a shelter who might like to do a fundraiser with

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me or wants to partner with me in some way,

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I am always happy to start that conversation and see

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how we can help each other together. I mean, it's

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all about the work that we can do together. We

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can always accomplish more that way.

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What are you going to say to that person who's

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got that book in them, Leah.

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Do it, you know, take the time, don't rush it,

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and just do it. Everybody, there is always another story

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to tell.

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Wow, there's a quote because it's true. There is always

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another story to tell. Leah. Thank you so much for

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taking the time to be here. All of Lea's links

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are going to be live on wordofmomradio dot com, and

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I do encourage you to buy her book through her website.

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Please buy it through her site. You'll contribute to her

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directly and to shelters, So just do that. That would

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be great. Again, it is such a charming book. So

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Leia Barrett

Author

Leia Barrett is a former nonprofit leader turned children's book author. Trained as a professional musician, Leia developed a love for providing education programs while teaching after-school band in an inner city school in Kansas City.

This program inspired her to become a Director of Education for the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, where she served more than 65,000 children and families annually through her programs.

A program she developed, Symphony Storytime, reignited a love of telling stories that led Leia to publish her first book, The Goldilocks Quartet, in 2021.

Leia moved back to Kansas City with her husband Drew in 2018, where she served briefly as a Marketing Director with the Friends of Chamber Music before being asked to step into an Executive Director role during COVID.

She stepped away from that role in 2023 to pursue her dream of being a full-time author and entrepreneur. Her new book, The Odd Dog, is the story of a quirky stray learning to live with a family for the first time. It will be released in March 2025 and she will be using her author platform to educate, advocate, and fundraise for rescue dogs.

She currently lives in Kansas City with her husband Drew and the original Odd Dog, Layla.

Leia Barrett and The Odd Dog on The Children's Authors Alley with Dori DeCarlo

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