Creator Interview: Jake Lockett sharing his debut picture book, My Life as an Asthmanaut

Welcome to the #GrowYourWriting 2026 Creator Interviews blog series. I’m thrilled to feature talented kidlit creators this year and spotlight their beautiful work and inspiring journeys. 

I’m so excited to introduce our May featured creator, Jake Lockett. We are celebrating two things today: the debut of his picture My Life as an Asthmanaut and World Asthma Day!

Jake Lockett writes books and stories for children, including My Life as an Asthmanaut. His short stories for young readers have appeared in Smarty Pants Kids, Skipping Stones, and Spider. Jake enjoys learning about space, exploring nature, building Lego sets, and watching movies on his home theater projector. He resides in the forested Allegheny Mountains, where the night skies are clear and blanketed with countless stars!

Find Jake online at: https://jakelockettauthor.wixsite.com/jakelockettauthor

Bluesky: @jlockettauthor1.bsky.social and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579400802919

Let’s get started, shall we?

1 – What inspired you to pursue a career in children’s literature, and when did you start creating?

Stories are very much a part of me! I’ve always marveled at the power and the sheer escapism of stories. As a young kid, I was constantly seeking out books, films, and TV shows to find new worlds to explore and characters to spend time with. One of my favorite hobbies was reading a book and then watching the film or TV adaptation to see how my imagination differed from what was shown on screen. Surrounding myself with stories got my mind off of my health issues and gave me the writing bug early on. I wrote many stories in elementary school, which were comic book adventures starring superheroes. 

I wrote on and off just for fun in the years after, but then I encountered new health problems in 2014. It dawned on me that time is precious, and you don’t have forever to accomplish your dreams. So I got serious about getting published and pursued writing for the age ranges where I had first met the pure joy of stories. I started with short stories, which I submitted to children’s magazines and online publications. I then eventually moved on to picture books in a roller coaster ride of rejections and successes in my journey to inspire readers and make a true difference.

2 – Can you tell us more about your journey from ideas to publication?

For my debut, it was a fun process. As someone who has asthma, I had kicked around the idea of writing a picture book about living with this illness for years, but I was never sure when to start. Then, in mid-2023, I discovered Free Spirit’s call to authors for their Disability Books for Kids series. I realized it was the perfect time to pursue a book that was centered on asthma. I wanted to help fellow asthmatics with a meaningful story full of hope.

After my application was accepted by the publisher, I was invited to submit a full book proposal. I read the guidelines for the series and got to work. My passion for sci-fi and wordplay helped me to come up with the idea of a space-related theme and the “asthmanaut” title for the book. My brain is structure-driven, so I wanted a firm beginning, middle, and end to the story with a clear journey. Setting up my character’s condition at the start, having him then drift away into “space” during his asthmatic challenges, and finally having that character tackle his conflict and return to the love of his friends and family felt like a natural progression of a storyline, and I wrote it this way. Free Spirit loved it and suggested additional revisions to flesh out the story even more. Not too long after I submitted the revised manuscript, the story got accepted! And the rest is history!

3 – What part of the process, from the first draft to submissions, do you find the most challenging, and how do you overcome that?

It’s the revisions! I’m a perfectionist, so going through revisions can sometimes feel like trekking through a never-ending jungle by yourself. If you know someone who lives and breathes your genre, reach out for their honest, constructive feedback. Good feedback can help make the process smoother and let you know what’s working and what’s not working fairly quickly, so you spend less time in that jungle!

4 – Who are your favorite children’s authors and illustrators that have inspired your work?

Mike Thaler’s Black Lagoon series, The Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne, and the Harry Potter bookswere favorites as a kid and helped spark my love of reading and writing. For My Life as an Asthmanaut in particular, I was mostly inspired by works outside of books. 2013’s Gravity,Lost in Space, and songs like Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” and Peter Schilling’s “Major Tom (Coming Home)”were major influences.

5 – What advice would you like to give aspiring kidlit creators looking to grow their writing?

If you want to write in a specific genre, read that genre for research and inspiration. But try not to chase trends! Write themes and storylines that you care about while exploring ways to think outside the box in your approach and style.

6 – What’s next for you as a creator?

As of doing this interview, I’m still in the query trenches. I’m currently querying a Christmas-themed picture book that I spent the better part of 2025 getting exactly right. I have another picture book in mind that I want to write, but I’m also busy planning a middle-grade book with supernatural themes.

7 – Are there any particular resources you’ve used or nurtured often that helped you grow as a creator?

Reading mentor texts and just surrounding myself with inspiring stories, regardless of format, really helps me grow as a creator.

8 – JAKE’S FAVORITES:

Favorite flower: Tulip

Favorite season: Summer

Favorite creative tool: Laptop (mostly for word count!)

Favorite hobby outside of writing or illustrating: Binging films and TV shows.

9 – What is one habit that has helped nurture your creativity over time?

Just constantly exposing myself to all sorts of stories and voices, no matter what the medium.

 

10 – What is one habit that has helped nurture your creativity over time?

Read more in the genre that you want to write in!
 

Guess what? It’s giveaway time!

In honor of World Asthma Day, Jake has graciously offered to give one lucky winner a free copy of My Life as an Asthmanaut

How to enter:

To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on this blog post below.

You can tell us:

• What part of Jake’s interview resonated with you, or
• What inspires you!

Giveaway Details

• Entry period: Now through May 15th, 2026 at 11:59 PM PST
• Winner announced: May 25th on this blog post and on Instagram
• Prize: One copy of My Life as an Asthmanaut from Jake Lockett

The winner will be selected randomly from the comments and contacted via the email used when commenting.

Good luck, and happy writing! 🌱

Shine On,

Christine