Meet Chelan David of Overland Park

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelan David.

Hi Chelan; we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey to becoming an author has been a challenging path. I majored in Journalism at the University of Kansas. After college, I worked at several advertising agencies and did freelance writing. For several years, I transitioned to advertising sales and served as General Manager at Univision, the global Spanish language network. About six years ago, I decided to give back in some capacity, so I have been working in the nonprofit field on the development side. I currently serve as the Development Director at Lead to Read KC, a nonprofit organization that works to improve children’s literacy. Reading and writing have always been a love of mine, which attracted me to Lead to Read KC. Growing up, I usually did one of two things: reading or playing sports.

One of my bucket list items was to write a book at some point, although it always seemed like a pipe dream. The genesis of Beautiful States of Mind began in 2013. I went through a divorce and was looking for a way to bond with my two daughters, who were just two and four at the time. We started traveling regionally, and I discovered it was a great way to connect while exploring simultaneously. In 2015, when my daughters were six and eight, we went on a spring break trip to the East Coast, flying into Boston and visiting six states in seven days. At this point, they had visited about 15 states. I pledged to visit all 50 states when my oldest daughter finished high school. I hadn’t originally planned on writing a book about our travels. However, after we had visited about half of the states, I thought it would make an exciting book. It started as a parent travel guide. Still, I decided I wanted to make it more personal, so I weave in stories about my childhood, particularly about my parent’s divorce and not having a chance to get to know my father very well. In addition, to having something for everyone – travel, history, sports, music, parenting, etc. – there is also self-reflection and healing. Finally, I wrote the book to preserve the memories I built with my daughters so they can enjoy it when they are older.

We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My daughters were very young when we started traveling. It was hard to plan extensive visits to national parks or a full day of activities because they would tire, and we’d have to incorporate a lot of time for snacks and rest. Also, I was the only driver for the first 48 states we visited. I’d try and break up the day so we drove for four or five-hour intervals, but sometimes there were much longer driving days. On average, each trip consisted of 2,000 to 3,000 miles on the road. I am proud I didn’t get a speeding ticket during these odysseys. Isabel, my longtime partner, joined us for our final two trips – Alaska and Hawaii – and having help driving on them was nice. With teenagers, there is a different set of challenges. It is much harder to plan trips around my daughters’ busy schedules. Also, we are at scenic attractions much longer because they want to capture the perfect images for their social media feeds.

On the other hand, the conversations we have about the attractions we visit are much deeper, which is evident in the book’s later chapters. The pandemic also posed a challenge. We were at 45 states when everything shut down. In 2020 and 2021, we still traveled, but to isolated areas. Also, many of the attractions we had hoped to see were either shut down or had limited capacity.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As a former freelance writer, I wrote for numerous magazines and newspapers, including Spin, The Seattle Times, Seattle Magazine, Writer’s Digest, Smart Business, Entrepreneur, and US Airways Magazine. I particularly enjoy writing about sports, music, and travel because these are subjects that I’ve always been interested in. I am proud that I learned to take unusual approaches to predictable topics. For example, as a freelance writer, I opted to profile the sign-language interpreters working the show rather than reporting on Tom Petty’s performance at a concert I attended. I ignored the trendy gifts during the holiday shopping season and wrote a humorous and informative lost-and-found piece. My ability to view every event, no matter how mundane, as a possible story idea sets me apart from others and makes the Beautiful States of Mind unique. I don’t just write about places and states. I write about people, history, oddities, conversations, and self-reflection. There are stories about racial inequalities and women’s suffrage. There are stories about a butt-kicking machine in North Carolina, almost getting stampeded by a buffalo in North Dakota, and a syrup heist in Vermont.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
As a kid, I was pretty shy, but I always had a lot of friends. I was also very competitive. I loved playing sports, particularly baseball and basketball. Once for Halloween, I convinced my mom to create a Royals uniform. The handmade costume was remarkably accurate and became my uniform of choice. After Halloween, I played in it, did chores, and slept in it. I also had a thirst to explore. I ignored my teachers’ carefully crafted lesson plans in elementary school, preferring to study the laminated maps adorning the wall while imagining journeys worldwide. Unfortunately, my family didn’t have much money, so we rarely traveled other than to visit nearby relatives. My claim to worldly sights was the giant ball of twine in Cawker City, Kansas, near Beloit, where I was born.

Pricing:

• Book is available for $19.95 on Amazon.com

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cdavidbooks.com/
• Twitter: @chelan_david