Besides being the author of Kids Inventing! A Handbook for Young Inventors and Women Invent! Two Centuries of Discoveries That Have Shaped Our World, I’ve written lots of magazine articles on all sorts of topics. I’ve written about artists, odd ball events, interesting people, travel destinations, and about the construction industry. My articles have appeared in Family Circle, Americana, USAir, Women’s Sports, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Inventors Digest and Electrical Contractor.
Once Women Invent! was published I started doing presentations about the book at schools and community groups. I have a slideshow about different women inventors and their patents. Once I wrote Kids Inventing! A Handbook for Young Inventors, I added slides of kid inventors to my show.
I’ve spoken to lots of different groups including the Houston Forum, the Montana Educator’s Conference, the UCLA Women’s Leadership Conference. I’ve also spoken at lots of schools. I show the kids photos and video of kid inventors and let them see and handle inventions of kids. I’ve also spoken at lots of libraries, including the main branch and local branches of the Los Angeles Public Library.
When I was a girl, I loved reading and writing and my first magazine article was published when I was in the seventh grade. I graduated with a degree in history from Santa Clara University. After that I worked as a teacher in many schools, studied photography and filmmaking and eventually wrote educational films and produced industrial films. I have spent most of my life in California not only in Los Angeles but also in Humboldt County and in Berkeley. I have also traveled to Spain and Morocco, to Malaysia and to England. I spent a summer after college in a small Mexican village as part of a work project and then traveled around Mexico by bus. I worked as an au pair for an English family in Ghana, West Africa. Africa was so interesting that it prompted me to become a writer so I could tell my friends and family back home what it was like. Once I started writing magazine articles and taking photos to go with them, I was hooked.
I like to spend by leisure time in coffee shops, at the beach. I like to visit art museums and hear music at outdoor concerts.
Formal Version:
Susan Casey is a journalist, speaker, a teacher and the author of Kids Inventing! A Handbook for Young Inventors and Women Invent! Two Centuries of Discoveries That Have Shaped Our World.
As a journalist, she enjoys writing about topics ranging from outdoor activities to art, travel, construction and more. Her articles have appeared in Family Circle, Americana, USAir, Women’s Sports, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Inventors Digest and Electrical Contractor.
As a speaker she has appeared at the Houston Forum, the Montana Educator’s Conference, the UCLA Women’s Leadership Conference and the Los Angeles Public Library.
When she was a girl, she loved reading and her first magazine article was published when she was in the seventh grade. She graduated with a degree in history from Santa Clara University and has been a teacher at many schools. She has spent most of her life in California where she likes to spend time at the beach and the desert, visit art museums and listen to music at outdoor concerts. In her free time, she reads, plays golf, swims, and takes photos.
Answers to a few frequently asked questions...
Why do you like nonfiction writing?
Writing about real people and events is great fun. I enjoy meeting people and talking to them about what they do. When I was growing up, I went along with my father on his errands and watched him strike up conversations with people whether he knew them or not. Soon, I was included in the camaraderie and I learned to be as at ease with people as he was. That ease comes into play when I interview people--celebrities, company presidents, athletes, and cooks-—whoever attracts my interest. Writing is a great activity for me because I’m curious.
Why did you write Women Invent!?
I was talking to my friend’s father about how he invented Bounce, the anti-static tissue for the dryer. He explained his inspiration. His wife couldn’t gauge when to put the liquid softener in the washer so she kept running up and down the stairs to check. That gave him, his name was Conrad Gaiser, the idea to invent something that would serve the same purpose but be used in the dryer. I thought his story was interesting so talked to a magazine about writing an article about the stories of the invention ordinary household items, like Bounce. The editor suggested I also find out about inventions by women. By the time I finished the research for the article I was so interested in the stories of women inventors that I kept on going. Since there were several books on the topic for adults I wrote one for kids.
Why did you write Kids Inventing!?
When I was invited to speak at schools about Women Invent!, kids were interested in my slides and stories of women inventors but when I showed them slides of girl inventors they really got interested. So I began to interview kid inventors about their ideas. I realized that if I was to write a book about kid inventors, other kids would also want to know about how to become inventors. That's why Kids Inventing! is a handbook with stories that illustrate that kids really are inventors.
Do you enjoy writing?
Writing is fun because it is a way of putting your thoughts on paper. It's fun but also a challenge. Making my thoughts clear can take lots of rewriting. That's the hard part. If I work too hard for too long, I can't think clearly and I have to just put the work aside. It's easier to write something, put it aside for a few hours or days, then look at it again. I always get new ideas when I return to it. Once it is finished, I enjoy sharing it with others.
Writing books requires a lot of concentration. It has been one of the most interesting things I have done. I look forward to writing a bunch more.
