Episode 46

This is the first episode of the "International Authors in Finland" series, and in this episode, we welcome mother and daughter Pamela and Eloisa Spokes.

Pamela, originally from Canada, first moved to Finland sixteen years ago. She works as a service design consultant in Finland. Her daughter Eloisa attends a 50/50 bilingual school, where she learns both in Finnish and English.

During the first few months of the coronavirus pandemic, Eloisa experienced distance learning and spent lots of time at home with her mum. That's when they decided to write an engaging book that would help families spend fun and engaging time together.

Their book "Would You Rather...?" was originally published in English, and it has been translated into Finnish by Pamela’s older daughter.

Navigating the publishing system was initially a hurdle for the mother-daughter duo, but Pamela eventually learned how to do it on her own.

“I wouldn’t know how to do that in Canada, let alone in Finland!” laughed Pamela. “I had my own learning curve; I had to learn how to design it and how to publish it on Amazon.”

Pamela is happy to report that she has received positive feedback online from families who have enjoyed the conversations sparked by the book. She heard from one reader who uses the questions from the book to connect with his sister’s children who he doesn’t see often.

In addition to silly questions (would you rather eat meat-flavored ice cream, or ice cream-flavored meat?), the book poses questions about family values that can spark meaningful intergenerational conversations.

After the positive feedback she received on her first book, Pamela wrote and published another children’s book: a travel and gratitude journal called “My Travel Journal: A holiday memory book for kids.”

Listen to this episode and learn more about the authors, and about tools the Spokes’ used to self-publish the book. If you would like to purchase “Would You Rather…?” or check out Pamela’s other publications, visit the link below!

Buy the book here!