Episode Details

ZAK PULLEN - CASEY Wendy Corr:

Wendy Corr:

Well, hey there folks. Welcome to the Roundup. We are a Cowboy State Daily podcast, and we focus on interesting people in the cowboy state. Today we get a two for one, because we have two really interesting people who have collaborated on a number of children's books that have taken Wyoming and other children's libraries around the country by storm.

This is just a phenomenal conversation we're going to have today with Zak Pullen and Casey Rislov. First, though, I want to make sure that you know about another podcast that's out there. It's the Wyoming Business Alliance "Business From the Basement" podcast. If you're a business person in Wyoming, this is a must have in your playlist for your podcasts to find out more about how you can be a successful business person in the cowboy state.

Don't go there right yet, though, because first we are going to have a fantastic conversation with two of the state's most creative people. I'm just tickled to be able to introduce people, if you have not yet met them, if you go into your local bookstore, you will see their work - so Zak Pullen, Casey Rislov, welcome to the Roundup.

Casey Rislov:

Thank you, Wendy, thanks for having us.

Zak Pullen:

Thanks for having us.

Wendy Corr:

I am so tickled. So folks, I first, oh, good look at that. There it is. "A Home for Steamboat"". This is the most recent collaboration for these two, but you've got a great backstory of how you two began. Oh, Rowdy Randy. Oh, and don't forget that, you know, I'm sure you got the other one, Rowdy Randy.

Zak Pullen:

Just shameless.

Casey Rislov:

It's here in my stack somewhere.

Wendy Corr:

I want to start out first with letting people know you both are Casper natives. So you're from Casper, born and raised Casper, well mostly, and then you went your separate ways, even though you went to high school together. I'm going to start with Zak. Zak, tell me about how you guys knew each other but didn't know each other growing up.

Zak Pullen:

So we went to school together. We graduated together in 1994 - sorry Casey, we're going to date ourselves. So I kind of was the creative side of things in the art room all the time, and all that. Casey did her own thing, and we kind of never ran in the same circles. Probably, you know, surfacely, kind of knew of each other, but not actually like met or known each other. Graduated with a large class, and yeah, we reconnected. What, wasn't it 20 years later?

Wendy Corr:

That's pretty great. Casey, after high school, you kind of went into teaching, into the education field, correct?

Casey Rislov:

I did. I did. I went to Casper College, and UW and I know Zak was at Casper College too, but we didn't run into each other there either. Um, but then, yeah, I went to teaching at the Child Development Center for seven years, so I could teach up to sixth grade.

I loved being the preschool teacher, though it was fun. Art teacher, PE teacher, you know, read all those fabulous picture books, which is what spring springboarded me forward to books.

Wendy Corr:

Absolutely that then Zak, you had gone to, like, this whole different - you left Wyoming, you went to New York City, and you, like, were in the whole illustrator world for big name publications.

Zak Pullen:

Yeah, so when I graduated in '94, like Casey said, I did Casper College. I went for two years, I never got an associates from