What would it be like if I, as an author, could talk with one of my characters? This was the thought that popped up in my head once. I started to think about it and realized an interesting conflict. Authors usually love their characters, right? They care about them and even identify with them in…
The backstory of this book started with a conversation years ago with my mother-in-law. She told me how my husband’s eye sight problems stem from when he was a child. The issue could have been corrected when he was young, but it went unnoticed. Fearing the same result in her grandchildren, she encouraged me to…
A few years ago, my oldest daughter (now 15) came to me with the beginning of a story she had written. I was so impressed and excited about her writing that I wanted to do a whole series. She and I mapped out the themes for ten books. As a teenager, she quickly lost interest…
The inspiration for my book came to me when I heard scientists trying to explain the Star of Bethlehem. They stated that it was anomaly when several planets lined up in just the right way to created what looked to be a huge star, coincidentally at the same time as Jesus’ birth. To me, it…
For my latest children’s picture book, Dee and Deb Off They Go Kindergarten First Day Jitters, we have to rewind forty-two years to when I was six-years old and ready to embark on my first day of kindergarten. Back then it was not commonplace to attend pre-kindergarten or daycare so this was my first classroom…
Message-driven fiction for children is so much fun to write. Weaving a message into an entertaining story can be a challenge, but if you start with the character and base your lesson around his or her actions and reactions, then the story comes together nicely. Take Robert from A Christmas Kindness: he’s a young boy…
The inspiration I have derived for having had the journey of my books come to fruition is a very simple and yet a very profound one. At the heart and soul of everything I do, of every decision I make, of everything I am passionate and excited about in life, is the love I have…
