Life Happens…Blog Posts Don’t…Story Writing Continues

Good day! Sorry to have been away for so long. It has been a bit busy with a new granddaughter, extended journeys to SE Alaska, Oregon and Montana, plus a little revenue-generating work at the insurance office. HOWEVER, the number of blog posts written does not mirror the book writing I’ve done during this time. The second book of the Sappy and Dropsy book series has been sent to the illustrator while the first paragraph, the most difficult to for this author to set a catchy “hook”, has been written for the third and final book of the series! During this time, I also wrote a children’s story about a significant river restoration project on Chichagof Island in SE Alaska, how it relates to the future of the salmon population and subsistence living on the island. This manuscript is currently in review for cultural correctness and sensitivity as it contains a dictionary of Tlingit terms. Funny that. I started this story last summer and totally missed the mark on the content and gist of the educational component of the story. Can you say sidetracked with too many ideas? I now have another manuscript to finish “someday”.

I guess my message of the day is life happens, prioritize events, enjoy the scenery and always lug your computer, or whatever you use to write on or in, with you. Seven hours on a ferry or in an airport can be pretty productive time for your art. Just write the first sentence!

Photo by Amien on Pexels.com

A Lesson in Patience

It has been a few months since I posted anything anywhere online. This was not the original plan when I started the blog, Facebook and Instagram sites however work life took more time than I anticipated. The book publishing has also taken more time than I anticipated. Funny that the children’s book I authored contains a theme about being patient. The publishing process has certainly been a lesson on patience! Waiting for all of the components to come together, receiving the proof of the book which was about as exciting and scary as it gets, and seeing areas that needed tweaking continue to take time. On the plus side of the patience equation is that a finished copy is getting so incredibly close to reality!

Photo by Sharon Snider on Pexels.com

I’ll be more consistent as the last pieces of the publishing, marketing and selling puzzle come together. I cannot wait to get this book into the hands of teachers, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles and anyone else who has a 6-8 year old in their life. “Dewdrops to Raindrops” is beautifully illustrated, soft cover, 8″ x 10″ book that contains a story young and older alike can relate to and an educational component on how the rain is created, patience, being a good listener, as well as what it is to be a good friend. How can one little red oak sapling and a dewdrop accomplish all of this? You’ll have to read “Dewdrops to Raindrops” to learn how:)

My Why

My bestie gave me an encouragement stone, you know the smooth rocks that have positive messages engraved or painted on them, after an unexpected loss of my life’s career became my reality. The stone reads “Do What You Love”. I gotta tell ya I was doing what I loved in that career. Okay, moving on…..This was my opportunity to figure out my new “love”. It turns out I had it all along but was afraid I’d fail miserably at it so didn’t even attempt to look into it. That love is writing coupled with teaching our youth about their environment and how they can connect with it, appreciate it, treat it well and pass it along to their children and grands. So, in a nutshell, that is my why for diving into the world of authoring and publishing a children’s book. Do I have formal training as a journalist. Nope. But I have a gift for writing I’ve been told many times over so I’m going with it. I hope you will join me on this journey. Maybe figure out your “Why” and how to do what you love, too. I be grateful if you’d share my blog with your friends, kids’ teachers, siblings…you know what I’m saying:) Thank you!!

I hope to inspire my readers of all ages to allow themselves to imagine!

Venturing Into the Book Zone

Do you have a love of children, nature, reading, learning, teaching, exploring and trying new adventures? Welcome to my world! I’m happy to meet you and hope I can help bring all of those loves together with my new children’s book. The manuscript is finished and will go to the editor by the end of this week! This is incredible as I have finally taken the giant step from “Someday I want to write a children’s book” to “The manuscript is going to the editor.” Crazy!!

This is my first post. Watch for future blog postings with more information on the progress of what I hope is a fun, educational read worthy of gathering your little chicks together for storytime.

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