I feel like this is a bit of a coming out for me even though I’ve been writing nearly my entire life. At eight years old, I walked into my 3rd-grade classroom during recess and told my teacher Mrs. Engle that I’d rather stay inside and write. Instead of pushing me out the door, she asked me, “How about we start a writing group every Friday?” She was the first person, other than my parents, to encourage my love of books and the written word.
Fast forward a few decades, and words and stories have gotten me through every phase of my life — but I rarely offered my own words and stories to the world. I kept them locked up in my notebook, written on my bedroom walls as a teen, and I only occasionally showed a handful of them to writer’s groups and writing classes at Augustana College as an undergrad and The University of Chicago as a grad student.
Why’d I hold myself back? A lack of confidence maybe? Fear of what others might think? Feeling like I wasn’t “good enough”? (There’s a reason I write a whole lot about mindset on this blog).
But after losing someone very important to our family in 2017, I realized just how precious time is. I realized how important it is to pursue what we love… and yes, sometimes that means putting ourselves out there and sharing it with the world.
My kids help me see that too. I want them to know that their mother followed her dreams and what set her heart on fire. I want them to know that I pursued my dream of becoming a published author. They also helped me find my voice.
So here goes…
I’m an aspiring kid lit author. Wait, no. That’s not right either:
I’m a Kid Lit Author.
Why kid lit? I’ve long admired the unapologetic confidence of kids (especially my own) but as a beauty consultant, I realized that, in the process of growing up, adults tend to focus on the things they dislike about themselves, rather than their inner beauty and strengths. I hope my stories empower, entertain, and inspire young children and preteens to embrace and love who they are. To be honest, I also write for ‘new adults’ and the occasional adult fiction too but, by and large, if I had to pick one audience, it would be kids.
I can’t wait to share more of my journey with all of you as I pursue the path to publication. In the meantime too, I’d love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter!
Since publishing this post in 2018, I published my first children’s book! Grab “Etta Betta and the Beast,” a story about a girl and her eventual friendship with her pet bulldog, in either hardcover or paperback. All my current publications are available here.
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Aw, your writing story is so inspiring! I love teachers who feed their students’ passions. Your caterpillar and dancing girl sound super cute too.
Aw, thank you so much! I can’t wait to share more about them! Thanks for stopping by the blog <3