I’ve often been asked, “Where did you get the idea for this story” or “How do you come up with these crazy names”. I’m sure all writers or perhaps all creatives are asked similar questions.  Inspiration … where does it come from, and how do I get it?  When you have it, you’re in writing heaven.  When you don’t, writing purgatory.  I wish I had some set formula that allowed me to pull out amazing ideas at will, any time, any place.  But, sadly, I don’t.

I will say that a lot of my inspiration has come from my dogs, Bryce and Charlie. I have a little confession.  I talk to my dogs.  I call them silly names. I’ve made up a silly song about Charlie and I sing it to him sometimes when we’re out for a walk.  The silly names I call them have been used as character or object names in my stories.  But, up until now, I haven’t written anything explicit about either one of them.

In my last blog, I introduced you to a story I entered in Susanna Leonard Hill’s Valentine’s Day contest.  Not only did I submit an entry, but so did most of my critique group.  We helped each other strengthen our manuscripts, marveled at the uniqueness of our respective creativity and when it was all done, one of them (Jill Richards Proctor) suggested another contest … 50 precious words by Vivian Kirkfield. The challenge, create a story that is 50 words or less with a full story arc: beginning, middle and end.  I don’t know whether I should thank Jill or throttle her for putting that in my purview.

The inspiration for my story is my dog, Charlie.  Charlie is an Australian Terrier. This breed is bred to hunt and kill snakes and rodents.  Charlie isn’t discerning at all.  Pretty much if it moves, it’s fair game … cats, rats, rabbits, birds but not dogs.  He likes dogs. 

Before I reveal my entry for the 50 precious words contest, let me show you a few videos of Charlie which demonstrate where I got my inspiration.

Now, you can pretty much see where this is going, right? I hope you enjoy my 50 word story.  I’d love to hear your honest feedback. 

Hunter & Prey by Cheri Wong

Stealthy hunter, deadly quick,
stalks his prey through brush grown thick.
Hiding under fallen leaves,
scaly underdog believes
he can outwit cunning foe
but not if they go toe-to-toe.
Cagey lizard has one ploy:
drops his tail – a twitching toy,
distracting hound … mark gets away.
Canine hunter duped by prey.

Lastly, I shall leave you with this picture as I don’t want you to think that Charlie doesn’t do his breed proud.  My canine hunter isn’t always bamboozled by the twitching toy left by his tail-less prey.

Happy Valentine’s Day! As promised, here is my 211 word entry for Susanna Leonard Hill’s 5th Annual Valentiny Writing Contest.

The challenge is to write a Valentine’s story appropriate for children that is a maximum of 214 words. The theme for this contest is curiosity.

For more details and to read the other wonderful contest entries, pop over to Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog .

Jaina’s UFO

Cruising through space, Jaina came to a stop.
She thought, “What’s that object with two humps on top?
It’s unable to fly but it glides with no sail.
There’s a point at its base with a long, flowing tail.

I know who I’ll ask. He’s a space auctioneer.”
“G’pop, I found this in Mars’ exosphere.”
He studied the object, then shook his square head.
“Why don’t you ask the ring skaters instead?

Intergalactics skate Saturn’s ice rings.
Surely they’ve seen such fantastical things.”
She flew to the rings. She approached a skate corps.
“Excuse me, has anyone seen this before?”

No one had answers, so Jaina departed.
“I’ll go to the moon. That planet’s kindhearted.”
“Mr. Moon, have you seen this red floatie I found?”
Moon nodded, “On Earth, they are carried around.”

“I’ve seen numerous held on this one special day.
They’re exchanged by the earthlings … for what I can’t say.
That day’s drawing near. You should fly down to speak
to an earthling who’ll have just the answer you seek.”

The earthling she asked said, “I know, yes, I do.
It’s a red heart balloon. It means, Hey, I love you!”
Jaina stared at this object found light years above.
This beautiful heart was a gift filled with love!

Once again I’m shaking my head over how much time has passed since I posted an entry on my blog.  I could come up with a myriad of excuses. I could berate myself for not making the time, but the truth is, LIFE HAPPENS. Things happen that take priority. When that occurs, you set down what’s important to you and do what needs to be done. 

In a nutshell, my time has been consumed with a lot of caregiving.  I’ll spare you the gory details, but suffice to say, it involved both human and canine.  As much as I’d like to say I was able to juggle life well and continue flying forward with my own personal goals that just isn’t true.  I did try to keep moving forward; but, alas, it was at a snail’s pace.

Nonetheless, I believe I have come through the caregiving tunnel. Though I can’t put it down completely, it no longer consumes my day, my sleep or my thoughts.  THANK GOODNESS!

Now that there is a big gaping hole in my mind where caregiving camped out for a good year, I can allow my thoughts to meander at will. These days, they’re filled with:

• first day of school worries
• magical ponchos
• beasts scaring critters
• curious UFOs
• ice skaters on Saturn
• caring oak trees

Hmm, okay, I admit it … my imagination does run along the wacky path.

That’s a good thing though!  Especially if you want to write children’s books.  I’m currently juggling 3 different stories and I have one percolating in my mind that I’ve got to get started on lest the inspiration muses decide I’ve dilly-dallied too long and pass the idea along to someone else.

Though it scares me to do, I believe it is time for me to put some of my work out to the universe.  Among those who choose to read my stories, I’m sure there will be a mix of “lovers”, “haters” and “Meh, it’s okay-ers”. Although I want the “lovers” to far outweigh the others, it is what it is.  I don’t write for the accolades (though mind you I do love them!).  I write because I love to write.  I love when I get an idea and can’t wait to write it down.  I love throwing my stories out to my critique group, having them challenge me and force me to see my story from different angles.  They’ve helped me to grow and improve as a writer.

In the next day or two, I will post an entry on my blog for a writing contest that I am entering.  Throughout the year, Susanna Leonard Hill, a children’s author, runs contests for writers which “provide inspiration and practice, help writers flex their writing muscles and spread their writing wings.” It’s fun, it’s challenging and most of all it’s helpful in honing writing skills.

The contest is to write a Valentine’s Day story in which someone feels curious, which is appropriate for children ages 12 and under and with a maximum of 214 words.  You will finally have an opportunity to get a glimpse of my writing – the good, the bad and the ugly.  I’d love some honest feedback.  Do check my blog again in the next day or 2 to read my contest entry.

Image courtesy of Mira Reisberg at the Children’s Book Academy

Six weeks ago, I told you about an online class that I was taking to hone my skills as a picture book writer. I thought the class was fantastic!

For those of you who are interested in improving your writing/editing skills or learning more about how to get published, I highly recommend taking a class with Mira Reisberg and her team at the Children’s Book Academy. The information she covered was extensive, and the material was well thought out. I think the biggest draw is Mira herself. She is incredibly kind and generous with her time and her knowledge. She loves teaching, and it truly shows in the interaction with her students.

Though I had high hopes that I would accomplish a lot during this class, alas, I did not. I wasn’t able to devote the time I wanted to devote to it. Consequently, I fell woefully behind with the lessons. However, I did manage to follow the webinars and the interaction with teachers and fellow students on Facebook as well as participated in my critique group.

The Teachers

• Mira Reisberg – She has helped MANY authors and illustrators get published. She has worn many different hats in the industry including art director, editor, illustrator and author, and literary agent.
• Kelly Delaney – An Assistant Editor at Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, where she acquires and edits picture books and middle grade and young adult novels.
• Published authors – Mira interviews many different authors so you get to learn from those who are on the same path you are on. She shares these interviews via videos in each daily lesson.

Class structure

Daily lessons were given through a password protected website. The material was presented via a web page and there was usually at least 1 video on the page. This allows students to go at their own pace. Mira acknowledges that there is a lot of information provided. So, she encourages you to go at a pace that works for you. I know I was not the only one who could not keep up with the material. Fortunately, the website still will be available for several months after the end of the course so that those who were unable to keep up will have access to the material. In addition, she provides an e-book at the end of the course which is a compilation of all the lessons!

Each lesson typically had homework. This homework was submitted as a comment on a corresponding “homework” web page.

Each week there was a webinar during which Mira and her co-teacher Kelly critiqued the homework submitted on the “homework” web page. Webinars were typically 1 hour long. So Mira and Kelly each were able to critique 10 of the students’ homework.

A dedicated Facebook page for the class was created. This was where we could interact with our fellow students as well as with our teachers. Questions posed to Mira and Kelly were typically answered within hours if not within minutes of posting! That’s how on top of things they were.

Critique groups (5 students each) were created and given a dedicated Facebook page. This was where we could upload our manuscripts and have the other students in our group critique our work. My critique group was great! Everyone was so helpful and responsive!

Fostering a community

Mira’s enthusiasm and love of craft were infectious. She created a wonderful community of authors who feel connected and supported. She accomplished this by bringing together people who share the same common goal and who actively engaged in learning not only from the teacher but also from one another.

Mutual respect and a wonderful camaraderie developed among the members of this group. Even after the course ended, class members are still posting questions and answers; and I suspect this will continue well past the end.

Bonuses and Golden Tickets

As a bonus at the end of the course, Mira critiqued our personal websites. Through a webinar where she shared her computer screen, she visited each individual’s website and offered advice on how to make it better. I am thrilled to say that she thought my website was great!!! She did have some wonderful ideas on how I can share my writing with you all. So, I will be working on that in the weeks/months to come.

Lastly, at the end of the course, Mira offers what she calls the “Golden Ticket” opportunity. You get to submit a pitch for your book to an agent or editor bypassing the slush pile or closed house submission policies. Writing a pitch for your book is one of the lessons provided, and the pitch is critiqued by Mira or Kelly before you submit it. The panel of editors and agents will read your pitch, and then choose ones for which they would like to see the full manuscript.

Because I fell woefully behind, I will not be submitting a pitch, but I wish my fellow students luck and success with their pitches as well as their careers as writers.

I highly recommend this class to new authors as well as published authors. There is something in it for everyone! By the way, writing and publishing are not the only topics Mira teaches. She has an illustration course coming up. If you’re interested, early bird registration is now open. Click here for details.

To find out what other classes Mira teaches, go to the Children’s Book Academy.

Image courtesy of canstockphoto.com/MariuszPrusaczyk

Last week I started an online class for writing children’s picture books. It’s a mentored 5 week class that teaches you how to write, edit and revise your books. Not only does it help you hone your writing skills but it also promises to teach you how to craft a query letter to send to literary agents and publishers.

Originally, I was going to use my existing manuscript for this course, but at the last minute, I decided to use a story that I had started but never finished. It’s tentatively named “Charlie” and is about a little dog who can’t find his pal. So, he ventures out to find him. My goal over the next 5 weeks is not only to create a first draft of this story, but also to revise/edit it to the point where I can submit it to an agent or publisher. It’s a fairly lofty goal considering I’ve spent many months on my 2 other books.

The online class material is presented in several different ways:

• Daily lessons presented on a website in a blog format and/or video format
• Weekly webinars
• Facebook group interactions for questions and critiques

Honestly, it’s a lot of material and incredibly overwhelming to keep up; but in just a 1 week, I’ve already learned some really helpful tips and tricks to make my manuscript better.

Hooks

Every book should have a hook. It’s something that draws the readers in and makes them want to turn the page and read more. The best books grab you right from the beginning.

When I read fiction books, I’m willing to give a book about 50–100 pages to draw me in. With children’s picture books, you need to hook them within the first 60 words! In those 60 words, you need to let the reader know what the story is about and get him/her to love or be intrigued by your character. It’s an incredibly daunting task!

Editing for brevity

With children’s picture books there is no room for excess words. Every word that you keep in your story must have purpose. Here are a few of the suggestions I found helpful for editing out unnecessary words:

• Get rid of adjectives and adverbs if they don’t enhance or guide the story. Or, find a single word that describes what you want to say. For example, “he ran fast” can be replaced by “he sprinted.”
• Get rid of any redundancy.
• Get rid of unnecessary descriptions.

The last one on the list was the most helpful to me. I’m not an illustrator yet when I write, I envision my characters and the scene that I am writing. I feel compelled to add in the description, when in fact, I should allow an illustrator’s imagination and creativity to describe the scenes. The adage “A picture is worth a thousand words” always should be kept in mind.

Types of picture books

Did you know there are different types of picture books? Each type can be associated to age groups.

• Board Books – these books have cardboard pages to withstand wear and tear from little fingers and mouths. Typical age: 0–2 years.
• Concept Books – these books introduce kids to a theme such as the alphabet, counting or shapes. Typical age: 2–8 years.
• Easy Readers – these books use limited vocabulary. The text is larger and the illustrations are essential to the story. Typical age: 4–8 years.
• Non-fiction – introduces subjects in a simple way, for example, books about bugs or the Wild West. Typical age: 3–12 years.
• Wordless – I love these books! A wordless story is told completely through the illustrations of the book. Typical age: 2–12 years.

Worthwhile endeavor

This online course is presented by the Children’s Book Academy led by Dr. Mira Reisberg. As you can see, in just one short week, we’ve touched on a variety of topics. In addition, there are individual critique groups that allow us to help one another edit our stories, bounce ideas, and give encouragement when needed.

I’m hopeful the next 4 weeks will be as enlightening as the first one. I’ll definitely keep you posted on my progress.

In the meantime, if you are a writer or an illustrator, check out her website for other helpful courses.

SCBWI Spring Spirit Conference

Back when I was mulling over a career in writing, I had been advised to join the SCBWI, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. I joined because I trusted the person who gave me that tip. Unfortunately at that time, all I did was read the newsletter they sent out. Though the cost to join was not high, I didn’t get anything out of it. After a year, I dropped it. I had not taken the time to seek out what value SCBWI could bring to me.

Now that I have entrenched myself in this endeavor, I have rejoined and am making a concerted effort to make use of the networking advantages as well as workshops and conferences. A few weekends back, I attended my first SCBWI conference. The conference, “2015 Spring Spirit,” was put on by the California North/Central region of SCBWI. It was fantastic!

Being that this was my first SCBWI conference, I had no idea what to expect. I went into it with my “growth mindset” and sought to learn as much as I could and hoped to make some new friends who also wrote children’s books.

I chose to attend the following sessions:

• Hand in Hand: How an Author and Editor Work Together to Birth a Book
• Rhythm, Rhyme and Reason
• There’s More to Writing Good Dialogue Than Just Writing Good Dialogue
• Killer Robots, Time Portals & Wizards — Oh my

Sounds like quite an eclectic group of workshops, eh? I’m happy to say that I got something out of each workshop and would like to share a few of the tips and tidbits I learned.

Hand in Hand: How an Author and Editor Work Together to Birth a Book

There were 2 speakers in this workshop, author Tracy Clark and her editor Karen Grove of Entangle Publishing. It was wonderful to have 2 different perspectives of what it’s like to have a book in the process of being published. Here are some things I learned:

• Having a literary agent really is advantageous (and worth the 15%) because your manuscript will go straight to the editor’s desk. Literary agents work hard to develop relationships with editors at publishing houses. So, if your agent has a good rapport with an editor, it is highly likely your manuscript will get bumped up in priority and read earlier rather than later.
• Before jumping on board with an editor, find out some of the things they want to change. It’s entirely possible the editor would like to remove things from your book that you feel are instrumental to the story. Don’t be afraid to have a conversation with your editor to make sure you both are on a similar trajectory.
• The work that goes on between an editor and author is a give & take process. Don’t be afraid to push back.

Rhythm, Rhyme and Reason

This session was hosted by author Erin Dealey. She has published several rhyming picture books: “Little Bo Peep Can’t Get to Sleep,” “Goldilocks has Chicken Pox,” and more! Like me, when Erin writes, her creativity comes out in rhyme. Yet, despite the ease and naturalness of the process, we must still take care to avoid certain missteps:

• Don’t rhyme for the sake of rhyming. Make sure your rhyming enhances the story.
• Watch the cadence or meter of your rhyme. Make sure it flows easily off your tongue. Have others read it out loud so you can see if there are any verses that someone might stumble on.
• Do not use too many “near” rhymes. For example, ‘explained’ rhymes with ‘complained’ and kind of rhymes with ‘became.’

Thankfully, despite not knowing the rules, with both of my stories, I avoided most of the missteps.

Killer Robots, Time Portals & Wizards — Oh my

This was my favorite of all the sessions I attended. Editor, Carter Hasegawa, discussed how you can create authentic and relatable characters and build worlds that your readers will love. This was a hands-on session, where we actually got to write. We paired up with someone that we sat next to and each pairing got an assignment. Ours was to sketch out an idea for the following: There are creatures living in the bay. And they want to communicate with you. How does this work? What are they? What do they want? Why you?

For the first 5 minutes we sketched out our thoughts. Then each of us got 5 minutes to present our idea to our partner so he/she could ask thoughtful questions that would allow us to expand on our idea. I had a lot of fun doing this and surprised myself by quickly coming up with an idea that I really like. I volunteered to share my idea with the audience. This gave the speaker the opportunity to ask thought provoking and probing questions so that I could really work out the details of the idea/characters. The questions he asked went into far more detail than I would have for a picture book, but I totally see the value in really honing in on the minutia so that you can cultivate a strong and intriguing story.

Since the conference, this story keeps creeping into my thoughts. As a result, I’ve spent more time flushing out the idea and refining the details of the characters. Actually, I can see turning this workshop idea into a children’s picture book!

Conference wrap-up

My initial membership with SCBWI was completely lackluster because of my lack of effort. The adage, “you get out what you put in” was so true. I put in nothing and got out nothing.

Belonging to an association affiliated with your trade can bring many benefits as long as you are willing to be an active participant. There is power in being connected to others in your line of work. Many people think that joining the organization is enough, but to capitalize on the return on your investment you need to be engaged and take part in the workshops and conferences. I went into the conference with a goal to learn. Not only did I learn a lot, but I met a lot of really great people. I think I even found a great critique partner!

Oh, and the bonus is that the editors and literary agents who presented at this conference are accepting submissions from conference participants. Channels that are normally only open to literary agents are open to conference authors/illustrators for a short time. Woohoo!

Photo courtesy of http://www.canstockphoto.com/lightwavemedia

I wrote a good portion of this week’s blog while sitting at Panera Bread with 3 people I had just met. This was my first meet-up for writing and it’s called “Shut Up and Write.” The premise is to dedicate a certain amount of uninterrupted time to writing. In this case, it was an hour.

Prior to coming here, I wondered if I could really get any work done in a public place. In school, I had never been one of those people who could study in a noisy area. I always found a quiet, out of the way spot in the library or an empty classroom where there would be complete silence and no distractions.

There are multiple reasons why people gravitate to public areas to do their work:

• Some crave the interaction with other people.
• Some need to get away from the distractions at home.
• Others may need the Wi-Fi available.

For me, I needed a venue outside my home to get away from the distractions of my dogs and the chores that never seem to go away. Plus, I thought it would be interesting to see if sitting with other writers would motivate me to write for one solid hour.

What are some pros to working at a public place?

There are definitely some benefits to working outside of one’s home.

• It gives you social interaction. Writing is a solitary profession … at least it can be. So, sometimes it’s good to get out and mingle with others.
• It can relieve boredom.
• It can energize you.
• It can stir your creative juices and perhaps give you ideas that you hadn’t thought of before.

What are some cons of working at an outside venue?

• One serious downside that I found was that the Wi-Fi was significantly slower than the Internet speed I have at home!
• Etiquette dictates that you buy something at the venue. It may just be a few dollars for a cup of coffee, but it adds up!
• The particular venue I was in, Panera Bread, has a lot more yummy treats than my pantry and refrigerator. That’s always a risky thing for me!
• Using public Wi-Fi rather than my secure connection at home made me more vulnerable to snooping.

How did it go for me?

Over all, I would give changing my work environment a thumbs up. I really enjoyed meeting other people who enjoy writing. Each of us had different goals and styles but it was nice to share with them where I am headed and what I am trying to accomplish. Also, being surrounded by these writers who were diligently writing kept me focused. Watching 2 people scribbling furiously in their notebooks while the other banged away at his keyboard actually compelled me to write! Hmmm, does that make me competitive???

It was helpful to get away from my dogs. As much as I love them, they are definitely a distraction for me.

I was able to disengage from all the conversations around me which was one of the things I was worried about. Though I was able to write a good portion of today’s blog, I did struggle when I attempted to write verses for my next book. Since all of my recent writing time has been spent on this blog and on query letters to publishers, I found it difficult to switch modes.

I will definitely give this meetup another try, but I may change the location so I can meet other people as well.

Question: Have you tried working in a public location? How did it work out for you?

Image courtesy of canstockphoto.com/vicnt

Have you ever heard of the expression “going down the rabbit hole?” It’s when you start off on a quest towards a goal and then get sidetracked by something which causes you to change direction multiple times along the way. Eventually you end up somewhere you didn’t expect, typically without having satisfied the original purpose of the quest. A classic example is when you surf the Internet. You start off with something in mind but pretty soon it’s 2–3 hours later and you still haven’t found what you were originally looking for (nor, I might add, are you even still looking for it!).

This is something that I struggle with. Every day, every week, I have goals in mind. My primary goal, of course, is to figure out how to publish this book. But, I also want to get a weekly blog post out. Combine that with caring for my dogs, working out, getting chores done around the house and pretty soon, the day has gotten away from me and I have very little to show for it.

I’ve always thought that if I didn’t have a full time job, I would be able to get so much done. Yet, that just has not been the case. I’ve talked with other friends who do not have a full time job and they too experience the same problem.

Is it that we lack focus?
Is it that we lack discipline?

Truly, I start out with wonderful intentions and yet, something always preempts them.

How do I stay focused on the prize?

Part of my problem is the priorities I set for myself. Publishing my book and continuing to write other books should be my highest priorities but honestly, publishing my book doesn’t typically make the top 2 and writing new books isn’t even on the priority list!

Hmmm, for someone who wants to be a writer, I think there’s a problem with my priorities!

Because I have a goal of writing one post a week, this puts my blog at priority #1 or #2. Even though those of you who follow me would forgive a missed week, I still hold myself accountable to do this. My biggest issue with writing this blog is that it takes me too darn long. I’d like to be able to bang out a blog post in a few hours but the reality is it usually occupies a few hours across several days.

The next top priority at least for the last month has been my dog. Those of you who really know me and my spoiled dog, know that it is difficult to put him at a lower priority especially when he’s not feeling well.

Then, like all good rabbit holes, there is always something that comes up (or should I say “down”?) that needs my attention. Last week, it was tearing down the holiday decorations. This week, my dad fell and hit his head.

Taking ownership

My point is I let a lot of life’s issues/things get in the way of my priorities. I need to stay focused and I need to treat being a writer like a job with tasks and priorities. Publishing my book and writing new material should be priorities #1 and #2.

Last year, I worked with a dietitian to learn how to make smart choices to lose weight and to be healthy. Her big thing is taking ownership of the process. I always had excuses for why I would eat something bad. Most of the time it revolved around emotions. I’m sad, I’m angry, I’m frustrated were all reasons for derailing myself. I would put the blame on something external to me when in reality, I had the ability to make a choice. I could choose to let my emotions dictate my actions or I could choose not to.

Likewise, I get to make the choice of whether or not I will let life preempt the things I want and need to do. Similar to the diet and eating healthfully, I need to own this career path if I hope to make it as a writer. I need to make better and smarter choices.

So, I am going to make publishing and writing a higher priority than blogging. Rather than posting weekly blogs, I am switching to every other week. This will give me more time to concentrate on how to get my book published, and it will give me more time to be creative. I can’t promise that my dog Bryce won’t preempt publishing and writing, but at least I think this is a step in the right direction.

Image courtesy of canstockphoto.com/Massonforstock

Tis the season to be merry which means it’s time to get cracking on those holiday traditions. Each year I watch as friends and family scurry about getting ready for the holidays. Some bake cookies or build gingerbread houses while others compete to have the best lit house on the block.

Traditions are typically passed from generation to generation. Though there are some people, like my friend Kris, who create their own so they can share and spread the joy of the season to their loved ones.

I tease Kris and call her “Cindy Lou from Whoville” while proclaiming myself to be Scrooge or the Grinch. Every year she works on converting me … so far I’ve been able to resist!

Holiday Traditions

I truly do love the traditions that Kris has during the holidays:

• She scrapbooks a calendar of her kids and she gives the calendar to her extended family.
• The Saturday after Thanksgiving she and her children pick out their Christmas tree. Every year, one of her kids is designated “Tree Captain” which means he or she gets to pick the tree that year.
• Her house is totally decked out with Christmas decorations.
• Each of her children must wear a holiday hat on Christmas morning.

Honestly, I don’t have a single holiday tradition that would be considered traditional per se. The closest thing I have to tradition is writing a rhyming Christmas letter that chronicles my exploits for the past year. I started writing a rhyming one because I figured people might actually read it if I made it light and fun. Now my friends and family have come to expect it.

How that tradition led to my becoming an author

Writing these Christmas letters has always been relatively easy for me and every year I get better and better at the cadence and flow. It never occurred to me to actually do something with this skill; it was just a fun thing I did around the holidays.

Then in February 2010, I went to New Zealand to get married. The woman who owned the B&B we stayed at was from Texas. We were having a conversation about ex-pats from the United States who live in New Zealand. She told me about an ex-pat who wrote a children’s book that did very well. He ended up quitting his day job, moving to New Zealand, and now he writes for a living!

A light bulb went off in my head! I thought, “I could do that!” So, when I came back home, I wrote my first children’s book. It took me close to 6 months but I’m incredibly proud of that accomplishment!

Creating this book proved to me that I do have the skills to be a writer. It has given me the confidence to continue writing other stories and to pursue something creative and fun.

Who knew a little holiday tradition could evolve into a whole new career?! I guess the lesson here is to never overlook the little things that bring you joy for you never know where they may lead you.