It. Is. Official.
I have written, designed, and published a children’s book!
This has truly been a decades-long dream of mine and seeing it happen fills me with indescribable joy!
back to the beginning
I have always LOVED to read. As an elementary student, I don’t know which part of each day was my favorite…silent reading time or teacher read-aloud time. In high school, I soaked up every new novel and author I was exposed to in American Lit and World Lit. For as far back as I can remember, there was rarely a time when I did not have my eyes or my ears honed in on a book. All these years later, not much has changed. As a young mom, I adored and cherished the moments when my children would curl up in my lap or snuggle up next to me…asking me to read to them. And these days, there is always a book or an e-reader within my reach regardless of where I am.
Partway through high school, I discovered that not only did I have a love for reading, I had equal admiration for writing…and for words. *Silly side-note: When I worked as a para-pro at an elementary school, my students affectionately nicknamed me “word nerd” when they realized how much satisfaction and delight I found within words.* Throughout high school, I embraced every opportunity to put pen to paper. Whether it was an assigned essay, a speech, or a research paper for class or it was personal poetry and creative pieces “just for fun”… I was happy when I was writing. And to this day, I firmly believe that a thoroughly marked-up, wrinkled, messy rough draft is a thing of beauty…a piece of art.
Around my junior year, I started to think about writing a children’s book…someday. I had a pocket folder filled with oodles of loose pieces of notebook paper and sticky notes scribbled with dozens of story concepts, title ideas, character names and descriptions…and a dream. Year after year, this treasured folder followed me everywhere…from my dad and mom’s home, up to my college dormitory, back to my dad and mom’s home, off to my first home with my husband, and finally to our current home. Each time a room in our house was remodeled, reorganized, or repurposed, this pocket folder would resurface…along with the dream that it held. I would sift through the folder, revisit old ideas, and never pursue them any further…until this past summer. This past summer, I finally overcame the fear and self-doubt and I began writing and designing what would eventually become “Sometimes I Feel…”.
“Sometimes I Feel…” is a beautifully written book that takes children on a journey through various emotions. Its engaging narrative and colorful illustrations focus on the many emotions children experience and offer a comforting reminder that it’s okay to feel a wide range of things…from joy to sadness, excitement to frustration. “Sometimes I Feel…” will resonate deeply with readers…sparking conversations about feelings and how to express them in a healthy, understanding way.
Bellevue Elementary School; Bellevue, Michigan
book fairs, author visits, and more
In late October, just three weeks after “Sometimes I Feel…” was published, I joined more than seventy other authors and artists at Castle Farms in Charlevoix, Michigan for their “Boozy Book Fair”. Hundreds of book lovers attended this event and it was an incredible honor to share my very first…very new…children’s book with so many of them!
The inaugural “Boozy Book Fair” was such a smashing success that Castle Farms is hosting “Boozy Book Fair – Chapter 2” on May 10, 2025…and I will once again be there as vendor.
Earlier this month, I was invited to do author visits at both Bellevue Elementary School and Central Lake Elementary School to help students and staff celebrate “March Is Reading” month! It was so much fun to read “Sometimes I Feel…” to thirteen separate classrooms and then spend time having so many great conversations with students and teachers afterward!
available now
“Sometimes I Feel…” is available for purchase now on Amazon. I also have some copies on hand, available to purchase locally.
Please feel welcome to share this link with any and all of the readers and book-buyers in your life.
A small collection of unique and colorful merchandise has also been designed to accompany “Sometimes I Feel…”.
T-shirts, hoodies, water bottles, and stickers can be seen and purchased online at Sleepy-Time Tees.
thank you
Thank you to all of you who have already purchased your copies of “Sometimes I Feel…”. Whether you visited me at the book fair at Castle Farms, purchased through Amazon, or stopped by my home…your support means the world to me. Thank you for believing in me and encouraging me to continue pursuing this dream.
