Curlilocks Book Launch Curlilocks and her best friend Nelson are off to Auntie Lizzie’s house for a Jam session. Curlilocks plays the the cello and Nelson plays the Violin. There’s one hurdle in their way… the Sleepy Giant. The Sleepy Giant needs to be fast asleep or no one gets across his bridge! This is Curlilocks …

Curlilocks and the Sleepy GiantRead More »

It’s book club time again. This is the fourth year I’ve lead the book club and I’m excited about the upcoming year of books and discussion. With my kids getting older, I’ve upped the age of the book club and the length of books we read. Que trump…. introducing, “Mommy, Daddy and Tween Book Club.” …

Tween Book Club Selection – Gone Crazy in AlabamaRead More »

Mommy Daddy & Me book club is Saturday, March 18th 1:30-2:45 at the Carver Museum in Austin Texas. The kids voted in February and decided they’d read Gator on the Loose an Animal Rescue Team book by Sue Stauffacher.

I put together a Spring Break early reader list for the family book club I lead and thought I’d share with you all. The book club is for kids first through fourth grade. This list may come in handy while your kids are home from school this break. I like to keep three or four …

7 Early Reader Spring Break Books featuring Children of ColorRead More »

Book 3 For Curlilocks Fanny just sent me a couple of the color illustrations of upcoming Curlilocks book, Curlilocks and the Sleepy Giant. Super excited. I introduced a new character, Nelson. He’s Curlilocks best friend. I love the texture of Nelson’s hair :). Hoping to get this picture book out by Summer 2018.

Behind the Scenes Non-Fiction Picture Book Choice So although it’s a family book club, only the kids get to vote on the next months books. My lovelies voted between two sets of books. Both are non-fiction picture books that feature black characters. You Should Meet Mae Jemison by Laurie Calkhoven (suggested age range 6-8) Tiny …

Family Book Club #10 Prep Non-Fiction Picture BooksRead More »

It’s the third year of Mommy, Daddy and Me book club. I’ve led the book club the first four months of the year since my daughter was in 1st grade. Now she’s a 3rd grader and I wondered about it being our swan song year with all of the other Saturday activities both she and …

Family Book Club #9 Non-Fiction Picture BooksRead More »

This past December my illustrator created several images for me for the upcoming Story Bird Dance Journal. I’m in the middle of designing the lay-out. Readers of Story Bird Dance  will be able to write their daily thoughts and complete how they were -brave -kind -challenged There’s also a space for the next days goals. …

JournalRead More »

I’m so in love with the cover of the newest book, Story Bird Dance and The Snowbird Ballet and the mini ballet. I wanted to incorporate black, grays and whites in the Snowbirds ballet costume. So often the main character is in all white. I wanted drama and my illustrator delivered! She rocks!!! I sent …

Winter Story – Story Bird Dance and The Snowbird BalletRead More »

Ok… I’m so excited, just started writing a “winterish” story for the next Story Bird Dance book. I was heading in a different direction. Originally, I was going to do a party story, but another fabulous author, Marti Dumas (of the Jaden Toussaint series is putting together a winter writing bundle. Fingers crossed that I …

Story Bird Dance and the Lost SnowbirdRead More »

Putting together the final tweaks for ….the first book in Story Bird Dance series. Something’s going on in that house… Sky, Jada and Nia love their dance studio and their instructor, Ms. Kenya. But when they learn that their studio is being moved to an empty old house, their excitement turns to dread. While exploring …

Story Bird DanceRead More »

I’m rebuilding my writing muscle. When summer hits and the kids are off, I’m off too. This morning I woke up totally refreshed. That’s probably because I finally went to bed around 10:30 pm. Instead of my normal midnight thirty. I’m pretty sure my husband and I were talking about something, when the quicksand of …

Creating a Habit of WritingRead More »

It’s summer. My kids are home. We’re having fun and making messes, big messes, that I only seem to clean up. A little venting never hurt. I’m birthing several projects and having to make sure I’m present in my daily interactions.  First, I’m excited about my new website. The hubby has been helping big time. …

Summer-Early Reader Chapter Book, Picture Book & The TrunchbullRead More »

I get excited when I find new books and the main character is a child of color. Lately, I’ve found it challenging to find books that highlight or uplift boy characters of color and specifically black and brown young men in the early reader category. This week while looking for titles to present to the …

2 New Book Titles featuring African American ProtagonistRead More »

Writing my latest Curlilocks story and I’m slightly frustrated by the box I’ve created for myself. The inspiration for this one comes from my daughter and her cello lessons. I’ve fallen in love with a title and now writing to the title, Curlilocks and the Wicked Cello. This is the third Curlilocks book. I’ve decided …

Writing a Picture Book-The JourneyRead More »

I finally got the coloring book storyboard out to my illustrator. Curlilocks and the Pink Panda’s and Curlilocks and the Big Bad Hairbrush will both have an Activity/Coloring Book.  I did an outline for each of the pages and took some advice from a friend and made two coloring books instead of one. Originally, I was …

Coloring BookRead More »

This week I had the privilege of sharing my Hero’s Journey with the elementary students at my children’s school. I love the school and learning environment around the students. They invite parents and members of the community to share their passions and the paths including the twist, set backs and inspirations, also known as “The Hero’s Journey”. …

Author Visit- My Kids SchoolRead More »

This year I have the honor of leading a book club for 1st -3rd grade readers and their parents. I agreed to lead the book club because I wanted to share the love of reading with children and their parents and also have the ability to continually introduce children to books that featured children of …

Book club: Mommy, Daddy & MeRead More »

Curlilocks and the Big Bad Hairbrush is available on Amazon.com and BN.com. Yes! This one took a little longer on the production end, but it was worth the time. From start to finish it took about eight months. That’s writing, editing, illustrations, final edits and dun dun duuuuu formatting. I was able to assemble most …

Picture Book Formatting WoesRead More »

My husband and I read to the kids at night, sometimes they trade in reading for a dance party. During the commute to school we either listen to the Kids or Talk radio via satellite, talk about whatever’s on top of the brain or listen to an audiobook. Side-note- I love Talk Radio, the kids… …

Bedtime and School Commute Books – 2014 NovRead More »

My 2nd picture book-Curlilocks and the Big Bad Hairbrush has been written, edited, storyboarded and the penciled drawings are completed. My illustrator is adding color and some additional front matter. While I’m waiting for final illustrations- I’m preparing for a Middle School visit and plan to talk to the students about character development. Curlilocks is …

Middle School Author Visit – Character Development- Aunt AdeleRead More »

My new favorite iPhone app is the 5-Minute Journal. It’s helping me get things done. For months I’ve needed to do a few final touches on my second book and make different health choices. They were small things, but I continually found more interesting things to do instead. Like clean the bathroom mirrors, or dust …

Written Goals – WorkRead More »

The notion of writing for children started with a college writing assignment. An elementary education class had tasked us with writing a children’s book. Hmmm, that first book was not pretty, but it planted the seed that I could be be an author. Twenty years, three careers, a wonderful marriage and two kids later I …

A BeginningRead More »

I’ve inadvertently planted books and the my kids are picking them. Around the house we have books on shelves and a book basket that occasionally moves from downstairs to the upstairs hallway. The kids have their favorites and usually know where to find them. Needless to say, most of the books on the shelves get …

Planting BooksRead More »