Why do I write?

I have always enjoyed reading books, however, my interest in being an author did not start until I started teaching. I struggled with reading and writing in the academic sense most of my grade school career. I plan to discuss and dive into that journey further in my Instagram posts. It was a combination of two things that I can pinpoint as the start of my interest in books and the start of my journey as an author.

When I was an undergraduate, I took a children's literature class that honestly changed the way I value literature from birth to adulthood. I was part of the usual author-loving crowd like Shel Silverstein, Mary Pope Osborne, and J.K. Rowling. But this class exposed me to authors as equally brilliant as the "greats" who had literature all across a spectrum of topics. This is where the appreciation for books started. It wasn't until I started teaching little kids aka students how to read, that I saw the lack of diversity in books and how there were groups of people from appearances to abilities that were not represented in literature.

Since the start of my teaching career, I have had many real-life experiences that inspire my picture books. When the ideas weren't coming from my students, they were coming from my personal life and that of my children.

I would joke that my best ideas came at 2 am! I would have an idea that would come into its creative stage at the oddest hours of the night! I would of course have to wake up and write it down before I forgot the idea. From there the idea either gets written right away or sits on hold for a while until I can have the creative head space to make the idea into something unique.

Why do I write? I write to share stories in a safe, fun, or unique way that may or not be a topic that someone may want to share or don't know how to share. I hope my books can be a stepping stone for parents, caregivers and teachers to use to discuss deeper and further.