I am committed to creating wholesome and safe children's books.  I believe children deserve to experience joy in stories with innocent topics that promote reading, spark imagination, and leave them feeling emotionally uplifted.  My children's books are created for children with content that is age-appropriate.  

Because the minds of children are developing (the frontal lobe of the brain completes development at age 25) I am mindful to only writing kid-appropriate content.  Being a mother, I understand that conceptually, emotionally, and physically, children exist in a space of innocence and I am committed to protecting that innocence in my books and stories.  I intend to write as a responsible adult and steward of children and preserve the innocence of children in all of my creations.  

My mission is to create timeless & age-appropriate, kid-friendly topics that any child of any background can enjoy.  Examples include rhymes, hide and seek, shoes changing colors, ice cream cone trees, bubble gum, cartoons, and dialog with funny puns.  I wish for all readers will be left emotionally & psychologically uplifted by the end of my stories.  

My children are the source of my inspiration.  In early years, they loved rhymes, playing hide and seek, and festive holidays.  As they grew out of their early years, they enjoyed unpredictable suspense and comforting endings.  

Ten Little Pumpkins Hide and Seek and Santa's Reindeer Hide and Seek are predictable rhymes with a festive holiday game of hide and seek.  The Strange Thing Forest offers unpredictable suspense while Quacky Yappy's Ribbiting Adventure offers suspense and humor. 

The Strange Thing Forest was inspired by my second grader's homework.  When he brought home a drawing of a forest with a sentence describing the forest as "terrifying and smelling like dead fish," I thought, "that's strange."  When he asked for a bedtime story that evening, the idea of a forest where strange things happen popped into my head.  Since it was bedtime, I embraced kid-friendly strange.  What started as an impromptu creation of the imagination evolved into a story book when my kindergartner declared, "I love it."  I figured if my own children love the story, other children their age will love it as well so I created a book for all to enjoy!

The critics determine the process.  Honest feedback is the only only feedback they offer and only when both critics give the kid stamp of approval, does the story move forward. 

The one word response from the 8 year old determines what happens next:

"Good," means the story moves forward.

"Lame," means the story needs some work.

To get the details of the good, bad or ugly parts of the story, ask the 6 year old.  His detailed feedback may be longer than the story itself!  Never short on words, he will tell you what he liked, what he didn't like, and how to change the story to make it better.  Once changes are made, the edited version is read to the 8-year old to receive his updated one word feedback that determines what happens next:

"Good,"  means move forward with publishing or

"Lame," means edit again or scrap the story. 

As a mother of two boys, I can tell you that home life can get chaotic!   Living with two energizer bunnies who love to play hard and express their very strong opinions can be challenging and test my patience.... a lot.  Reading bedtime stories together, however, has been a most enjoyable part of parenting.  Cuddling up at the end of the night, and just being together with a story, is truly a bonding moment.  Hearing my boys express their thoughts, feelings, and opinions of a story, offer valuable insight to their inquiring minds & give me a glimpse into who they are and where they are coming from as far as their thinking process & their knowledge level.   Bonding with my children through books and stories has been an incredible experience.  I am so grateful for the creative inspiration books have brought to my children and I and I hope my books will bring that same joy to  young readers everywhere!