My mom always said, “make plans and God laughs.” This has been the story of my life, this children’s book is an example of this.
Earlier this year Dana Sue at Bell Asteri (my publisher) put out a request for short stories for a bedtime story book she was writing. I saw the request and ignored it thinking, I have no idea what I would write about.
A few months later, since I didn’t respond she reached out asking if I would write a short story about stuffed animals for her bedtime story book. She knew stuffed animals played a big part in my cancer journey and that they are a key to my heart.
She called 1.5 hours before I had to work. During the time, words flowed from my head down to the paper. Before I knew it a rough draft was written. That night, as I lay in bed, I thought ‘what if this story got turned into a children’s book?’ The next day I called Dana Sue. Her response was I know the perfect illustrator, Hannah.
I set up a meeting with Hannah to introduce her to the idea and all my stuffed animals who were going to be in the first edition of the cuddle crew. I described their personalities and special characteristics about each one.
My heart skipped a beat as her drawings brought me, my mom, my stuffed animals and my story to life.
It took me two years to finish my memoir. It took me eight months to finish my children’s book. I never saw myself as an author, but here I am, following the path God leads me down.
As I wrote the Cuddle Crew, I realized I could use my child life and recreational therapy background and create a series of how stuffed animals help children. Each story will be based of real people in my life, real experiences and real stuffed animals. Stay tuned for more books to come.
Leukemiagirl 