COMING TO A SHELF NEAR YOU…
I am pleased to announce that I am now published in a brand new devotional from Guideposts: Pray a Word a Day, vol. 2 (June 2023). You can get more information on this devotional, as well as a link to order it here.
There are many more books I”m working on, and I can’t wait for them to make their way onto shelves and I can officially share them with you!
In the meantime, I would love to give you a glimpse into the variety of projects I’m working on—in hopes that you start getting excited about them, too! Here are just a few pitches for the children’s books I have written and am in the process of trying to get published.
TITLE: A RECIPE FOR MAKING FRIENDS 🧁
GENRE: Picture Book, EMPOWERING SEL (ages 4-8)
Pitched as THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW x HOW FULL IS YOUR BUCKET:
When a child struggles to make friends, she takes refuge in her favorite activity, baking, and laments that there’s not a recipe for making friends. Until she realizes that maybe there is… Using some principles from baking, she discovers ways to cook up friendships from scratch. It may not be as easy as pie, but making friends never tasted so sweet! Back matter includes an easy cookie recipe that ties into the storyline.
TITLE: SUPER BREE ⚡️
GENRE: Picture Book, EMPOWERING & BODY-pOSITIVITY (ages 4-8)
Bree pretends that the birthmark on her leg is like a built-in superhero costume: It gives her special superpowers, which she uses to keep the playground safe. That is, until some bullies—who have been wreaking havoc throughout the playground—tease her about her birthmark. Feeling a sense of shame, she covers up the birthmark with a bandage. But when she covers up the birthmark, she covers up her superpowers, too. But when another child calls for help, Bree must discover what her real superpower is, after all, in order to make the playground safe, once more.
TITLE: “X” MARKS THE SPOT 🏝️
GENRE: Picture Book, GROWTH-MINDSET (ages 4-8)
Each day, Marcus looks forward to recess—when he can play and be an adventurer. But when recess ends, he believes his adventures do, too. Then, a worksheet returned with red marks and corrections sparks an idea: What if he tried treating them like directions on a secret treasure map? In the process, he learns what really makes him an adventurer, after all.
TITLE: THE GOLDEN TOUCH 🏆
GENRE: Picture Book, CHRISTIAN (ages 4-8)
A redemptive story about brokenness made beautiful inspired by Isaiah 64:8 (“We are the clay, you are the potter”) and the ancient Japanese art of kintsugi, whereby broken pottery is beautifully repaired with gold:
Kennedy yearns to make something beautiful for her mom, who is in the hospital. While her mom trusts that God will make all things beautiful at the right time, Kennedy forges ahead with a plan of her own when she goes to a paint-your-own pottery shop. She struggles to know what to make that will be beautiful enough for her mom, until the potter makes her reconsider her definition of beauty. However, when she accidentally breaks her creation—in all its beauty—Kennedy is distraught…until the potter reassures her that all things can be made beautiful, even these broken pieces…
TITLE: WREN BUILDS MORE THAN A NEST 🪶
GENRE: Lower Middle-Grade Chapter Book (ages 7-10)
A heartwarming story of one unlikely but endearing friendship takes readers deep into the wild world of backyard birds:
As the smallest and biggest of the backyard birds, Wren (a house wren) and Grace (a grackle) couldn’t be more different: Wren is independent and craves the quiet, while Grace is gregarious and loud. Now that they’re on their own, the birds are tasked with building their first nests—before the best spots are claimed and they have to build their nests over there at the neighborhood school.
Wanting to prove that she can build hers all on her own, Wren works hard to build her nest—only to have it discovered and destroyed by the Birch children. But when she takes her anger out on Grace, Wren soon discovers that friendship—and life—in the wild backyard are more complicated than she ever expected. Now Wren must not only construct a new nest to avoid building over there but also repair her friendship with Grace before she really is all on her own with no one left to turn to.
This story is intended as the first book in a series tentatively titled THE FEATHERED FRIENDS, pitched as THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS meets AUDUBON.
