Over the years ( 6 to be exact), I’ve often talked about publishing my children’s books ( also 6 at the moment) and some of you were even my “Guinea Pigs” as test readers. I’ve received a lot of encouragement and support, a lot of praise, and of course a healthy dose of criticism. Sometimes I was frustrated, sometimes I was glad about the latter, but in any case, it made the final version of my very first children’s book much different than I expected, and much better, I believe.

“Woolly” began as a simple picture book. The manuscript was about a page long, the story was tight, but I always felt there was something missing. Then a second picture book with the same character came to life. Then a third. Until, I was finally encouraged by Scholastic’s very own Anna Bloom to take it to the next level and make it a picture book.  That was the easy part.

A couple( read: 30+) edits later, a couple of conferences, 4 literary agents critiques and 2 professional editors later, Woolly is finally ready to come to life on paper and as an e-book, and I am both excited and a little scared. I’ve been holding on to him for so long and just the thought that I will finally get him out there is …well…overwhelming.

You are probably curious what is Woolly all about.
It is a story about a small woolly bear caterpillar and his friends. It’s a story about loss, friendship, growing up, but it is mostly a story about bravery. Bravery, to face your own fears and then face the world. It is a story about standing proud and tall because of who you are, no matter what everyone else thinks.

“Woolly” is a chapter book for the age group 5-10. And this…this is Woolly.