How It All Began…

I am new to the world of children’s picture books and fell into it quite accidentally. Our tuxedo cat, Murray, went missing one week, which I can honestly say was one of the worst times of my life. He did come home eventually (which made a great children’s book), but in the meantime my husband and I were extremely sad and worried. I began to think a lot about why I love Murray so much and what characteristics make him so interesting. One night during that terrible week, I was lying in bed (halfway between being awake and asleep) and wrote the first Murray book in my head. I carried it around with me for several months and finally wrote it down at the insistence of my husband.

A full year (and many books later), I discovered that yes, you can actually self-publish a book. Finding an illustrator was challenging, but at last I discovered the very talented Shera Serrulha. I knew I liked Shera immediately, as she is a fellow cat mom and had already illustrated a beautiful book about a little boy’s grief over losing his cat. Be sure to check out Winkus by Neil Vaughan. 

Shera brought Murray’s character to life, and through the illustrations and text, I believe you will fall in love with his compassionate, caring attitude towards others. Murray is also confident, persistent, curious, optimistic, and a good problem solver. These finest qualities are what I’d like to see in myself and in the students I work with every day at Central Methodist University.

I’ve endeavored to teach these life lessons subtly, while concentrating on presenting an interesting plot and well-developed characters. And because I love humor, there is a good bit of that for both children and adults.

I hope you enjoy the books. Be sure to stop by to read more blogs about being a cat mom. I’d love to hear from you. Happy reading!