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Q: What's harder than getting away with (fictional) murder?

Updated: 5 days ago




A: writing a children's book... and a rhyming one, at that!


My three kids are my biggest cheerleaders. They ask me about my "book stuff" daily. They brag to their teachers. They remember the working titles of my projects. And yet they've never been able to read a word of what I've published thus far.


In 2020, when my debut thriller came out and the world shut down, I was steeped in my children's childhood in an all-encompassing way, and I found it very difficult to drum up a new thriller concept. Life had become uncertain enough. Throwing in a killer or a kidnapper into the mix just seemed... mean. My kids began begging me to write a story they could read, and a voice and a face from my own childhood emerged from my memory - a character I once drew in the margins of my notebooks at school in single-scene cartoons. Two braids and a ball cap. A shirt half-tucked in. Freckles and dirt and a baggy shirt. She was spunky, fiery, earnest, impulsive, messy, and deeply kind. And once this figment of younger years realized she had my attention again, she would not let it go. So I gave her a name - Golly Molly - and wrote a couple stories for her, thinking it would get her out of my system. And it worked... for a while.


Last year I found myself committed to a writer's critique group while I was between projects. For fun, I brought in two of my Golly Molly stories as not to show up empty handed. I'm wordy by nature, anyway, so I knew being limited to 700 words to tell a complete story was a good exercise for my brain.


They loved them. Loved. Them. Loved them so much they wanted to buy copies for their own kids once they were printed or published. One of them happened to be an owner for the local book store and was eager to be able to rack them in time for the following holiday season.


I realized two things: this could be a very cool opportunity for my kids to see what publishing is all about up close and personal, having their hands in it every step of the wy, and that I wanted it, too. I also realized that I had a lot of work to do and even more to learn.


I began workshopping them with the goal of turning out the best kid's story I could muster, and, maybe it's because I'm a child of the 80's, I really wanted it to rhyme. As a mom, I enjoy reading kids' books that rhyme, and I think it engages their curiosity to follow along. It creates a natural rhythm and flow inside of a line, which I find more comfortable and connective. It's also really really hard to get right. It took me months and more drafts than I can count (and the sharp eyes and minds of my own kids and some of the best critique buddies around.) But it's done. And I love it.


While I can doodle, this girl is no artist. So in January, I hired a local professional, Olivia Blesse, who was wanting to build a new illustration portfolio. It quickly became obvious that she could see Molly as clearly as I do, and has brought the imagery of her to life like she pulled it straight out of my brain. I just got the word that she's close to done, too, and now I'm full of pre-publication jitters like I've never done this before. But there is so much about this that is brand new to me.


In the next few weeks I'll be finalizing all the little details as well as wading into the foray of all the ins and outs of self-publishing this first Golly Molly story: GOLLY MOLLY and the PERFECT PONY LIST. I can't wait to see it. And I can't wait to show you, too.



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