Outta’ this world blog

May 21, 2024 —Last week, my son’s coworker, Monica, showed him a photo of her grandchildren, Thomas and Olivia. Olivia, smiling broadly (and beautifully), is holding a copy of How Happy Is a Lark? They think my son is a celebrity because “Davey the Dolphin” (in the book on the happy clam page) is named for him. How adorable is that?! For those of you who know us, can you find other family names in the book? (Hint: you can.)

When I posted about our new book release, Into the Thicket, scheduled for this fall on Facebook, my son commented about the above and added, “You’re their favorite author!” (Me, thinking: WAIT! WHAT? WOW, how sweet. I can’t believe it.) He continued, “But everyone around Olivia is t

May 14, 2024 — On a hot summer afternoon, our sons were playing football in the backyard, just like so many other days. Davey threw one over Trevor’s head. Trev ran to get the ball and noticed something unusual near the ball in the grass. Turns out it was an injured baby rabbit. We took the rabbit to wildlife rehab to try to save it. Nearly 20 years ago (the boys were about 11 and 8 years old), this real life story inspired me to write a picture book manuscript, dubbed Into the Thicket. In the manuscript, after the boy finds the rabbit, the rest of the story is highly fictionalized. The rabbit rehab info, however, is true. 

Because the book was written so long ago, this year I consulted with a wildlife rehabber to ensure the book w

May 7, 2024 — I was happy to be invited to host an author table at Adventure, Ink on Saturday morning, April 27 — Independent Bookstore Day.

April 30, 2024 — As I was turning into the Brick Elementary School parking lot, I heard a loud rumbling nearby. I looked around but didn’t see a truck or anything that could be making the noise. Then I saw the helicopter hovering overhead getting ready to land in Brick’s field. I thought, this is a pretty big deal. There was someone standing in the lot directing traffic and many, many cars. Brick goes all out for its students. 

Surprisingly (or not in Michigan) April 24 dawned cold and windy with a little drizzle. Happy spring :) Perhaps I’d overlooked something, but I hadn’t realized the event was taking place OUTDOORS! I was dressed for a quick trip from my car to the indoors. Luckily, we don’t live too far away and I have a supportive husband. He

April 16, 2024 — I was nervous and excited about my first in-person author events at a school last month, Literacy Night at Brick Elementary School. I’m what I call a friendly introvert. I’m naturally friendly but I need my quiet time to recharge my batteries. I was a painfully shy child and that shyness is still within me in certain situations. Being introverted, I have to push myself to do certain events (or even get on a phone or a video call). Once I get to places, I tend to relax and do pretty well. It seems that “getting there” is the hard part sometimes. Can anyone else relate? Everything went smoothly at Brick’s Literacy Night and I thoroughly enjoyed the time connecting with children through my first picture book. I have such a love and respect for children a

April 9, 2024 — Jenny Kalejs is an exceptionally cool human who I had the good fortune to meet at my previous job. We were both communicators working in different, but related, areas. Jenny was with the University of Michigan Biological Station. I worked in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Prior to 2019, we worked in separate buildings but with our move into the new Biological Sciences Building, our cubicles shared a (tall) wall. I knew Jenny was an artist as I’d seen some of her creative drawings for the Biological Station and if we sat together in a seminar, I’d notice her amazing doodle notes. But what I didn’t know at the time was that she was a children’s book artist. 

After looking around on the internet and social medi

March 26, 2024 — I was so happy to receive a “real” email through the contact link on my author website. It was from Michelle Cox, a Title I teacher at Brick Elementary School, inviting me to participate in their Literacy Night. We emailed back and forth several times, figuring out details. Her enthusiasm radiated off the computer screen and it was contagious. We were both excited to be in touch and that I was able to attend. 

We decided that I would read my book, How Happy Is a Lark, twice over the course of the evening, which ran from 5 - 6:30 p.m. And that I’d lead the activity from the back of my book with the children. Initially, I was in a small classroom just inside the main school entrance. I had a number of parents, grandparents and st

March 19, 2024 — Recently reading through some notes on “interviews” I conducted with my mother and father many years ago, I was reminded of some of the traits they shared that may at least partly underlie their attraction to each other. They were shy, bright children who excelled in school. They both had large families, although my Dad was so much younger than his nearest sibling, that he was like an only child. 

My mother was bold among her group of siblings and friends in the tropical Guaico neighborhood on the island of Trinidad, where she was born. She was the leader of many games, telling stories and organizing performances. I’m not sure who comprised the audience, but outdoor, imaginary play ruled the day in the times before television. She joked

March 12, 2024 — My late father introduced me to haiku. He wrote poetry often and loved wordplay. I will always remember reading my book, How Happy Is a Lark, to him in person during one of our visits to Greensboro, N.C. He smiled throughout and chuckled several times. I was happy to see that the Troy Public Library lists my book in the children’s poetry section. My FaceBook friends probably know that I like writing, and sometimes sharing, my haiku.

My Mom and Dad both published poetry in their college newspaper at McGill University* in Montreal, Canada, where they met. Their pen names were (I think) Pookie (Dad) and Anarkali (Mom). As different as they could be, in some ways, they were also two-of-a-kind. Anyway, I guess I come by my

February 20, 2024 — Favorite books from our childhood hold a special place in our hearts. They transport us back to a simpler time and for many lucky children, they may also be attached to warm memories of cuddling with Mom, Dad, or some other special loved one, before bedtime. 

A classic line from the movie, You’ve Got Mail, is when Kathleen Kelly, the small book store owner says, “when you read a book as a child, it becomes part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does.” 

One of my favorite childhood books was Frederick by Leo Lionni. If you’re not familiar, Frederick was a mouse who lived in a stone wall with his mouse family. During the autumn days as winter approach

February 13, 2024 — I admit I haven’t had any kind of routine around my writing or book associated activity since I retired. Come to think of it, maybe not ever. We all know how life is — full, busy, unpredictable. Maybe we have to get children ready for school, get to work, come home and make dinner. Our children need something, maybe simply our time and attention, and that’s a priority. Even without all of that, some days we have this or that appointment, dishes, seeing friends and family, exercise, meditation and errands to fit into the day. Ad infinitum. 

When I took part in the book fair for the Troy Public Library, a young student asked me a series of questions for a class assignment. I was happy to help him. Wh

February 6, 2024 — Can I get a virtual drumroll please? Ba-dum-bum-CHING! In fall 2024, we’re aiming to self-publish a new children’s picture book titled Into the Thicket. The story is a highly fictionalized retelling of the real experience of my youngest son finding an injured baby rabbit in our backyard one summer during his childhood. We delivered the little creature to a wildlife rehabber for help. The story encompasses an appreciation for wildlife, compassion, overcoming fears, loving  — and letting go, and demonstrating how even small acts of kindness make a difference in a great, big world.

I am fortunate to have worked with another incredible artist during my time at the University of Michigan (another touch

January 23, 2024 — I’m curious how many people, like me, showed an interest at a very young age for what would eventually become their career? I imagine it’s fairly common since we hear these stories about famous people often. Steve Irwin, “The Crocodile Hunter,” grew up loving all wildlife, especially reptiles. Mae Jemison, the first Black woman astronaut, was introduced to science, and developed an interest in astronomy at the age of 3. Steven Spielberg, the famous movie director and producer, became captivated by filmmaking as a child. 

On the flip side, 20 - 50 percent of college freshmen have an undeclared major (and up to 75 percent change their major at least once), according to some quick Google research

January 16, 2024 — Originally published 7/15/2020 (From Gail Kuhnlein: I felt this wonderful blog post deserved rekindling. It was coincidentally published on Barbara’s birthday, the first after her passing. Barbara is my Mom. I read Olas Grandes hot off the press (Mom’s typewriter) when I was in high school. Reading it all these years later, I still love it. And I love this special and delightful blog post by Nancy and Davey’s inspired answers. Thanks to you both, again.)

Pictured above: David Kuhnlein

I’m kicking off this new feature today with a Q&A that tells the remarkable story of a young writer’s devotion to his grandmother and her literary legacy. For reasons you’ll understand as you read on, it was

January 9, 2024 — First, I want to wish my readers a happy, healthy and beautiful new year 2024! How futuristic this year sounds … 

I’ve worked in public relations and communications since I graduated from Michigan State with my bachelor’s in journalism and my master’s degree in advertising and public relations. I’ve been writing about and promoting others’ works for my entire career of over 30 years. So, marketing myself and my own book feels odd and takes some getting used to. It certainly helps to have the background and experience. And since my goal is to get my book noticed so that more people, especially children, can experience, and hopefully have fun and learn from my picture book, I have to forge ahead through a

December 19, 2023 — First and foremost, this is a reminder about our contest and you can read all about how people of all ages can enter on a recent blog post: Children’s activity — with “surPRIZES.” Full disclosure, I don’t have any entries yet so your chances are quite good! And the prizes are pretty darn cute. There’s no purchase necessary and it’s fairly easy, yet creative and fun.

In other news, I’m OVER THE MOON to announce that “How Happy Is a Lark?” placed in all four categories entered in the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards by Story Monsters Ink. I received a second place (tie) for Best New Author - Fiction! And we received Honorable Men

December 5, 2023 — Looking for a creative art and language activity for your children over winter break? Look no further than the pages of the picture book “How Happy Is a Lark?” I thought I’d turn this into a fun little contest. 

The book takes expressions like “Clever as a fox,” “Wise as an owl,” or “Curious as a cat,” turns them upside-down and asks and answers the questions, “How clever is a fox?” And “How wise is an owl?” And “Just how curious is a cat?” 

Here’s how to enter:

1. Take a question from the book — or better yet, come up with an expression of your own that you’

November 28, 2023 — There’s a good amount to cover about marketing your self-published picture book so I’ll break this topic into more than one post. I’ll begin with some of the more obvious ideas and move on to some of the tactics that you might not think of right away. There are things I wish I’d known sooner. But, we’ll get to that. 

Fortunately, I have a dear friend, Nancy Rosen, a former client who I used to do freelance public relations writing for, who’s a marketing whiz. She tipped me off about the importance of presales for upcoming books and so I created a number of social media posts starting several months before publication, encouraging people to preorder my book. I didn’t get enough presales to ma

November 14, 2023 — I’m not sure I ever imagined myself blogging. But now that I have an author’s website and maybe some stuff to say, here goes nothing. Or rather, I hope, a little something. Mostly, I’d like my posts to help some others who are embarking on a publishing venture. Also, did you know that regular posts help with a website’s visibility? Search engines prefer (and therefore place them higher in searches) a dynamic, changing website to one that stays the same for long periods of time. 

Naturally, my blog’s theme will be my first picture book experience, writing and many related things. I thought I’d share something very dear to my heart these days — not surprisingly — I LOVE hearing f

(part 2, Serendipity doo da)

Toward a real live picture book

November 7, 2023 — With illustrator, Jenny Kalejs, on my team, we were ready to turn my manuscript into a real live picture book. This was really getting exciting! There were at least 28 illustrations needed and so, with Jenny already working a full-time job, we planned on her completing about one illustration a week. This was January 2022 and I was targeting a late fall 2022 release. 

I shared my manuscript and some of my ideas for the illustrations with Jenny. Generally, she’d draw a rough sketch, share it with me, and then she’d complete it with her own ideas, creativity and watercolor magic. As it turned out, Jenny worked better in clusters. So, all of a sudden,

Oct. 31, 2023 — Since How Happy Is a Lark was my first attempt at self-publishing a children’s picture book, there was lots to learn at every stage of the process. I won’t try to outline all of the steps here, not only because I won’t remember everything, but also it would be really tedious. 

So, to summarize core steps (interspersed with some related tangents):

First, you get an idea for your book.
Next, you develop your idea.
At some point, you start to write, and you write, write, write.
And then, you edit, edit, edit.

Serendipity touched my process a few times when, some 15 years ago, my phone rang at work. Even then, a ringing phone was a fairly rare occurrence, wi