Becoming a Children's Book Author

I say becoming because I'm not one yet. My dream job was always to be a writer. I want to buy a cozy cabin in the woods, wake up early to drip coffee, a candle and write to my heart's content. When I discovered this rare and random crochet talent four years ago, I never thought it could lead me to achieving this dream, but one month ago I had an "ah ha" moment. I thought to myself, "If you want to be a writer, then BE a writer! Take action and WRITE!" I look over to my tub of handmade stuffed animals and realized I had this incredible subject matter to write about. When I thought about being a writer, a children's book author never came to mind....until now. I've always envisioned these adorable crochet characters coming to life when I leave the room, so why not illustrate it in a book! They all have different names and personalities, and they all have a story to tell. I'm going to let the world know who they are, where they come from and what they love about life.

I started that day. The first book would be about Hank the Hippo, he was the first animal I ever made (successfully) and thought, wow, I'm onto something here. He not only looked like a hippo, but a very cute one. He was later featured in Times Square on the day Michaels went public (story here!), so I had a special connection with Hank to say the least. I took my dog for a long walk that afternoon and started brainstorming, "Hank the Hippo goes to school, Hank the Hippo is super cool," ok jot that one down. I typed ideas into a notepad on my phone as we trotted along. By the end of the dog walk, I had half the book written. By the end of the next day, the entire book was written. By the start of the third day, I purchased Adobe Illustrator and taught myself how to use it. I was not only going to write this book, but illustrate it too. By Noon that day, Hank the Hippo was a cartoon.

What will make this book unique is that I plan on including a handmade Hank the Hippo WITH the book. The idea is that the child will be holding Hank while they're mom or dad read them the story. "So that Hank on those pages that loves playing tennis is the same Hank that I'M holding!?" I think it could be a really special gift to GIVE and a special gift for a child to receive. I'm one month into this journey and 90% done. I've "hired" my mom and sister to be editors and plan on self-publishing within the next couple of weeks. At 30 years old, my dream of being writer will come to fruition and I'm incredibly excited and thankful for that :)

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