I decided to publish my children's book through IngramSpark

 

Oh my goodness, I jumped in to IngramSpark!  My first title will be released on February 5th, and is called Down on the Farm.  

The description is:  Sing along with Down on the Farm! Set to the lively tune of "The Wheels on the Bus," this charming picture book takes little readers on a fun-filled farm adventure. Meet farm animals and make their sounds as you sing together! Complete with engaging early literacy activities like coloring and matching animals to their shadows, this book is perfect for playful learning.

Here's hoping it doesn't get torn up to bits.  I'm a nervous putting it out there!  I keep thinking I should have tried one of my older titles that I am familiar with, not a new one, but alas, I ultimately decided to go all new.

I have a  second book ready to go, but I am going through this process first, so will wait on it a bit more!  Look for Down on the Farm at a retailer soon!  

Gnome a Bingo Book checked out and not returned!

 

It finally happened.  I'm pleased and frustrated all at the same time.  One of my books in the library has been checked out and not returned!!!  

Not returned!

Did they lose it?  Did they rip it?  Did their child love it so much they didn't want to return it?  

As a parent myself I'm going with they either got busy and haven't been able to get it returned yet OR it has been misplaced.

No matter what the reason, I have reached a new author milestone  - checked out and not returned!   

Gnome is available on Amazon

It is the Silly Season

 

In Australia, they call this time of year the "silly season." They say it’s because of all the holiday parties and how adults might enjoy a few more festive drinks than usual. But honestly, I think it’s the heat—it’s so crazy hot there that it must make people lose their minds! Either way, the name stuck with me, and every year I find myself thinking, Yep, this really is the silly season.

This year feels extra challenging, and I’ll admit my mind hasn’t been 100% on books. Thankfully, I only booked one event in December—Hartland’s Winter Whimsy last weekend—and it was a blast! It’s my second year there, and someone even came specifically looking for me. That totally made my day! But wow, it really wiped me out.

You know how life has its ups and downs? Right now, books are kind of taking a backseat while other things demand my attention. And that’s okay. Sometimes, you just have to ride it out.

Lately, I’ve been playing around with advertising ideas, exploring IngramSpark to see how it stacks up against Amazon KDP, and—most importantly—trying to take better care of myself. It took me way too long to learn that lesson, but it’s true: no matter where you’re at in life, self-care is essential.

Radio Reading of A Night Before Christmas

 

Back in 2020 I was asked to do a reading of Clement Moore's 'Twas the Night Before Christmas on a local radio station.  I was so nervous!  I have been on radio before and TV but never doing a reading of someone else's work.  Hey, storytimes are different!  I had such a good time though, and now is the time of year I think of it again and go searching for the link.  If you'd like to hear the story, follow the link:

https://audioboom.com/posts/7758776-christmas-eve-radio-storytime-2020

Llama bingo song free printable

 

In honor of my Llama book  I created a free printable of a shortened version of the song.   We are having llamas visit our library and I wanted to be able to do a storytime, but didn't want to read the whole book.  I like using felt board songs, rhymes and stories when I can to get the kids involved.  Go to my Free Printables page to download, or click here

If you get a chance, please share how you used the song!  I love hearing stories or seeing pictures of the songs and rhymes in use.