October 9, 2012-My Published Family!!

     It’s time to reveal a bit more about myself to my blog followers (most of you already know this, but for those who don’t know me personally and only through the blog, you may learn something new about me today). For years, I have been writing children’s picture books, building stories around things my boys have said and done that were too cute to not record in some fantastic, creative way.  I have sent many a query letter to book publishers, trying to convince them to publish these books, but I’ve yet to have a bite. So, when I was teaching at the elementary school back in the 2009-2010 school year, I had an idea. I would self-publish the books while I could afford it, and if I never sold more than enough books to simply break even, that would be okay because I would have a family heirloom to treasure forever.  Well, the only problem was that I am not much of an artist, and these are books written for preschoolers, so it is essential they have great, big colorful illustrations to go with the stories I had written.  My children were no longer preschoolers at the time, but they were both very interested in and good at drawing, so I asked them if they would want to illustrate some of my books that I had written about them.  They agreed and chose two of their favorites to illustrate individually.  It took about 2 years to complete all the illustrations and then about a year to make it through the self-publishing process, but as of this fall, you can find 2 of my children’s books on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble online, Books-A-Million, etc…and through my very own author’s websites created by Dog Ear Publishing! So, what’s the new information I am going to share as I’m sure I have written to you all about writing children’s books before?  I am going to reveal my name (or at least my author’s name-which is my maiden name) and my book titles on this blog. I have always keep names out of this very public and open blog forum because I simply felt more comfortable with sharing in that way since this type of journaling is very, very personal, but I am too proud of a momma to not let everyone know where they can find these books, so I cannot keep my name a secret anymore.  I would love for you all to check them out and let me know what you think.  If you go to Amazon, you will find them under “Alligators Coming!” and “Gotta See Nathan!” by Susannah Gray. The alligators book was illustrated by my oldest son, and the other book was illustrated by my youngest. You can also find them at AlligatorsComing.com and GottaSeeNathan.com.  I’m so proud of what my babies have done, and so excited to finally accomplish something I’ve wanted to do all my life.  Can’t wait to hear from you all when you have a chance to look them up!!