I started writing (journals, stories, poems, and more) when I was very young but never took myself seriously enough to consider being a writer. Although I still don’t take myself too seriously I discovered that my children had an insatiable appetite for my made-up-on-the-spot, verbal stories. No matter how many nights I took to get through a story at bedtime they would be eager to find out what the characters got up to next. When they started asking for repeats of older stories I decided to write them down (to make remembering easier). My children also love arts and crafts and frequently got to drawing the characters in the stories. Although my published books are professionally illustrated, I have included my children’s original drawings and drawings from other interested children at the back of each book published so far. I love that their work can be included with mine!