Growing a Story, One Page at a Time

Lately, life has felt very full — in the best kind of way.

Between running Sprout & Blossom, cheering on two teenage kids through high school basketball season, and spending lots of time in the car driving to practices and games, my days have been busy. But woven into all of that has been some really meaningful progress on my children’s picture book — and I wanted to take a moment to share a little update.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working closely with my editor, carefully revising and refining the story. This part of the process has been so valuable, helping the words truly match the heart of the message I want to share with young readers. Alongside the editing, I’ve been putting together rough spreads of the book — mapping out where the text might sit on each page and gathering visual references to show how I envision the illustrations. Being able to communicate the feel of the artwork has helped the story start to come alive in a whole new way.

I’ve also been spending time researching and preparing for what will eventually become a Kickstarter campaign. I want this campaign to be just as thoughtful and magical as the children’s picture book campaigns I’ve seen successfully funded — and even more. I’ve been learning, taking notes, and backing a few picture books that truly inspired me. Supporting other creators and discovering books I’d love to add to our own children’s library has been a really special part of this season.

One of my favorite steps so far has been creating a simple prototype of the book — printed at home, cut by hand, and stapled together. I will start reading it aloud to the kids in my Sprout & Blossom enrichment classes, letting them be my little beta group. Their reactions, questions, and feedback will really help me gauge where my story stands with my audience. I have already been sharing the book with a few educator friends to gather thoughtful feedback and insights as I continue refining the story.

Behind the scenes, I’ve reached out to a couple of printing companies to start gathering quotes and learning more about production options. It’s a lot to think about, but each step feels like another seed planted.

Progress may be slower than I sometimes imagine, but it’s steady — and it’s happening alongside real life. I’m feeling excited, grateful, and deeply encouraged as I continue moving forward in this children’s picture book author journey. I can’t wait to keep growing this story and sharing more as it unfolds.

Thank you for being here and following along.