Tell your readers a little about yourself, where
you grew up, where you live now, where you went to school etc. Let them get to
know the personal you.
I
was a teacher for almost thirty-five years. I grew up in Upstate New York with
my mother, father and two sisters. My mother was my role model. She was also a
teacher. I loved going into her classroom and help out. I knew at a very young
age I wanted to be a teacher as well. I attended college at Adams State
University in Alamosa, Colorado. I have a Master’s of Education and a gifted
and talented education endorsement. Currently, I am living in Richland, WA,
with my husband John, my son, William, my daughter, Rachel, and their two dogs,
Maddie and /Gus. During my spare time I volunteers for Love on a Leash with
Maddie, a certified therapy dog. Maddie recently has been approved to be a
crisis and court dog. I was a Wishing Conductor for Wishing Star Foundation for
about a year. Karen’s favorite activity is watching the variety of birds that
visit the bird feeders in her back yard. When I retire my husband and I plan to
move to Spokane, WA. One person I have always wanted to meet is Jay Getty or
Ellen which ever comes first.
What inspired you to author this book?
I
was inspired to write “The Magical Journey of Bob Crane” because each year
60,000 sand hill cranes migrate through Washington. They land in Othello (about
30 minutes from where we live) for about 3-5 days before continuing their
journey. One of the sand hill cranes decided to land on our street. Every
morning when I looked out the window, I saw a crane walking up and down our
street. It became comical seeing him so our family named him Bob. Bob was like
a sentry walking around for about a week. I saw that as a sign he wanted me to
write a story. In my book Bob lands in Othello and decides he wants to find a
way to thank all the birds and animals that live there. While he is there he
meets a fairy wren. Bob and the wren come up with an idea of how to say thank
you to the animals. The general theme of this book is “paying it forward and
helping your community”
Where did you get the inspiration for your
book’s cover?
I
had written the manuscript for Bob but wanted an illustrator who had the same
vision I did for this book. I looked up 10 illustrators from Up work but most
of their birds were comical. Then I went to an art and craft show with my
daughter. We were wandering down the different aisles looking at all the
different crafts the vendors made. Then I turned the corner and saw Bob. He was
staring right at me. I knew he was going to be the cover for my book. I met Pam
Sharp an Audubon artist and had all her birds on display at craft show. I think
she thought I was crazy when I told her I was a children’s author and I wanted
her to do the illustrations for my book. Imagine that. I met with Pam at her
studio the following week where we went through my manuscript. She agreed to do
the illustrations for my book and she let me use Bob (her painting from the art
show) to be my cover. Pam also worked on my most recent book “Princess
Nutterbutter Learns to Share”. In that book I wanted comical illustrations
because my book is based off of my sons 4 guinea pigs.
Who has been the most significant influence on
you personally and as a writer?
My
biggest influence to write would have to be my mother. She read to Robin, Lisa
and me every night when I grew up. Listening to her read stories to us made
them magical. My favorite book I checked out from the library every week was
“Make Way for Ducklings”. I am just realizing this book was about ducks….how
funny. As a teacher I always wanted to write children’s books but there was
never enough time in the day after teaching when I got home. I did find an
outlet that was related to books. I was chosen out off 3,000 teachers in the
SLC School District to work with Ririe Woodbury, a professional dance company
to work with their dancers for a year and learn how to incorporate dance into
any academic subject. At the end of the year my students did a dance about
African animals using their bodies and creating the moments of the animals
based off an African folktale.
What were your struggles or obstacles you had to
overcome to get this book written?
My
biggest struggle as I became a writer was learning how to type. I suffered a
major concussion when I was teaching school. It affected my memory. After the
concussion I could not remember how to cook, drive, type or even remember
names. At least 15 doctors and surgeons told me I would never teach again.
After a year of grieving and numerous surgeries I decided I needed to reinvent
myself. My children taught how to cook again. My son helped me remember what
exits to take. I still have trouble remembering names. I know I know someone
but can’t remember how I know him or her. Since I was no longer teaching, I
decided to start writing to help me learn how to type again. My 1st
book had 1 sentence on each page with an illustration. I had many “Learning
Lessons” during my 7th years of writing and recovering. I learned it
was important to have an editor and a great designer. Two of my books I went
through a self-publishing company. It was a costly “Learning Lesson”. I was not
happy with how the books turned out. It was at that point I decided I would
find the best illustrator and designer I could afford and learned how to upload
my books on Create Space.
Tell your readers about your book.
Each
of my books is different.
My
1st book is called “Life Lessons of a Rescue Dog”. It tells children
10 important things to do when you rescue a dog told by Oddie, one off our
rescue dogs. It is geared for K-2 grade.
My
second book is called “The Time of My Life”. It is about a dog preparing to
cross over Rainbow Bridge. All the other dogs don’t understand why their friend
is going. This book deals with death and is geared for 2-4th grade.
My
third book is called “The Tales of Maddie”. This is a book about a poodle born
with a pink tail. No one wants to recue a poodle that looks different. In this
book Maddie gets adopted and finds out what her “Life purpose” is. Girls will
like this story because it is a love story.
My
4th book is “Earth Angel’s, a book about specially-abled children”.
This book is dedicated to my daughter who was born with a rare genetic
disorder. I found 9 families who told me about the challenges and joys they
face with having a child that is differently abled. This book is geared for
students going into education, social work or counseling. This is my 1st
book with photography of all the families. I won the 2019 bronze medal for Living
Healthy.
My
5th book is called “Oliver’s Adventures, a first trip to the Eye
Doctor”. This book is about a bird who can’t see where he is going and needs to
get glasses.
My
6th book was “The Magical Journey of Bob Crane”. I won the 2020
Royal Dragonfly award for animals and design of a book.
My
7th book is “Mrs. Nutterbutter Learns to Share.” This is a book
about 4 guinea pigs that won’t share food with each other. They declare
“Gorilla Warfare Guinea Pig Style.
I
just finished my 8th book. It is called “Gus Finds His Way Home”. It
is about our latest golden retriever we rescued 3 months ago and how he came
into our lives.
Who is your target audience, and why?
All
of my books are geared for teachers, parents or counselors.
What do you consider your greatest success in
life?
My
greatest success in my life is teaching in a new way. I believe the first 30
years of your life are your professional path. I was a teacher. The next 30
years of your life is your spiritual path. Thanks to a concussion I have the
opportunity to do something I always wanted to do but never had the time. I
also discovered good things come out of a tragedy (my concussion ).
What one unique thing sets you apart from other
writers in your genre?
What sets me apart from other authors is I
receive messages or signs from angels. I also get inspiration to write from
music. When I was writing “The Time of My Life” every time I turned on the
radio, I heard Pit Bull singing “The Time of My Life”. It didn’t matter what
time or what station I turned to it was always playing. I saw that as a sign. I
also get ideas from my dreams. Angels come to me and tell me I need to write a
book a certain topic. If you want to know more about me my website is www.pet-angelreader.com. I don’t normally tell people I am an angel reader. I
have been able to talk to angels since I was little.
No comments:
Post a Comment