Little Buddy- Launched Into the World

September 18, 2026

After writing picture books for over ten years, I am so pleased to have my debut picture book, Little Buddy, come into the world through traditional publication. The sweetest part of this is that Little Buddy is a story near and dear to my heart because it's based on a true event from my life, and it pays homage to my dad.

I was encouraged by my daughter to explore a writing journey shortly before I retired 11 years ago, remembering the

'delicious stories' as she called them, that I made up for her when she was little. Long story short, I pursued that journey, learning a lot along the way, and have found joy in writing for children ever since. I have several manuscripts that I have worked on and shared with my wonderful critique partners. But Little Buddy is the one I felt the most connection with.

The inspiration for this story came from my dad's little blue Ford tractor. My father was a lifelong farmer. Even after he retired from farming, he used the tractor to maintain the property. But when he died, the tractor sat in the shed, unused. When someone finally tried to start the tractor, it wouldn't start. After a couple of failed attempts at repairs, the tractor remained unused and fell further into disrepair. But one day my cousin, Alex, inquired about buying the tractor and fixing it up. When Alex was very young, he and his siblings spent a lot of time at our farm, especially in the summers. My dad truly enjoyed all the children being around in those days. Although this particular tractor wasn't the one my dad had when Alex was a little boy, I chose this tractor as the main character because it was the one my dad had when he passed. One day, before Alex came to claim the tractor, I was driving past the shed and saw that little tractor. It reminded me of my dad and how he and that tractor worked together on the farm, and that's how the story of Little Buddy came into existence. This was such a special story to me and I think it helped me work through some of the grief of losing my dad. I knew that was the theme I wanted for the story; overcoming grief after a loss or change. I wanted it to have a hopeful tone for kids.

I wrote the first draft in 2021. It went through several revisions before

I finally submitted it to Lawley Publishing in August of 2024 and got the offer of a contract in November of 2024. It was finally released to the public in August of 2026.

I put a lot of time into planning the book launch to celebrate the publication of the book. I had a great deal of help from my daughter and my husband, as well as support from friends and family.

So, it is with much joy and gratitude that I share photos from the book launch and a big thank you to all who have encouraged and supported me along this journey!

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