My First Children's Book

Do you want to hear something wild? I got an idea for a children's book before I ever wrote my first book. I was falling asleep one night when an idea for a children's book just dropped into my mind. I immediately got out of bed to go write it down. The entire book was written in five minutes.

From then on, I did what I always do when a new project emerges from the depths of my creativity. Hyper-fixate. I looked up information on what was required for children's books. I downloaded a digital drawing app. I sketched out all of the pages and drew them all with meticulous detail. But then I got stuck. One of the images wasn't coming out quite right. The shading wasn't turning out how I wanted it to. So, I took a break. And then the tablet that I was using crashed and I lost every one of the images that I had worked on for hours at a time. At that point, I decided that maybe it wasn't meant to be.

Fast forward five years. I wrote and published two non-fiction books with several more in the works. And then I met my best friends. Our families became so close. And one day, as we're chatting, I discover that their oldest daughter can draw. Like, really well. Naturally, I asked if she had ever considered illustrating children's books. My friend looked at me with wide eyes and said, "That's actually her dream job."

I'll bet you can guess what happened next. I asked her to illustrate the children's book that had been collecting dust on the shelf of my mind for the past five years. And she enthusiastically agreed.

Maybe there's a lesson in all of this. Maybe just because we're capable of doing something on our own doesn't mean we're meant to. Maybe roadblocks and opposition are just God's way of redirecting us exactly where we need to go. If I had completed this project by myself all those years ago, sure, I may have achieved one of my dreams much faster, but I would've missed out on the opportunity to help my best friend's daughter achieve one of hers. To me, this project was worth the wait. I can't wait to share it with all of you!