Have You Heard?

I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but it’s a brand new year! Allow me to wish you a happy belated new year as I remind myself to change my 2021 to 2022 on every paper I’ve dated for the past eight weeks. Ouch, I can sense the judgment! May I remind you that this is a no judgment zone? Being a working mom has turned my Mondays into Wednesdays, weekends no longer exist and now I am falling in the cracks of the years. Note to self- get your shit together DASH! Amidst the tumult, I did something. Something that I am very proud about and I’d like to share the details with you. 

I wrote a book for my dear son, Prince-Amary Smith. The name of his book is “Ten affirmation verses for kids: a bedtime story” if you follow me on Instagram, you probably already know that the book is published and available on Amazon ( go get your copy). However, if you did not, SURPRISE!!! My son, Prince-Amary Smith is now an author. The satisfaction that comes with that accomplishment is indescribable. Was it worth the headaches? ABSOLUTELY!!!! 

Ever since I found out I was pregnant, I’ve been reading to my baby. I remember reading to him while he was in my womb and he would move so much as if he wanted to get closer to the sound of my voice. Till this day, part of our bonding time is spent during story telling time. He has such a profound interest in books, I couldn’t help but to write him his own book. Here’s what I did:

I started the process in October of 2021. The first thing I did was decide on what kind of story I wanted to tell. What kind of message did I want to relay to his audience? Side note- the books I read to my son are carefully picked out. They are funny, full of colors and positivity. Creating a book that showed a positive relationship between mother and son was a must.  Most importantly, I wanted to create a book that affirms children of their infinite abilities. Affirmations are the foundation of confidence. It’s imperative that we start shaping their views of themselves and the world at a young age.

Once I knew what I wanted to write, I wrote the book. Writing the book was not difficult, after all, I am a writer. The most challenging part was finding an illustrator to create the images for the book. I don’t know about you but I suffer from “perfectionism”. I am very sensitive about my creations; but even more sensitive if my son's name will be attached to it. I spoke to 12 content creators. Amongst those were some very expensive, impatient individuals ( let me not get into that). FINALLY, I found a young lady in the UK who understood the assignment. Sis came through on the first trial. She was very polite, she responded to my emails on time and her price was not breaking my bank account. The last thing was finding a publishing company. I chose LV media to publish the book. They did a great job with formatting the book as well as publishing it. 

Like anything in life, big or small, this process came with its own level of stress and obstacles. I may have described the process as a walk in a park but trust and believe it was not. However, it was worth it. The goal for “Ten affirmation verses for kids: A bedtime story” is to create a sense of purpose with reassurance from the Bible, to eliminate uncertainty, low self-esteem, and fear at a very young age. To the many parents and precious children that will read this book, may it bring joy to each of you. 

If you have not gotten your copy, please go get yours. The book is available on amazon. Let me know what you think with a comment or an IG message. Also, don’t forget to subscribe for more updates.