And THAT is why I published my book

The other day I was at my local library and the children’s librarian and I were discussing my book.

“Is it on the shelves at the moment?” she asked me.

“Yes,” I said. “Why?”

“Go check and see if there’s a picture in the back pocket. The book has been returned several times now with kids pictures in the back.”

So I went to the ‘A’ section, got out Surprise! and lo! there in the back pocket was a lovely little sketch of a child in a garden underneath a bulging yellow sun, signed, Gracie.

Just to explain briefly to people who haven’t bought / seen the book yet, its plot focuses on four children and how they each ‘pass along’ a lovely surprise they find hidden between the covers of a library book. I had a hunch – nay, more than a hunch; a secret knowing – that kids are more generous than we as adults sometimes care to remember, and the fact this has been borne out in demonstration makes me damn pleased I published myself. This experience, along with Kim, is ours to tell and celebrate.

I told my story; now the children, the readers, get their stories told in pictures, and get passed on.

It’s been documented. It matters. You matter. We all matter.

This is how I feel about my book and pretty well sums up my feeling about blogging as well.