That’s what the sign in the grocery store said and it IS 74 and sunny.

It’s amazing here. I’ve always loved the desert. Warm breezes and sunshine, magical starry nights. I love the close, wrap around mountains, I even love the minimalist landscaping. Mornings are pinkish orange and stunning. I’m sitting here on a patio, two feet from a golf course. How can it get better than this? I think I’ll finish reading my book. Later, I’ll draw, and paint and probably go for a walk.

It’s a different day from the one we spent at Disneyland. I love having had the experience of both, so close together even, I’ve enjoyed every moment.

Also the days spent with my son’s family, squeezing in tech help and dog walks between naptime and snacks. From San Louis Obisbo to San Diego to Anihiam to Palm Desert it’s been a busy fun leg of the trip.

Baseball practice, henna, tacos and princess dresses, chalk and water colors, Gelato and sunsets. Not to mention, my Amazon sample copy of ‘Peacefulful Hearts’ arriving and my meeting with my author friend. All the sweet moments with my fast growing grands. I even bounced into yoga one day and then walked with my friends and later my daughter-in-law at the beach. These are all my favorite things to do. I’ve spent time doing all these and more. Happy belated Heart Day everyone🩷🧡

I’m stopping at storage for some books.

I’ve done this so many different times. My friend asked me how many boxes I had left. Considering I had an entire pallet originally, my answer is not many. I’ll probably be a little sad when they are all gone.

I do love any and all opportunities to send them into the world and here I am with some new ones. When I showed my friends (who were there in the beginning) the sample copy from Amazon, they wondered why the ‘about page’ wasn’t included. I explained that it was only because I didn’t have a copy of it to upload when we were getting the sample set up.

The origin of ‘Peaceful Hearts’ is summed up on that one page. I later came to wonder if parents didn’t want to know that part. It’s a touchy subject. I’ve been in many conversations about emotions, and truly everyone has their own individual approach. I never intended to be controversial, and it was most unexpected when I was, The other part I sort of want to defend..

Shootings have only become more frequent since my experience. That is an unfortunate fact. Writing ‘Peaceful Hearts’ was me trying to move through my own PTSD. Art is good for that. Now that I’ve had so many people suggest that there is a healing message, I believe it’s true. I can still be soothed, and have been while just reformatting Peaceful Hearts recently for Amazon. No one seems to talk about what happens after a shooting, but I can tell you, it’s a whole separate subject.

My intention was to illustrate emotions a little abstractly, (because that is my style, and because emotions can feel that way, plus I’d learned how younger children like abstract). Then simply to suggest the idea of breathing through (as opposed to distracting or ignoring or whatever not acknowledging might look like). It was supposed to be for everyone, not just trauma survivors.

Well. Who could have predicted all the things that have happened in the world since then. I wrote Beatrix for kids during and after COVID. I guess my books are good for healing, I hope the universal message for everyone comes across, also, but I’m happy if one person finds either book regulating or helpful in any manner.

I always hold out for the days when we come together lovingly and kindly in healing supportiveness of each other, regardless of where we land emotionally.

I’m writing a query letter for a literary agent. I did this many many long years ago after I wrote my first book. I sent it out to one agent after another. Nothing. Not one publishing house, not one agent would accept a new manuscript. It wasn’t exactly rejection, more like a waste of my time. It was one of those discouraging things I never tried my hand at again.

This is saying something since I have entered many juried art shows and competitions. Breaking into the art world? I’ve done some diswading things just being an artist, but man, the literary world is tough! Tough enough that I never tried again. I’m clearly no Jk Rowling in the tenacity department Yet here I am again…

That first attempt at a book became a gallery fiber art show. I did the illustrations in wool inlay felt. It was a intensive labor of love that sold and disappeared. Somehow, I fell in love with the process of writing and illustrating picture books. Go figure.

‘Peaceful Hearts’ seemed different. It all came to me in a moment. The words did, making art takes longer, but it fell together perfectly in a lovely cosmic way. Plus it was a soothing response to some ptsd I was working through.

That journey was all over the place. I had two small publishing houses very interested and willing to go forward with it. The glitch was that the sample copies of books they sent me both had washed out illustrations which were completely unacceptable to my artistic brain.

I found a publisher that would essentially do a hybrid self publication. I worked closely and for weeks with their head designer. I didn’t even know what a PDF was or what ‘dots per inch’ meant or why it mattered, back then. I didn’t understand the importance of an ISBN number or why when they accidentally left it off or didn’t asign me one, it would cause so many problems. Wow did I learn some important things!

(Note: never buy an ISBN number on the internet from some third party person who swears it will work, it won’t)

Fast forward to to today. I’ve spent every free minute filling out the online submission form and reading about, then writing a query letter. Twelve year old Lily suggested I use more ‘energetic adjectives’ , but said it was otherwise good. She wondered if I wanted to run it by her English teacher because she’s a real stickler for grammar and punctuation.

Coincidentally, the sample copy of ‘Peaceful Hearts’ soft cover from Amazon came. It needed some adjusting, but was otherwise a huge triumph. The girls helped me make corrections. It’s an actual hard copy of a book anyone can order and have delivered from Amazon.

I’m not sure why I’m about to waste my time and fry my nerves filling out this query form. Self publishing has lost much of its stigma over the years. Some self published books get picked up. You never know. I’m just following what feels like a next step. At the very least, I’m sure I’ll learn a thing or two, I always do.