It actually feels like summer in Montana these days. I personally think I’m the best version of myself when get plenty of river time, mountain time and other Vitamin D saturated adventures. How about you?

I’ve hit another confusing step in the book publishing process. I need to grow my email list in preparation for my book release this fall. I’ve have to figure out a couple of good giveaways or something, but what? I always feel presumptuous asking people to follow or subscribe even with a giveaway. But, C’est la vie!

If you’re new around here,(Hi!👋🏻) I wrote a children’s book called Heroes of Light. It highlights the many ways that being a Christian is basically the same as being superhero. The goal is to empower kiddos in their everyday lives. It will be released this fall.

There have been some crazy fun developments with Heroes of Light. By the far the most exciting tidbit is that I have all of the FINAL illustrations! I would love to show you a sneak peek of the process from sketch to finished picture! I’ll send that exclusive content to my email list and I think it would be fun to give a framed print of one of the illustrations to a lucky subscriber. Sound fun? Here are some other ideas I’ve had:

• A custom graphic (illustrated by moi) of the winners child(ren) as a superhero. It could be passed to a friend if the winner doesn’t have children.

• A basket full of carefully selected goodies.

• Stickers, art & bookmarks from my own store.

Do any of those sound good to you? Let me know what you think and keep an eye out for it in the near future!

Next, my illustrator Jena Holliday is working on the cover art and I. AM. PUMPED. I’m not exactly sure how long I’m going to be able to wait before I reveal it!

Lastly, I hinted at a workbook to go along with this picture book. To be honest, YOU all were the inspiration for that! Some of you commented, wrote and even stopped me in the thrift store ;D to tell me why your children need a book like this. I wanted to provide you with ample tools to spark growth in your kids’ hearts, healthy open conversations and most of all an openness in them for God to work.

The workbook will dig deeper into the concepts introduced in the picture book. The lessons are laid out in a way that helps your child dig for truth in scripture, encourages them to think about it and apply it now (rather than when they’re older) and facilitates spiritual conversation between them and their grownup. It also includes more challenging options for bigger kids or grown ups. I purposefully didn’t make it a parent-child workbook so that any adult could work through it with a child they care about, whether they be a mentor, Sunday school teacher, grandparent, etc. We’re work fin to keep them as affordable as possible so hopefully it’s easy to get one for each sibling in a family.

Well, I said that was the last thing, but this is the actual last thing. When Nic worked in vocational ministry I wrote several vacation bible school curricula. I’ve been revamping them (with the help of my wonderful mama) and hope to have at least one (but hopefully two or three) available by next summer.

I recently heard another writer mention that people ask her why she writes and she believes that’s the wrong question. Because the bottom line is, she does most things SO THAT she can write. I can totally relate! Of course my ultimate goal is to bring glory to God, but every piece of art you purchase, essential oil you buy and writing project you support allow me to keep writing, which I believe is one of the works He prepared beforehand for me. So as always, thank you for your support, encouraging words and for sharing my posts!

With love,
Elli