Writing Children's Books
Becoming a writer...
The old me would never believe I would one day write children's books. Even though a strength of mine was creativity, expressing this creativity in a healthy way was a weakness. Due to major insecurities and negative role models, my creativity was expressed through unhealthy outlets.
Who thought me coming to prison would give me the platform to express my creative abilities through writing children's books, that would have a positive impact on the families reading them? Or that I would personally experience therapeutic benefits?
The freest external achievement I've accomplished was my first children's book, "The Adventures Of Prince The Penguin And Friends." Nobody including myself believed I would create a tangible children's book. It would just end up being another great idea! First came Prince the Penguin and the names of other characters. Then I had someone build concepts of the characters out of Little Debbie boxes, pillow stuffing, glue, and paint. As they came to life so did my confidence in my ability to really see this thing through. Fellow inmates and prison staff gave me so much support. I knew I had the responsibility to be a role model and inspire others. I found an artist in the prison who helped me draw the mockups. Then I put pen to paper and within 5 days had a final edited copy of, "The Adventure's of Prince The Penguin And Friends." The artist and I sat down and sketched out every page. Soon after he handed me the completed illustrations.
I sat in my Case Managers office with several staff members and inmates, the characters scattered around her office like decorations, the illustrations being passed around as I read the book. The energy in the room was amazing as I enthusiastically read to room full of adults, but for that moment could see the excitement of a child in their eyes. These people witnessed the entire process. There were even tears of joy coming out of one of the staff members eyes. In a very hopeless dark environment, hope and light was created. A simple idea developed into the greatest achievement of my life and inspired fellow inmates to think big and try to achieve what many thought was impossible. I never experienced success like this or been recognized for something positive. This ignited a spark in me. This platform has helped me change the narrative of what success looks like while being incarcerated and has given others the opportunity to put their talents on display. One of the many things I love about writing these children's books is how a book can have such a profound positive impact, that can ripple across the world. I can literally reach the entire world from behind bars. I'm so grateful to be blessed with such creativity and the platform to
express it.
Inmates helping inmates!
My Current Illustrator: Mr. Chovas
Everyday we go through the motions of life. We meet people, form relationships, some are just momentarily and others last a lifetime. Regardless they're relationships!! I believe we should value every single one. Valuing at least the lesson we're blessed with because of the meeting.
Recently I was looking for a new artist to do the illustrations so I could continue with the children's books and through a man I met in Toastmasters at A.O.C.I was refered to a gentleman by the name of Mr. Chovas.
My first conversation with Mr. Chovas was simple and direct. He was very humble and professional. Me made an appointment to meet on the prison yard the next day so I could see some of his artwork. The next day we sat in the freezing cold flipping through pictures of his work and it was very impressive. I shared my vision and passion for writing the children's books and how important it is for me to give back to society. He expressed his same passion and then explained to me that he would love to help and be part of this. He said our next meeting to go over the illustrations would have to be Thursday because he would be going out for chemotherapy Wednesday. He then explained he has stage four cancer and had tumors throughout his liver, spine, and intestine. His body was responding good to the chemotherapy and in March he would be going out to have the baseball sized tumor removed off his intestine. He also explained how the doctors said he probably wouldn't make it past a certain date but had already surpassed the date. His attitude was amazing. He had a solid spiritual foundation. He was exercising, and still through all his pain and facing possible death was focused on giving back. His positive attitude was the medicine keeping him alive. Weekly we get together and walk laps around the track talking about life, ideas, and our passion towards making the world a better place. I value his friendship and the positive impact he's made in my life. I value the inspiration I get every time I see him. How many people do we cross paths with daily facing similar situations but we would never know unless they told us? Or maybe because we never took the time to value the opportunity to establish a relationship? Again ALL relationships have value, please never take a single one for granted as you never know what you might miss out on if you do!
