‘Dream Big! Live BIGGER!’

– Debbie Smith

I am humbled to share some exciting news.

After months of behind the scenes work, I can finally reveal my debut children’s picture book, ‘If You Meet an Elephant’ will be released in 2019 in partnership with Little Steps Publishing and illustrator (and talented friend), Emma Middleton. This is a dream in the making that’s taken years; with lots of critiques from generous critique buddies (SCBWI & WriteLinks), countless edits and polishing, but I am slowly growing excited as Emma shares sneak peeks of her gorgeous illustrations with me. Click here to find out more about Emma.

What I’m learning about producing a book baby, not unlike like a human baby, is … it takes a village, including supportive family and friends. I feel incredibly blessed that Emma is breathing life into my quirky characters, the setting, scenes and action.

We’ve been working for months with Little Steps Publishing who are extremely professional and fabulous to work with.

Hopefully, one day, If You Meet an Elephant will find its way to the Bologna Children Book Fair with the rest of the titles Little Steps represent.

Thank you to those who have helped me on this journey. You know who you are. With your support, encouragement, advice and practical help, it has given me the drive to persevere and quell the self-doubt that occasionally lurks. Many creatives attest to this unfortunate phenomena and it’s a very real hurdle to overcome.

I can’t wait to hold my book baby in my hands and share it with children all over. I invite you to stay with me on this journey and, maybe, if you have a special youngster in mind who loves elephants, mice and making friends (or has trouble making new friends), you might like to keep it in mind as a gift to give. If You Meet an Elephant will make a beautiful addition to any young children’s bookshelves.

I plan to make future updates as we head closer to a release date sometime in 2019. I am also planning to write my thoughts about my publishing journey and process behind the scenes, for those among you who enjoy knowing a little bit of the background and inspiration for the story.

So, if you are reading this post, and have already published your first book, do you have any pearls of wisdom you’d like to share with me and other folks who are planning to publish? It is a journey that is set in stages. Is there anything you would do differently next time around? What pitfalls should I be watching out for? How did you feel in the lead up to your book baby being published? We would love for you to share.

Thank you for your time reading this post. I’m so glad you could visit.

So, until next time …

Happy reading and writing.

Debbie xx