Welcome to my new little author blog. I’m so glad you’re here.
As I venture into focusing my work to create books and lovely things to read, I wanted my first post here to tell you about my debut children’s book. The Missing Light.Coming out in early 2024.
I’m so very excited, yet nervous to share this book with the world.
It’s rather ironic, one aspect of this story is literally about the daunting feeing in the process of creation. That’s exactly where my headspace is today. I’ve been here before, as I originally penned the words or planned the visuals, this feeling was there.
“He thought and thought. The more he looked at the blankness, the more he felt daunted.
There were too many possibilities.“
Even now, although I have a complete book in my hands, I’m daunted by the thoughts of putting it forward in the next phase of creation. Bringing it forth and sharing it with eyes other than my inner circle. I have to continually remind myself to take heart with courage and take the next step. That while, yes this story was written for me, for my son, and for my mother, I don’t want to keep it to myself. Like every act of creation it is meant to be shared.
“Someone who could see all of this and marvel at it too.“
So this little letter-on-a-blog is my invitation to enter with me in the journey of bringing this book to light. Before I open it up to being purchased, let me give you a summary of what you and your young reader will see in the pages of the book.
The Missing Light is a joyful, creative retelling of the creation story. But it’s unlike any you’ve ever seen before. It’s told and illustrated in a way to show readers from ages 5 – 9 more than the straight-forward day-to-day order outlined in Genesis. This story shows The Creator depicted as child starting in a dark void and walks through his journey of creating light and everything it touches. Young readers can connect with this boy as they can see his emotions on the page as He goes through the thrilling process. Through wonder-filled eyes the Boy cannot contain his imagination, as one idea cascades into the next. But no matter what ideas come to Him, He can’t shake the feeling that something very important is missing.
Follow the boy from darkness to light, to the clouds and the galaxies, through the mountains and deserts, meet creatures of all kinds and go to the ends of the earth until we learn what the missing light could be…
“A spark flashed in his mind.”
Behind the Story
The inspiration for this story starts from my late mother, Carla. Her favorite Bible story was the Creation story. When my first son was born, almost a year after she passed, I wanted to make something meaningful for him in her memory. I wanted it to be something I know she would have eagerly talked to him about if she was able to. I wanted to craft it in a way that would inspire his wild imagination and help him know the simple, yet profound truth that she taught me. That he is made of light, the most most brilliant light, because the Maker of all looked at every magnificent thing and still decided the thing that He was missing all along was you.
Creating this book was a slow and deliberate process. To me it is way more than just a children’s book. It’s a love letter to my mother and son. From me to them, from my mother to my son, and most of all from our Maker to us.
Once the words were complete, I worked closely with Joshua Ritchie to make the pictures tell more than the words themselves. We brainstormed and refined the visual concepts to make detailed illustrations so that the suspense builds with every turn of the page. With watercolor and digital illustration, Joshua brilliantly worked with me to design full page spreads that capture the heart of this story. He created a character children can connect with and he placed him in detailed surroundings that readers eyes will dance around to notice something new every time they re-read the book.
A driving force for me to publish this book and make it more widely available is because I want more children to read this and know exactly how special they are. The world is filled with many glorious, beautiful things, but in the eyes of the One who created it all, none of them compare to the light that He put in you.
Does this resonate with you? Do you want to join me in bringing this book to light?
The Next Step
This book will launch on Kickstarter January 7th, 2024.
Over 30 days, you will have the opportunity to be an early supporter of the book and purchase a copy from the very first printing run. Printing high-quality books is a very expensive step in the publishing process. So building a list of people who want to buy it before those initial copies are made helps immensely!
If you’re interested in supporting this book there are 2 things you can do today to help build up for the book release.
1. Subscribe to Sierra Peak Creative to get emails about the book release and updates:
It truly means the world to me that you have taken time to even read this far. I am so excited and nervous to see this book created after it has been in my heart for so long. I’m working on some beautiful rewards for early backers and supporters of this book. So stay tuned on how you can snag those!
Sierra Peak Books 
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