Guest post from Author, MarilynLebovitz
As a retired septuagenarian Speech Pathologist, I began a quest to find something fulfilling that at the same time would continue to make a difference in the lives of others. Writing has been my hobby since I was small, and it helped tremendously through my career as an incentive to having clients share their challenges and hopes and many times to simply make them laugh.
As I contemplated how or whether to reinvent myself, my grown children stepped in and cajoled me into turning my passion for writing into using my questionable humor, firmly unhinged by my younger clients, into a new career: writing children’s books. As my daughter wrote in my bio, “If you don’t like her books, blame her children. They made her do it!”
This new undertaking has brought a wonderful new phase to my life albeit with quite an ambitious learning curve. I tease that it has kept me out of the stores and off the streets!
During my years of working with many different age groups from children through adults, one commonality existed. There is not just one population of people in need of help. Those struggling with learning challenges and speech come in every color, every religion, every gender.
The spectrum of ethnicities was firmly represented in my sessions and so dictated the direction of my books. It is critical to me that each child turning the pages, as well as those cuddling them as they are read to, never feel marginalized. They can each see themselves smiling proudly through the human characters created or smile at the use of anthropomorphic beings. Fortunately, my talented illustrator, Kaley Powers, understands this concept personally. She is the beautiful and amazing daughter of a Chinese mother and a Danish father. Kaley needed no explanations.
So far, I’ve independently published four books with a fifth being on the cusp of being uploaded.
As this is a labor of love and in order to fulfill my goal of making a difference, my husband and I underwrite the expenses of creating and publishing. This makes it possible to gift copies to schools and to those who might not otherwise be able to buy them for their children.
It also allows all of the proceeds from my books to go to charities that benefit children. Previously, these included Everytown For Gun Safety and Shoes That Fit. Now with children in our own country going hungry, the proceeds have gone to Feeding America and will continue to go to charities dedicated to ending this inexcusable tragedy.
My hope is that all of my books will help explore some of the many mysteries of life with laughter and create excitement to foster a growing love for the written word.
Marilyn Bricklin Lebovitz, AKA “The Story Lady”, continues her life-long love of books and passion for teaching with her collection of wise and witty children’s books. Throughout her life as a mother and grandmother, and Speech/ Language Pathologist, Marilyn has written countless poems and stories for relatives and students as a private hobby. After several years of her children begging her to create material for the public, she finally relented. These insightful and sometimes silly stories engage children and parents alike with their warmth, humor and unique perspective on the human condition. If the books aren’t loved, blame her kids. They made her do it!
Connect with Mary and StoryLady Collections via the website or Mary’s Amazon Author Page.
Please welcome Katie Zhao today for our #ReadYourWorld Book Jam 2020 with the Children’s Book Council. She has created a book list on middle grade fantasy novels with diverse main characters. Her debut novel is inspired by Chinese mythology, and we are giving away 3 copies of The Warrior Dragon. Please fill out the Rafflecopter at the bottom to enter.
