The little girl who wanted to write a book

And the grown-up who finally made it happen

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who wore pigtails in her hair.

She loved to daydream, and draw, and tell stories to anyone who would listen. So one day, her Grams gave her a book and told her to write down all her stories in it.

The little girl told herself that one day she would be a famous writer who said fancy things and would have her name on a book like those on the back of the one Grams gave her.

And she filled that book with poetry, stories, and drawing about the most important things in her life: her family, cats, and pizza (without mushrooms, because yuck!).

That little girl grew into a young woman who wrote throughout high school and college, and well into her adulthood. She still wanted to be a writer, but she no longer wrote playful stories like she once did. Writing became hard and felt more like a job than a joy.

Fast-forward to just over a decade ago — she was given a typewriter by her husband and their little boy. The color reminded her of the book Grams put in her hands so many years ago.

It took a while, but she began to write using that typewriter. And once she did, she found joy in the way her fingers felt on the keys, in how her words instantly appeared on the page (like magic!), in how the bell would happily go ding to remind her she’d reached the end of a line. Oh, how she loved all of it.

And she kept on writing.

That little girl turned young woman turned mom with a typewriter who writes is me. But you knew that already didn’t you?

I’m writing today to tell you that little girl with the pigtails is so proud of grown-up me, because I did exactly what she always wanted: I got her name on a book. (I’m still working on that famous part.)

Yes, it’s a book about writing using a typewriter, because I can’t think of anything that makes me (or the little version of me) happier than writing with a typewriter.

And today my book (look, it has my name on it!) is finally available for pre-order exclusively through One Idea Press. By design, it’s not going to be made available for purchase via major retailers like Amazon or Barnes & Noble (that’s a story I’ll tell another day, because it’s important, too).

I would be ever-so-grateful if you would pre-order a copy. If you do, you’ll get some fun bonuses, like a limited-edition sticker, because little Woz insisted on a sticker!

Maybe you aren’t interested in writing, but you know somehow who is? I would be ever-so-grateful once more if you shared this with them.

No matter if you are brand new to this space, or if you have been with me on this journey for years, or if you pre-order my book, or if you don’t, I’m ever-so-grateful for you. And the little girl with the pigtails in her hair is, too!