About the Author
As a child, Jess consumed books faster than her mother could buy them. She loved reading,The Magic Far Away Tree, by Enid Blyton, every night before bed.
Jess has always loved storytelling and creative writing. She wrote her first picture book in Grade 2 and has always enjoyed writing poetry and stories.
Today, Jess is excited to be manifesting her favourite things into reality, writing children's books and reading them before bed, with her own children.
In her previous life, b.c. (before children), inspired by her own wonderful teachers, Jess became a Drama/English teacher. In this role she found great fulfilment, bringing stories to life on the stage as a director of school musicals.
Jess has always loved storytelling, no matter what the format. Whether it was those dorky radio stations she recorded (on tape) as a child, or the poems she recited at the Speech and Drama competitions her mother dragged her to, Jess was telling stories.
Jess is passionate about writing stories from the heart and helping children foster a love of reading. She hopes that every child gets to see themselves in the pages of a picture book - those magical windows into early literacy.
'Some Families Change'
2020 - Meant big change, for all of us!
Jess wrote and submitted her first picture book, Some Families Change, when life as she knew it, blew up in 2020. Jess had to explain some very delicate and difficult things to her children, amidst a world pandemic, and she couldn't find the right book to help her. So, in need of a personal story to help her explain the new direction her family would be taking, she wrote a book for her children. She hopes that this love letter to them and to parents and children everywhere, can help many families.
xox
Join me on my journey
My first picture book, Some Families Change, is out May 1st 2024, with EK Books, with a second to follow in 2025. I would love for you to reach out here or via my Instagram, where I share posts about my love of books, family, life by the bay and my publishing journey.