Thistle: children’s book author/illustrator
I have always enjoyed watching animals. In college I studied animal behavior and did field work with monkeys in Central America. I also love drawing and rhyme. I’ve managed a museum and an art gallery. I’ve taken many art/drawing classes through Adult Education programs including drawing at the MFA, Boston. My hobbies are knitting and sewing.
One year a mouse came into my house and wouldn’t leave. He was so insistent on staying that I gave him a permanent home. Watching him run on his wheel one day, I came up with the poem “Red’s Tale” and drew some pictures of him to accompany it. I read the poem with illustrations to my knitting group. They really liked it. Soon after, I wrote “Woodrow Wanders”, a poem about the woodchuck living under my barn. I also drew a picture of Samantha, the feral cat who had kittens under my front porch. I again read these poems to my knitting group and to several friends and their children who all liked them. They encouraged me to put the poems into a book and Under the Garden Gate came out in 2023. But I didn’t stop there, as there were other animals in my yard that needed their stories to be told. I came out with Behind the Garden Gate in 2024.
I created a business to sell my books and called it The Under the Garden Gate Preservation Society. I am dedicated to preserving all creatures that come into the yard, under the garden gate. All the poems are true activities I’ve seen the animals do. I do not use AI to write any of the poems. The illustrations are each a work of art. Each picture is lovingly drawn once, without erasing and without any pre-sketching or grid lines. All the background trees and bushes in the pictures are also real (because they are important too). I use a set group of colored pencils to keep the color consistent throughout all the drawings. The books are self-published.
At my vendor booth I encourage children to draw. I supply paper and colored pencils to give them the opportunity to show their own creative side. One of my favorite moments was when a little girl left my booth, waving her drawing high in the air, yelling “I got one”.
I like selling my books at farmers markets and craft fairs because I get a chance to interact with people and hear their animal stories. Many people have told me I’ve inspired them to write/draw/be creative.
In my spare time I knit lace shawls and scarves using natural fibers. I also make bookmarks out of beads and ribbon which I have for sale at my vendor booth. Besides writing children’s books, I work full-time as a medical coder for several major hospitals in the Boston area.
Your bard – Thistle
Birds love to eat thistle seeds. At first glance, a thistle looks harsh with its prickly leaves and stem, but when you look closer, it is a very beautiful flower. I look beyond the surface and find beauty in everything. I hope you do as well.
Watch my interview on Fan to Fan – Access Framingham TV
Alliance of Independent Authors
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