It’s 5 am, and my house is silent. With coffee brewing, the fireplace warms the chilly room where I sit snuggled under a blanket getting my hands to work through their cold stiffness to begin typing. A small loving dog joins me on either side as another story begins, an idea is polished, a word is changed, or a character comes to life. Before anyone else is awake, before anyone calls “Mom”, before the world begins to glow with the first rays of morning light, this is my writing time. Of course, then the usual get the kids going, pack lunches, feed the dogs, and make sure anything that needs to have my signature is signed and put in the correct backpack takes over, and the day begins. Writing continues after the barrage of morning Mom/wife duties has been completed. It is a definite change from when I actually started this journey.
As I read to my kids during Christmas break seven years ago, the ideas of Smarty Pig began to simply flood my thought. I went to the computer and began to type. You would have laughed! “Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer” was blasting on the television with my daughter singing along. There I sat with my eyes closed, typing as fast as I could. The story and the message I wanted to get across with these characters was taking shape. It was exhilarating, but it would be a long time before I was able to complete the story.
Back then, I taught elementary school full-time while my husband rehearsed nights and performed weekends with the Austin Symphony. Time to write was stolen moments after I put the kids to bed, tackled the dishes, laundry or finished my schoolwork. During the school day, lunch became a chance to walk the track recording ideas. I’m sure that many parents driving by thought I had gone crazy. Again, it was only moments to get stories down somehow.
It is now 7 years later, my husband has retired giving us the opportunity to move back to his native Pittsburgh, and I thought it was a great new beginning for me. Unfortunately, my 17 years of teaching experience was not enough for Pennsylvania to grant me a teaching certificate, so I found myself without the security of a “day job”. This compelled me to complete Smarty Pig and work to get it published. The rejection letters were quick to come, but I have found a home in Halo Publishing International. I am blessed right now to be able to spend time everyday writing, but I simply don’t know how long I will be able to afford that luxury, especially financially. Is full-time writing challenging? Yes, but I’m grateful every day that I have a chance to get Smarty Pig and the messages that she brings to kids, parents and teachers everywhere.
About the author: Molly Nero loves to sing, dance and read. She spent over 18 years teaching elementary school. Reading to her own children, she was inspired to write. The second book in the Smarty Pig book series Smarty Pig and the Test Taking Terror releases in Spring 2012.
You can find out more about Molly Nero’s World of Ink Author/Book Tour schedule at http://storiesforchildrenpublishing.com/MollyNero.aspx. There will be giveaways, reviews, interviews, guest posts and more. Make sure to stop by and interact with Nero and the hosts at the different stops by leaving comments and/or questions.
Halo Publishing, Int. and the World of Ink Network will be touring author Molly Nero’s book Smarty Pig, which released December 2011.
Smarty Pig is the only one in the pig family who hasn’t given up on school and doing her homework. Although she is teased, her report card shows her hard work, while the others fail. The other pigs reach out to her and she becomes their tutor, by creating games in their home. They all realize learning can be fun and that it’s not just for school, it’s for life.
Get a sneak peek of the book at http://youtu.be/E2L_NS2QqgM