VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

Patti Brassard was born in upstate NY in 1962 but moved with her military family to Virginia when she was 11 years old. She always loved art in school but never gave a thought to making it a career until she started college in 1980. With no idea where a Fine Arts degree would take her, she instead studied Media Arts Advertising and after graduation, started her own graphic design company so that she could continue to be a work-at-home mother to her daughter Nikki. It was while Nikki was learning to read that Patti mocked up her first book aimed at teaching pre-readers the alphabet. She only shared it with her daughter and her kindergarten class. It was very well received but Patti never pursued the project any further. Over the following years Patti opened a paint-it-yourself pottery studio and got back to being involved in more artistic endeavors. In   2010, she remarried and added Jefferson to her name: Patti Brassard Jefferson.   They moved to the Florida Keys w

Donna McDine is an award-winning children’s author . Her stories, articles and book reviews have been published in over 100 print and online publications. Her interest in American History resulted in writing and publishing "The Golden Pathway ." She writes, moms and is a personal assistant from her home in the historical hamlet Tappan, NY. McDine is a member of the SCBWI, Children’s Literature Network and Family Reading Partnership. VS: What do you do to help balance your writing life with your family life? Donna: I try my best to write when my family is off doing their “thing” and then meditate for 10-15 minutes prior to their return so I’m refreshed for them. VS: How long have you been writing? Donna: Since 2007 VS: What is a typical writing day like for you? Donna: No day is the same. I grab my writing time when I get it. Whether 15 minutes or 30 minutes at a time. As many authors we hold full time or part time jobs an