Dawn Kasperski
Why I Started Writing:
As far back as I can remember, I have always wanted to write a children's book. As a child I used to make little books and write stories in them and pass them out to my siblings. Life has been full since then, and I haven't taken the time until recently to put the thoughts to paper. However, when I did, the ideas just started to spill onto the page. I have lines of books running through my mind at any given moment.
Authors Who Have Influenced Me:
I have been a fan of nonfiction for most of my adult life and find that I usually start a book and read it in a day or so. I can't say one particular author has influenced me. I have recently befriended two children's authors, Michelle Medlock Adams and Crystal Bowman. Both write in rhyme, which was a new process for me. I wasn't sure I could write in that style, and now I love it!
Books I Have Written:
My first book is A New Baby, How Can It Be? which I wrote on a twelve-hour drive from the UP of Michigan. While my husband drove, I wrote. This story was based on my own two girls who are only nineteen months apart. I was originally told to change the style to prose as the rhyme was too far off. However, I knew the story had to be rhyme and kept at it until I got it to where it is now. This was my first rhyming book and when I look back at the original manuscript, I realize how far I have come!
What I'm Working On Now:
I am currently working on several things. Eli's Search for the Amazing Gift, which is a Christmas story written in prose, My Backyard Animal Friends and My Beach Animal Friends written in rhyme and a companion set for early childhood. I have many other ideas I have not started to work on yet!