Tell us a little about yourself.
I grew up in Washington, DC and am the youngest of five siblings. I am a Federal government employee by day, with over 32 years under my belt. I love to read and am thankful that the e-book came about (to contain my book collection) although I still buy plenty of physical books.
I like to travel, read, garden and I dabble in photography. I hope to one day produce a coffee table book of, or a coloring book based from, some of my photos.
I know you and you’ve never been interested in writing. What made you write this book?
I have wanted to write a book for a long time. In past attempts, the topic just didn’t seem right – I didn’t feel like I had a “novel” inside of me. So I asked myself, what is the one thing that always makes me happy; that would be fun to write about. There, in front of my face was my collection of stuffed animals. Some of them I’ve had since I was five years old, and they’ve really made me happy over the years. There are four characters in my book – a giraffe, an owl, a turtle, and a monkey. Two of the characters, the owl and the turtle, I’ve had since I was at least five years old – and they look like I’ve had them that long. The giraffe, Raffi, I crocheted about four years ago when I was teaching myself how to read crochet patterns, and I have a collection of about 30 monkeys, so I had to have one of my monkeys in the book.
What is the name of the book?
Raffi and Friends – The Lunch Box Mystery.
Without giving too much away, what is the book about?
The book is about Raffi, the giraffe, who loves to eat grilled cheese sandwiches (so much so, he could eat them every day) who loses his lunch box with his grilled cheese sandwiches inside. Raffi’s three best friends – Owie the Owl, Torrey the Turtle, and Marlon Monroe the Monkey use their individual qualities while helping him search for his missing lunch box.
What do you hope the readers of your book learn from reading it?
I hope my book can help teach young children basic, wholesome qualities associated with being a good friend.
That’s so sweet. Where can people purchase or pre-order copies of the book?
The book is available in paperback on Amazon.com. The link is https://www.amazon.com/Raffi-Friends-Lunch-Box-Mystery/dp/0997801700/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1475874088&sr=8-1&keywords=raffi+and+friends