Book: The Power Of Positivity: The ABC’s Of A Pandemic
Q1. Hello Ma’am, can you please introduce yourself?
I am a proud mom of 3 amazing young adults. For the past
30 years, I have owned and operated a licensed Family In-home Daycare/Preschool. In addition, I am a certified parent-relationship coach. Through my extensive hands-on experiences and raising my own three children, I have learned a lot about children and how children think and react to different situations. Using positive mindsets, I help family members build strong meaningful partnerships filled with better understanding, more joy, and the ability to work through problems.
I have always had a dream of writing children’s books. My book The Power of Positivity, The ABC’s of a Pandemic, was inspired by my daycare children. One of the many things unique about the book is that each character in the book is a likeness of my children and past or
present daycare children. I believe that as much as I have taught them over the years, I have learned so much from them. It was my way of honoring them and letting them know how special they are to me.
My other passions include traveling with my family. We love to go on adventures and discover places off the beaten track. In my younger years, I was blessed to have worked as a tour guide, traveling with 40-50 people for two weeks at a time. It was such a great
experience, and as my children grew, it was vital for me to instill the adventure of travel in them. We have experienced some amazing adventures over time.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing ‘The Power of Positivity: The ABC’s Of A Pandemic’ book?
I think the biggest challenge was time. Just when you think you will make a deadline, something happens, causing delays. I worked with incredible professional people, so there was always a way to fix it. It was frustrating when delays happened because I knew I wanted the book out as soon as possible. After the first few delays I took on the mindset that there must be a good reason. I had faith that my book would be published exactly at the right time and that everything would fall into place. And it did, and things are still falling into place.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
As a pre-school teacher, I have shared thousands and thousands of books with my children. I admire so many authors, too many too list. I love books that teach something, that help children see a problem they might have, and help them find solutions. That’s why I wrote my book. There was so much uncertainty around this pandemic. The uncertainty was causing children to be anxious and they were struggling with the right vocabulary to ask the questions to their concerns. I remember a book I read called Ruby Finds A Worry. Written by Tom Percival. In this book, Tom helps children who feel anxious, notice their worry and explains that it grows bigger and bigger if they keep it bottles up. When you share your fears and talk about them, they can go away. I believe children can learn so much through books and songs. My book has helped many children open up and talk about their fears of the pandemic and since my book focuses on the positive, reading and rereading my book helps them “rewire” their brains to look for the silver lining during this time.
Q4. What’s your favorite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
I love the beauty of the great outdoors. When I was a tour guide in the mid 80’s One of my series was Alaska and the Yukon. Alaska and the Yukon have the most majestic mountains, glaciers and vast wild spaces. The wildlife is fascinating, and there is so much to learn about the history of the areas. The aurora borealis (northern lights) is breath taking, I have seen it many times, and each time it is unique and spectacular. For as long as I can remember, I always dreamed of sharing that area with my children. We were very blessed a few years back to take a vacation there and make unforgettable memories.
Q5. Is there lots to do before you drive in and start writing a book?
My process of writing a book may be very different from any other authors. Since the majority of my life has been surrounded by children, I am very in tune with their need. My children are always sharing things with me, so I get many of my children’s topics from them. I then do a lot of research. I sleep with a notebook by my bed, so if I think of something even during the middle of the night, I can jot it down. I do my best thinking just before bed and first thing in the morning because my mind seems clear and more open to creativity.
Q6. How long did it take you to write ‘The Power of Positivity: The ABC’s Of A Pandemic’ book?
Writing the book only took a few weeks. The idea for the book came one day on the zoom during our state shut down. One of my daycare children looked sad and lost. He was missing his normal routine and his friends. I opened up a conversation so that the children could share what they were feeling and what I found was that most of them were feeling the same way, sad, lonely and confused. They were focused on the terrible situations they heard about the covid-19 virus.
I tend to be a very positive person, Not to say I have not had my share of ups and downs and challenging times, but I always try to look at the glass half full. So I started to brainstorm all the good that has come out of this difficult time. Everywhere I looked, I could find nuggets of kindness, love and compassion for others. I began researching to see more examples to use in my book, and that is when The Power of Positivity, The ABC’S of a Pandemic, was born. The part that took the longest was the illustrations; those took about eight weeks. Harry Aveira is such a talented illustrator. He had incredible ideas and was so patient with the things I asked for. The illustrations are so important because they continue to tell my story, so it is essential to take the time to get them just right.
Q7. On what all platforms readers can find ‘The Power of Positivity: The ABC’s Of A Pandemic’ book to buy?
My books are currently located on Amazon, Good reads, Barns and Noble, and any Independent Bookstores. They are also available on my website https://www.ruthmaille-author.com/ “The Power of Positivity: The ABC’s Of A Pandemic’ is also available in Spanish, El poder de la positividad EL: ABC de una pandemia. I have also published 2 companion books, The Power of Positivity Coloring book for children ages 3-5 yrs old and The Power of Positivity Activity book ages 5-8. My website has more information as to where you can buy local and valuable information on what is happening.
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘The Power of Positivity: The ABC’s Of A Pandemic’?
My project manager and mentor, April Cox, my graphic designer Praise Salfor, and myself worked on the cover idea. I wanted something that would encompass the entire book. People in the world were trying to cling to hope and be as optimistic as possible. So one night on zoom, we decided that the page “O is for Optimistic” was a picture of the earth; later named Orbit, with a band-aid on his head and a little girl hugging it, trying to make it feel better seemed to be the perfect cover. We also thought that the book should be neutral, so both boys and girls could love the book and its message. We decided to add a little boy. A friend of mine, Diane, suggested he be fist-pumping the earth since that was what boys were doing these days. The colors, font, and placement were also important. It took two weeks of tweaking to create what you see.
Q9. When writing a book, how do you keep things fresh for both your readers and also yourself?
I think the secret is just being me. I write from my heart, and my intention is to help children develop into confident, happy, respectful, well-adjusted, and resilient human beings. I do this every day in my business, and writing children’s books is one more way I can make a difference. I don’t concentrate on “Is this what will sell my book?” I focus on how my message can make a difference in even one child’s life. I hope that when children read my book, they feel empowered to be the best they can be.
Thank you for allowing me to share my story. If you have any clarification questions or need more information please reach out.
Book Is Available On Amazon
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