Last October 10th, my first picture book hit the shelves! TINY JUMPER: How Tiny Broadwick Created the Parachute Rip Cord was years in the making. My research began in 2014, and my writers group critiqued my first stab at telling Tiny’s story in October 2015. Little did I realize how many revisions my manuscript would undergo (honestly, I lost count). Little did I know that it would be SIX years before a publishing house accepted my manuscript, and two more years before it would be available for readers as a picture book biography.
Kirkus and Booklist loved TINY JUMPER enough to give it starred reviews, and The Horn Book included a wonderful review in their September/October published periodical.
I was thrilled to read wonderful remarks about TINY, a book I loved creating, and about Tiny, the teeny woman from the early 1900’s whom I came to admire immensely.
“That’s a long time to pursue a project,” people have said to me. And they are right. There were times I wanted to throw up my hands and move on to another project. But how could I abandon such an important story that might never be told by anyone else? Could I leave Tiny just hanging in mid-air?
It is so gratifying when unexpected events fall into your lap at just the right time! At one of my lowest moments in pursuit of having Tiny’s story published, a daily calendar quote featured this one from Thomas Edison: “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Those words rekindled the fire in me to get Tiny’s story into print. And I hope they might inspire someone else to stick to their worthwhile endeavor. Thanks, Tom!!!
In the short seven years of his life, my grandson Finn has demonstrated an admirable stick-to-it attitude in his pursuit of playing hockey. The first video is Finn at 4-years-old learning to skate. The second video was recorded 2 ½ years later as he is practicing with his hockey team. Go, Finn!!! You inspire me!