This is me, at age 55, deciding to go after my dream of writing and publishing children's books! Thank you for joining me.

To be honest, I don't know what I'm doing yet, but I'm determined to figure it out. It's a huge learning curve! I tell my husband that I'll consider myself a success as an author if we break even in 20 years.

I want to create books that invite curiosity, smiles and meaningful conversations.

Here are some things you may not know about me:

• A good chocolate chip cookie is my favorite. There's an amazing grocery store here in the Midwest called HyVee, and they have a peanut-butter chocolate chip cookie to die for.

• I am a wife, married 33 years. A mom of 6 kids. And a grandma.

• My parents were both school librarians. As a kid, I remember helping them with their annual inventory each summer. I worked in a public library as a teen, a college library while in college, and then a school library most recently. I love libraries!

• I was never a lifeguard as a teen, but I was as a grandma. Do you think the kids were more behaved at the pool with me on guard? I'm not so sure. Still it was fun. And scary. It's a big responsibility to prevent harm. I also loved teaching swim lessons.

• I teach piano lessons. I have 12 students! My oldest student is 80, and she is inspiring. She teaches a Tai Chi class I attend.