Anna Deskins wears many hats – mother, author and small business owner. I know many of you have small children and grandchildren so I wanted to share with you an interview with Anna and introduce her new book “The Adventures of Smitty”:
Your children’s book, “The Adventures of Smitty” looks magical. What is the story about?
It’s the story of a magical island of little creatures called Smilies and the mischievous little main character, Smitty. He’s such a naughty boy. Haha! All the moms and kids I’ve shared it with have been giving me such a wonderful reaction. I cannot believe it. I have to tell you how excited I am to finally have a life-long dream come true. Writing The Adventures of Smitty was really about finding a story that I would want to read to my children at night. It has to be exciting but not scary so that my two daughters can go to sleep. Basically, I was looking for that perfect blend to read to my kids at night and decided, “Why not try writing my own?”
We’ve had a lot of changes in our life recently, so I want to make sure that when I put my daughters to sleep that they feel safe. I have short chapters because I know how busy we moms are but if you can just sacrifice 5 minutes at night reading to your kids, it makes a world of difference. Your kids will never forget it. And although we’re running around the whirlwind of life, our kids grow up so fast, and that time that we’d rather finish watching what happened in our favorite soap opera instead of reading to our kids will never come again. I hope that The Adventures of Smitty and books like it help moms do exactly that.
In addition to being a children’s book author, you’re also a small business owner. How do you juggle taking care of two daughters and at the same time running a business?
Yes, I am a fashion designer and have a retail store. Any type of creativity is what I’m passionate about. That’s why writing The Adventures of Smitty was so important to me. Let me tell you, running a small business in today’s economy isn’t easy especially when raising two girls at the same time. But somehow, it seems someone’s watching over me because my dreams are coming true no matter what. To have mom’s glowing about my children’s book, means so much to me. And I know my girls are proud.
When do you have time to write?
You mean, in between laundry, running a business, chasing my girls around the house, cleaning the house, and flying back and forth from Miami to New York? Haha? That’s one thing I’ve learned, when you really want to do something, you find a way. Things fall into place if you just go for it and that’s what I want to encourage all the moms who are reading this right now. Whatever your goal is, you can do it. Don’t let the challenges in your personal life stop you from going for your dreams. Just go for it and it’s almost magical how things fall into place.
Right now you have “The Adventures of Smitty” priced at $.99, where can we get a copy?
It’s available online by going to: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/94655 You can also visit my website: http://www.AnnaDeskins.com where you can read more about my writing process, my recommendations for other books and my own adventures in Mommyhood.
I’m so grateful for your support and the support I’m getting from so many wonderful moms who dream of writing children’s books one day too. Writing The Adventures of Smitty has been such an emotional experience for me, a true journey as I was going through so many changes while writing it. It’s truly been a blessing in my life. It, along with my daughters, and that guy upstairs have really pulled me through a challenging time.
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Thanks Anna! Be sure to support Anna Deskins and buy a copy of “The Adventures of Smitty”….I mean, come on, it’s only $.99! 😉
One reoccurring message I’ve been receiving this week is to not make excuses and just do it. In the homilies at Mass, in my daily devotionals, with the focus given today and even with testimony of this young mother the message is clear to go with what you know is your call. There are no excuses to hold you back. And if you feel ‘stuck’ maybe it’s time to reevaluate and write down the excuses that have you in a rut. Sometimes writing them down or talking them out to someone close to you will help you to recognize the action that needs to be taken.
Blessings!
Shannon