The production of the sequel book was a godsend to making the move from Austin, TX to Portland, OR. My ex-wife was moving there. My kids were just 6 and 9. I needed to be where they were growing up. Dolores Mosser and her book added security to the transition. 

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Establishing myself in Portland, I opened myself to more independent authors. With the rise of digital publishing, people with a story to tell didn't have to go through the process of submitting to established, limited publishers. They just needed an illustrator and someone who knew how to work the system. That was me!! 

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I got to make many dreams come true. It was fabulous! 

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In 2016, I decided it was time to publish my own book. I had been working a story since my first children's book in 1991. It was the Alphabet Story. I would go into the woods near my childhood home and imagine a story about a little boy who was having trouble learning his ABC's. I had the idea that if the child could associate a character, a being to a letter, he/she could have greater cognitive connection to the symbols of the alphabet. I ran a Kickstarter campaign to pay MYSELF to make my own dreams come true!

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The campaign was a success!! I set to work completing a project that was on and off the shelf for 25 years. Best of all, the first person to offer me work as a fledging freelancer, Gal Shweiki, offered to print my books. He had gone from publisher of a campus free rag called, "Study Breaks" to a successful San Antonio printing company - Shweiki Media.

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​I did much to promote the book. I created an ebook featuring roll-overs of images that spawned the written word for the image. I created a Youtube channel for readings. I learned Adobe Character Animator enabling me to talk directly with students in online visits.