“Your book deserves extraordinary praise!” I am super happy to announce that my latest book, “The First Unicorn” has won its first book award! While I am not surprised, as I feel this story has so much inspiration and guidance to give, I am humbled to know that it was chosen to receive an award. […]
The First Unicorn – See the Illustration
The First Unibear may have been my Mona Lisa… but The First Unicorn is going to be my Sistine Chapel!
Why did I write The First Unicorn
I love unicorns. I have loved unicorns since I was a very young child. I collected porcelain unicorn statues, unicorn posters and absolutely fell in love with the movie “The Last Unicorn”. I was drawn to anything about unicorns because they were beautiful, magical and good. They represented innocence, love and strength… like Jesus.
Why Children are enamored with Unicorns
Almost everyone knows what a unicorn is, but do you know where they came from? Who was the first unicorn? How did he get his golden horn? And why did others follow in his footsteps?
The book publishing snowman theory:
Book publishing is like a snowman – follow me here. To build a snowman you have to have the desire to get out in that freezing cold snow. You have to have the talent and patience to do the job. You have to be willing to learn or research the aspects you don’t know. You […]
Read “Her Guarded Desire” Free!
Kristen must make a decision… Her Bodyguard or Her Boyfriend Having thought the danger was over and she could finally move on with her life, Kristen was again swept off her feet by her bodyguard Cody; which left Devin, her boyfriend, as the third wheel. Being uprooted from their lives, Devin tries to make the […]
StoryCub Video is Complete! Watch it Now...
We’ve been Blessed again! StoryCub is an Early Childhood Development Project that produces and distributes mobile-friendly, streaming video versions of children’s picture books. Built for today’s digital families; preschool and kindergarten educators also rely on StoryCub for the discovery of great books. StoryCub thought Hamilton Troll meets Pink Light Sprite was Awesome! So they produced […]
How to make a Great Book Cover (Self-Pub...
You’ve written the book, yeah! You’ve edited the book, super! You are ready to publish the book, wahoo! But Wait! You need a book cover. If you are not a graphic designer like me, you may feel a bit overwhelmed. You are creative with words, not pictures. How do you begin? Where do you […]
Thank You Postcards from the Children!
So an absolutely amazing letter came in the mail today. I did a reading at an elementary school in San Marcos last week and was again able to share my writing enthusiasm with the children. The smiles on their faces, hands in the air for participation, the exorbitant number of them who actually liked to […]
Have Children Read Your Children’s Book
A recent comment from a LinkedIn member reminded me of a story that I felt would be really great to share, especially for those authors who are self publishing and even more so for those thinking to print in bulk to save money. When I was first starting out, regarding self publishing, I was still […]
Some Major Changes & Additions
I have redesigned my book website: www.KathleensBooks.com I have published on Smashwords my Christian children’s story “Dandy Lion – A Legend of Love & Loss” https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/320960 I have published on Smashwords my Children’s chapter book “A Rainbow of Thanks” https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/320978 Both e-books are available for FREE for a limited time so I can get some […]
Three generations of artists collaborate...
About a year ago, author Kathleen J. Shields approached character illustrator Leigh A. Klug about a troll.With the desire of adding a face to her words, Kathleen shared the story of Hamilton Troll to Leigh who listened and laughed with the merriment of a young child herself. Moments after hearing about Hamilton, with the […]
Read. Get Smart. Make Good Choices. Beco...
– The more you read, The more you know. The more you know, The smarter you grow. The smarter you grow, The stronger your voice When speaking your mind Or making a choice. – I saw this poster in an elementary school library and I LOVED IT! What a great message! Read – Get Smart […]
PAWsitive Vibes – Dogs, provides a Posit
When I first met Preston Mitchum, Jr. he was standing in the foyer of my grandfather’s home awaiting payment for lawn care services. My grandfather introduced us, we said generic hello’s, and that was about it. A year or so later I went back to Maryland to help my grandfather and saw Preston out in […]
Dream World Defenders – Trailer Videos
New Book By Award-Winning Author, Kathleen J. Shields Curious about Dream World Defenders? Watch the book trailers below: Can’t wait to read the book? You can buy the book at any of these fine retailers: Also, don’t forget the Challenge!
Start your own Troll Patrol
What is the Troll Patrol? Hamilton Troll realizes in our next book “Hamilton Troll meets Rudy Rat” (available July 4th) that there are some children out there that are ‘mean’ to others…. You see Rudy Rat wasn’t a very nice rat to the other children. He didn’t know how to make friends so he took their […]
Starlit’s Surprise
Starlit Troll had so much fun the day she met Hamilton and his friends that she decided to stay one more day. Hamilton comes up with a grand surprise for her that puts a huge smile on her face! What can you do that might put a smile on someone’s face? Clean your room? Color a […]
A Message from Starlit Troll
In the 12th book of the Hamilton Troll Adventures, Hamilton and Starlit have a Big Race. They run and swim, climb and fly – but in the end there is a winner and a loser and the loser is not being a very good sport. In the end this is a good message for all […]
Happy Trolls, Happy Friends
Hamilton Troll makes friends everywhere he goes. Do you know why? Is it… a) Because he’s happy? b) Because he talks to others? c) Because he asks questions? d) All of the above? You know the answer. People like people who smile, who make them feel welcome. By talking with someone, you make yourself available. […]
Hamilton Troll’s Theme Song
Most of my close friends have heard this, either through Facebook, Linked-in or via an email newsletter but it occurred to me that there may be some who follow this blog who haven’t heard it yet. (Shame on me) Lyrics written in about 15 minutes after the initial line came to me on a Saturday […]
Starlit Troll’s duck is about to land!
Surprise! Looking up to the sky watching ducks fly by, Hamilton sees something he has never seen before; another troll! Hamilton suddenly realizes he’s not the only troll in the world. Leaping at the chance to learn more, he begs Starlit to stay for a while then introduces her to all of his friends. The […]