Adversity Road is a collection of poetry exploring the different forms of adversity that people face, presented in a way that children can understand. Why was this an important collection for you to write?

It was important for me to write this to promote the message that adversity comes in many different forms. 

What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?

An idea that was important for me to share was the concept of the road. The road symbolizes our lives. We are all walking this path we call life but it is filled with adversity. I wanted to emphasize that despite us all encountering adversity, it may look different for other people. This creates a platform for me to highlight compassion and empathy for the people around us. We never know what other people are going through but if you take a second to think about the obstacles of other people then maybe it will help us practice more empathy in our own lives.

I loved the art in this book; it is extremely eye-catching and a great way to keep children engaged. What was the art collaboration process like with illustrator Tionna J. Clarida?

I connected with Tionna Clarida online back in 2022. She is a very passionate artist that has a lot of beautiful work to her name. None of it was published but I truly believed she needed to be so I offered her an opportunity to publish her work to the world with my story. This first time illustrator did not disappoint! Tionna got straight to work after we had a virtual session talking about the vision we had. This book is a poem so this allowed Tionna to truly express herself through her talent. She spent about a year gathering photographs and sketching to create a vision for this. The final product resulted in beautiful illustrations that brought my story to life. Tionna J. Clarida is an amazing illustrator and I hope she continues to showcase her artistic abilities to the world. 

What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be published?

I am taking a break from publishing to pursue other things I wish to accomplish in life. It has been a great journey writing two children’s books. If I choose to write more in the future then I would continue to keep an inspirational theme.

Author Links: Amazon | GoodReads

Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/05/23/the-road-symbolizes-our-lives/