Children's book author Donna J. Shepherd talks about her two new picture books, Ouch! Sunburn! and No More Gunk! both under Guardian Angel Publishing's new Health and Hygiene imprint. Donna, who also writes devotionals, also talks about her working environment, book promotion, and her experience in looking for a publisher, among other things. She offers some sound, wise advice to aspiring authors.

Do you consider yourself a born writer?

I wouldn’t. I've never been one to journal, and besides a few things written for English class in high school, I didn't write. But once I started, I wrote every day!

Did you always want to be a writer?

I never really thought of writing for children until the summer of 2003 when I wrote a short poem. I submitted it to Guideposts for Kids. The editor replied favorably with a couple of suggestions. I thought I might be onto something, and wrote a couple more stanzas, and then a few more. The resulting manuscript became "Topsy Turvy Land," the first picture book published by Hidden Pictures Publishing.

And in the meantime, I continued to submit to magazines, and GP4K published one of my first poems, "My Tooth Is Missing."

Tell us about your recent release. What was your inspiration for it?

Ouch! Sunburn! is a 27 page, 94 word easy reader. My redheaded son, Aaron, to whom I dedicated the book, has always had a terrible time each summer preventing sunburn. We've learned a LOT about skin care! But the little boy in the book thinks he's smarter than mom. Sun Safety Tips in the back of the book reinforce the book’s theme.

Ouch! Sunburn! and a new book, No More Gunk!, will soon be released as a print book as part of Guardian Angel Publishing’s new Health and Hygiene line. No More Gunk! features the same little boy and tips for taking care of teeth in the back. It will be two books in one, or as Lynda calls it – “a double-doozie!” I’m sure kids will giggle at the fun illustrations Kevin came up with for Gunk!

Tell us about your other children's books.

Topsy Turvy Land was so much fun to write, and just as fun to promote. It’s a rhyming picture book with hearts hidden throughout, and a hidden picture puzzle on the back cover. I’m sure I’ll have the same delight in promoting the Ouch! Sunburn!/No More Gunk! book, too. I also have a follow-up book to Topsy Turvy Land coming soon called Dotty’s Topsy Tale. It features the polka-dotted hippo first seen in Kevin’s illustrations in Topsy Turvy Land. It deals with the delicate subject of discrimination.