“A dream is a wish your heart makes…” - Cinderella
What got me started…
I was pregnant with our third child. After having two amazing boys, and the fun that brings, I was proud to be a boy mom. In fact, I was so at peace with it that I thought our third would be a boy as well. We already had some boy names picked out along with baby clothes I’ve saved throughout the years, so we were all set… or so I thought.
Our Pregnancy Announcement
“Make it Pink. Make it Blue” Gender Reveal
When we learned that we were pregnant with a baby girl, I felt so many emotions. Excitement and shock. Worriedness and giddiness. I had always wanted a little girl, I just thought I would never have the chance. Raising a girl was a completely different world for me, and I didn’t know what to expect. But as weeks went on, the reality that a little girl was on her way finally sunk in. Not only am I a boy mom, but I get to be a girl mom too!
I was 23 weeks pregnant, browsing Pinterest for baby shower ideas. I had zero girl clothes and accessories, and my family was putting together a baby shower. I came across this photo of party favors for a princess party. They were Little Golden Books: Disney Princesses. Each book was wrapped with a different colored ribbon.
The pastels of this photo immediately caught my attention. I hopped onto Amazon to hopefully buy this set in this color scheme when I realized it was just a filter placed on the photo, not the product itself. A little disappointed, I thought to myself that someone should write some princess board books for toddlers with the same color scheme so it’s all cohesive. That’s when it hit me that maybe I could. Writing and publishing was something I had always dreamed of doing. I just never had the idea or drive until that very moment.
Me, a Children’s Author? … Challenge Accepted
So I got to work. Within 3 weeks, I had all thirteen books drafted (one per princess). I contacted Disney for approval to use their trademark, and six weeks later received a rejection email. Further investigation, along with speaking with a lawyer, I learned that it’s almost impossible to use their trademarked images within books unless you work for them directly.
Although extremely disappointing, I’m not ready to give up. Please check out my “Current Progress” page to see where this series stands and/or sign up for my newsletter so you don’t miss an update!