Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Carmella Alexander. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Carmella, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My name is Carmella Alexander and I am a mother of 2. I am a bus driver by vocation. I started writing poetry at the age of 10 years old.  As I got older, my passion for writing  died down a bit. Then shortly after having my son Amir, life changed. Amir was born with a very rare epilepsy disorder that only affects a small percentage of children worldwide. The life expectancy of children with his disease could be as young as 2 weeks old up to 12 years old. Receiving this information devastated me. It automatically brought with it a whirlwind of emotions.   I feared that I probably wouldn’t get a chance to watch my boy grow up,  or that my son will never walk or talk. This is a parents worst nightmare.  Being the parent of a disabled child is obviously difficult especially when your child is totally dependent on you for daily care. The shoes are too big to fill especially as a first time parent with a special baby. What was I suppose to do? How was I going to handle my emotions of what if? I  had to realize that despite how I felt my son needed me! So I picked up my badge of honor and wore it proudly! I am my son’s  biggest advocate and his voice! I serve as his voice which ebabled me to create a book that portrays him as the superhero that he is! Children around the world deserve representation! Even though they may not be able to walk or talk or even see , every child deserves the right to have an imagination! Fearless helps children peer into the lenses of an imagination of a little boy who is sick.  But in his imagination he is strong and he  has friends who are just like him who are strong as well. It teaches children to view children who are disabled like ordinary kids. His book also teaches them that despite limitations everyone can be fearless!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As mentioned before I am a children’s book Author and I surround the bulk of my stories to tailor around making sure the special needs community is positively represented and recognized. We have our superheros such as batman and superman, but what about our special needs community who represents children who are different? That is my mission! I am set apart from other children book Authors because of my message. My message teaches children that despite limitations everyone can be fearless.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Being a strong advocate within the special needs community help me build up my confidence in starting to write. I felt as if the special needs community deserves to have positive representation and advocacy. So that is my main focus and target audience.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

In the special needs realm, all it takes is networking within parental groups within social media. I’ve gotten so much support from parents worldwide who understand the struggle and stress of being a caregiver of a love one. That is how I got most of the word out about my sons book. It means so much to have a character written about a child that is undergoing the same medical issues and actually have a character that represents their struggle. That was my idea and goal.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: carmella_theauthor
• Facebook: Carmella Alexander
• Other: https://facebook.com/moveforamir