We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kimberly Davis-Peters. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kimberly below.

Kimberly, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I began writing as a children’s author in 2019. I started out with a goal of writing only one book, but while I was creating “Ellie & the Rainy Day”, I fell in love with the process of creating a children’s book, so I decided to keep writing more books. To date, I’ve created four picture books, one activity book, two journals for children and I feel like I’m just getting started!

Each of my picture books feature an African American child as the main character and I’ve very proud of this, because African Americans are still very underrepresented in the children’s books. The goal of my writing is to create stories that all children can relate to, learn and grow from.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Over the last 3 years I’ve had quite a few moments when I questioned my talent and ability to grow my brand as an author. The most difficult part of this journey has been sharing my book with the world during the pandemic. In 2020 I was getting ready to launch my second book, Cocoa, Tea & Honey when the pandemic shifted the entire way of the world. There was so much going on that I doubted people would have time to care about my picture book. I wasn’t able to connect with parent’s and readers in person, so I had no choice but to promote my book online and I was nervous about whether anyone would care. The reaction was overwhelmingly positive and very supportive in interviews, on social media, and even on Amazon. Another great part of this time was all of the great relationships I made with people all over the world. From illustrators to fellow authors and small business owners, and so many more great connections that I would have missed the chance at had I not been forced to spend most of my time indoors and efforts online in 2020.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I really have love for each part of the process that happens when a new book is written, but I would have to say that the most rewarding aspect is seeing parents and children connect with my books in-person at events. There is a special feeling I get when I see a child’s eyes light up because some part of the story speaks to them, or a parent who is moved to tears over the message in my books, these are moments that an author can only dream of.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.elliesbookshop.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ellies.bookshop
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/elliesbookshop
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpUBG5VcyQkiuxyIqjcyiPg