It’s National Author’s Day… a day to acknowledge how books play a major role in our lives and to take a moment to appreciate their creators. As a new children’s book author (and longtime book lover) I recognize how books have the ability to teach, entertain, and move us. I remember the simple delight of bonding with story books at an early age. The possibility of being able to provide that experience, as a new author, to young readers today is a joy! “Horsing Around In The Town Of Gold Hill: A Story To Stirrup The Imagination And Spur Creativity” was written to encourage the FUN of reading, as it is a complex process that requires practice, perseverance and patience for new readers.
Did you know that this book is written entirely in rhyme? Writing in rhyme was probably the biggest challenge I faced while writing this book. I wanted the cadence of this story’s rhyme scheme to resemble the rhythm of a walking horse. Stories in rhyme offer children a playful, engaging way to expand their vocabulary and sharpen pronunciation skills. When a new word appears in a rhyming context, kids can often figure out how to say it—and even grasp its meaning—through the rhythm and flow of the language surrounding it. There's something almost musical about rhyme that makes words stick in young minds, building both literacy and confidence.
I'm personally drawn to that rhythm—the way it carries a story forward with momentum and delight. But here's the catch: too many writers prioritize the rhyme over the story itself, forcing awkward phrasing or sacrificing strong dialogue and plot just to land that perfect couplet. The best rhyming stories don't feel like a poetry exercise—they feel inevitable, like the rhythm was always meant to be there, supporting the narrative rather than strangling it.
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