Mr. Ages says "Whoever he was...he was brave." So, today, thinking about the end of that little book I sketched out a rat laying on top of ferns. I added Christmas lights because the rats stole them and put them down their main hallway. There are seeds to represent the work as part of The Plan. I added a scrap of paper with NIMH - National Institute of Mental Health - tucked underneath him. 

I’ve always loved writing. I remember working on “books” at home - drawing out characters or a story line and stapling together pieces of paper (I think one of my first stories was about the horrors of a younger sibling). As a teen, I would spend hours typing out story lines and developing characters. I gave up, for a while, on the dream of books until after I had my son. I began to think about Texas animals and wanted to share them in a colorful way. I discovered that I loved illustrating little stories. 

I’ve been making art for decades, but changing the presentation and focusing on characters in illustration was new for me. After writing Animal Friends of West Texas, I worked with an author out of Maryland to bring her story, Daddy Makes Pizza, to life - and it was so much fun! Bats! An Illustrated Fact Book came next, and that was dedicated to my dad, who always adored bats and made sure that we had such a healthy respect for them. I began working on Hercule and his story not long after that and then just sat on it. 

​He shares different tools of his hygiene routine (his toothbrush, his toothpaste, his mouthwash) and his steps in that routine. Then, he goes to bed. It’s the same routine so many of us do before bedtime, and it’s a wonderful way to help elementary aged children have a reference point as they’re building their own routines and working on tooth care. 

I hope that you enjoy reading this darling story as much as I enjoyed creating it. 

In 2023, my little baby had started getting his first sharp, white baby teeth. Caring for those little pearly whites was a main theme on my mind. I couldn't stop thinking about a storybook character who was also learning about taking care of his teeth, and that's how Hercule, the sweet little hippo, came to life (look at him, isn't he the most precious thing?). Creative projects in those early days of infancy were easier for me to work on than the are now; my time is spent divided between my toddler and my newborn. Old projects have started sifting through the hustle of every day life and Hercule, once again, came into focus. I realized that he’s been suspended as a work in progress for two years - a long time for a little hippo. I’ve put so much time, work, and love into creating Hercule that it wasn’t fair to me or to him to keep him hidden away. 

I remember being so afraid to publish my own books. In the past, there hasn't been the same level of legitimacy with self-publishing as there is today. The world of book publishing is a complex one: the big houses get thousands of manuscripts and pitches, there are huge support groups for self-publishing authors, and there are predatory publishing houses that want you to pay thousands of dollars for formatting, illustrations, and expect you to self-promote. The complex options of publishing kept my Hercule project shelved, along with life events, for a while. 

on a little blue stool in front of his bathroom sink and we brush his teeth. He’s started talking about the colors of his tooth brush or seeing the new electric tooth brush that he’s still adjusting to (it looks like a dinosaur!). This bedtime ritual is reflected in Hercule’s little story, as he stands before his own sink and brushes his teeth with his blue tooth brush.