Not even my closest friends and family know that during my early years of primary school, I struggled with reading and spelling. I loved school but the thought of taking readers home made me cringe! I couldn't think of anything worse. 

Fast forward to when my daughter was born in early 2021.I was determined to introduce reading early - an attempt to avoid her going through my same struggles. 

I was pregnant in Melbourne, 2020 - during one of the toughest covid lockdowns. In 2021, when my daughter was born, I created by own lockdown: fearful of infections and contact with others. So, I took solace in entering the picture book world with her. Over that year and the next, my daughter and the books we shared together inspired me to want to create my own stories. But life took over! Work took over! And it wasn't until 2023 that I committed to the process. 

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My son was 1.5 weeks old when my partner contracted covid. I packed up the kids and fled to my parent's house for a few weeks. Needless to say it was a really rough time. I was suffering post partum blues. I was worried about the kids, particularly my newborn, contracting covid. And worried that my toddler wasn't adjusting well. Breastfeeding became a welcomed escape from it all. And on one particular day, whilst breastfeeding (and scrolling Instagram), I came across an ad for a self-publishing course (details can be found here     ). From that moment I was consumed with the idea of self publishing my own book. 

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I had had an idea rumbling around in my mind for about year - an idea about a picture book that made it easy for parents and teachers to introduce phonics at an early age. Now was the time to make it happen! Armed with a notebook and pen by the bedside, I took any opportunity to let inspiration strike (sometimes at 2am!). 

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And so after one and a half busy and jam packed years, my first picture book "Dr Lisa's ABCs: Introduction to Phonics" is ready for release. I hope you find it enjoyable to read and fun to use. And I hope that it makes a difference, no matter how small, to someone's literacy journey. 

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Stay tuned for more releases coming soon!

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