WO writer tries to make dream of being an author a reality

WEST ORANGE, NJ — It is often said that children say the darndest things, which is something that Kimberly Rowland knows firsthand. While driving home from St. Cloud Elementary School, Rowland’s then-6-year-old daughter Taylor regaled her with a story about what happened during a girl’s class birthday party that day that Rowland found about as entertaining as something found in a Dr. Seuss book. Playing along with the little girl’s excitement in telling the tale, she had a blast not only seeing her daughter’s enthusiasm for the story but also hearing what happened.

In fact, Rowland found the story so interesting that it stayed with her.

“It was just a phenomenal story, and I had the story in my head for about 15 years,” Rowland recalled to the West Orange Chronicle in a May 6 phone interview. “So I said I was going to put the memory to the paper, and that’s what I did.”

Over a few hours while traveling to a conference by plane, Rowland finally translated Taylor’s story of a girl whose beloved birthday lollipop goes missing into “Nora’s Lollipop,” a children’s book that she is now hoping to share with the world. The only problem is that getting it out to the public is easier said than done. After choosing not to work with traditional publishers out of fear that her work would sit on the backburner for years, as well as the fact that she would have no control over the illustrations, the longtime West Orange resident made the decision to self-publish the book. But self-publishing costs money — approximately $15,000.

So Rowland recently launched a GoFundMe page to help raise the needed funds, collecting $425 in the past two months. And she hopes her fellow West Orange parents will support her cause because she believes “Nora’s Lollipop” will have an impact on children who read it.

“There are times when children are not shaped the way they should be shaped,” Rowland said, adding that boys and girls can learn from her book since she made sure to write it “in a way where the children get an opportunity to see the lessons. And if you have a parent who’s trying to teach a child the right way, it’s reinforced through reading.”

And Rowland believes that parents and children alike will enjoy reading “Nora’s Lollipop,” which centers on a little girl who finally gets the giant lollipop she long desired for her birthday, only to have it disappear during her class party. After searching all over the room for the candy, the teacher informs the class that there will be no recess the next day unless someone admits to stealing the lollipop, prompting one boy to confess. But the boy did not really steal the lollipop — he only wanted save the rest of the class from missing their fun. In the end another boy admits to eating Nora’s candy, and even though the birthday girl was distraught when she first lost it, she forgives him.

What impressed Rowland about the story — which she said is mostly based on her daughter’s actual recollection, with some minor embellishments — is the fact that there are several important lessons for children to pick up on. Most obvious are the virtues of forgiveness and honesty, but there are also some lesser-seen tenets like never taking the blame for someone else and avoiding attachment to material items.

“We don’t want to become so attached where it consumes us,” Rowland said. “(Nora) was so upset — the only thing she focused on was the lollipop. And while we want our children to focus on certain things, we need to teach them how to pick their battles.”

These messages will be sent when funds are raised to publish the book; Rowland said she will work with Balboa Press to decide how the story should be illustrated. Right now, her first choice is a comic book style that she said is currently very popular among children’s authors. Then again, she recently was blown away by the simple yet powerful pictures done by Oliver Jeffers for Drew Daywalt’s  “The Day the Crayons Quit,” so she may change her mind.

Meanwhile, Rowland — who holds a doctoral degree in management and technology and works as an adjunct professor of managerial communications at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University while also serving as manager of government and public relations for One Call Care Management — is currently at work on a book about female empowerment. Plus, she said she has many ideas for future children’s books, all inspired by the life of her daughter, now 20 years old.

Before that though, the West Orange author hopes residents will support “Nora’s Lollipop,” her first literary endeavor, so that children around the country will learn the same lessons her own little girl did as a student at St. Cloud.

“It’s my project so I love it, but I would hope that people would want to reinforce the messages that are in my book to the children,” Rowland said. “In addition, it also gives the children an opportunity to read the book themselves and to think.

“You want them to think,” she continued. “You want them to ask questions. You want them to be engaged. So I think it will be a fun book.”

  St. Cloud Elementary School