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We All Can Do What We Love
The Poetry Mouse follows a little mouse who daydreams of being more than a homemaker and baker; she wishes to write poetry instead. What was the inspiration for your story?
Inspiration for The Poetry Mouse is found in that part in all of us where we want to follow our dreams but may have instead listened to society, others, or our own internal voice telling us we can’t. This is about following your passion and doing what you love.
I also want to mention this is coauthored with Derek R. King, and is what we both believe to be us collaborating with our strengths. Derek wrote the poetry featured in Evie’s journal pages and I a wrote a story around his poems creating the tale.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
That it’s never too late to follow your dreams, or as my father always said to me, if you don’t try then the answer to whether you can achieve it is always going to be a ‘no.’
Derek and I are classic examples of this as we both took the opportunity to write and create together and the result is a magnificent magical synergy shared.
Is there any moral or idea that you hope readers take away from the story?
For me, the line in the movie The Edge says it all, and I’m sure I’m paraphrasing here, but I recall it as “what one man (or person) can do another can do.” This is a reminder we all can achieve anything and everything; whatever we set our minds to. For Evie this means she can be a poet. She can change careers. She can do what she loves. We all can do what we love.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Well, for me personally, I’m in the final editing stage of ‘We Three: Search for Source,’ a supernatural novel with paranormal romance elements which is slated for publication in spring 2023.
As for my collaborations with my writing partner, Derek R. King, we are wrapping up a sequel to The Enchanted Faerie Realm with a focus on the winter fae, and a couple of our art-inspirational books are nearing completion as well. We have a couple dozen books underway and hope to release them in 2023.
Derek has a poetry book, More Red Rose in Verse, slated for January 2023 publication and several more solo projects for himself as well in 2023.
We both are excited to share more of our creations.
Julie Kusma Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Amazon Author Page
Derek King Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Website | Amazon Author Page
Being a mouse, she longs for the simplicity of nature. So, every day she sneaks past the woods and into the meadow where she writes her inspired words. She might even find encouragement from a friend to submit her poems.
This is Evie’s story of finding her authentic self, becoming brave enough to do what she loves, and ultimately sharing her gift with the world as The Poetry Mouse.
The Poetry Mouse
A little mouse named Evie lived in a quaint little town near the forest. This little mouse spent her days baking, mending clothes, and keeping her home neat and tidy. However, these things are not what gave her joy in life; instead, she did these things because that is what was expected of her. Evie’s real passion, which she spent hours daydreaming about, was writing poetry.
One day she heads off to the woods with her paper and pen in hand; she spots some rabbits and composes a poem about them there. From there, she writes more until she ends up at a bench talking with Brayden Fox. Now Brayden recognizes that Evie is talented and encourages her to think about what she really wants in life and focus on that, not on what other people think she should be doing with her time.
The Poetry Mouse, written by Derek R. King and Julie L. Kusma, is a beautifully written children’s story and collection of poetry intertwined together to create a whimsical book that children and adults can enjoy. The story of Evie the mouse is cute and adorable, with the watercolor images illustrating the pages. This is a story of self-discovery, breaking out of the mold that society says you must fit into. For children, it teaches them that they do not have to fit into stereotypical molds and that they can follow their passions in life and be happy. It encourages children to dream and take action to make those dreams come true.
The second half of this marvelous book is Evie the mouse’s poetry. Placed on the pages in the illustrations of her journal, it adds to the feeling that the little mouse is composing and sharing a part of her dream with readers. Each poem written about nature is filled with passion and wonder. The poem about the owl gliding through the night sky was my favorite. I can envision the downy feathers as they glide to the earth as the Owl moves across the moon’s silhouette. The poetry is organic, drawing the reader into a moment in time. They will glimpse nature in its pure form for that one breath of time. It is not often such simple poetry that can have the power to make you stop and visualize a single moment that, had it been mentioned any other way, would have been mundane. King and Kusma take the ordinary and transform it into breathtaking.
The Poetry Mouse is an astonishing children’s poetry book that will bring joy and wonder to children reading the story and looking at the beautiful artwork. Adults will find a more profound message in the story, one of following your dreams and stopping to appreciate the simple things in life. This storybook is one that readers will want to own and keep on the shelf for years to come.
Pages: 55 | ASIN : B0B69FGYMR
LITERARY TITAN 