My Journey To Becoming A Children's Author

Hi, my name is Kimberly Davis-Peters. Wife, mother, and in 2019 I added author to the list. I’ve always been a writer, but I became a children’s author unexpectedly. During an annual book fair at my then 2-year old little girl’s daycare, I noticed that only three portrayed an African-American on the cover out of hundreds of books. I thought, “we are living in modern days, and less than one percent of these books feature a child of color?” Seriously, there were more books about animals, monsters, or aliens than there were African-Americans. Then I thought, what does this say to my little girl? She doesn’t matter enough to be represented in the books she reads? Confusion turned into disappointment, which turned into frustration, then into just plain anger. I vented my feelings to friends and family. Each person sympathetically listened before reminding me that I was a writer and suggesting that I should write a children’s book. I kindly confirmed to each of them that I was not a children’s writer. Then one day, I thought about actually writing a children’s book.

The start of my journey was pretty similar to a fish out of water. I stumbled from one task to the next, not knowing much but learning quickly as I went along. Finally, I put “Ellie & The Rainy Day” out into the world. The reviews were positive, and it was an amazing feeling. People started asking if I had more books. If I would write more books. I decided that I had more to say through children’s writing and set off to write a second book.

I learned more, I stumbled more and made a few more mistakes. On top of this, the world was going through a major crisis in so many ways. I experienced a lay-off, two rounds of furloughs, a pay-cut, and forced to become a stay-at-home preschool teacher within six months. But with my husband’s full support, I kept moving forward with one step after another and was able to release “Cocoa, Tea & Honey” in June 2020. The reviews were even better this time, and I couldn’t have been prouder of what I had achieved, despite the circumstances.

I began to network through different Facebook author groups and connected with Leslie through one of these groups. She put both of my books onto The Literacy Shop’s website, and suddenly I had my very first distribution partnership and the confidence I needed to consider myself an actual author. A children’s author. I am and will always be forever grateful of her support.

I still work a full-time, 40+ hour a week job. These days I am staying up past midnight, after everyone else in the house is asleep, to publish my third book, “I Am…Possibility.” I wake up at 6 am to get my day started with work. Daycare pick-up. Dinner. Homework. Before bed routine. Picking up clutter throughout the house and cleaning dishes. Then I stay up past midnight again. And again. And again. Let me be clear that this is NOT easy. I am exhausted, but somehow I keep pushing. I am still learning every day. Every milestone, no matter how big or small, is a victory. The truth is… I’ve come this far in my journey, and I’m really curious to see how far I can go.