“I knew a Princess once. WHAT! You don’t believe me? Just wait and see. Her name was Princess Andie…”

Our picture book came out in 2001. Last year we went to an elementary school and donated books to every first grader. We performed a puppet show to classical movie music. It was a fun day. Mom was the queen. She liked that.

Today I needed Princess Andie. I needed to find my smile. It was a cool, blustery day. And the postbox had something waiting for me when I got home. A rejection. From Pippin Press. But it was another “good” rejection. It was handwritten. It said that they weren’t able to market my chapter book series.

That’s all it said. But I don’t understand. Is it that they don’t have the funding, the staff or what? The story is marketable. Very. It’d be perfect as a television cartoon series too. But I’ll accept the rejection. It was personal and quick. They only had the proposal for a few days before they sent a response. I appreciate that.

So today I lost my smile. But just like the book it’s slowly coming back. “So no one can tell me any differently, in fact. Only a true Princess can make an impact like that.”

Hi Andie! Miss you.

Reading a novel by Kevin Henke, “Olive’s Ocean.” A Newbery winner. Nothing beats a day when the clouds touch the sea. Dad took this photo from the shore near Point Loma. I think about my family far away. And I miss them.