Goodbye Sherry Shearhart and hello S.L Anne
As my personal life and author direction have taken a new direction, so must my branding. I have been through a lot of hardships and had to reevaluate what I wanted for myself in the future. It started with a big, life-changing decision of a personal nature. With that came a relocation, and I had to pause my book progress and everything book-related. All the while my stories in the works were yelling at me to get back to it. So I decided to take a leap of faith and get some help. I had amazing friends in the author community, a good pocket of friends and most importantly family. I cannot believe how they all pulled through and have helped me in ways I couldn’t even imagine.
A discussion with my sisters and brother-in-law set me on a path that has amazing potential. Starting with a change of name. Trying to find the right fit for my style of books and one that no matter what choices I make going forth, would not affect me regardless of future decisions. Thus came the pen name S.L. Anne. It is a combination of my first and middle name. There isn’t another S.L. Anne children’s author at this point and considering I was a massive fan of Anne of Green Gables as a child, it felt like the right fit for me.
I then had a ton of help from James Bisch from Son of a Bisch Design. He created a logo for me based on elements I always wanted to represent my umbrella of stories. He created the tree house which is now my symbol for magic and inclusivity for children. As a child and an adult, I find tree houses to be magical. They are creativity, freedom, adventure and a place to belong. From there James has stepped up and helped me with changing my colours, so they are inclusive to children who have trouble seeing colour. I handed over Margle Fargle, as it was finished and he redesigned the cover and interior using my original artwork. The book is nearly done with the design stage and he has just taken everything to the next level. I am very happy with the outcome and will continue to work with James for my future projects.
I had to change my Tuesday Tales show, because I am going back to school to be trained for a day job. My heart is still my books, but I need to pay my bills. So with that in mind, my weekdays are no longer an option for live shows. Tuesday tales have now become Story Book Saturdays. I am also thinking the new day and time will make it easier to get children to tune in to the show. Currently, Story Book Saturday will just be younger children's picture books. It has to do with juggling school and time to prepare a story. Picture books are shorter reads, and take less time to prepare to read than a chapter book. Chapter books will return at a later point.
Margle Fargle is almost ready. In the next two weeks, I should be able to put it on Ingram Spark and set a release date. I think early November is the best time. This story is beautiful, and funny and will be available in English and French Language.
The Margle Fargle activities are on the website now, however, I am still making changes to update the website. Not everything is fresh and changed up. But it's getting there.
Check in with all of you soon. And thanks for sticking with me.
Sincerely Sherry Shearhart S.L Anne