Butterfly

The butterfly is a main character throughout the book for several reasons. First, of course, is my daughter Emma. She loves, loves, loves butterflies! She draws butterflies on every piece of art she has created in her 8 year old experiences, she signs her name and add's a butterfly with a smiley face, and she really wanted me to have a butterfly on the cover! I like butterflies too - who doesn't? The butterfly also represents beauty, new beginnings, new life, and a promise of hope and love. Perfect for a book on living the life of your dreams!

The butterfly on the cover went through many transformations - again, a big thank you to artist, David Trumble for understanding as I changed my mind many times... The butterfly image is from Mary Sanford, who  is responsible for the interior design of the book she created and decided to add the butterflies on every page. It is almost as if the butterfly is happily, gently guiding you along your journey through the year. I really like the way the color on the inside is cheery and warm. We only worried for a few minutes that the book was going to appear "too feminine"... 

If you are reading the book, you know that it is truly for EVERYONE! Women, men, youth, even children! My publisher, Lee Gessner, did ask me who my "target" market is. I shared my vision of I would love to have Mom's & Dad's read the book for themselves, then read with their children and give copies of the book to their teens and young adult children!!! I didn't worry to much about dandelions & butteflies offending anyoneHe shared the statistics that 70% of books are purchased by women, usually if a man has a book, it was purchased by a woman. He also said that very few men will read a book written by a woman - oh my, really????

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