Sally... OUT THERE?

 Before I begin this little tale of Sally's beginning, I thought I'd share a couple of selfies from two schools we've recently visited. Sally and I love the sign above. It's a beautiful sign, but more importantly, we love the smiles that Sally coerces out of selfie takers.
Our most recent school reading brought us the picture below. Sally took selfies with each class, but I can't share all of them in this one post. We had such a great time at both schools and the children love Sally and her story!
All much beloved literary characters have a beginning, the story of how their author brought them to life.

Sally is no different. She has her story, the one that is only about her and her travels. All characters  have that. Some characters are okay with just having a story to tell, too. Not Sally. Sally longed for something else.

That something else was her beginning.

Sally began with a comment made by a friend, who also happens to be my cover/ book designer. One day she told me, "You have to put yourself out there." We had been discussing my picture on the cover.

Moi? No way! I am not an out there kind of lady! I am an in the shadows kind of lady... stay in the background... don't draw attention to myself kind of lady.

"You do. You need to get out there."

Sorry. No can do! Bad things happen out there! Rejection happens out there! People are mean out there!

Nagging voice, "She's right! You have to!"

Hmm... How does an introvert put herself out there? How does someone just go out there with confidence and smile and be... what? OUT THERE!

My way out there was Sally. I didn't know it at the time. Yes, she is a book character. Yes she is a puppet/ toy. Yes, she helps me read her story, but she is so much more than that!

People say she always seems to smile at the camera in her selfies. She's always looking at the camera. She's always happy. She's more because...

She is part of me. She is the part of me that isn't afraid to go out there and fail! She is the part of me that isn't afraid of people, judgement, cruelty. She is the part of me that makes those small children smile without having a fear that something bad will happen if they do!

When my husband came home yesterday, he asked me how the reading went. Immediately, I went into an animated discussion of the children's reaction to Sally and her story. The energy flowed out of me and filled the room. On the way to dinner he said, "You always light up when you talk about Sally and the kids she connects with."

It's because Sally's that part of me who has always wanted to be out there, sharing her stories, bringing smiles, creating joy in a sometimes dire world. Sally is the inner child in me, the one who never had the opportunities that she has now.

Sally was born from the unified creative energies of both myself and my husband. That's real support and love that went into that sweet, adventurous saddle!

Writers can write about any subject, create any character, tell any story, but without the inner self shining into that subject, character, story, there won't be a reader connection.

Everyone has a story to tell, but does everyone have the courage to allow their inner self to blossom into the story and feed the hungry seekers who are waiting to connect to the communication? Then, after they put all they have into the story, do they have the courage to get OUT THERE?

Children, adults, teachers, all love Sally. They love taking pictures with her. Children want to touch her, hug her, be near her. She makes it so much easier for me to get out there, and there's a whole lot of me in her story and her. It brings me to tears to think about how loved she is, and I think that's why children connect with her, the unconditional love, the fun, the carefree attitude that some of us really lack.

All of my characters contain a little of me, but I think Sally is me.

An author friend said to me, "Looks like you found your niche." Niche? No, I just found my way... OUT THERE!