The last official professional photos I had were from 2017… and to say that I’ve changed and aged in the past 5 years is an understatement!

Also, wow, 5 years since I published my FIRST children’s book?? Time really does fly.

Since 2017, I have published two books, THE SPILL and SKEDADDLE. My family moved from North Carolina to Georgia. I started working as a Creative Writing Teacher and Communications Manager at an art studio and I began writing for a local magazine. Whew, a lot of change, not to mention the growth and experiences my children are rapidly exposing me to.

I have big things brewing, things I can’t yet discuss, but know that they are BIG! With that being said, I knew it was time for updated head-shots, if nothing else but to see how my crows feet and wrinkles have stretched and expanded over the years.

Now, not to say I’m boujie or anything, but my photographer came in from Nashville. Ok, not for me. But she happened to be here when I needed new photos, so I snatched her right up. Brooke Stevens Photography is a lifestyle photographer who mainly shoots singers. I can’t sing, so I find this strange circle of life pretty comical. Not to brag or anything, but right after she did my shoot, she shot Edwin McCain at a live concert! Yeah, yeah, that was a little bit of bragging, but do you blame me?

Check these out. Here are a few of the photos she took, I’m ready to take these babies on a ride, we’ve got a big job to do this year. I can’t wait to share it with you!

One of my favorite things about releasing a new title is getting the chance to celebrate that new title! I like to do things BIG. And for this book release party, I had the help from Sola Coffee Cafe in Raleigh, NC. They very generously hosted the party and provided the most adorable, local and yummy space for everyone to gather and celebrate.

The party was held from 3:00pm – 5:00pm. In June. Outside. It was HOT. But that’s ok, kids rarely grasp the intensity of heat.

I was busy selling and signing books while the kids crafted their little hearts out. They left with their very own paper ice cream cones and bookmarks. We were also stocked to the brim with bubbles and sidewalk chalk.

For sweets, we had delicious and beautiful cookies donated by Kicker Konfections out of Apex, NC. These were absolutely adorable and shaped like little milk bottles. I was over the moon with the quality of her cookies.

I was also thrilled to have a massive donation of 100 milk bottles from Pop Up Party’s. If guests bought a book, they got a complimentary milk bottle. Because, less spills, right?

It was an absolutely wonderful day, and I can’t wait to celebrate another title release. Until then, I will keep busy with author school visits, the best part of this job!

What a fantastic morning I had reading to the families at the Durham County Library​!! The room was packed and the energy level was high. My son tagged along and it was, well, interesting. 🙂

First of all, my son was tasked with carrying my water into the building. Which, he spilled everywhere. I just shrugged it off and said “TA-DA! It’s my opening trick for The Spill!” Check the “not feeling so famous” box please.

I set the table up with my books and assembled my banners (I have two this time!!) I started out by reading Time For Bed With Ford And Red, which is always a hit. Especially that darn elephant.

That was followed by songs and dancing and at the end, I read The Spill. This was my first time ever reading this book out loud to a crowd, and oh my gosh, it’s SO MUCH FUN to read. That was one of my goals when writing the book and I’m so pleased with how it turned out. Reading the dog spread was just too much. It was so exciting! And the “uh-oh” spread generated a roar of laughter.

Now, whilst reading this book, my son was jumping and dancing and repeating every word I was saying (zoom in on the photo and you will see him doing such things). I very quietly nudged him to stop with little success. After the third time, I had to stop reading the book to discipline him. I followed this with another shrug of the shoulders and a “Hey, I’m a mama too.”

This morning I visited two Kindergarten classes at Oakview Elementary School in Holly Springs. This was a special visit as it was more intimate than my others. While I LOVE visiting whole schools, getting the chance to do one on one time with individual classes is amazing. This allows for more individualization in my visit.

We huddled up in the center of the classroom and began our session talking about authors, illustrators and publishers. After enlightening them on the process, I read the book. To my delight, a few kids have already read the book and some even own it! You could hear a pen drop in the classroom when I was reading the book, the wide eyes never get old as Ford & Red encounter their wild dreams.

I opened the floor for questions once the reading was complete. These students blew me away. Kindergartners were asking in GREAT detail about the publishing and distributing process of the book. Example questions:

How do you get ALL of your books all over the world?
How do the words and pictures come together in the book?
How are the books printed?

The answer to all of those questions, to keep it short and simple, is…. The Publisher!! So, thank you Mascot Books for doing such an awesome job and allowing me to share a bit about publishing to these K kiddos.

Once the Q&A was complete, the kids participated in a craft that I provided. While they were doing the craft, I was able to go around and dedicate books! It really was such a treat to visit this school.

If you’re a teacher and want an author to visit your classroom, let me know. It’s nice to break up my routine and sprinkle a few personal visits in with the big assembly visits!

The students at Jefferys Grove Elementary really impressed me today. They were such wonderful listeners who were eager to meet a real author! I loved this school for MANY reasons.

The Media Consultant spent a great deal of time preparing the students for my visit. She spent a few weeks talking to them about being an author, what it means to be an author and the author they will meet. A lot of the students even had my book before the visit, they were really prepared.

She even helped the kids generate questions for the visit, this part is key for any school. Learning the 5 W’s and 1 H of questions is a very important lesson, yes, some students will ask you a question that sounds much like a statement.

“I have a brother.”

By focusing on the W’s and H questions, they will come prepared. In return, I had a lot of great questions asked about the book. They were eager to know what my favorite book was, where I went to school, why I love to write, the difficulty of writing and how long it took to write the book. I was blown away and wildly impressed.

In the other side, kids are very honest. So honest in fact that one sweet little girl said, “You look a whole lot younger in the picture on your book than you do right now.”

This only brought about a lot of laughter from me. By the way, does anyone have any anti-aging tips??

Abbotts Creek Elementary School – Raleigh NC​ invited me to be a special guest at their book fair. First of all, what a beautiful school! It has been open for just 3 years and is filled with artwork, happy children and enthusiastic teachers.

The book fair was from 6:00pm – 8:00pm and while the library was filled with amazing pieces by well known authors, the students were more than thrilled to meet a local author. A lot of students looked at me with wide eyes and jaws dropped, I could see future writers and illustrators in my presence.

They even had some pretty great questions prepared. One fifth grader asked me, “So, tell me the truth. Is it really boring to be a writer?” Oh buddy, let me tell you, not all of my days are filled with beautiful events like this.

In fact, just that morning I was at my desk with my head in my hands, trying to get the outline for my third book. All I could think about was “what will I eat for lunch today? What’s that sound? Is that a cricket? Let’s investigate!”

So yes, some days are boring and frustrating and hard, but some days are lively and creative and fulfilling. No matter what you’re doing in life, find a way to gracefully navigate through the frustrating. Because the fulfilling is incredibly gratifying.

Thank you Abbotts Creek Elementary School – Raleigh NC for creating one of those gratifying and fulfilling moments with me.

This past Monday, I literally walked from my house to the elementary school across the street for an all day author school visit. Talk about convenience!

I love this school. HCES is in its first year of existence, and it’s getting a lot right. For example, while setting up, I was visited by the yoga instructor who teaches a 30 minute yoga class for students. She does this every Monday morning before school starts. Talk about getting your week started off in a zen way.

It was a full day of visits, beginning at 9:15am with the 2nd graders and ending at 2:00pm with the 4th graders. With bigger schools like this, breaking the presentations up by grade level makes the most sense. This means six 30-minute presentations with over 100 students in each group.

The PTA was wonderful and provided lunch for me, a nice break in the middle of my presentations. I get to rest my voice, gather my thoughts and fuel up for the next 1.5 hours of presenting.

Like my past school visits, I have separate presentations for K-3 and 4-5. With the younger grades, I focus on the story itself. We talk about the difference between the author and illustrator and where I generate my ideas. We also talk about submitting the story to publishers, how it feels to be rejected and ways you can improve from those rejections. I often relate this to playing on a sports team or getting a bad grade, this seems to be a tangible metaphor for the students.

At the end, I read the story and open the floor for questions (for the younger kids, I recommend allowing a max of three questions, once you allow for chatter, you will lose their interest).

The 4th and 5th graders get a more in-depth synopsis of what it means to be a writer. I delve into the different types of writing from advertising to journalism and being an author. I am lucky to have had experience in all areas of writing, my goal with the older kids is to generate an excitement for writing. I want to keep the skill alive and thriving in the hearts of our future.

The story is a bit too young for the 4th and 5th graders so I do not read it out loud. However, I have them chime in on changes that I needed to make in order to have a publisher pick it up. They leave with an understanding of creating a unique story and submitting it to a publisher.

And most importantly, they know to write in pencil and to use that eraser until it falls off!

“Hearing Jacqueline Boeheim speak was a wonderful experience for my students. Not only did she talk to them about her job as a children’s author, but she also taught them about critical life skills like perseverance and bravery. She encouraged my students to take risks and never give up. She did a wonderful job engaging all of the students in my school, from kindergarten to 5th grade. I’d thoroughly recommend her!”

Alexis Kagel, Music Teacher, Hortons Creek Elementary

Cheers to HCES and its lovely students. And if you are interested in booking a school visit, click here.

If your kids love music and love dancing, they would have truly enjoyed this special event put on by Macaroni Kid of North Raleigh. If you’ve never heard of Macaroni Kid, it’s a pretty brilliant organization for families. Just sign up to receive their weekly newsletter an you will learn about unique events happenings around town. They’ve created wonderful partnerships with libraries, schools and other organizations to bring you the coolest events.

Macaroni Kid and Imurj in downtown Raleigh put on a pretty awesome concert for kids. That’s right, it was a concert for kids at a warehouse type location in Raleigh. I don’t know about you, but this is the kind of experience that I want my own children to enjoy. Nathan Ryan was the headliner and had the kids dancing, singing and partying all night long.

Attendees ranged from infants to pre-teens. Of course, parents and grandparents were all in attendance hootin’ and hollerin’ along with the music. The songs were kid friendly and simply encouraged movement. It was such a wonderful evening that celebrated the arts.

And speaking of the arts, I was pumped to receive an invitation to join this event as a vendor. I met a lot of excited parents and kiddos. A handful of older kids were peppering me with questions about writing and publishing and the younger kids had complete wonder in their eyes when they heard I was the author. For me, it’s so much more than selling copies of my books, it’s about the kids. It’s about the arts. It’s about the love for writing!!

I had my trusty bookmark table and it was filled all night long. It’s amazing what cardstock, markers and stickers can do for the soul. So, for two hours, these kids had music, books and arts & crafts! No one was bored.

Imurj is an arts and entertainment venue that caters to adults and children. On Wednesday nights they will have open mic night for kids, I imagine we will see some future grammy winners on that stage. You can also book the venue for shows and events.

And without further ado, please enjoy this clip from Nathann Ryan!

42Monkeys from NathanRyan on Vimeo.