The Magic of Ms. Sela Blue!

This past weekend I kept being drawn to BookCon America 2016 in Chicago. Paying attention and being conscious and aware can be exhausting, inspiring, and bring on a myriad of thoughts and emotions, some positive and some not!  Again, it is about choice,  isn’t it? Which do we chose to recognize and act upon or ignore? Those who read my stories of adventure embracing the pause, the use of breath, and moving forward know this is the theme-song I preach.

Every time I think about the adventure Alisia Dale has created, I am in awe, inspired, and very excited. Alisia is the sister of my daughter-in-law, Delia, and oh my, what a team they are. This particular dream began when Alisia started creating stories for her children; she wanted them to know what she and her sisters experienced  growing up, without technology, in a small picturesque village in Quebec. It is one thing to sit down and write stories, and quite another challenge to even entertain the dream of bringing these stories to life so others might enjoy them. One very huge leap!  Alisia, as author/creator, and Delia, a friend called her “sister/coach/guru of risk-taking”, have birthed an absolutely magical first book of a series, The Sela Blue Series.

I am inspired by Alisia’s tenacity and her courage to keep moving forward step-by-step, focusing, listening, and being aware every step of the process. She said, of her decision to step forward, as an unknown author, into the big-time BookConAmerica 2016, “…excuses, wrapped like fear, manifested themselves like false rays of sunshine. Once I finished hyperventilating and I exhaled… I started to move the adventure forward…” There you have it. Pause-Exhale-Move forward, in spite of fear. It also definitely helps to have a sister who is a possibility-thinker and motivator and simply does not hear “no” as a response.

Thus, Sela Blue was born. Sela Blue and the First Day of School is just the first book in this series. Sheree Evelina is the illustrator who has, with her delightful pencil and watercolor illustrations, brought magic to the adventure of Sela and her sisters, Susie and Sophie Blue. To add to the charm, the story is written in rhyme; each page turn brings another delicious visual image of delightful Sela’s adventure in the small town of Chateauguay, with the streets named for musical composers. How fun is that! Yes, it is true!

I observed and listened as these two sisters worked in tandem to bring the book to Chicago this last weekend. Alisia, turning the story into this delightful book for us all to enjoy, Delia, ever-present risk-taker, pushing the perimeter of possibilities, and Sheree Evelina, illustrator extraordinaire, have collaborated to bring creativity, art, and technology together. In the end Ms. Sela comes alive for us all. 

So much to learn as I watched an idea/inspiration/dream progress from seed to story. See for yourself and sample how the story of this little 6 year old girl comes alive magically in rhyme and beautiful illustrations on Sela Blue’s own website: selablue.com. You will fall in love as I have! I will admit that while writing this blog, I have had to pause and exhale many times before moving forward. Even for me, miles away from this adventure, it has been and I am sure will continue to be exciting and inspiring. There is a lesson to take away, if I choose to embrace it.

FOCUS-STOP-LISTEN-BREATHE-MOVE FORWARD