With a welcoming spirit, Alyssa shares her writing journey with us.

Q: What was your inspiration for Love Is…Everywhere? My beautiful mom. She was always a person that had a light about her, for as long as I can remember. My book started off being the love between a mother and her daughter. My mom and I were always so close growing up. I knew that the bond we had was so special and it inspired me. Then, my mom was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in 2021. It was such hard news for all of us. Watching my mom deal with it changed my whole book. She took her struggle with such stride and celebrated every day. She cherished all the little things. It did not have to be a big event to be celebrated in her eyes. This is why I decided to write Love…is Everywhere. My mom reminded me that there is joy and love in all of the things around us. We don’t have to wait for that big thing to celebrate. Jumping in puddles while it’s raining or laughing with your best friend is celebration enough.

Q: What did you choose to write children’s books? I feel there is something so special about children’s books. You have to fit your whole story and theme within such a short number of pages. You have to be so thoughtful about your words, plot, characters and put it all together so that it makes sense and flows.

Q: Do you have any advice about getting a story ready to submit? Honestly, I don’t know if you ever feel your work is “ready to submit.” I must have looked at my manuscript so many times. I would read it, change it, read it, change it. It was a never-ending process. Something I think is extremely helpful is having others look at your work. The more eyes the better! My Critique Partners are so amazing at giving me feedback and allowing me to see things I might not have seen otherwise. I found my current Critique Group from members in Julie Hedlund’s https://www.12x12challenge.com/. Being a member has been so much fun and has been pushing me to sit down and make time to write.

Q: What have you learned about marketing your book? Marketing is by far one of the hardest things. The most helpful thing I’ve learned is to make connections. Collaborate with as many people you can. Go to conferences, workshops, and join webinars. Doing as much as I could to learn more about marketing and getting my name out there have truly helped.

Q: Words of wisdom for us? The one thing that has stuck with me was when someone told me it only takes one yes. It doesn’t matter how many “no’s” we get because it only matters when we get that one “yes.” There are so many editors/agents out there. Someone will be your yes!

Visit Alyssa Londoño: https://alondono0612.com/

Follow Alyssa on Twitter: https://twitter.com/alondono0612

Catch her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author.alondono/?hl=en

John is an accomplished artist with his own design company that offers a variety of services, including a range of print, digital, branding, animation and illustration projects.

Visit John Konecy at  https://www.lepoidevinmarketing.com/john-konecny

Treat yourself and others to this heartfelt, inspiring book: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/loveis-everywhere-alyssa-londono/1142375785

https://www.amazon.com/Love-Everywhere-story-seeing-everyday/dp/1957351195

Regrettably, our natural, childlike curiosity gets trampled with age. Yet, the universal quest for love—to love and be loved—continues from birth to death. It can even inflate as we begin to understand that love is the only pure bond between us. Connecting us with all-natural life. Love transcends cultures, races, genders, religions, and beliefs. Imagine if we rediscovered our childlike inquisitive wonder while looking for love in the ordinary?