So… my first post.  Here we go.   “In My World” was a book that was 15+ years in the making. I can remember having the idea about 15 years ago, writing the first verse, and then drawing a complete blank. Nothing. So – I set it aside thinking I would get right back to it. Long story short, and many years later, our grandson Nolan was born. I knew I had a good idea for a story… and suddenly had the motivation to write it. It took about 3 days to write and polish it up in April 2016.

Once written, I thought it would be great to have a few pictures to go with it. My daughter, Lauren (Nolan’s mom), and her family live in Chicago and I shared the story with her and her in-laws. They all loved it. I then learned that a friend of their family, Maria Ciaccio, had illustrated some books. It was magic… I sent her the story, she shared a draft of how she envisioned the illustrations, and I was hooked. Amazing. When you have the opportunity to write something and have someone take it a step further than imagined with her art, it’s incredibly humbling.

I’ll share more about this whole process as we go, but I am so thankful that there has been such a positive response to the story. I have a second book written, and am hopeful to have it published within the next 18 – 24 months. In the meantime, thanks so much for sharing this story and journey with me. If I can ever answer any questions, please share them at info@inmyworldchuckaardema.com.

May your world be full of amazing things!

Chuck