Look and Listen

Biography

I grew up in California and I have always had a love for animals. When I was a child, I wanted to be like Ellie May Clampett from the Beverly Hill Billies and have all different types of animals running around. My husband shares this love of animals and as a result we have many pets. I have always enjoyed writing short stories but I didn't really have anything in particular to write about that I thought that people would be interested in reading about until we got Bubbles. Everyone seems fascinated with Bubbles, especially children. A day doesn't go by without her doing something comical or her showing me that she has picked up something new, that I didn't even know that she knew how to do. She is very observant and picks things up on her own. She is always surprising us.

Inspiration

For this Roseville resident, my pig Bubbles became more than a family pet; our potbellied pig became my inspiration for my first book called “Bubbles the Little Pig.” The thought of getting a pig was something that only crossed our minds about two years ago. My husband and I had made a trip to the state fair where they saw piglets and from there the infatuation grew. “We can’t get a pig,” I thought at the time. But after research and going through a rescue shelter called Pig Harmony in Acton, California, we adopted Bubbles and she immediately became part of our family. She even has her own room in where she sleeps each night. It’s a small pink room under the staircase adorned with a pink blanket with crowns and the word “princess.” Our pet pot-bellied pig, Bubbles was my inspiration. I adore her. I sat down one day and started writing a story. Pigs are comical and frustrating at the same time. One time Bubbles got into the kitchen, opened the pantry cupboards and helped herself to all the food she could find. I had to put that in my story. The book tells the story of Bubbles’ outdoor adventure when the gardener leaves the backyard gate open. She encounters other animals, a dog, turkeys and other animals, but eventually makes it back home. The book, although fiction, is based on a number of real-life events. The story includes myself, my husband and stepson as characters, and some of Bubbles’ real characteristics intertwined into the made-up journey.