Family Tree Fiction

These are a collection of poems that I wrote as a teen, young adult, newlywed wife, and mom. I hope you enjoy them, and always welcome and appreciate feedback from my listeners.

José Luis no puede esperar a pasar sus vacaciones de otoño jugando Minecraft, su juego favorito, y la cosa por la que está más agradecido en el mundo. Pero un viaje a visitar familia en México interrumpe sus planes y José Luis está bastante desanimado. Cuando llega a México y conoce a su primo por primera vez, José Luis se da cuenta de que tal vez tiene más de que estar agradecido de lo que imaginó.

When Rory the Dinosaur starts to get excited for Christmas, he notices that his island home doesn't exactly have the best trees for a traditionally festive holiday. So he and his dad set out to decorate their home the best way they can - but without the perfect tree Rory is worried that Christmas won't be the same! Can Rory and his friends save the spirit of the season? Liz Climo looks at the true meaning of the holidays - spending time with friends and having the love and support of your family - in a place without any snow or evergreens.

Two brothers. Two ideas. One big problem. Dylan and Perry are brothers with very different skills and personalities. These differences clash when their father gives them a new project: build a treehouse for the backyard. As disagreements erupt over whose strategy is better, it looks like the brothers will never be able to work together to complete their project. Will Dylan and Perry let their differences hold them back? Or will they learn to rely on each other's strengths to build the best treehouse possible?

Teach kids how to accept and love the differences in all of us! Narrated by the author, The Crabapple Tree is about bravery, courage, and standing up in the face of seemingly insurmountable opposition, criticism, judgment, and invalidation of personal identity. It is about crushed hope that is restored and dreams that were snuffed out being rekindled. It is about the gender-neutral artist who was told over and over again, “You will never amount to anything if you follow your creative heart."

Once there was a tree, and she loved a boy - and already this story is getting weird. This tree did everything for the little boy, spoiled the heck out of him, only to raise a monster, proving to everyone that trees make terrible parents. But whoever thought trees would make good parents? In this satirical, cautionary tale about the consequences of over-coddling your kids, watch the downward spiral of bratty-child-turned-evil-lunatic against a tree who was just trying to live her tree life. Enjoy this dark parody of indulgent parenting gone horribly wrong.

Timmy is a pine tree. His one goal is to become someone's Christmas tree. Every year, he sees other trees picked, but not him. People don't seem to notice that Timmy is special, until a little girl finds Timmy and insists that he is the only Christmas tree for their family. A fun, family Christmas story.

A beautiful story of a man's realization of what matters in life, told in Kenneth M. Martin's immortal words. Best-selling author Dan Alatorre ( Savvy Stories) teamed up with teacher Allison Maruska to bring the world Kenneth M. Martin's new take on wisdom, old age, and a purposeful life. The result is a tender, engaging story of a good man who always knew who he was and how he mattered - until he retired and somehow lost track.

First story in a collection of interlinked tales of crime and retribution laced with dark humour, set around the festive season. Billy Partridge wasn’t really cut out to be a cat burglar, but it was ‘do the job, or come up with thirteen grand by Thursday, or have both legs shattered’.‘Do the job’ seemed the least worst option. But he’s about to find out just how bad the least worst option can be….

Jonathan London has captured the imagination of children everywhere with his beloved tales starring Froggy, a precocious yet lovable frog who just can’t help landing himself in trouble. In this fun-filled escapade, Froggy decides to build a tree house - with Dad’s help, of course. The tree house promises to be the ideal place for pizza parties. But Frogilina gets hop-hop-hopping mad when Froggy says that his treehouse is for "Boys only!"

A pivotal moment arrives when their son Mateo brings home a seed from school—an apple tree seed. In a twist of fate, this humble seed becomes a catalyst for change, leading the family down a path of disciplined transformation. At the heart of the story is a family united by love, with parents dedicated to the happiness of their young children.

Awesome Man’s secret identity has stayed safe, and he’s still the coolest superhero around. He loves protecting the people of Awesome City from evildoers, like the giant Plutonian octolizard, with his trusty sidekick, Moskowitz. But there have been reports that a new hero is coming to town soon. What if the people of Awesome City no longer need Awesome Man?