My book entitled, Summer Vacation, is about a little boy on his first day of school telling his teacher and classmates what he did over the summer.  Things like going to the beach, going to the movies and the amusement park, all the fun things you get to do as a kid.

My children inspired this book, looking back over their first days in elementary school and all those ‘what did you do over the summer’ questions the teacher asked them.  My mom also helped push me in this direction too; suggesting we collaborate on a book and she actually did all of the illustrations for the book.

Summer Vacation is a very easy read and filled with lots of fun rhymes for newborns up to second grade.  I would love for parents, teachers, school libraries (and neighborhood libraries) to get copies of my books for children to read or read to them.  My books are fun for children, filled with fun and silly rhymes, drawings, and perfect for children that are just starting to read.  I also did something special with this book, for every copy sold; I donate a dollar to Alex’s Lemonade Stand (the charity for childhood cancer).  I did that because when I was writing the book there were two children I knew going through childhood cancer and I wanted to do something. 

I hope that the children and adults that read the books see how much fun I had writing the book.  That they can make children smile and some of them giggle.  In addition, to get some of the rhymes to work out right, I had to use a few words here and there that would be a new vocabulary word for a child.  A few people have told me on more than one occasion that their children absolutely love the book and make them read it to them multiple times or every night before bed.  That is something as a writer I strive for and it warms my heart when the children love my books so much that they read them repeatedly.

I would love to see this book sell a million copies so I could donate a million dollars to Alex’s Lemonade Stand.  Maybe one day, anything is possible.  For now, I will keep promoting the book anyway I can and who knows where it will take me.  Authors’ Lounge is giving me a chance to let everyone know about Summer Vacation and I appreciate that. Being a self-publishing indie author is not easy to market and spread the word about who you are and what you do. 

Summer Vacation inspired me.  When I started writing the book, I thought my mom and I would do the one book together and that would be it.  We both enjoyed the process so much that we have done a few more books together.  We both liked the idea of giving to charities, so for each of the other books we have designated a charity and for each book sold a dollar is donated to the charity associated with the book.  It is just something small I can do to give back.

Besides this very new endeavor into writing children’s books, I work full-time; I go to many soccer games as both of my sons play the sport.  When I am not at a soccer field or working, I enjoy taking dance classes (Ballet, Tap and Jazz).  I am also a PTA mom and I won a seat on my borough’s council.  I recently also started a YouTube channel where I interview authors and illustrators twice a month.  I am busy, but I do not think I could just sit still.  My mind is always active and running and I need to be doing stuff.  I would love to publish a few more books in this Summer Vacation series and I have some ideas for a few other books that I just need a few hours to sit, plot out and write.

Nicole Leckenby – Website
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