Our newest book, Mira, the Misfit Sea Dragon, (under our pen name “Everett” Taylor of course) is now on Amazon shelves worldwide! So in celebration, we’re sharing our heartfelt inspiration behind the story, along with a sneak peek into the first pages. Enjoy!
Mira is a wandering sea dragon (a fish related to seahorses, by the way) who is beautiful in the most unique of ways with her spiral-like tail, her fins that look like leaves, and her glittering green skin.
But she can’t seem to feel at home wherever she roams. She encounters many places and creatures, like the line of squid she tries to join, or the rocks she tries to squeeze into like the eels. But none of these places feel quite right.
And then some magic happens. She keeps going, and we see Mira find the home that’s meant for her!
What’s really the essence of the story is something that we’ve felt personally– the quest to find what’s truest to our hearts, and doing what we feel we were meant to do.
We’re finding it through that feeling that tells us to keep going. Like Mira, it hasn’t been a straight path. We thought something might work out and then realized it didn’t feel quite right.
When I became a teacher, I had that ahhhh feeling of “This is where I belong. This is what I was meant to do.” And it was blissful, and full of purpose and satisfaction. But as time went on, I longed for something more. To reach, reach, REACH even more people of all ages with the message we became so passionate about.
And that’s when we started Living Porpoisefully. And began our first steps towards writing and illustrating children’s books.
With no art background whatsoever –none, zilch–, the thought of doing our own illustrations was quite a wild one! But, we dream big, so we got out the paper, made some sketches, and before you know it, we were painting our visions and learning LOTS as we went.
Mistakes are a surprisingly good teacher — some mistakes were a “Hey, I didn’t mean to do that, but wow I like it!”, while some were a big “Oh no. Let’s not do that again.”
So how exactly do we illustrate? The old-fashioned way of course! Sketches first, then the “real” drawings, which we then paint in together: backgrounds first, then the sea creatures:
And now, THIS is where we belong. Right here with you, right in the hands of little ones ready for a story they can’t wait to dive into. Something about it feels quite right.
Mira, the Misfit Sea Dragon is so much more for us than just a book. It’s an expression of who we are and what we are here for. We think you’ll see that in the beautiful rhyming cadence and the paintings on each page that we’ve brought to life.
So, we hope that you enjoy our newest addition to our collection. OH- and? Stay tuned, because we have some fabulous go-with activities that we’ll be posting soon: a craft, a matching game, a bookmark to color and coloring sheets.
To buy Mira, the Misfit Sea Dragon on Amazon, click here. You can also order it at your local Barnes and Noble or BarnesandNoble.com. Enjoy the first few pages in the preview below!
Yay just in time for Christmas. Its wonderful! So excited to order several for my gifts.
Yay!! Thank you! It’s our best yet…can’t wait for you to see it! 🙂
I love it!!! Your message here and in the book is beautiful, thoughtful and so important. Seeing the sample pages on the post was fun. Ordering some right away! Thanks for following your hearts and helping others to do the same.
Oh this means so much to us! Thank you!!! Glad you liked the preview and our heartfelt message. Enjoy the book! 💕
So cute, Mira herself and the book. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the art and story!!
Thank you! We can’t wait for you to see it. Enjoy!! 😊
I’m so excited to see your next book!! It looks great! I ordered 4 copies for me and the grandkids. I’ll let you know more when I get it in a few days!! Congratulations guys- so proud of you both!!
Yay!!! Love it! We’re so excited and can’t wait to hear what you and the grandkids think.❤️