My First Book by Steph Beth Nickel

 

Not That First Book

When I read the prompt for this month's posts, "tell us about your first book," I, like many writers, thought of my first (and as of yet, only) published book.

But then I thought, "No, the first book that I shared with others goes back many, many, many, many years."

When I was in school... (I can't remember if it was elementary or secondary school.) Way back then, one of our assignments was to write, illustrate, and produce a board book for young children.

I can still remember how I felt when my book was chosen as one to be displayed in our school library. It still brings a smile to my face decades later.

Books & I Go W-a-y Back

My mom loved books. Although my dad didn't read as much, he, too, was a reader.

It's no wonder I can remember many of the books I read as a child and some that my mom read to me.

Each Christmas my mom would read The First Noel and 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to me. I'm sure she read many others throughout the year, but I remember those two distinctly.

P. D. Eastman books, such as Go, Dog. Go!, Sam and the Firefly, and Are You My Mother were among my favourites. They were part of the "I Can Read It All By Myself" series, published by Dr. Seuss. I also had several more books in the series.

And like many young girls, I read a plethora of Nancy Drew books. This is where I first learned about including cliffhangers at the end of a chapter. It was also where I picked up the just-one-more-chapter philosophy of reading.

As the Years Went By

Reading (and writing) remained an important part of my life until, ironically, I attended Bible College. Because our Required Reading List was so long, it was over a year and a half after I left college that I picked up a book just for the sheer pleasure of doing so.

Over the years, I've written several articles; dozens of blog posts, poems, and devotionals; a number of unpublished picture book manuscripts; and at least a couple of partially finished fiction manuscripts. Additionally, I coauthored Paralympian Deb Willows' first memoir, Living Beyond My Circumstances. We are currently working on a follow-up volume, tentatively titled Keep Looking Up.

Currently, I post to Substack one to two times per week. On Mondays, I publish a chapter of the YA (young adult) manuscript I'm working on, and on Fridays, I post devotionals based on the gospel of John that I originally wrote for HopeStreamRadio.

From Board Books to...

While some writers "stay in their lane," this isn't in my nature. And that's okay.

Do I plan to publish my YA novel and a selection of the devotionals I've written? I do.

Would I like to publish some children's books? I would.

Will I continue to write blog posts and other short pieces? I would imagine so.

Whatever I end up writing and putting out into the world, it had its foundation in a little purple board book displayed in a country school library way back when.

Steph Beth Nickel is the former Editor of FellowScript and the current InScribe Contest Coordinator. Steph is an editor and author and plans to relocate to Saskatchewan from Ontario to be close to family in 2027, Lord willing. (Headshot Photo Credit: Jaime Mellor Photography)