 I am soooo close to launching the paperback edition of "Keep Moving Forward, Henry!" but in the meantime I wanted to offer you all the opportunity to read the story for free on Amazon Kindle (March 22-26th 2021)!
So many people have asked how they can support me during this time and today I would answer that by saying: 1. Read the E-Book (English and/or Spanish version) 2. Write a PPR which stand for "Positive-Professional-Review" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Focus on commenting on the story itself, the plot, the message/themes, illustrations and of course if you would recommend others to buy. 3. Share the E-Book with individuals who will also write a review. Ask them individually--this will ensure a better response. Reviews are a wonderful way to give social proof and give potential buyers the confidence to buy the book. So thank you in advance for any help you can give to spreading the word about "Keep Moving Forward, Henry!"
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 I'm so excited that I will be launching my new children's book this month, "Keep Moving Forward, Henry!" As I get closer to the release I am looking to build a launch team to help me spread the word and write Amazon reviews.
I have such a wonderful community of people who want to support my work and help spread awareness of this project so if that is something that you are interested in, please consider joining my launch team! All you have to do is click here to get started. #Ineedmyvillage #thankyou  I'm super happy to announce that my next children's book "Keep Moving Forward, Henry" will be launched next month and it will be addressing themes of justice, empathy, and overcoming obstacles.
I'm so excited that the picture book will have an accompanying coloring and activity book to help children dive deeper into the difficult topics. "Keep Moving Forward, Henry! Coloring & Activity Book” is the perfect companion to the picture book and is full of crossword puzzles, mazes, inspirational coloring sheets, and more! Geared toward kids 7-12 years old, themes of empathy, compassion, and self-empowerment will be addressed in an age-appropriate and fun way. This workbook makes a great vacation or travel workbook and is perfect for boys or girls who like to learn while being entertained with activities that stimulate thinking and creativity. It is a great gift for any kid! COMING MARCH 2021!!  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JANUARY 25, 2021 MEMPHIS, TN – A Memphis area mother and her two teenage daughters recently used the area’s COVID-19 restrictions to fulfill a dream and publish a children’s book to increase early childhood literacy. “We aren’t going out as much and it was a perfect time to work on this book,” said mother Ayanna Murray. “I’ve always told my daughters we’d give back to the community and write a children’s book to encourage children to read.” According to a Forbes article published late last year, the U.S. Department of Education reports that barely half of the adults age 17-74 read below a sixth-grade level. Low literacy starts in childhood. According to the Literacy Project, children are 90% more likely to be poor readers at the end of the fourth grade if they are a poor reader at the end of first grade. This is why Murray focused on writing a children’s book. “One of the greatest gifts we can give children is literacy and a love of reading. I’ve given that to my kids and I want to give that gift to others. Especially children in the Memphis area.” CUTLINE: Ayanna Murray and her daughters Jayda (16) and Anaya (14) holding their book, Bear Learns to Share. ABOUT: Ayanna Murray recently moved to Memphis, TN from Connecticut with her husband and four children. She is a homeschool educator and holds a BA in education and a minor in Spanish from the University of Oregon. CONTACT: For more information or comments, contact Ayanna Murray at [email protected]   When I was a little girl, every MLK Day, my parents would take my four siblings and I to the MLK Day March in Eugene, Oregon. As parents who grew up under segregation and fought for our civil rights during the 1960's Civil Right's Movement they wanted to instill in our hearts a passion and desire to make the world a better a place for our children, and their children' children. As a child I watched my parents navigate many obstacles within my hometown. They moved from Chicago, IL in the late 70's and wanted to get away from the discrimination and hardships they faced in the inner-city. However, even in Oregon they faced many injustices but as a child I wasn't privy to everything they faced. For example, when I was about five or six years old, I remember that my father was a fireman. My mother would take us down to the fire station to bring my dad food and I remember saying prayers to God to keep him safe and bring him back home. One time I remember going to visit him at the station, but during the visit the firemen got a call and I watched him jump on the firetruck and ride off in the distance.  Art by Estefania Razo I never liked my dad being away from home and sleeping at the fire station so I never thought about why he stopped going. It wasn't until I was older that my father revealed the racism and discrimination he experienced at the fire department. As an author, I wanted to capture his story because I believe it will be an important tool for parent's and teacher's to teach empathy, compassion, and equity. As I interviewed my dad for this story I was challenged with how to make the subject of racism palatable for young children. I wanted to leave them with a hopeful outlook and so I took Dr. King's quote, “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” as a source of inspiration for the story.  Dr. King was arrested over 30 times. He was beaten, threatened, and ultimately killed for his willingness to fight for the rights of Black people. His powerful words spoke to me as I wrote the story about my father. As I was writing, I kept hearing the words, "Keep Moving Forward, Keep Moving Forward." Not original to King, as many generations of African Americans have had to repeat this phrase to themselves after being locked, blocked, and kicked out of parts of American society.
My book, "Keep Moving Forward, Henry" is a story that I hope will teach children what they should do if they ever get knocked down. I am proud to say that it is slated to be released next month for Black History Month.  That's right folks--the Bear Learns to Share Activity Book is now complete! This was such an exciting project because it took me back to when my kids were in preschool and as their teacher--I loved teaching them basic foundational knowledge. I can't believe I have four teenagers now!
Anyway I designed the workbook specifically for kids ages 3-5, and it is a great accompaniment to the picture book, Bear Learns to Share, which shows that sharing is fun! So now you can get the book, coloring book, AND the workbook! This 50-page workbook includes recognizing and tracing shapes, identifying colors, coloring, counting, mazes, and more. It's the perfect workbook for kids to practice their fine motor skills and a great way to develop skills for school readiness and success. Learn more here.  Ya'll I am so so so so excited! Did I mention I was excited?! I have been writing for six years now, developing a nice size body of work of various themed children's books. I am happy to announce that I have my first black history themed book coming out in February 2021!! This story is particularly special to me because it is based off my father's real life experience of being one of the first African-Americans to serve as a fireman in my hometown--Eugene, Oregon. The story takes a difficult issue like racial discrimination and addresses it in an age-appropriate manner. It will be a great tool for parents and teachers alike to use for teaching empathy, respect, and self-determination. I will be sharing more as the months get closer to the release date but here is a sneak peak at a couple of preliminary sketches.   With this project I am working with an illustrator who lives overseas and it has been such an amazing experience. The artist is so talented and I can't wait until the coloring process begins--that's when things really come alive!
Anyway--stay tuned and follow me on my Facebook Author's Page for more updates.  I am so excited to share, that after 6 years of writing, I am officially a published author! What’s really special about this book project is that I co-authored it with my 14-year-old daughter Anaya. And to make it even more significant, my 16-year-old daughter, Jayda was the illustrator and book cover designer. We started the project in May 2019 but moved from New York to the south so basically, our momentum and publishing process was completely interrupted. However, a few months ago, I picked the story back up and now we are happy to present, “Bear Learns to Share” with an accompanying, “Bear Learns to Share Coloring Book.” Kids will relate instantly with the main character, Little Bear, an only cub who loves to play by himself and is not used to sharing. He becomes terribly upset and engages in a full out tantrum when his cousins come to play. Ultimately, Bear realizes that if he calms himself down, he too can experience great joy and fun when sharing his things. The girls and I plan on writing a complete Bear Learns series which is geared towards children pre-school through second grade. Learn more by clicking here.  If you are a writer, the path to becoming a published author can sometimes feel like an impossible task. For writers to overcome the mental challenges placed before them, they’ll need to have 3 important things:
Saying things like, “You don’t know what you are doing.” “You’ll never get published.” “Your work isn’t good enough.”
In order to persevere, a writer must be able to silence the mental naysayers. Speaking back with positive phrases like, “I can do anything!” “I was made for this!” “I am getting better and better!” and “No matter what, my books will be published!” Positive thinking will help you endure the writer's life. 2. Passion For Storytelling Writers need to have a passion for their stories. They need to be convinced that the world needs and is waiting to hear their voice. Their voice is unique and will have its own impact on the culture and society.  "You have to be burning with an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right. If you're not passionate enough from the start, you'll never stick it out." --Steve Jobs 3. Perseverance to Endure Writing isn’t easy and it’s not for the faint of heart. Sometimes a writer’s career can seem to move along very slowly. Perseverance is an attribute that will keep you on the road to publishing when it seems completely out of reach. One of my favorite quotes by Charles Spurgeon states: "By perseverance, the snail reached the ark." The quote and the video below should encourage you to keep pushing forward. If a snail can do it, so can you! Play the video!  So it’s been four years since my last blog post. The last post was entitled, “Rejection, My New Partner” and let me tell you so much has happened in my life since that post. I decided then that it was too challenging to keep a consistent blog writing schedule and keep up with my children’s manuscripts. With this in mind, I intentionally took a break from updating the blog.
So what have I been doing for the last four years? Writing, writing, and more writing! The decision to focus solely on writing has afforded me the time necessary to build my portfolio. I have so many new stories that I can’t wait for you and your families to enjoy. So to keep this balance, I will only write an occasional blog post. If you follow me on Instagram (Ayanluv) you can get more updates on my author’s journey and you will start hearing about the books that will be coming out very soon! |
AuthorAyanna is an author that enjoys writing fiction, historical fiction, non-fiction, and poetry for children. As of today, she has published over 6 children's picture books and has more coming out in the near future. Archives
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