Today, we are excited to officially launch our latest book! “Just Believe,” is a mother-daughter collaboration between new author, Katie Dooley, and our founder, Jacqueline Bance, the illustrator.

To celebrate the launch, we invited Katie to share a little bit about the book, her background, what inspired her to write “Just Believe,” and what she hopes readers will take away from it.

This is a summary of the interview and has been edited for clarity and length.

The Book

“Just Believe” is a Christmas story about a young girl named Bella who has a unique wish, a donkey. 

Readers will join Bella on her journey to discover if Santa is real while being reminded to believe in yourself and in the magic of Christmas.

About Katie

Katie Dooley is a new author. She recently self-published “Just Believe” as her first children’s book, along with “Just Believe: Christmas Activity Book for Kids,” also in partnership with our founder, Jacqueline.

Katie was born and raised in Central Minnesota and lives in the Twin Cities with her husband, Shane, and her 1-year-old daughter, Stella, by whom the book was inspired.

Katie has an Associate’s Degree in Advertising, Communication and Design from St. Cloud Technical and Community College in St. Cloud, Minnesota and worked in a variety of professional roles before becoming a stay-at-home-mom after the birth of her daughter.

Katie is also the author of LadiMerk.com, a lifestyle and personal development blog that she started in early 2018. Katie was inspired by another young woman’s personal story that encouraged in Katie the pursuit of self-love and self-confidence.

This experience helped Katie realize how the way you think impacts your self-esteem and your everyday choices. It was the beginning of her own journey of learning how to love herself, no matter what, and it encouraged her to want to inspire that in others.

Inspiration

Katie does daily affirmations with her daughter Stella as a fun and practical way to inspire positivity and build self-confidence. So, when she and Jacqueline discussed doing a collaborative book together, Katie thought it would be cool to include a positive, self-empowering message for children.

After running through a few different story lines, Katie decided to focus on the importance of believing in yourself. Since the book would be released during the holiday season, she wanted it to include a Christmas message.

In one of the key moments in the book, the main character, Bella, recalls the embarrassment of being teased by her classmates in school, making her decide to keep her innocent Christmas wish a secret from anyone else.

Meanwhile, Daisy, the donkey and secondary main character, struggles with feeling lonely, sad, and maybe even a little bit hopeless.

In the end, through the magic of Christmas, Bella and Daisy find their way to happiness and one another, and each learn a valuable lesson from a jolly old man along the way.

Real or Make Believe

The characters in the story are based on a few of Katie’s real family members. As mentioned, Bella is inspired by her daughter, Stella. The parents are based on Katie and her husband, and the grandparents are based on Katie’s mom and stepdad who live on a hobby farm very similar to the one featured.

As far as the donkey goes, Katie said it is a fictional character and the name Daisy just came to her. She wanted the name to start with “D,” so, it became Daisy the Donkey. While Daisy is a fictional character, Katie’s family is curious to see if Santa will be bringing Stella a donkey for Christmas this year!

Speaking of...A Donkey?!

We asked Katie what inspired her to write the story about a donkey. She said that she wanted the character to be hooked up to the sleigh with Santa’s reindeer, so it had to be one that could be harnessed. Also, “everyone wants a pony for Christmas,” so, she wanted it to be unique!

The Takeaway

When we asked Katie what she hopes the book inspires in her readers, she said, “Positivity and the belief in themselves; that they can do anything they set their mind to, and to always believe in the magic of Christmas.”

What’s Next?

Katie & Jacqueline also collaborated on "Just Believe: Christmas Activity Book for Kids" that is now available on Amazon.com and through our shop.

Katie and Jacqueline are also working on an affirmations book for kids that they hope to release sometime in early 2021. More to come!

If you’d like to learn more about “Just Believe” and “Just Believe: Christmas Activity Book for Kids” be sure to follow Hello Bluebirds on social media and sign up for our newsletter where we’ll be sharing content and activities throughout the remainder of 2020. See you next time!