Shifting point of view to tell your story with Valerie James Abbott

Welcome Valerie James Abbott to The TufFish Show, a place to help writers and aspiring authors get out of their own way to leave a legacy by telling the stories they want to share through writing their own books and confidently sharing them with others. The writing process can be tough and the business side can feel scary, but TufFish makes both feel smoother and achievable. 

Giving herself permission to shift points of view and shift genres is what helped Valerie fully embrace her storytelling capabilities and create a children's book that honors all family members when a sibling is deaf or hard of hearing.  Valerie shared how she and her illustrator worked together to create realistic illustrations as well as tips on how she is marketing her book. 

Valerie James Abbott is an active parent-advocate and champion for early hearing detection and intervention and parent-to-parent support organizations in Virginia. She has served on the board of Virginia Hands & Voices, is the first parent co-chair of the Virginia EHDI Advisory Committee, and has received the Governor’s Award for Civilian Excellence for Virginia Fire Safety, spearheading special programming for families of children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Valerie is a guest blogger for the Center for Family Involvement and has published several articles online and in print about raising a child with a disability that have gained nationwide attention. Padapillo is her first book.