I have learned that the right story improves a child’s ability to navigate the world, transforming pessimism into optimism. As a school psychologist, I’ve written countless reports and presentations outlining challenges and how to overcome them. Translating complex concepts into simple terms, I help young children with learning, emotional, social, and impulse-control difficulties. In that arena, my published work includes a relaxation-training curriculum, book chapters, and articles. Since 2020 I have studied picture-book writing with SCBWI, Highlights, Writers.com, Manuscript Academy, 12x12, Picture Book Summiteers, Rate Your Story, and Children’s Book Insider. I am a graduate of and assistant to Children’s Book Academy. My picture-book entry won the 2023 Florida SCBWI Rising Kite Award, and I received an Honorable Mention in 2022’s #50PreciousWords. My manuscripts reflect the children I’ve assisted, my New York/Jewish background (especially tales from my Dad's Brooklyn boyhood) and my quirky sense of humor. 
 - Debra Collins