Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!

Where we celebrate new books from Michigan's authors, illustrators and translators.

Congratulations to Kelly Bixby on the release of Phyllis Floats

How did you come up with the idea for your book?

On South Beach in Miami, Florida, I found a Portuguese man-of-war that had been washed ashore and lay dying in a bed of sargassum. The marine animal fascinated me. As I studied it, my daughter came to look too and tried to help the creature by pouring ocean water over it. She and I watched the animal respond to the stimulation, but sadly, there was no practical way for us to save its life.

Inspired by that encounter, I wanted to introduce this amazing creature—whose scientific name is Physalia physalis—to children. (Can you see why I named my protagonist Phyllis?) But after writing the story’s text and beginning to work on illustrations for the book, I struggled to create a representation of Phyllis that I thought would appeal to children. So, I made Phyllis a more common and recognizable animal: a jellyfish. She looks much cuter and cuddlier than my original portrayal of a Portuguese man-of-war. But this holds true: NEVER! EVER! touch a jellyfish, unless you have learned to do so safely and have good reason to.

What is something you hope your readers will take away from your book?

I hope readers will view home as a place of safety and recognize that at the heart of a healthy home are the family and friends who love and care for us. We’re not meant to navigate life alone. Even as we pursue independence, adventure, and personal success, we thrive when surrounded by genuine kindness and love.

You wrote and illustrated the book. What was the most difficult part of creating your book?

Illustrating Phyllis Floats was an amazing experience, but because I don’t consider myself an artist, I found illustrating much harder than writing the text. I used an online resource, Canva, and graphically created each page to best represent my vision for the story. Learning to use Canva’s tools and comply with licensing took commitment on my part to get things right, but I could not have gotten the project done before my self-imposed deadline if I had tried to use any other platform. Also, by illustrating the book myself, I had opportunities to identify places in my text where word choice needed to be stronger and more succinct. I found that difficulties in illustrating resulted in better writing.

What are your marketing plans for the book and where can we find it?

Marketing started with a post to my Facebook author page and sharing that post with friends on my personal page. Most of my sales have originated from that post, which tells me that I have the best friends and family. They’ve been excited and supportive, and I’m extremely grateful.

I’ve also shared on LinkedIn and Twitter, purchased a page in SCBWI’s BookStop, and participated in an author signing event during a holiday sale at my sister’s store. I’m currently trying to get libraries to accept Phyllis Floats and would like to distribute the book to select teachers in local schools. Eventually, I may make the book available on Amazon, Ingram Spark, and Lulu. But first, I’d like to offer the books to gift shops in Florida, where the ocean-themed book may spark interest among beachgoers. Marketing and distribution are extremely time-consuming and since publishing the book, I’ve not had enough time to do all that I would like. I’ll be following up on my plans for quite some time.

Books are available for purchase online through my publishing company Telltale Heart Publishing LLC and in store in Allen, Michigan at my sister's business, Hog Creek Antique Mall.

What's next for you?

I truly feel blessed to have the opportunity to do what I love, but the solitary act of writing takes me away from family and friends for long periods of time. I look forward to a brief hiatus from writing so I can celebrate Christmas with my loved ones and worship and praise God for all He has provided.

As the new year approaches, I’ll continue promoting Phyllis Floats while working on another fictional story that combines my love for golf with my love for nature. The undone manuscript is currently too long for a picture book format, so I would like to break the story into multiple books and create a series. It’s hard to focus on only this one project and see it through to completion. The other ideas I have are vying for my attention, but getting the series off and running is my goal for 2024.

More about the book . . .

Phyllis is a young, adventurous jellyfish who floats away from her ocean home to visit a beach, forbidden to her by her parents. Turtle, Pelican, and Octopus each tell Phyllis, “Don’t go!” but Phyllis ignores all advice and warnings. She is pushed by Wind toward new sounds, sights, and smells and has fun exploring until a lifeguard sees her and alerts beachgoers. People flee from Phyllis. She feels unwelcome and sad and asks Wind to push her home. But Wind is gone, and the ocean current carries Phyllis dangerously close to shore. Phyllis grabs onto seaweed to keep her in place, but the seaweed is not anchored. It is floating toward shore too. Phyllis is in grave trouble, feels lonely and worried, but doesn’t give up. She keeps searching for a way home and stretches toward a sailboat. The boat is too slippery to hold onto, but Phyllis doesn’t give up. She wraps her tentacles around the rudder and steers the boat in the direction of home. Even when hunger tempts her to let go and eat, Phyllis holds tightly to the rudder. She remains determined to hold on and navigate home. When she finds it, she relaxes, floats back among family and friends, and is surrounded by love.

Publisher: Telltale Heart Publishing LLC

More about the author . . .

Kelly Bixby writes to inspire and entertain generations of readers. She is the author and illustrator of the fictional picture book, Phyllis Floats. Kelly is also cofounder of Remembering Janet—a nonprofit charitable organization; a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators; an entrepreneur; webmaster; blogger; publisher, and a grandma. She and her husband hail from Michigan (Go Blue!) where their four children and many other family members live too. Seasonally, Kelly soaks in the sunshine and blue skies of Florida. Her pastimes include golfing, biking, traveling, snorkeling, and playing Euchre—all of which are sweeter when shared with family and friends. Above all, Kelly loves God, studies His Word, and knows her way home.

Kelly is on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and https://kellybixby.com/.