I'm thrilled to create this vehicle to share what's going on in the crazy world of Author/Illustrator Leslie L. Bell and Sodalite Publications ... And I'm so grateful you are choosing to spend some time with me, as I know how precious your time and attention is!
Why do I describe my world as crazy? Well, some would describe me as a "jack of all trades", so I find myself careening from one project to the next, as I try to balance the creative life with "real life", tending to an aging parent and maturing offspring. Since I retired from a career of more than 30 years in education, I've been recapturing my sense of play - an exercise I highly recommend for everyone - and have suddenly found myself combining skills and interests from lifetimes ago into a new avenue for finding meaning in the last third of my life.
I took up painting as a distraction during the COVID pandemic after finding a tutorial on YouTube. One painting led to a poem, which led to more paintings, which led to learning how to self-publish books. The knowledge that I could now easily make my work available inspired me to revisit stories I'd written, and begin new ones - then, the need to refine layout and cover design led to learning new skills regarding illustration. And that led me to assisting other fledgling authors of my acquaintance to make their work available to readers through my imprint, Sodalite Publications.
My other passion is learning about human growth and potential through psychology and spirituality, and consequently, I've been accumulating a varied bank of knowledge and techniques for navigating some of the rougher patches of life, and enriching the positive ones. Hopefully, I can share some of these ideas as we meet here together going forward.
My den/office is a shambles, but my life is full! Welcome to the ride!