I began telling stories of Esmeralda to my sweet granddaughter, Katie, when she was a toddler riding in the back seat of my car. At age 3, she was joined by a little brother and my best buddy, Noah. Esmeralda took a hiatus. Little brother had stories of his own to tell. But it wasn't long before a duet of "Nana, Esmeralda! Esmeralda!" was heard from the back seat. They would sit quietly, enthralled with Esmeralda's adventures. Katie and Noah encouraged me to tell Esmeralda's stories in a book. The first book was completed just in time for Thanksgiving. My plan was to produce a copy for each of them as a gift. I selected a committee of honest, intelligent people (well . . . my husband, daughters, and a dear friend) to proofread and critique the book. Their responses were much better than I hoped. I published the book and thanks to my family's' pride in the project, word spread. I'm so happy that it did. Now everyone can enjoy my stories, and I sincerely hope they will.