The Mother and Daughter Team!
Jeanne Smither Osio and Lisa Osio Lavin
About the Author... Jeanne Smither Osio was born and raised on the Monterey Peninsula in California. She is a real estate agent, with a life-long dream of writing children's books. She has three daughters, Lisa, Julie, and Crista, and two grandchildren. Jeanne and her husband, Efrem, live in Pacific Grove, CA.
About the Illustrator... Lisa Osio Lavin also lives in Pacific Grove, CA where she operates a successful insurance agency. She enjoys singing, song writing, and the performing arts. On weekends, Lisa and her husband, Mark, love to cook and barbecue at their home for family and friends, and their two children.
Article in the Local Pacific Grove Hometown Bulletin - 4/21/2010 Issue (Page 3)
A Mother & Daughter Team Turn a Dream
into Reality - By Sarah Davis
It starts with a childhood dream. Add a bit of humor and wit, a dash of talent from a mother and daughter team, and what have you got?
FLYING PIECES OF MACARONI & CHEESE! 100 Laughable Poems (KyKat Publishing © 2010)
Two years ago, it was just a dream. Now, the 136 page, hardcover book is a fantastic reality for Jeanne Smither Osio (Author) and Lisa Osio Lavin (Illustrator). It started as a collection of funny poems for Lisa’s two children. Jeanne says, “We both started writing poems and emailing them to each other, without a real idea of what we would do with the poems. It was just for fun at first.” Soon, Lisa, a full-time insurance agent, and full-time mom, found that she didn’t have much time to write. But, Jeanne kept writing and writing.
A local real estate agent, Jeanne was born and raised on the Monterey Peninsula. Her father, Ernest (Smitty) Smither, was the woodshop teacher at Walter Colton Jr. High in Monterey from 1945 to 1977, and “a very funny guy,” as anyone who knew him will tell you. Jeanne tells us that his sense of humor is everywhere in this book. “Finally, I can do something with the ‘funniness’ I lived with every day throughout my childhood.” Even through high school, at Pacific Grove High, Jeanne’s dream was to be an author of children’s books. “I always wanted to write stories, but I didn’t know they would be in the form of wacky, silly poems. I guess you never know what’s going to happen until you put the pen to the paper.”
The next step was to figure out who could provide some basic illustrations. Lisa spent many nights on the Internet, researching “illustrators for hire.” During a brief “mom and daughter meeting” about the style of illustrations the two had in mind, Lisa drew a couple of rough ideas on the back of an envelope. Jeanne exclaimed, “You should do the illustrations!” Lisa was shocked, since she always thought of her drawings as ‘doodles.’ But she accepted the challenge and never looked back. Lisa says, “I really enjoy my full-time job as an insurance agent, meeting with my clients and such, but I will admit that it’s just pure fun when I need to draw pictures of Bigfoot at a party, or a rooster with the flu.”
Although the cover states ‘ages 7 and up,’ anyone young and old will enjoy this book. Jeanne and Lisa said that they almost put ‘Ages 7 to 107’ on the cover, but they didn’t want to leave out anyone who might be 108 or beyond. Clearly, they have enjoyed this project and are eager to share it with everyone.
Flying Pieces of Macaroni & Cheese! 100 Laughable Poems (Osio/ Lavin) can be previewed and purchased at www.KyKatPublishing.com or by contacting Lisa or Jeanne directly at 831-275-0319. You can also visit the website for a list of local stores where their book is available, and to read a few sample poems.
into Reality - By Sarah Davis
It starts with a childhood dream. Add a bit of humor and wit, a dash of talent from a mother and daughter team, and what have you got?
FLYING PIECES OF MACARONI & CHEESE! 100 Laughable Poems (KyKat Publishing © 2010)
Two years ago, it was just a dream. Now, the 136 page, hardcover book is a fantastic reality for Jeanne Smither Osio (Author) and Lisa Osio Lavin (Illustrator). It started as a collection of funny poems for Lisa’s two children. Jeanne says, “We both started writing poems and emailing them to each other, without a real idea of what we would do with the poems. It was just for fun at first.” Soon, Lisa, a full-time insurance agent, and full-time mom, found that she didn’t have much time to write. But, Jeanne kept writing and writing.
A local real estate agent, Jeanne was born and raised on the Monterey Peninsula. Her father, Ernest (Smitty) Smither, was the woodshop teacher at Walter Colton Jr. High in Monterey from 1945 to 1977, and “a very funny guy,” as anyone who knew him will tell you. Jeanne tells us that his sense of humor is everywhere in this book. “Finally, I can do something with the ‘funniness’ I lived with every day throughout my childhood.” Even through high school, at Pacific Grove High, Jeanne’s dream was to be an author of children’s books. “I always wanted to write stories, but I didn’t know they would be in the form of wacky, silly poems. I guess you never know what’s going to happen until you put the pen to the paper.”
The next step was to figure out who could provide some basic illustrations. Lisa spent many nights on the Internet, researching “illustrators for hire.” During a brief “mom and daughter meeting” about the style of illustrations the two had in mind, Lisa drew a couple of rough ideas on the back of an envelope. Jeanne exclaimed, “You should do the illustrations!” Lisa was shocked, since she always thought of her drawings as ‘doodles.’ But she accepted the challenge and never looked back. Lisa says, “I really enjoy my full-time job as an insurance agent, meeting with my clients and such, but I will admit that it’s just pure fun when I need to draw pictures of Bigfoot at a party, or a rooster with the flu.”
Although the cover states ‘ages 7 and up,’ anyone young and old will enjoy this book. Jeanne and Lisa said that they almost put ‘Ages 7 to 107’ on the cover, but they didn’t want to leave out anyone who might be 108 or beyond. Clearly, they have enjoyed this project and are eager to share it with everyone.
Flying Pieces of Macaroni & Cheese! 100 Laughable Poems (Osio/ Lavin) can be previewed and purchased at www.KyKatPublishing.com or by contacting Lisa or Jeanne directly at 831-275-0319. You can also visit the website for a list of local stores where their book is available, and to read a few sample poems.
Jeanne and Lisa's Segment on
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Radio Interview - Travel Talk with Celeste White Interview -KNRY AM 1240
5/3/2010 - Jeanne and Lisa discuss their first book, Flying Pieces of Macaroni & Cheese! The mother/daughter team were featured in a live radio interview on KNRY AM1240 by Celeste White of the Monterey County Convention and Visitor's Bureau, for her weekly show, Travel Talk. Click the play button below to listen to the broadcast.
Note: If you'd like to continue to listen while you browse our site, just click on this link: http://www.kykatpublishing.com. Thank you for listening!
Note: If you'd like to continue to listen while you browse our site, just click on this link: http://www.kykatpublishing.com. Thank you for listening!
Click the Play (Arrow) button to listen:
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