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I am a mom of three lovely, creative, spunky, and unique little girls! They inspire me every day. They spark my creativity and desire to be the best mom and person I can be. I live in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with my three girls, dog, cat, and, last but not least, my amazingly supportive husband.
It has always been a dream of mine to write stories that inspire and help others and what better way than through the beautiful art of picture books. I am so excited to start on a new journey as a children's author, especially with my cousin as the illustrator! Our dads are identical twins, I am a writer, and Emily is an artist. I feel like this has been a beautiful pairing in the works and we've finally come together to pursue our passion - writing and illustrating.
My mission for all of my stories is to encourage each reader to appreciate the person you are - your talents, your passions, your journey through life, and (yes) even your imperfections. All of these things wrapped up together create a beautiful package - YOU! Please keep your eye out for more books - I have lots of fun ideas swirling around in my head.
Reviewed by Katelyn Hensel for Readers' Favorite
The Story of Conch is a cute little tale written by Shannon McAfee and illustrated by Emily Kilgore. The conch is an adventurous creature, traveling the world and leaving his mark, just as every adventure he has leaves its mark on him. The Conch drifts in the sea from place to place, and every once in a while he will land in some new place and have an amazing time, or a bad time, it all depends, but both kinds of adventures leave their marks until the conch is covered in marks, and scratches, and chips, but he has traveled the world and finally found a safe harbor.
Emily Kilgore did a wonderful job with the illustrations, using what appears to be a combination of colored pencils and maybe watercolors to accomplish surreal and beautiful oceanic scenes that are sure to capture the minds and imaginations of children reading the story. The imagery, both in prose and illustration, of the conch getting dents, and chips and losing pieces of himself along the way was very striking for a children's book. I thought it was a really clever way for McAfee to show how life can leave its marks on a person. Kind of an adult topic for a children's book, but it was poignant and cute at the same time so kudos must be given. The Story of Conch is cute, a bit sad, and overall a very sweet and fun book for kids with great pictures. I'd look out for it and read it to my own kids at bedtime.
