Humorous granddaughter inspires resident to write children’s book
by Kim Scott Sowinski
Denise Rose always knew she wanted to write a book, but she never knew what it was going to be about.
That changed when Rose’s granddaughter Grace, first child of her daughter Marissa and husband Casey, entered her life.
Now, the Independence resident is getting ready to publish her first children’s book called “Laugh for Heaven’s Sake,” inspired by Grace.
“After babysitting 3-year-old Grace since she was born, I realized how funny she was and how she was growing up with humor,” Rose said. “Grace made me laugh all the time. She loves to laugh and does not like it if you are sad.”
The Christian book is about experiences everyone has, with Grace as the lead character.
“I don’t think people realize they have humor inside them,” Rose said. “If you are not humorous, it does not mean you can’t become more so. You can find humor by the way you look at things and learn that perspective.’’
Other characters in the story include Grace’s 1-year-old brother, CJ, 15 nieces and nephews, plus Rose’s mom, Magdalen Levstek, and Leo the goldendoodle. Look closely and you will also see wedding photos of Rose’s parents and her in-laws.
She let all the children decide how their characters would look and show their personalities.
“Some chose the color of their dress, fancy shoes and purse,’’ Rose said. “A nephew had to be wearing a shark-tooth necklace, and one had to have on his fish shirt. Another made sure his freckles and glasses were shown.”
Grace is wearing a dress in her favorite color, blue, and leopard-print boots.
There are diverse characters in the book, including children of color and a child in a wheelchair. Rose said she wanted to stress that laughter is for everybody.
“Laughter is a gift and something that should be shared,” she said. “It is something that we can use. When we laugh and make others laugh, that’s a gift to God. The gift God gave you gets returned back to Him when we smile, giggle and are joyful within.”
The words did not always come easily.
“I got frustrated and stuck,” Rose said. “Basically, before COVID, I had everything I wanted to say and would note it on my phone.”
But when she actually started writing the book, “it just was not flowing,” she said.
“I sat in front of the Blessed Virgin Mary mounted on a kitchen wall in our home I had purchased on a winning bid at a Cornerstone of Hope benefit, and the words just started coming to me,” Rose said. “That was the same day the state of Ohio shut down because of the pandemic. It was God talking to me about what to do.”
She got help from other authors, including John Voso Jr., whose daughter went to Trinity High School with Rose’s daughter, Ali.
“We ran into each other at the airport as he was going to Italy and we were going to Greece,” Rose explained.
Voso has written several cookbooks (including “Italian Recipes from my Friends”) and was a wealth of knowledge, connecting Rose to a publisher and helping her with the process.
“I decided to self-publish because of his advice,” she said.
The illustrations were done by her good friend and artist Linda Zust, a Richfield resident.
“Our kids went to St. Michaels grade school together, and I think she is the best artist I have ever seen,” Rose said. “I have her artwork in my house already. It was no question I would ask her to do the book with me.”
Zust had wanted to be published, so it was a good fit. She used Prisma color with watercolor, graphic pencil and ink.
In trying to get the vision Rose had for the characters, there was a lot of back and forth and bouncing around of ideas.
“It was great when there was a ‘That’s it!’ moment when getting faces of the children right, especially Grace,” Zust said.
Rose has been married to Chris for 31 years. They have three children: Marissa, 29, Ali, 27, and Christopher, 23, and have been Independence residents for 16 years after moving from Brecksville.
She plans to write another children’s book.
“My ultimate goal is to write a book about each one of my grandchildren, highlighting their character to make it a learning lesson,” Rose said.
“Laugh for Heaven’s Sake” will be published by Streamlinecle Publishing in Valley View and will be available for purchase on DeniseMRose.com.
Feature image photo caption: Linda Zust (l ) and Denise Rose collaborate on new children’s book featuring Rose’s granddaughter. Photo by K. Scott Sowinski
