Today we’d like to introduce you to Ellen Kolman.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am Ellen Kolman, I am an Ashtabula County native, and I have taught and entertained children for 40 plus years either in the church or Christian school setting.
Since college I have dreamed of writing children’s books, but it seemed unrealistic at that time. With the advent of self-publishing and hybrid publishing, actually publishing a book seemed more possible. In 2021, I had been teaching kindergarten and first-grade since 2016, and I was looking for creative ways to teach my kids why they need to be kind. My lessons focused around how our words have power, and what we say has impact. I used the analogy of dandelion puffs as an object lesson. When we blow on the puff the seeds fly everywhere planting new dandelion flowers. Our words work the same way, when we speak our words fall on everyone who hears them. Do we want our words to plants seeds of kindness and happiness, or seeds of sadness and anger?
This object lesson turned into the premise for my first book Seeds of Sunshine. I found a Christian hybrid publisher in Meadville, Pa., (Christian Faith Publishing), and they created Seeds of Sunshine, and a second book in that series, Sunshine Makes a Difference. Both books feature a young hedgehog and his Grammy. Sunshine Makes a Difference also features an elderly Great Horned owl, Mr. Hoot.
I promised my husband after the two hybrid published books, I would work as hard as could to get my subsequent books traditionally published, and I have done just that!
I joined a wonderful group on Facebook called Christian Writers For Life, and they offer a variety of classes on all things to do with writing and publishing. Those classes and contacts changed my life. Through the contacts, I attended a Christian writers conference and submitted a book to the publishers attending and one publisher, Lil Roni Publishers, offered me a contract on Lenny’s Team, A Sunshine Story, it will launch in June of 2026. Since then, Lil Roni Publishers have also given me a contract on Scuppers the Pirate Puffin which will launch this April.
I am also in a group of authors and illustrators on Instagram. It was in this group I noticed the illustrations of Kaelen Felix. I thought her detailed colorful work would be perfect for Crabby Abby the Decorator Crab’s Big Heart! I approached her with my story and she loved it and suggested I submit the story to her publisher, Prolific Pulse Press LLC. I did, and they offered me a contract. Crabby Abby the Decorator Crab’s Big Heart was illustrated and published in just six months, and it launched on October 30th. We added a companion coloring book because Kaelen’s illustrations are so vivid and beautiful we thought a coloring book was a must!
I have written a Christmas book for Crabby Abby called The Search for a Star, A Crabby Abby Christmas, and it is under contract with Prolific Pulse Press LLC, and will launch October, 2026 in time for Christmas shopping! Kaelen Felix will also do the illustrations. The character
Crabby Abby was born in the early 2000s when I got the idea from an ocean video my kids loved. It featured a decorator crab, and I thought what if there was a crab toy that instead of sticking sea moss, grasses and sticks on itself, it stuck fashion accessories. So I sewed a blue Crabby Abby and put clothes and accessories on her, but I had no idea how to get her off the ground to become an actual toy. So, when I went back to teaching, she went on top of my book shelf. In the last couple years, I thought she was such a great character, she deserved a story. So I wrote the book, and maybe one day a Crabby Abby toy will be created.
My vision is to create positive, sweet books that families will read and enjoy over and over. My slogan is Spreading Seeds of Kindness One Book at Time.
I have two more books that have just launched including, A Gentle Whisper, Co-authored with my friend Kirthana Fanning about God hearing and answering our prayers, and Wonder of the Twinkly Lights, a beautiful Christmas story featuring a Highland calf. Both of these books were published by ReadBelieveGrow
Publishing.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The struggles have been the learning curve. I started knowing absolutely nothing about publishing books and have had to learn as I go. Fortunately, there are wonderful groups online for education and support.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My vision is to write faith-based sweet and fun stories for families to enjoy. Stories that children will ask for again and again.
I like to write character driven stories where the main character learns something new and discovers he or she is stronger, braver, or kinder than they thought.
I am most proud of my first book, Seeds of Sunshine. It features a young hedgehog named Sunshine who has hurt feelings from kids at school, and he learns he can forgive and remain kind through the love of Jesus. Seeds of Sunshine has set the tone for all my books since then. I feel it is so important for kids to read about lovable, imperfect characters who can be kind, forgiving, empathetic and generous.
I am known for story telling and creating stories that are relatable and fun for children.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
My books are available online on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Wal-mart, and other places. There are links to the books on my website www.ellenkolman.com
Also on my website is a sign-up for my monthly newsletter, and readers can also find my blog there too.
The best support an author can get is reviews. If someone reads our books, please leave a review, it really makes a difference on how well our books are seen.
I have collaborated and am in a collaboration on several books. My friend Kirthana Fanning and I wrote A Gentle Whisper together, it was released in November.
Currently, I am co-writing a chapter book for middle elementary age children about a fashion design school for cats, called The Purrfect Style with Project Runway Season 12, Project Runway Allstars Seasons 4 and 6 contestant, Helen Castillo. We plan to launch in 2026.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ellenkolman.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorellenkolman
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ellen.kolman
- Twitter: @EllenKolman
- Other: Threads @authorellenkolman
