White House resident Emmie Seals struggled with literacy as a child. Now she’s a published author. 

“God really pieced together this long string from little Emmie not knowing how to read and write,” says Emmie as her bright multi-colored pom-pom earrings bounce and a smile teases her mouth as she speaks. “To being on the library board in White House, to becoming an Educational Support Services representative, and then to being a published author.” 

Since 2013, Emmie and her husband Zane have dug deep roots in the White House area. The couple’s four children—Roman, Éowyn, Zora, and Thaddeus, in addition to their dog, Caprica, are thriving. “We love it,” Seals declares. “There’s such a sense of community here.”

It’s a community Emmie loves serving. 

“I loved writing growing up. But I didn’t learn my alphabet till I was going into 3rd grade.” Emmie remembers the frustration of working on homework, but that turned around after she received some extra help. “I had a speech therapist who encouraged me to write and would dictate what I would say.” 

That spawned her love for writing, which led to a love of reading. Past struggle became the seed that grew Emmie’s passion.

In 2014, as the Seals were starting the adoption process for the first time with their third child, Emmie began looking for books that reflected her family story. “I believe books are glass. They’re either a mirror that reflects us or they are windows through which we can look. I was looking for books that could be mirrors for all my children,” she says. 

“A lot of adoption books mention adoption or foster care. I wanted books that my biological children and my adopted children could read without opening up trauma right before bedtime.” 

Scouring bookstores in vain, Emmie decided to write her own tale. Babble to My Bark was born in 2014. 

Emmie continued to write four additional books between 2014 and 2016. “I don’t mention the word ‘adoption’ in any of my books,” she says. “They are written from various perspectives. I wanted to give other voices to the story of adoption.”

Babble to My Bark wasn’t the first book to reach the public, however. The catalyst for the book’s publication was another, more difficult story. 

After losing a loved one in 2021, Emmie sought grief counseling. “The first question she asked me was, ‘Emmie, do you write?’ I didn’t want to write about this. But when I started writing, I started healing.” 

It was a book she knew she had to share quickly. “I had friends who needed to read this. I couldn’t go the traditional route, querying publishers,” she says. Emmie turned to a self-publishing company called Ingram Spark. 

In July 2022, A Different Kind of Grief was published. Emmie recounts, “I thought, ‘If they can publish picture books, and they can be this instantly accessible, why would I not do this for Babble to My Bark?’”

So she did. Babble to My Bark was published in February 2023. From February until early June, she conducted twenty-four school author visits. 

“Before I read my book, I get to talk to kids. I tell them about my journey to reading and writing and that if you are struggling to read and write, never give up. Never stop reading. I never would have believed I would’ve been an author. God had opened up this door wide.”

That wide open door includes a third published book, an early chapter book, Intruder Alert, released in June 2023. Illustrated by her ten-year-old daughter Éowyn, it promises to be a hit. 

“Several teachers are reading Intruder Alert in their classrooms this fall,” says Emmie. “I am very excited about that! More open doors to share my story and encourage students.” Emmie’s pom pom earrings bounced even more fervently with this statement.

Indeed, she is living out her best, beautifully bookish life and sharing the overflow with her community.

Connect with Emmie Seals at www.breakthesealpublishing.com. She’s currently booking more author visits for the 2023/2024 school year.