From Lottery Dream to Living Legacy
My wildest fantasy took shape one night when my husband, son, and I were talking about what we would do if we won the lottery. The Powerball had climbed to some ridiculous amount, and while people dreamed of houses, cars, or vacations, I said I’d start a publishing company. By then, I had already published my own book, Bluebonnets and Grass Burrs and spent some time helping my friend Dan with his publishing company, so the dream didn’t feel entirely out of reach—it just felt impossible without a financial miracle.
See, I grew up in poverty in Texas, where we didn’t always know if there would be food in the fridge, or if the electricity or gas would still be on by the end of the week. One winter, the gas was shut off and never turned back on. Even after the bill was paid, a leak and the crumbling state of the house meant it couldn’t be fixed. I was still just a kid, serving as the primary caregiver for my mother as she fought stage 4 breast cancer, and trying to navigate a home weighed down by both illness and hoarding.
That kind of childhood and level of hardship could have made me bitter and resentful, but instead it planted a seed: stories are how we survive, how we carry hope forward when life feels impossible.
After high school, I moved away. I went to college in Erie, Pennsylvania and pursued what I thought was my dream of teaching at a collegiate level. For a long time, I thought a professor was the “safe” dream and would allow me to read and write while still achieving financial stability. Been there, did that for a semester. But I realized it wasn’t my dream at all and instead just a backup plan I had settled with to appease pragmatism. Today, I have a day job in marketing that allows me to take care of my husband and son. We don’t live in excess, but we live with enough—and with just enough extra that I asked myself: why dream when I could make happen what I once thought required a winning lottery ticket.
So came Bluebonnet Books, born from my mother’s dream of publishing her own book of poetry, and my attempt to make it happen for her before she passed. With the love, help, and support of those around me, I made it happen.
It was never about wealth. It was about the resolve—the resolve to give voice to the stories that make survival and hope possible. Every step I take with Bluebonnet Books carries with it a bit of that mettle and fortitude—from the girl who once thought she’d need millions to make this possible, to the woman who discovered that faith, grit, and family are richer than any jackpot.
This isn’t the lottery. It’s a life I never dared to imagine I could make happen, rooted in hope, resilience, and stories that will outlive us all.
