Sexton came to Texas a few years ago from Kentucky where she used to be a librarian, and after three years at Crestview, she finally used her love of words and reading to write her Penny series, “Penny and the Pandemic” and “Penny and the Project.”
“I loosely based the Penny character off my daughter who was in third grade last year,” Sexton said. “The character looks like her and has many of her personality traits. In that book [Penny and the Pandemic] it’s in March 2020 when we started shutting down the world.”
Sexton said the book is a light-hearted recount from Penny’s point-of-view through diary entries, where she talks about birthday parades, being quarantined with her brother, wearing masks, staying home for virtual school, and what living through a pandemic is like from a child’s stand point.
After writing and publishing “Penny and the Pandemic”, Sexton continued Penny’s story with “Penny and the Project.”
“With Penny and the Project, Penny is still in the third grade and she has been given a project at school to research 10 different careers,” Sexton said. “It still has her diary entries in the front and the back, but the middle is like a graphic organizer.”
Sexton was able to get different contributors from all different career paths with several blurbs from experts in that field.
“I found a female astronaut, Kelly Gerardi, who will be going into space soon and she gave me a quote about astronauts for the book,” Sexton said. “I found several people here in Lubbock and from my hometown in Kentucky as well.”
In the back of the book, children are even allowed to participate in the research project with Penny, where they can research a career and write about it, too.
Sexton smiled as she talked about how much support she has received for her Penny books. She said even after selling more than 200 copies, the most rewarding part is still the love and support she has received from friends, family and even strangers.
“I know I have a lot of supportive friends and family, but to see it just makes your heart really happy,” Sexton said. “I am a mom to four daughters, and a school teacher, and so at the end of the day I want someone to know that if I can do this, fulfill my dreams, so can they!”
Sexton is currently working on a third book and doesn’t plan on stopping there!
“I am working on a third book, that is pretty much finished, and it’s called “What If I’m Different,” Sexton said. “It’s about a little boy who is about to start school, and he is asking his mom questions about the school day, and he has a vivid imagination so the pictures will portray that.”
Sexton said that at the end of the book, he walks into his classroom and realizes that everyone is different, and that it’s a good thing.
“I am really excited about this book,” Sexton said. “The first two books were part of my Penny series and this one will be totally different.”
Because many of Sexton’s friends are teachers, she said she leans on them at times to help her proofread her work, but her favorite people to tell about her books are her students.
“Last year with 'Penny and the Pandemic,' I sat my students down, it was just written on paper, I didn’t have page numbers, I didn’t have a title or anything,” Sexton said. “I wanted to just get their reactions. I would ask them what their favorite part was or if there were parts they didn’t like, and I took what they said to heart.”
Sexton said that the support from her students is the best part.
“Kids from my class last year, and from this year, will bring me their books to sign,” Sexton said. “It is just so sweet. I have always loved to read, and I just wanted to write books that my kids and my students would enjoy. I hope that I have inspired them to find the joy in writing, too.”
Sexton is a self-published author, but her books can be found on Amazon and online with Barnes and Noble and Walmart. Sexton was also recently featured on Everything Lubbock’s Trends and Friends – watch her interview here.