Greetings!  I’m Lurana, the Storysmith for Hope Houses Workshop. My role is creating a story world that takes place in the companion storybooks for each dollhouse model.  Believe it or not, the main characters of each are connected over family generations in a timeline that begins with the latest addition “A Merry Heart.” Like everything else in a workshop, there’s always more happening behind the scenes.

Writing about dreams has been a dream come true for me. If you asked me in elementary school what I wanted to be, I would have answered “a children’s book author.” I wrote stories and poems all the time. But I kept that dream to myself and it started to look silly as I got older. It seemed too risky to pursue the thing I really wanted. So I tried other things and then I became a mom and well…a lot of dreams took a back seat to a lot of reality.

As my children grew and I started encouraging their interests, I wanted to model Believing In Yourself. I started working as a musician again, my lifelong side job (I’m a pianist/accompanist and currently work for a couple youth school choir programs).  I’m making art and studying to be a yoga teacher for kids.  And I gave my writing dream a lift—let’s say a booster in the back seat. I had some poems and essays published. I drafted stories and started calling myself a writer, which you need to do if you write, no matter how pretentious it feels.

One day Steve approached me on the school playground where both of our kids attended and said, “I heard you were a writer. Any interest in writing children’s books?” We discussed it over coffee and I was hooked by the Hope Houses mission. I believe that the arts, nature, and imagination are the places where we connect to our core spirit. The therapeutic value of literature and the arts is unlimited…I’ve experienced it myself and have dreamed of reaching out to inspire others through stories. Now, when I write about characters climbing to the sky, it’s from a front-seat view!

At Hope Houses Workshop, we’re not just creating books and dollhouses; we’re modeling visionary power. We’re saying, “Imagine your best life and then build a way there.” From the microcosm of play to the big, wide world, kids need to take an active role in discovering the wonderful people they are. Keeping the scale small at first—doll-sized—makes it easier to take the first little steps towards a dream.

Thanks for visiting and don’t stop reading, writing and using imaginative play to lift your own family.

Peace through kindness.
Lurana Brown