The idea for Angel Wings came from a question. My Grandsons and I were walking by the water one afternoon when he asked, “Why can’t that goose fly?” I looked out at the pond and saw him again, the same goose I’d been watching for weeks. I didn’t have a simple answer. But I knew it mattered.
That night, I sat down at my desk and started writing. Not with a grand plan. Not with an outline. Just a pencil and a memory of that question. What started as a few rhyming lines became something deeper. I began to think about how we often hurt without meaning to. How we pass on habits, like feeding bread to ducks, without realizing the harm it can cause.
The story grew from there. I imagined the goose’s world, his hopes, his longing to fly. I thought of all the times I had watched children at ponds, tossing bread with such joy. I wanted to capture that innocence, but also gently shift it. I wanted to invite readers into a moment of understanding, not guilt.
Writing Angel Wings was never about blame. It was about connection. To nature. To each other. To the questions children ask that stay with us long after the walk is over.
