Join me on my journey and be empowered to overcome.

My passion is writing. My mission is to bring comfort and empowerment to others through my writing.

As an author, my goal is to use my gift of writing to create stories that help young people relate to similar situations in their own lives. As a result, they can develop the awareness and insight to be empowered and overcome whatever obstacles or situations they themselves are facing.

20201006-IMG_1005_author photo edit.png

About the Author

Valerie Peña is a married mom of three, the oldest of which is the illustrator of this book. Valerie is an Occupational Therapist and therapy dog handler whose mission and passion is to comfort and empower others. Valerie lives in NJ with her husband, Manny, and her dog, Zoey.

IMG_8927 copy.jpg

About the Illustrator

Lauren Peña is a freelance illustrator with a master’s in psychology. She has a passion for animals, dance, and all things creative. Lauren strives to help others through empowerment and believes that the key to success is the proper tools, mindset, encouragement, and the courage to follow your dreams. Lauren lives in NJ with her husband, Nick, and her dog, Ziva.

What People Are Saying About

The World of Wally

 

Valerie’s writing is so heartwarming. The characters are brought to life in such charming ways.

-CAROL M.

I love reading Valerie’s books to my grandchildren. It helps them learn about their world while having fun.

— DIANE S.

 

Valerie and Lauren are a powerhouse duo! Their writing and drawings are so beautifully done and bring the story to life.

— KARIN R.

Valerie has a unique way of using her characters to help every child with whatever he or she is going through.

It’s amazing!

— LILLIAN L.

I have heard that you cannot judge a book by its cover. That may be true; however, my hope is that, through my books, you will find comfort in these covers.

Join Wally’s journey ~ and be comforted.

How my journey began

My journey as an author began in 2006 when I wrote my first story based on a family that I once knew. My friend told me the story of how she adopted her puppy, Wally. I then turned that story into my first book. The tale of how Wally got adopted and found his forever family.

As I wrote the pages of this book, I began to realize how children reading these stories could benefit. They could begin to understand and overcome obstacles in their own lives, based on the situations that Wally went through. This transformed mere words into tools that could bring comfort and healing.

From that moment on, I realized that my passion for writing could be used to help others.

 

Join me in this journey.