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My name is Krystal Wade! And I have two published children’s books! Home: I live in my ‘forever home’ in Hillside, VIC, Australia, that we moved into early January 2025! I’ve lived most of my life in the Western Suburbs, except for when I was born. My dad used to travel and work in the mine, so I was born in Kalgoorlie, WA! Jobs: I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood and Primary Education in 2015, and I have been teaching ever since. Before becoming a teac

I have been fortunate to self-publish two books, so far. Mabel’s Magical Meal (2024) and Finding Toby’s Smile (2025). I wrote Mabel’s Magical Meal to support my son in his growing interest in food, colours and pointing to items he saw wanting to know their name. I wrote Finding Toby’s Smile because of my 10+ years’ experience teaching in primary schools. Seeing first hand the effect big feelings can have on little minds and bodies.

I self-published both my books! I did a lot of research and joined many groups to be able to successfully publish the books on my own. It was hard and many times I was learning new things on the fly. My husband supported me a great deal, not only being my illustrator for the first book but also creating my entire website platform. I ended up doing lots of research on illustrator styles and quotes, and ended up changing my illustrator for Finding Toby’s Smile after getting in

The most challenging part, funny enough, wasn’t the writing part, it has been the marketing! I have two great books that focus on two very different things, to two very different age groups, but I struggled to get it reaching further than my circle of friends. To further my knowledge and experience in marketing my books, I joined Laura Feldman’s Marketing 101 Program . This course has joined me with a wonderful author community and has guided me in the right direction to get

I have a few rewarding parts that I’ve experienced on this journey. 1. My children having a book that was written by their Mum and illustrated by their Dad. 2. Having three Business’ come on board to support the production of Finding Toby’s Smile- donating over 30 books to low socio-economic primary schools across Australia. 3. Having my first ever stockist in 2026 order 16 copies!

This journey has been a mix of bravery, self-doubt, inspiration and persistence. But I am so glad I have taken the leap to find a passion that I’m invested in. I’d love for my books to continue to reach children, families and schools, as the messages of healthy eating (Mabel’s Magical Meal) and the importance of supporting children who mask, internalise feelings and experience emotional overwhelm (Finding Toby’s Smile). You can find me on: Instagram: @wrentales.publishing Fac