Dr. Jackie Chirco Cogswell is a family physician, wife, mother, former school teacher, and author of a series of Christian children’s novels, the Giggleheart Adventure Series. As a Christian mother, the issue of bullying became personal to her when her son was bullied at school. Through the many struggles her son had with bullies, Dr. Jackie learned from firsthand experience how to tackle bullying from a Biblical perspective. “Super Luke Faces His Bully” was inspired by her son’s personal struggle and the good Lord Who equips us for every battle and gives us strength.”
Visit her online at http://giggleheart.com/.
Thank you for joining us today, Dr. Jackie. Can you please start off by telling us a bit about yourself?
I am a family physician, wife, mother, teacher, and author of Christian children’s novels.
Helping people has always been my passion and being a physician has helped satisfy that desire. However, almost eight years ago, I put my medical career “on hold” when I gave birth to my third child. It was at that time, I felt God’s enormous nudge to be a stay-at-home-mom for “a while.” My intent was to return to medical practice when my baby was about six months old. Well, my baby is now seven years old, and I am still on “maternity leave!” During this time God has captured my heart and given me a hunger to learn more about Him! During this super-long “maternity leave,” God has sparked a new passion in me to write books that would to teach the hurting and brokenhearted children (and their families) about the healing and hope we have in Christ!
This adventure God has me on is so full of surprises and life!
My husband is amazing and so are our three children. We live in South Eastern Michigan. When we are home together, our house if filled with noise, energy, and lots of giggles! But, the moment the kids are off to school, the house is quiet and that is my time to turn on my music, pray, read, write, and “occasionally” get distracted enough by dirty dishes, laundry and dust to clean!
We have two guinea pigs, one gecko and a fish. My house is also filled with plants. I enjoy watching plants grow; almost as much as watching my kids grow.
When did you first get bit by the writing bug?
It all began about seven years ago when I first started studying the Bible. At that time, God somehow seemed to have “flipped a switch” in my imagination and starting flooding my mind with Word pictures (“visual slices” of stories that teach a lesson). These Word pictures would come to mind when I least expected. They often showed up in my mind when I was with my kids. For a while, whenever my daughter opened her mouth, I would get a new picture in my head which I had to capture and write down; this annoyed her! These seemly random Word pictures seemed like puzzle pieces with the final image still being a mystery at the time. In my wildest dreams, I never thought of writing a story!
Prior to that point, I struggled with creative writing to the point that a root canal seemed more appealing.
But, God changed all of that. After a while, these thoughts and Word pictures were connected and Giggleheart Adventures were born!
Why did you decide to write stories for children?
The seeds to write this book were planted in my heart by my son, who started getting bullied in the second grade. My tender-hearted boy was crushed and had little self-worth. As his mother, I refused to let my son be a bully victim! With prayer and a lot of tenacity, we tackled bullying from a Christian perspective. During our struggles with bullying, the seeds for this book grew. They took root and sprouted up as my family witnessed how God transformed some of my son’s most hurtful experiences into victories!
Through prayer and bringing the bullies’ parents to the table, we were able to witness some incredible heart changes that only God could accomplish. These experiences were so extraordinary that the one seeds grew and Super Luke Faces His Bully! was birthed by God’s grace.
Do you believe it is harder to write books for a younger audience?
No, in fact, writing books for children seems to be what comes natural to me right now.
What is your favorite part of writing for young people?
It is rewarding to get feedback from young readers about my books. It makes my heart happy to hear that my books teach young readers many valuable lessons about bullying, fear, anger, and prayer while making their hearts giggle with God’s joy!
Can you tell us what your latest book is all about?
Super Luke Faces His Bully! is about a young boy, Luke Giggleheart, who deeply desires to be a brave super hero. However, when he finds himself stuffed in a locker by a school bully, his dreams of becoming brave and strong come crashing down!
During this adventure, Luke learns with the help of a super-smart angel, how to handle bullying, fear, anger, lying (and many more issues) from a Biblical perspective. Luke learns how God intended his heart to be brave and bully-proof in a fun and giggly way!
Where can readers purchase a copy?
www.giggleheart.com
What is up next for you?
I am currently working on Giggleheart #3, a book about controlling your anger when life seems unfair.
Also, I am maintaining my medical credentials so I continue to study medical updates and go to conferences.
I am looking forward to seeing where else God leads me in the journey.
Do you have anything else to add?
God is amazing!
If you give Him the keys and steering wheel of your heart, you will be surprised where He takes you!
Thank you for spending time with us today, Dr. Jackie. We wish you much success.
Scary Mary rules the barnyard. She scares the other animals away. She hogs all the sunflower seeds. She builds a fort to keep the others out. She soon discovers, however, that being scary is very lonely.
The Children's and Teens' Book Connection 