Stephanie Morris began her love of books at an early age, staying up late in her room, reading by lamplight until all hours of the night. (She always made it up on time for school, though. Mostly.) Books have always been a passion and threaded through her life like a never-ending, favorite-colored thread in a tapestry. She didn’t mind reading for assignments and read more pages than necessary, sometimes not even keeping track of all the books that went through her hands and head.
Her senior year in high school proved to be a difficult one as she didn’t know which direction to take her college education. But her lingering electives were filled by two art classes that soon shown light on an unknown enthusiasm and knack. She applied for the art/design department at Brigham Young University and was accepted, on track to participate in their Automotive Design department, which was the only place to get such a degree west of Michigan at that time. At the end of her freshman year, the college decided to drop the program, and she was forced to return to square one. Now what? She needed a new college major and fast.
After a lot of soul searching, she chose to refocus on marketing. Stephanie was surprised she hadn’t considered this area previously because she enjoyed TV commercials sometimes more than the programs. Here she could use her love of art and design. A few years later, she graduated in advertising, with a minor in business.
During her college years, her family moved from Utah to Arizona, so after graduation, she headed south. Her first reaction to the hills covered by Saguaros was that she’d been transported to another planet. Where were her mountains? Where were the pines, and the grass, and the green?! But she has since grown to love it. Yes, even the heat. (It helps that she has a condition that makes her cold most of the time.)
Life has had its ups and downs. She won awards during her time in the advertising department at The Arizona Republic. She’s been married, and divorced, and married again, gaining three kids in the process. After a few more years, she and her husband, Ted, had a crew of five to help them as their custom home construction business took off. But the crash of the economy changed that dream, instead offering many unique opportunities to grow and develop, some of which leaned heavily on Stephanie’s background and skills.
Stephanie has designed logos, developed slogans and ad copy, fashioned web content, layout, and descriptions, and produced countless fliers and forms for all types of businesses. She continues to be a lover of books and an excited reader, regularly having a bookmark in more than one book at a time. More recently, she gained her enthusiasm and obsession for writing, after some kind, surprising, significant words from a business acquaintance. (You never know how you’ll impact those you come into contact with.) Since then, she’s dabbled in children’s literature and poetry, written two novels, and is fine-tuning a relationship book/workbook for teens. Her third novel is also in-process.
When Lawley Publishing offered her the opportunity to become part of their growing family, she jumped at the chance. To be part of a children’s book empire was a dream. As a parent, she had witnessed the value of books and reading for her own children; now, she feels privileged to help produce and promote clean, family-friendly literature for today’s parents to trust and fun, colorful, growth-promising books for children to enjoy. She is looking forward to continuing her relationship (more like obsession) with books in many forms and for many years to come!
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