Hello, and thank you for stopping by. My name is Donna Maria, also known as Mrs. Padilly.

Mrs. Padilly is my pen name and traveling alter ego, and I have been writing under this pseudonym since 2012.

There is just one problem: Mrs. Padilly was never supposed to be a travel writer.

The story begins in the Spring of 2011, as I was commuting for an hour to campus during my final semester of teaching. “Retirement” was just weeks away, and soon I would pursue my own creative projects, including writing and illustrating children’s books.

As I turned my car onto FM 1314 in Conroe, Texas, frustrated, I prayed to God to give me a name for a children’s book character I’d been working on for years. The word “Padilly” popped into my head.

I literally laughed out loud because I had never heard the word padilly, but when I got to campus, I went to my office to research if it was a name or phrase (possibly with a negative meaning).

My research suggested the word was a rare surname. So on that day, “Mrs. Padilly” was born. The only problem is that she wouldn’t realize her full potential until over a decade later.

Meet the Real Mrs. Padilly

With the release of this first book and the official launch of my author page and blog, I look forward to sharing my musings on writing, publishing, design, poetry, and art with my readers.

And since I have a lot of experience in the design and layout of publications and beginner-to-moderate knowledge of self-publishing, yet minimal expertise in the writer’s community, maybe we can help each other out? If this sounds interesting, please subscribe below.

Thank you for stopping by, and Happy Trails,

Donna Marie (aka Mrs. Padilly)

---