During the 2020 Covid-19 and quarantine crisis Lori decided to try her hand at watercolor painting. She loves birds and learns her craft by painting them. One day she painted a pink ostrich. Many told her how popular that painting was going to be. It was at this time, she also found Create Academy, an online creative community. She was encouraged in one course to write and create for 28 days (about 4 weeks). What developed from there is Ollie the Ostrich that you see today. That assignment also helped Lori to write her first book and illustrate it as well. How Ollie Finds His Courage was published in 2023 and was a best seller on Amazon when it came out. Soon, How Ollie Meets Ernie the Emu will be published. Lori is hoping for early summer 2024. She can’t wait to share her stories and characters with Children around the world. Her messages need to be heard by families in this time and age. How Ollie Finds His Courage, Ollie learns that if you have a friend to walk through your fear with then it makes it easier to face. How Ollie Meets Ernie the Emu, is about racism. A group of emus move to town and the ostriches are not kind. Ollie learns how to love differences in others.