West Elementary will have special guest author Miss Middle Tennessee Karissa Wheeler at its Family Reading Night on Thursday, March 3.
Wheeler is a professional actor, singer, dancer and arts educator who is currently serving as Miss Middle Tennessee and was recently crowned at the Miss Middle Tennessee Scholarship Competition at a preliminary for Miss Tennessee. She is also passionate about storytelling and is the author of the children’s book “Reveal of the Royal Puppy.”
Wheeler wrote the book as a way to cope with her newfound depression and anxiety that came with the pandemic. She had moved to New York City to peruse post-grad acting training after graduating from Sewanee in 2019, but COVID-19 caused her to end up back home in Nashville.
“Experiencing the grief of what seemed to be a loss of a dream, I sank into a depression and was diagnosed with anxiety,” said Wheeler. “My counselor suggested thinking of ways to unleash my creativity while theaters were closed and production shut down that would still allow my artist heart to have a means of expression, so I began to write. I had always had a love of writing but I didn’t realize how therapeutic it would be for me at this stage in my life. Shortly after the diagnosis and researching emotional support animals, I decided to adopt a sweet Morkie who inspired my children’s book, ‘Reveal of the Royal Puppy.’ She was the biggest blessing to me throughout that time.”
Her book is about Princess Charlotte of the kingdom of Nadelle who is gifted a new puppy for Christmas that she names Chai Rose. As Princess Charlotte and Chai Rose adjust to life together, they become the best of friends and realize the importance of having a grateful heart.
“A large part of Princess Charlotte’s journey is learning to have a thankful heart in the middle of going through her parent’s divorce. Encouraging readers to have an attitude of gratitude regardless of circumstance was one of my biggest goals in my writing, and while this book is written for younger hearts, the story will remind all readers that having a grateful heart makes difficult situations bearable,” said Wheeler.
Wheeler will be a guest author at West Elementary School’s Family Reading night and will also be working with an aftercare group of students at 4 p.m. sharing an acting session.
