Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Goodwin
Amanda, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
As a child, all I wanted to be was an Artist. Everyone thought that was cute, but wondered what I would actually become in order to pay the bills. From Kindergarten to Senior Year, I took every Art class I could get into, including an Art camp one summer during middle school. In some classes I even earned ribbons and high score awards. I wanted very much to go to Art school following high school, but that was not the path I was meant to walk. Through my young adult years I would attend paint sessions now and then, but would mostly feed my craving to paint, by painting the walls in my house.
The year I turned 35, I spent several weeks unable to write, walk, wash my hair or drive my car like I normally would have. I endured bouts of vertigo, double vision, migraine headaches & panic attacks. After undergoing testing with a Neurologist, I was eventually diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Panic, fear and every other emotion you can imagine in this situation presented itself. Needless to say, everything about my life changed. I spent hours researching how to deal with this disease, trying to find a way to not just survive what could happen to me, but to thrive despite the odds of further complications. I found a physician that wasn’t set on simply medicating me, creating other side effects and keeping our fingers crossed. Instead, he put me through Nutritional Therapy, taught me how to eat my way to better health & take care of myself before, during & after my flare ups. For the most part, I tend to have flare ups when the seasons change, I get over heated or over stressed. Some days small things are harder, such as holding a paintbrush or keeping my temperature regulated, but I always remember that no matter what, it could always be worse. At this point I am very fortunate. I’m mobile and most days I can function in ways that I’ve learned work for me.
Six years after my ‘no stress diet’ began, I found myself moving out of a home I had known for 15 years, becoming the head of my own household and learning how to be an independent woman for the first time in my life. In that first year ‘out on my own’, I developed a medical issue that belonged in a medical journal. I work in the medical field, but I am not a good patient. I know this about myself, so I just refrain from going to the doctor when possible. This time however, I should have gone much sooner than I did. But. It was the year of Covid and I’m The Biggest Chicken when it comes to having needlework done on my body. All doctors’ appointments require a certain amount of mental preparation, so I did what most of us do. I pretended to be fine for as long as humanly possible. Despite excruciating abdominal pain for 3-4 days a month that I just blamed on being a woman, and a strange sense of a slowly growing rather round mid section that I blamed on corn chips, I just kept trucking along until the thought that something on the inside might explode. At this point medical attention was a Must. I always needed someone to go with me to my appointments and if you remember, this was during Covid, so I was flying Solo. Can you say High Anxiety? So I decided to be a big girl and make an appointment. The PCP I chose just sort of had a confused look, insisted on a pregnancy test and sent me on my way with a referral for additional testing. A few days later, I went for an ultrasound. Solo. As I laid there I could tell by the technician’s face something was very wrong. She told me to wait there while she consulted with someone immediately. I just laid there crying. What else could I do? She returned to say they were calling the insurance company to get authorization for another scan, but after waiting in a cold room all alone with my thoughts and worst fears, I opted to go home and go back the next day, assuming insurance would have authorized the scan by then. I went home, cried myself silly & mentally prepared for the next day. Once the other scan was done and the next referral appointment scheduled, I attempted to keep myself calm. I said attempted. The surgeon I was scheduled with was willing to operate, but didn’t have time in the near future, so I made another appointment with another surgeon that had an opening in the coming days. The day of my surgery, I was in excurciating pain and my surgery time was delayed due to an emergency c-section for another patient, so I laid in the surgery prep room crying for what felt like ever. Not only did I look like I was just about to give birth, but I literally measured the same as a woman at 40 weeks gestation. Just days prior to Christmas that year, I had major surgery to remove an ovarian cyst the size of a newborn baby and in case you were wondering, I named it Spalding.
By the next year things were on the upswing. I was feeling better physically, my emotions were back in check, I was navigating the dating world & my youngest child was getting acclimated to having divorced parents. I should mention, the apartment my daughter and I had moved into, while being the perfect size, was severely lacking in color. We had white walls for days. Being someone that loves color the way I do, made it very hard to obey the rules of the establishment and refrain from painting them. However, it did inspire me to purchase blank canvases, in bulk, to paint and cover those bare surfaces.
During the first half of that year, I would paint any chance I got. I really enjoyed abstract art in my younger days, so I started with that. I love patterns & shapes, so I set about creating ‘sets’ to adorn my bright white surroundings. Autumn came and brought with it, a whole new meaning to the word Art. For the first time in my life, ‘Art’ became more than just a hobby. In August, I was gifted a canvas larger than I’d ever painted before from a couple of the nicest people I’ve ever met. In October, I was invited to participate in the First Friday event in Kansas City at Mod Gallery to display my paintings. One cold November evening I had agreed to meet some friends for drinks after work. Somewhat outside my comfort zone at the time, but trying to be more outgoing, I went. The owner of the establishment heard us talking about painting and asked if I would be interested in doing a commission piece. I was shocked and elated and in complete panic mode! This was the first time anyone had wanted to pay me to paint something!
Following the completion of my first commision piece, I started to feel the stirrings of needing to travel once again. It had been awhile since my last trip out of state and I was ready to get on a plane or train or anything really and get out of town. It was winter though, so I settled on painting things that go. A couple of airplanes, a submarine, several trains, a rocket and what would eventually become the cruise ship icon for my business.
At the begining of the next year, I had been commissioned for a couple more orders. I wasn’t sure what to make of this new situation, but on the off chance it might lead somewhere, I went ahead and took the steps to start a business. I was afterall, a single mom at that point and could definitely use the extra income. And so, A.line.n.da.Paint was established in January 2022.
By June, my commission orders were stacking up. I had painted pieces for several people in the Eye Care industry, a couple of musicians, and a few others that heard I was starting to add some color to the world. I had even been asked to lead a paint session for an adult group in the area. I had attended First Friday in Kansas City that month with some friends and was really starting to feel like I might actually belong in the ‘Art’ world!
In between commission orders, I had continued to work on what I now refer to as the ‘original transportation series’. I had been posting the pieces on Facebook for my friends to see as I finished each one. Mid June I was approached by a friend wanting to collaborate and create a children’s book. He wanted to write a story and I would illustrate the book. I ordered the canvases and set to work. I continued doing commission work when orders came in and I completed the agreed upon pieces for the book in February of the next year. Due to a gap in communication, it was at that point, we realized the original story and the illustrations weren’t telling the same story, so we decided to part ways on the project. Here I was with eleven brightly painted canvases and no place to go! Or so I thought.
The idea of having my work in a children’s book really appealed to me. My artwork is colorful and bright. I love color, making people smile and sharing just enough interesting information with others that they’re inspired to find out more about a new topic. By the way, in the midst of all that painting, my dating life came to a crashing halt. I’m sure you were wondering about that, lol. Two days after agreeing to paint illustrations for this book, I met the love of my life. And so, when I seemed to be at a stand still with the completed canvases in hand, he says to me, ‘Let’s write a story!’ So we did. And then the real work began…After several weeks of research about publishing, having the images scanned, editing the story, creating a layout on a non user friendly computer program, my first book went Live in May of 2023.
In June, I did my first Book Event in Anaheim, California. It was scary and exciting and all the emotions that people that aren’t comfortable in public speaking situations have. I sold one book that day to a cute little girl named Lucy. The people were friendly and the librarian invited me back for the next week just before my train was scheduled to leave. Since then, I’ve done several events for all different ages and group sizes. Sometimes we go on adventures through the books, sometimes we paint, sometimes we talk about writing, sometimes we do a game show and sometimes we just wing it. No matter what we do, you can bet it’ll be colorful!
The drive to continue creating children’s books continues to be strong and I constantly have new ideas brewing. My spreadsheet is full and I have another set of canvases in progress for the next series. The theme in my books is learning through travel and spending time together. The original dozen titles are colorful, full size and packed with info for all ages. ‘Tuck’s Trio’ is a three book series that is travel friendly size, has helpful language translations & makes holiday travel a little sweeter for everyone. As of November 2024 I’ve published 15 titles appearing in paperback, hardback & kindle along with themed playing cards, t-shirts & custom sunglasses coordinating with the book collection.
Creating these Adventures is my happy place. The main goal of my stories is to encourage readers & listeners to keep spending time together and celebrating the little things with those that are important to them. I hope people are entertained, informed & inspired after reading my books. As a Mom, I thought about what it’s like to read the same book over and over each night when your child has a favorite. So the structure for this series is such that the reader can jump around to different parts and still enjoy it without needing to read the whole thing start to finish every time.
Life goals for me include leaving the world a better place than when I arrived. I believe whole heartedly that bringing color to the world is how I’m meant to make a difference. Case in point, ‘Let’s Go Discover Our Mission Together’ was not in my plan for this series, but with only a half day’s work ahead of me to finish the book before it, I woke up that day knowing precisely what this book was meant to be about, that it needed to be written and that it would be the most important book in the whole collection. The best part was when I had picked out the images for the clues and placed them on the same page together. I hadn’t completely figured out the specifics for the ending at that point, but the answer for what the world needed was staring back at me and couldn’t be ignored… That moment gave me goosebumps!
I could talk all day about these books and how I love giving them to children, watching their eyes light up when they get excited about learning something new. I’ve even seen older people reading them and the same thing happens! We’re never too old to enjoy new information. I want to empower kids by helping them feel good about knowing more than just what is taught in school. I want them to be interested in something to the point that they want to share that interest with someone important to them. There are children in every country learning & growing. I want them to know there are kids just like them all around the world and even though there might be miles between them, if they can learn from each other & work Together, even kids can make a Real Difference in Our World!
The next few Adventures focus on mealtime fellowship and will include a variety of topics such as healthy eating, mealtime manners, world traditions, recipes and more. The first Adventure in the new series features Liam, Tuck & Papa collecting clues in order to Devour the ‘Perfect Picnic’. Next year there will also be a board game in addition to the playing cards currently available. I love creating these Adventures & sharing them with people of all ages. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share them with you!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’m self taught for most tasks, but I love research & learning new things, so it kinda works out! When this project started, I thought I was only going to be illustrating the book. Once the canvases were done, I met with the writer and we decided that the story & the pieces didn’t match up quite the way we had hoped, so we agreed to part ways. At that point, I decided I better write a story that went with the art, and find a way to publish.
Since that moment, I’ve been a human sponge for info about writing/digital creation/publishing/marketing/business/advertising/social media and more.
We’re so fortunate to live in the day & age of technology that can deliver information instantly. I would probably still be trying to get the first book published but here we are, within 19 months I’ve published 15 books!
Some days are definitely harder than others. Along with hoping my body cooperates, technology & I don’t always get along, help from outside sources aren’t always what they appear to be, shipments don’t always arrive on time & events aren’t as well attended as most creators would like.
I’m generally pretty even keel, ‘tomorrow is a new day’ type mentality, but I had one Library Event in particular that sent me over the edge. Before the event began, I had a goal in mind of selling one book, just one. Shouldn’t be too difficult, right? I had at least 10 titles available at the time. I thought if I could sell just one book, all the work I put into doing events would be worth it. As luck would have it, I didn’t sell a single book that day. Not one. I was suddenly and for no real reason, just plain devestated. I started to question everything with an abrupt, out- of- character, tailspin reaction. During the two hour drive back home, one of my favorite stories, ‘The Tale of Three Trees’ folktale, kept playing through my head. Once home, I thought maybe I was supposed to re-tell this folktale. So I researched to find it is actually public domain. I set about working on the layout for this retelling. When I went back and reviwed my manuscript it occurred to me that I wasn’t supposed to re-tell this tale… it was meant for me to hear, I was supposed to listen to what it was saying. The calm I felt at that moment of realization, was a moment I won’t soon forget.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My business, A.line.n.da.Paint, along with creating children’s books, includes painting commission pieces. I’ve done several commission pieces for buyers in the optical industry. From optical shops to eyewear to abstract eyes. I’ve also done pieces for musicians, wineries, and a variety of others! I love learning the back stories to the objects people want painted and incorporating bits of info into the pieces in various ways. I’m always open for new orders!
For my day job, I’ve spent over 26 years working for Drs. Noe, Miller & Miller~ Optometrists. I’m known in these parts as the ‘Optical Hostess’ aka Office Manager and ‘Eyeglass Repair Magician’. I’m a Certified ParaOptometric Assistant and I’m also Certified in Optometic Administration.
The ‘Discovery’ series in the books highlight my passion for eye care by encouraging kids to wear protective sunwear. I’ve even had custom sunglasses made to give away with the books that feature the ‘Globetrotter Adventure’ logos. I enjoy combining concepts that don’t always appear to belong together and making them tell a story from a new perspective. Everything is connected!
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
While I’ve not ever been accused of being ‘so lucky’, I don’t feel I’ve been overly unlucky either. Untraditional is more my style. Most hurdles prove to be learning experiences, some more expensive than others. Good and Bad Luck together has brought me to this point right here, right now, and for that, I’m very thankful!
Pricing:
- Books, Games & Gifts start @ $6.99
- Commission Paintings start @ $99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://alinendapaint22.square.site
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/globetrotteradventurebooks/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.carullo.31/
- Twitter: https://x.com/AlinendaPaint22
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AmandaGoodwin22924
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alinendapaint22
- Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/alinendapaint/
- Other: https://www.threads.net/@a.line.n.da.paint
