Touching Hearts and Making Smiles: The Inspiring Journey of Authors Cherie and Rick
Discover the heartfelt story behind Cherie and Rick, the husband-and-wife authors of Touching Hearts and Making Smiles — One Story at a Time. From childhood dreams and unexpected beginnings to publishing dozens of children's books, their journey is filled with perseverance, love, and a passion for creating stories that inspire kindness, laughter, and meaningful family connections.
6/21/20262 min read
Hello everyone,
We are Cherie and Rick, the husband-and-wife authors behind our growing collection of children’s books titled Touching Hearts and Making Smiles — One Story at a Time.
We’re so happy you’re here.
Many people have told us that we should create a video to introduce ourselves so everyone can see we’re “real people.” Truthfully, we’re a little camera shy, but we hope that through our stories, our journey, and the love poured into every book, you’ll get to know who we truly are.
Our journey as authors didn’t begin in the same way.
For Rick, the dream started very early in life. As a child in elementary school, while the teacher was teaching lessons, Rick was often daydreaming and secretly writing stories instead of paying attention. Eventually, he got caught and into trouble for it. Frustrated and embarrassed, he packed away his stories into a suitcase and left them there for years.
But the dream of becoming a writer never left him.
Even throughout our marriage, Rick was always writing ideas, stories, and little notes on any piece of paper he could find. Those writings eventually found their way into that same old suitcase filled with dreams from years ago.
My story was completely different.
Honestly, I never dreamed of becoming an author at all. In school, writing was something I struggled with, and I never imagined I would one day publish books for children and families.
Everything began to change when my father started writing his memoir. One day, I picked up his papers, read the first chapter, and lovingly told him it needed a lot of work. From there, I helped complete and publish his story.
Still, I didn’t see myself as an author.
Later, I came across a small unfinished story and decided to complete it. Then another opportunity came. Before long, a few books had been published, and life began leading us somewhere unexpected.
Then we met Ken Rouch, a publisher who challenged Rick and me to write 52 children’s books in less than two years.
And we did it.
Today, our mission is simple: to create stories that inspire kindness, love, laughter, compassion, and meaningful family moments for children everywhere.
The name Touching Hearts and Making Smiles — One Story at a Time came from the reactions we received when we started giving away free books to families. Hearing their responses touched our hearts deeply. Some moments even brought tears to our eyes and smiles to our faces.
That’s when we realized what we wanted our books to do.
We want children to smile.
We want families to connect.
We want stories that leave warmth in a child’s heart long after the final page is turned.
Whether it’s a bedtime story, a holiday tradition, or a quiet reading moment between grandparents and grandchildren, we hope our books become part of your family memories.
Thank you for supporting our journey and allowing us to share these stories with your children.
With love,
Cherie & Rick