Deirdre Palm Adams’ series of life lessons for kids begins with ‘Don’t Be Afraid Rocky’
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY — Ocean City’s Deirdre Palm Adams believes people can learn a lot from their dogs, so much so that she is writing a series of children’s books inspired by her poodle, Rocky.
“Don’t Be Afraid Rocky” is the first of at least four books planned by Adams, who is using her beloved dog’s experiences to help teach life lessons to children.
The series is called “The Adventures of Rocky” and the first book has already been published. She is having a book-signing this Saturday, Aug. 14, at Sun Rose Words and Music in downtown Ocean City.
“I’ve always been a lifelong poodle lover and have had many poodles,” Adams said. “After I got this dog, I always knew there was something special about her. It was love at first sight. Her love for the beach was immediate. It was a treat every day that I could get out and take a walk in the mornings and watch the sun rise. She would fetch her ball and do all sorts of fun stuff.”
Adams knows her love for dogs is not unique in America’s Greatest Family Resort. “This is a dog town,” she said. “It’s amazing how many beautiful dogs are in this town.”
As she spent time with her dog in Ocean City, she came to realize Rocky was reminding her about important aspects of life.
“She teaches me about joy,” she said. “I am a huge law-of-attraction advocate. I practice daily habits of gratitude, positive mindset, joy of living. She led me into that.
“I thought, ‘What a great vessel that she could be if I tell a story about her to teach children about the law of attraction.’”
Adams said the first book, “Don’t Be Afraid Rocky,” is about overcoming fears.
“Rocky has a lot of fears. She is afraid of a lot of things — sounds, the dark … and when planes fly overhead, which is often in Ocean City, she runs home terrified. I thought it would be cute to write a book about overcoming fears and how characters on the beach could teach her to overcome fears.”
Those characters on the beach include Charlie the Crab, Susie the Starfish and Sammy the Seagull. Charlie shows Rocky how to be brave and have fun in the dark. Susie tells Rocky to be grateful to be able to hear the sounds the puppy finds frightening because she can’t hear them with her tiny starfish ears. Sammy helps the lost dog find the way home by having faith in herself.
Rocky and the other characters are illustrated by Adams’ niece, Lindsay Morano, who lives in Virginia but spends multiple weeks each summer in Ocean City.
Adams said Morano is not a professional illustrator but “is an artist at heart,” and over the years filled Adams’ home with artwork.
“When I was doing the book there was no one else who was going to do the illustrations but her,” Adams said. “I made sure when I found a publisher that Lindsay could be a part of it so it could be family project.”
Just as it was the first illustration project for Morano, it was the first book for Adams.
She is a corporate executive in retail who has worked for major fashion houses for 40 years in New York City. She traveled extensively and was on airplanes three to four days a week.
Escaping to Ocean City, away from busy travel schedules and big city life, is a relief.
“I always valued the peace and quiet this beach gave me,” she said. “The sea gulls, the sound of the ocean, the salt air. As soon as I would come over the bridge, I would relax. It is the ultimate stress reliever.”
Ocean City has been part of her entire life. Her aunt owned a home on the island and she spent every summer here as a child.
About 20 years ago her aunt decided to sell the home so she and her husband “scraped together their pennies” and bought it.
“I was not going to allow (the house) to leave the family,” she said.
The house was in desperate need of repair so they renovated it and then they renovated it again “and then after (Superstorm) Sandy we renovated it again.” And five years ago, they tore it down and rebuilt on the site.
“My goal and my dream always was that I want to retire here. I love it. We spend every weekend here whether winter or summer. We don’t even go on vacation anymore. This is where we vacation,” Adams said.
The irony in writing a children’s book is that Adams doesn’t have children, but her house explodes with gleeful young voices.
“I do have a plethora of nieces and nephews — a lot of them,” she said. “They always come to the beach. This house has an open-door policy. They come and go. It’s been that way for 20-plus years and I love that I am able to give them [the opportunity] to experience the joy that Ocean City brings children. There’s no place like it. My whole family’s heart is in Ocean City.”
Her second book is in the process of being published. It is about gratitude — “gratitude is the best attitude. It is about teaching children to be grateful for what they have,” she said.
Book three in the series will be about experiencing joy in life and book four about dreaming big.
“I’m going to keep going with these books to teach children to be happy, to enjoy life, to not be afraid — all those messages the law of attraction teaches,” she said.
Sun Rose Words and Music is located at 759 Asbury Ave. The book signing is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 14.