Homer Glen Resident Publishes Children's Picture Book

HOMER GLEN, IL — A Homer Glen resident will soon publish her first children's picture book, titled, "When You Dream Of Chocolate Cake." Tianna Gawlak, who created her own publishing company called Two Blondies Press to publish her book, was inspired by baking for her family.

"Baking for my family has always been the way I speak my love language," Gawlak told Patch. "My kids have been in the kitchen baking with me since before they could walk or talk. The very first time all of us baked together, my son was a few weeks old swinging in his baby swing and my daughter was almost two and standing at my side. I was a very new mom of two [kids] under two and I wanted a way to remember the day we all made chocolate cake."

"When You Dream of Chocolate Cake" is about a mother's love expressed through baking a cake.

Gawlak said she doesn't have a writing background, and has degrees in healthcare and nursing. When her daughter was born, she became a stay-at-home mom and writing grew into a creative outlet.

"At first, I didn’t see it becoming more than a side project. But it quickly became much more than that," she said.

Gawlak said she founded her own publishing company, Two Blondies Press, this year.

"I decided that I wanted to maintain full control of the book, illustrations, printing quality, marketing, and so on," Gawlak said. "So, I opened my own children's book publishing company to represent the book and my future titles. I'm looking forward to seeing how much the press grows this year."

"When You Dream of Chocolate Cake" is the first book in a planned series, Gawlak said. She is working on her second book, "When You Dream of Blueberry Scones," which focuses on a father's love.

"I’d like the series to feature more family relationships such as child and grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, cousin and so on," she said.

Originally, Gawlak was planning a chocolate cake sale to help promote her book. With every purchase of a chocolate cake, you would receive a copy of "When You Dream of Chocolate Cake." However, due to the coronavirus, her promotional plans had to be rescheduled. Gawlak said she is planning the chocolate cake sale when Illinois enters phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan.

You can pre-order the book from Barnes & Noble. The book will also be available in Polish on Amazon later this summer.