After completing my first paying gig as a sensitivity reader, I'm realizing that this role is so much more. The author even went on to say my feedback gave him the ability to deepen his MC in a way he didn't know he needed. Perhaps I've found myself a new way to help writers.🙏

Teaching kids they're stronger than they think, because that's the only way I know. 💗

Denver friends! Please share, if you can--I certainly don't want to read to myself 😅🙏

PB’s I’m loving right now: “She knows that she can pick herself up and keep pushing ahead.” When I Grow Up I want to be a Chair, @ryanraeharbuck.bsky.social Barry Lee. #ChildrensBooks, #ChewyReviewy, #KidlitAmbassador #WritingCommunity. 📚‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

A coworker just stopped me to let me know that she just finished a chapter of my memoir that she swore was written just for her. She's not a wheelchair user. This is where I'm reminded again and again how important sharing stories are, and how relatable lives can be. ❤️

This. There are few things in this world more beautiful and meaningful than this right here. This is why I wrote it. It is SO MUCH MORE. (And would you take a look at that awesome matching chair?!!)

The #pbparty 2026 Finalist Showcase is live! So many great entries this year - check it out! mindyalyseweiss.com/category/pbp...

Real-life footage of me getting ready for #PBParty...

This rollercoaster ride just got a little bit more fun...👀🙌 Cannot wait to "Stroll" into that showcase soon!!!!🙏🙏🙏🙏

Cheers to my first storytime event! I only flubbed up twice, and even made a couple of new friends! @barefootbooks.bsky.social

Agents & Editors, a NO is actually far better than n o t h i n g. 🫶

ANOTHER PICTURE BOOK POSTCARD! I love this fun postcard from Vo! 👩‍🦽💌✨ WHEN I GROW UP I WANT TO BE A CHAIR Author: @ryanraeharbuck.bsky.social Illustrator: Barry Lee Publisher: @barefootbooks.bsky.social Read Vo's postcard here: aprilberrybooks.com/when-i-grow-... #amreading #kidlit

Somehow I managed to take my little self-published memoir and turn it into a traditionally published children's book. It took a ton of persistence, self-belief, and a WHOLE LOT OF LUCK!!!! Don't give up, my friends!

“Focused on a child’s shifting self-image” WHEN I GROW UP I WANT TO BE A CHAIR from @barefootbooks.bsky.social is “a complex exploration of autonomy, identity, and support” Happy #BookBirthday! www.publishersweekly.com/9798888599051

✨🎂 Happy Book Birthday to ‘When I Grow Up I Want to be a Chair’ written by Ryan Rae Harbuck and illustrated by Barry Lee! Purchase ‘When I Grow Up I Want to be a Chair’ now 👉 www.barefootbooks.com/when-i-grow-...

Today's the day. The dedication says it's for my boys. But it's also for every single one of us who's ever been challenged by our identity and dream of the future. 💜👇

There's a preschooler at school who just got his own controls to his power wheelchair, as I watch him show off his moves to his friends this morning. My debut picture book comes out tomorrow, ready to show the world that we are as much our chairs as we aren't. And I'm just 😭.

My first traditionally published book releases tomorrow--I've worked so hard to get here!--and I will be inappropriately celebrating with a mammogram today and dentist appointment tomorrow. Please, someone do better than me... 😩🫣🫠

I'm beyond excited for this book, as it shares so much of my own heart and soul. I hope you take a peek!🙏💗📚

Take a look at some of these early reader reviews for WHEN I GROW UP I WANT TO BE A CHAIR, from Barefoot Books, coming April 7th!!! Reviews are truly e v e r y t h i n g. Check out the book in the comments💗

I just dropped off my debut picture book, that hasn't been officially released yet, at our school library. There were 2 kids in there and they both screamed and said they wanted to check it out RIGHT NOW!!😭😭😭

Meet Vo!

The @PublishersWkly review is in!!!! 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 "Focused on a child’s shifting self-image, it’s a complex exploration of autonomy, identity, and support."

Okay... now I could die...

Sometimes I take photos of the things I get most annoyed about, because I know eventually I'll wish for them when they're gone.

My debut picture book based off my memoir comes out in less than a month. I'm so buzzy and thrilled, but... ... have you read my memoir?!!

I was just told that I have the most beautiful writing style and soothing prose NOT by an industry professional, but by a real live human being. And in the midst of query rejections for the EXACT SAME THING with my adult novel, today I choose to make this matter more. ❤️🙏

Is now the time to bring this back around and let you know there might me a version brewing written in verse as well??🙏😅

Last night, I gifted an advance copy of my debut picture book to the kiddo I used to be a para for at school. She burst into tears when I gave it to her, but said not a word. Sharing stories holds such great love. This is why I write.

~Always Distracted: A Poem About Writing~ Sat down to outline my day And wrote a picture book Instead.

There's so much silence in the publishing world. We've grown accustomed to it. Grown to expect it. And we're all barely hanging on, knowing that the silence can mean both the good things and the bad.

6yo, during the Halftime Show: "So, where's the bunny?"

My children forget that I use a wheelchair and don't step, especially not on banana peels. They must also think I'm a cartoon-- but, oh man, those giggles as they sneaked away behind me😂😂

When your critique group's comments are so valuable that you go through the hassle of copying your entire ms with their feedback and resave it before editing, just so you never have to delete a single thing they said. ❤️

A true writer's curse: I am never deficient in ideas. Only in time.

More than commas, more than conflict. More than dialogue, more than drafting. More than hook, more than hyphens. More than em dashes, more than exposition. More than setting, more than syntax. More than pantsing, more than plotting. The single most important thing is GRIT.💪🙏

Am I the only one with secret stories that I will never actually write??

29 years ago today, my life was changed forever. 29 years ago today, a split-second accident injured my spine. But today, I celebrate the life I was spared and the immense lesson in it all. Today, I wouldn't change a thing. ❤️

I invite you for a 20-sec look into: A woman who can't remember the accident. A mind she no longer trusts.  A deep-dive into Paris. A lioness. A blind man who helps her see the truth. But only if she's brave enough to see herself for the first time again.  #questpit #Q #A #DIS

I invite you for a 20-sec look into: A woman who can't remember the accident. A mind she no longer trusts.  A deep-dive into Paris. A lioness. A blind man who helps her see the truth. But only if she's brave enough to see herself for the first time again.  #questpit #Q #A #DIS

Recipe for an Author 1 c grit 3/4 c persistence, sifted 2 T grammatical rules 1 T raw talent 1/4 t patience And a pinch of luck Combine all ingredients carefully and bake for 30 minutes, or forever--whatever comes first.

Mondays are for getting all of my real job duties and everyday chores done, so I can spend the rest of the week w r i t i n g.

Going to try for this too! Fellow MG writers, take a look! New FREE contest for writers of Middle Grade Fiction — tinyurl.com/wdwcontest4 — Judged by Agent Morgan Hughes of Fineprint Literary, via @writingdayworkshops. Winners get an agent critique of their work.

You do your BEST work In the shower, While vacuuming, Driving in rush hour traffic, Doing dishes, Just before you fall asleep. You must be a writer.

Less worrying and waiting. More wondering and wandering. ❤️

Took our kids on a surprise birthday overnight in the mountains. Here's how they chose to spend it: 🥰😍🥰😍

Writing is hard because we are supposed to follow our hearts AND the punctuation rules.

What if she remembers the accident, her paralysis, and her dead mother for the first time again? #BluePit📖 #Q #A #WF #DIS

She didn't know about the accident. She didn't know about her paralysis. She didn't even know about her dead mother. But what if they told her? E OLIPHANT x WHAT ALICE FORGOT #BluePit📖 #Q #A #WF #DIS

I was stopped by a coworker today who said she's reading my memoir to her mom and sister-- she's practicing because she wants to be an audiobook narrator. And if that wasn't enough, she said that her mom bawled her eyes out on the very first chapter. 🥲🙏❤️