Featured Author - Penny Steinke

Penny introduces her newest children’s book,

Where is Horseshoe Hailey?

Edie McKinney|February 2020

E- When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

P- Years ago, I wanted to share my favorite sport with my students. I searched around and found out that there were no children’s books about horseshoes. This is where my story begins. Teaching early childhood, I thought best to create an alphabet book that included facts about horseshoes. Things have changed since I published my first book, The ABC’s of Horseshoes. When I got the bug to create more books, I found an easier and free way to publish my books.

E- How long does it take you to write a book?

P- That’s hard to answer since being an author is a hobby at this point, so my full-time work is teaching children. Whenever I have an idea I try and jot it down. When I get time to write and craft, I take my ideas and begin by writing. I like to type my words on the computer and then print the pages. Next, I craft the pictures using a variety of art media like photographs, stamps, clip art, etc. Lastly, I scan the pages and save them as a PDF file.

E- How do you get books published?

P- Amazon has a wonderful, free, print-on-demand program to publish books. It took some trial and error, but I figured it out. Having the site be print-on-demand is perfect. When I published my first book, I had to pay a lot of money for others to put together the files to be able to print and then I also had to buy a bunch of copies up front. Now, using Amazon, I can just buy copies of my books when I need some and others can also find them to purchase on Amazon.

E- Where do you get your ideas for your books?

P- I wanted to create books that would do two things. One thing was to be able to teach my students some kindergarten concepts whether it be literacy, math, or science. The second goal was to help promote the sport of horseshoes. It will hopefully get the word out there about horseshoes and help promote the organized sport. Publishing books gives me the opportunity to tell children more about horseshoes and answer their questions. Others can share what their experiences are with horseshoes.

E- When did you write your first book?

P- 2007

E- What are your other hobbies?

P- I like to create art. I like to paint and make things. I like to read books. My favorite books are mysteries and true crime. I enjoy movies and watching sports, especially the Packers, Brewers and Bucks.

E- How many books have you written?

P- Eight. The ABC’s of Horseshoes, Horseshoe Counting Book, Horseshoe Pattern Book, Horseshoe Shape Book, The ABC’s of Horseshoes 2^nd Edition, Where Did My Teacher Go?, When You Have to Say Goodbye…, and Where is Horseshoe Hailey?

E- Which is your favorite?

P- It’s hard to pick my favorite because I am happy with all of them. Of course, my horseshoe books are my favorite. I am really happy with how The ABC’s of Horseshoes 2^nd Edition turned out. I was able to use parts of what I created years ago and then add to it and make it even better.

I had a liver transplant in 2016 and I wrote a book for my students to try to explain about why I was gone and what I was going through. I am glad that I was able to share my experiences through this book, Where Did My Teacher Go?

Losing my mom in 2018 evoked many feelings. One way I dealt with my grief was to write a book about it. I created When You Have to Say Good-bye... It was hard to write, but therapeutic. I think my mom would be proud of it.

My latest book, Where is Horseshoe Hailey? is another horseshoe book in my math series, featuring my character Horseshoe Hailey. It teaches about ordinal numbers, counting and directionality. This is a fun concept for kids to learn about. In the book, kids have to describe where they see Horseshoe Hailey in relation to different shapes.

E- Do you have any adult books?

P- My goal is to write an adult book one day. When I published my first book, people asked me, “When are you going to write a book about how to throw horseshoes?” While I don’t know if this will be the exact topic, I would like to write an adult book about my experiences especially my evolving horseshoe game.

Edie McKinney is a 2004 Wisconsin State Horseshoe Association Hall of Fame Inductee.

This article appears in the WHPA's April 2020 newsletter.