When first released in mid-April, the book was a number one new release on Amazon.
CORVALLIS, Ore. — With Pride Month approaching in June, a Corvallis author hopes her new children’s book will help start conversations about LGBTQ pride.
Rosiee Thor, who writes young adult fiction, is often busy with projects in her writing room at her home in Corvallis. Her dog, Tess, accompanies her as she works on various projects.
Her latest project, a children’s book titled “The Meaning of Pride,” asks children and the community what pride means to them. When first released in April, it was a number one new release on Amazon.
“‘Meaning of Pride’ is my ode to queer representation and both pride as an event and pride as a feeling,” Thor said. “It begs the question, ‘what does pride mean to you?’ So kids can really explore that idea of the different ways they can embody pride in their lives, whether that means their cultural heritage, their queer identity, the haircut they chose to have that day, or just be a really good friend and find ways to celebrate the pieces that make them.”
She said growing up there were no books about people like her.
“I was reading stories of boys and girls falling in love, and it didn’t really affect me,” Thor said.
“So when I became an author, I knew I wanted to write books about people like me, because people like me deserve to see that representation in the media.”
The inspiration behind the book is somewhat unexpected. Thor said a photo of Megan Rapinoe winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019 inspired her. Thor said she remembered seeing the look on Rapinoe’s face and thinking it was the epitome of pure pride. From there, she said it was the fastest writing process she had ever had in her life. The book took two hours to write and within a week it was sent to publishers.
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Thor said the book was a collaborative effort with a number of publishers who worked on it in addition to illustrator, Sam Kirk.
“Sam Kirk is just a wonderful human being who had such a vision for this book.”
Thor has written two other books aimed at teenagers and young adults. “Tarnished Are the Stars” was released in 2019 and “Fire Becomes Her” was released in February. Both feature all-gay main characters and center love in all its forms.
“We deserve to see ourselves being the heroes of stories and fighting dragons and casting spells and all that kind of fun stuff,” Thor said.
For Thor, who has wanted to be an author since a young age, every time a book is finished and she holds it in her hands, it’s a special feeling.
“It’s such an overwhelming feeling because it’s something you’ve put so much of yourself into,” Thor said. “For me, it’s such a dream, you know. It’s something that when I was about 12, I was sitting in my room thinking, ‘I’m going to be an author one day and I’m going to hold my books and people are going to read them.’
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Her hope is that her books find the people in need and that her readers feel uplifted and empowered to be themselves.
“Especially right now with the book ban happening in so many places […] I really hope these books find the people who need them. I know I needed it when I was a teenager.
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