Including essays, poetry, short stories and young adult fiction, Joan Leotta is a versatile and award-winning author and journalist. WHOOSH! is her debut children's picture book. She crafted this tale from her own memories of sledding in a local park with her hard working dad on the few days he was home from work (often due to snow!) "The father-daughter relationship is an important one," she says. "This story developed from not only days I spent with my own father, but also the loving relationship between my husband and our daughter is the same--differing only in the setting of Virginia rather than Pennsylvania."Leotta has been playing with words on paper and on stage from the first time she could hold a pen and climb onto a stage. Her motto is "encouraging others through pen and performance." She gathers inspiration for writing and performing from everyday incidents and objects. She has been a story performer, mostly for children, for more than thirty years.

She was a Tupelo 30/30 poet in February of 2015. She has essays forthcoming in Eastern Iowa Review and The Maine Review. Joan also performs historic character and folklore shows. Leotta now lives and spends a lot of time walking the beach with her husband Joe. Learn more about her and her writing at theaqpublishing.com.