The Shimmering Secret

The Shimmering Secret sparkles with delightful narrative and vibrant, full-color illustrations. Set in an ancient Chinese village, the tale provides a cross-cultural message of hope and transformation. The adventures of little Hu Mei (rhymes with You May) and Wang Fu - the village bully - lead youngsters of any age to the secret that lies within each and every one of us. The ageless and timeless struggle to understand human feelings and behavior is answered when the children discover that there is a core of goodness beyond measure inside of them. In a time of much violence and unrest, The Shimmering Secret comes along with the basic truth that innocents and bullies alike share the 'secret' to hope, joy, forgiveness and transformation.

Author Karla Hansen holds a BS in education from Iowa State University and a Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Iowa. She is a mental health therapist at Peace of Mind in central Iowa. Her previous projects include video production of I Love My Child...but I need Help for The Family Support Network in St. Louis, Missouri. In 2010 she produced the documentary Silent Screams featured in the New York City Peace Film Festival shining a spotlight on the children who are impacted in war torn regions around the globe. She served as secretary of the Iowa Peacemakers Monument, Inc., a non profit organization instrumental in the 2015 restoration of the Peace Garden in Cowles Commons located in Des Moines, Iowa.

Ron has been making his living as an artist for over twenty years. He is a graduate of The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in Dover, New Jersey. He has worked for major comic book companies such as Marvel Comics, D.C. Comics, Dark Horse and Image. He has drawn titles that include Batman, Superman, G.I. Joe, Punisher, Daredevil, and The Flash. In addition to comic book illustration, he has worked for the New York City advertising and video production companies Charlex Productions and Peter Wallach Studios. Concept and storyboard art was created for clients that include Crest, Planters Peanuts, and Aquafresh. He attended The School of Communication Arts in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he studied 3D computer animation. Upon graduation he worked for Sinister Games, a video game production company, as art director and concept artist. There he worked on games such as Shadow Company and the Dukes of Hazard racing game. For the game company UBI Soft, he did design work for the main character in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell game. Along with comic art and illustration, he also paints portraits. His portrait experience includes work in oil, acrylic, pencil, and pastel. He resides in Des Moines where he continues to do comics, storyboards and portraits as well as playing some music from time to time.

Heather has been a part of growing the creative communities and supporting entrepreneurs for 15 years. While still in her mid-20s she started Swaelu Media, a marketing and web development company in 2000, with Kathryn Dickel. Realizing that their hometown, Des Moines, Iowa needed a serious cultural renaissance and the world, in general, needed a ticketing company that put the community first, they applied their creative and technological resources to found MIDWESTIX. MIDWESTIX provides event marketing and services to clients across the upper Midwest, including some of Iowa biggest events like the Des Moines Arts Festival (2013), Clay County Fair in Spencer Iowa, River Roots Live in Davenport and 80/35 in Des Moines.