Sharon Baker never aspired to write a children’s book, although she always dreamed of being a writer. Her first aspiration as a young girl growing up in Washington, D.C., was to become a travel writer.
Between her first career goal and most recent accomplishment, Baker has fleshed out quite a resume, and with the encouragement and influence of many mentors, she has also explored a variety of extraordinary places and produced a lot of equally extraordinary work.
Sharon Baker is photographed at the Kneady Cat in Bluffton, where you can find her beautifully illustrated book, “Where is the Magic?”
“Growing up in D.C., the Smithsonian was my favorite place. What I experienced there opened my mind and heart to the enticing and inspiring world of travel and ignited a spark within me to be a travel writer,” she said. “My high school guidance counselor mentored me, and I received a scholarship to study journalism and theatre at Northwestern University in Chicago.”
Baker was mentored at university by a professor who helped her land a job in television as a documentary producer. For the next five years, she worked for the NBC affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio, as a member of their documentary team.
“They had an incredible documentary unit, and I was able to work with so many creative, talented people there, which only pushed me to refine my own creative energies and further define my career goals,” Baker said.
One of the favorite projects she produced for NBC was a documentary called “Montage,” about Maria Tallchief, America’s first Native American prima ballerina, who had a ballet company in Chicago. Baker spent weeks with Tallchief at her studio, interviewing her, her students, and her dancers, amassing details to compose a documentary on her life.
“The Tallchief project has always been one of my proudest productions because it is an example of incredible talent and creativity,” said Baker. “She rose to the top, overcoming huge obstacles to open the doors for so many to follow.”
Baker’s next influential mentor was Sylvia McNair, a legendary travel writer, who helped get Baker’s resume to international airline magazines and newspapers like The Denver Post and the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinal, which then launched Baker’s 20-year career as a travel writer.
“I’ve been really blessed to see so many amazing places,” she said. “Definitely Canada is one of my favorite countries. I’ve spent a lot of time in the Canadian Rockies, hiking the Athabasca Glacier, horseback riding in the mountains, and canoeing serene lakes.”
In her work as a travel writer, organically, Baker took up photography as another creative outlet. Inspired by Paul Nicklin, a photographer famous for his shots of wildlife, Baker developed an eye for capturing animals in their native habitat.
“I love going to Churchill, Canada, where I hang out of a helicopter and photograph polar bears walking along the Hudson Bay. And I got some great shots of orca killer whales from a kayak off Vancouver Island where we were only about 30 feet away from the pod,” Baker said. “Experiences like these are why I’m absolutely in love with Canada, as well as Antarctica, where I’ve gotten up close and personal with penguins and majestic glaciers.”
In 2013, Baker moved to Bluffton from Mount Pleasant, where she was the travel journalist for The Moultrie News. In 2014, she married golfer Kenny Baker and has been in love with Bluffton (and Kenny!) ever since. They live happily at Colleton River, where she continues to work as a travel journalist and a photographer – and where she took up yet another artistic endeavor.
“I began doing mixed media artwork with two local teachers, Missy Gentile and Mary Ann Browning Ford. Their classes have given me insight into the power of creativity,” Baker said. “I love living in Bluffton because it’s such a beautiful place with so many creative people.”
It was here, too, where she became acquainted with Palmetto Animal League, a nonprofit rescue organization, which would eventually propel her into a new genre of writing and perhaps a whole new career.
“At Palmetto Animal League, I just fell in love with the inhabitants,” Baker said. “I realized there is a family for every dog and a family for every cat. So, I began to think that maybe if I wrote a cat book, it would encourage people to become cat parents. And that’s where the idea was born for my children’s book, Where is the Magic?”
Where is the Magic? features Sage, a very curious white cat. Sage’s story begins with him at home feeling lonely and bored. He decides he needs some magic in his life, so he gets on his motorcycle and embarks upon a journey around the world.
Along the way, he meets a variety of interesting animals in lots of exciting places, some of whom are not very encouraging and attempt to convince Sage that the world no longer holds magic. Eventually, though, a wise elephant he encounters in Africa informs Sage that he’ll find the magic in his favorite place. Still questioning, Sage returns home, where in the front hall is a pool of sunshine.
When Sage sees it, he says, “Yes, I’ll just settle down for a little nap in this wonderful pool of sunshine.” Then magically, all the friends that Sage met around the world become stuffed animals who are now taking a nap with him.
“You can see there’s a little bit of me in that story,” Baker said. “But it really is Sage the Cat’s story. I hope kids will enjoy it and that it might give them a little push to go out and be adventurous … even if it’s just in the backyard.”
Baker credits two more mentors with making her children’s book possible.
Lauren Elise Reeves, the illustrator of the book, is an award-winning children’s book illustrator from Beaufort.
“Lauren transformed my story,” Baker said. “Her illustrations are so glorious and so colorful and so endearing. She brought the book to life.”
The other person is Carla Onofrio, owner of The Kneady Cat Bookstore and Gifts in Bluffton.
“Carla is carrying my book in The Kneady Cat – which was just named Bluffton’s Best book store,” Baker said. “A portion of the store’s profits benefit places that support animals in need, like the Palmetto Animal League and the Jasper Animal Rescue Mission.”
The book is also available on Amazon.
Baker says there is definitely another children’s book in her future. And she has a new kitty that she just adopted from the Palmetto Animal League, of course.
“She’s right here in front of me taking a bath,” Baker said during the interview. “Her name is Mittens and she’s very frisky. She is her own girl, and she has her own agenda. I’m waiting for Mittens to tell me her story for the next book.”