By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
Deb Weilnau deemed 2025 a “go big or go home” year for her newfound purpose of writing children’s books.
She met that challenge when she wrote and published six children’s books last year after putting pen to paper for her first book, “Tinker’s Triumph” in 2023.
She wanted to build a diverse portfolio before focusing on promotion.
Her 2025 books included: “Tinker’s Charm,” “My Dad Doesn’t Wear a Cape,” “Filled with Grace: Loss of a Sibling,” “Sheena’s Shake-Up,” “The Story of a Kune Kune Pig,” and the most recent, “Marnie’s Message.” And there are many more ideas swirling around in her creative and never-slowing-down brain.
Her primary mission was, and continues to be, “to write books that help children understand the differences that make them special,” she said.
“As children, we think that we have something wrong with us. But we don’t. We’re perfect just the way we are. No matter what they do in life, who they are, or how they look, it has no bearing on what they are here for.”
She believes children’s literature is a vital medium for introducing and discussing difficult topics.
Through her books, she hopes to prevent children from experiencing mental health struggles like those she had while growing up. She remembers feeling different from others and not knowing what to do about it. She experienced suicide ideation and hospitalizations in her late teens and early 20s.
And while the experiences brought her to this juncture, she knows her struggles might have been very different if she had realized her differences made her unique and not an oddity.
Her first book, “Tinker’s Triumph,” is about a kitten with special needs. He has an eye that can’t see and a cleft palate. He finds his forever home with Weilnau and her princess of a cat, Magic. “Tinker and Magic learn that differences don’t have to define us; love is all it takes to make a family,” she said about the book inspired by her own two pets.
The books she pumped out in record time in 2025 were often stories based on her pets and real-life individuals. They addressed difficult topics such as disability, loss, single parenthood and other differences.
Most recently, she collaborated with charities, including Planned Pethood and Helping Feline Friends. She uses her books to support their causes.
Writing children’s books is currently her main foray into helping others; however, Weilnau is a project manager by day and an entrepreneur in every other waking moment. In addition to writing, she uses speaking engagements and stand-up comedy as ways she can help others.
She serves as a board member for the Realize Foundation, an advocacy organization dedicated to suicide prevention. It was through the foundation that she was allowed to release the shame of her mental health struggles. After sharing her story in “Scars to Stars: Stories of Vulnerability, Resilience, and Overcoming Adversity,” she began to see her own value as a creative and advocate.
“I’m a great believer that I’m supposed to be where and when I’m supposed to be there and to meet people when I’m supposed to meet people,” she said about the chance encounters in life and being present in the moment, which led to story ideas and collaborations.
Her books can be found in some independent book stores such as Finch and Fern in Sylvania, as well as on her website: debweilnau.com. She has partnered with illustrators Julie Sneeden and Graham Harrop for her books.
Weilnau has story times and book readings scheduled in January: Jan. 17 at noon at The Casual Pint, 3550 Executive Parkway, Toledo; Jan. 24 at 11:30 a.m. at Finch and Fern., 5651 Main Street, Sylvania; and Feb. 7 for the Planned Pethood Friendly Puppy Bowl from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Three Dog Bakery, 26611 N. Dixie Highway, Perrysburg.
