About

Valerie Kumra

Valerie Kumra lives in Santa Rosa, CA with her husband Vivek and Golden Retriever Taffy the Homegirl. When not writing stories, she is composing songs. She and her husband run LoveManifest. A non-profit bringing clean water and micro-finance to India and caring for special needs children. Now that all three of her kids are out of the house, she has lots of time for creating.

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A long time ago, when I was around 4 or 5 years old my dad and I wrote a song together called, "Harry & Toto were Sweethearts". Harry was our parrot and Toto was our Siamese Cat.

I don't remember much of the story, nor the tune of the song, but I remember the joy or creating, the laughter, and the satisfaction of completing something wonderful with someone I loved. I remember there was a little bit “huh?” And a whole lotta “awww” with “hey it could happen” somewhere in between.

This daddy/daughter night time ritual birthed in me something greater than any gift I could have inherited. A passion for story telling and story catching!

I was hiking with my dog Cozy on her 8th birthday when I heard the far away whisper of Piccolo coming for me. Taking out my phone I hit record and just started relaying what I heard in the air. This "catch" was different than any other, before or since. I believe if I didn’t write it, Piccolo surely would have made his way to someone who was willing to bring him to life.

He’s like that, our little friend, Piccolo. Someone was going to tell his story, and I’m so glad he chose me.

vkumra@sbcglobal.net