When her youngest son, Sam, was ill, Mary Schmidt started journaling.

Empty pages were filled with thoughts and feelings, and soon, every detail of their heartbreaking journey was recounted, preserved in ink.

Sam was only 5 when he passed away in 1990, but it would be more than two decades later before Mary had the idea to share their story.

“I’ve always written bits and pieces my entire life,” Schmidt, of Ellsworth, said.“When I had to stop working as a registered nurse due to illness, I needed an outlet. One day, I was looking at the journals I wrote when my youngest was ill with cancer. I decided to put those journals into digital format for my son, (Gene), for him to read when he felt he could do so. From there a memoir was born.”

Schmidt admits writing the book, “When Angels Fly,” forced her to feel the pain and despair all over again, but it was a story she soon realized must be told. Writing under the pen name S. Jackson, Schmidt and her husband, Michael, who uses the pseudonym A. Raymond, undertook the project, which ultimately became an awardwinning memoir.

Years later, Schmidt has a string of 17 novels to her credit, including several children’s books.

Mary grew up in Lyons, but after 14 years, her family moved to Ellsworth County, where she’s lived in Kanopolis and later in Ellsworth. While she’d written from time to time since grade school, it wasn’t until Schmidt retired from nursing she took the leap into professional writing. During her medical career, Mary lived in Lakewood, Colo., for eight years while working as a trauma nurse.

“ I hung up my registered nurse hat in January of 2013, and I found myself with time on my hands,” she said.

Following the memoir, she wrote her next award-winner,“The Big Cheese Festival,” a children’s book focusing on bullying. Her next book, “Suzy Has A Secret,” deals with the sensitive topic of sexual abuse and teaches children about personal safety.

“Bull(ying) was something I always wanted to write a book about,” she said. “Even with bullying awareness, it still happens everywhere, and I wish it wasn’t this way. I want kids who read our book on bullies to think about other kids and their feelings. I know third grade and down can relate to this book.”

“As a nurse, as a mom, I’ve seen sexually abused children. I had to write, “Suzy Has A Secret,” for those who are in a position to help kids, and those who aren’t. The story is simple with single illustrations on each page, minimal illustrations so that kids remain involved in the book. Suzy is tickled by her uncle, and the story comes out on a playground at school. It works out in the end for Suzy. I have included a parents’/ educators’ section in the back to be read first. This way, parents/educators can tailor-make the story for the age they are working with ... Mine is for younger children who are molested and are told to keep it a secret. It is about the child’s internal feelings and guilt.”

After dealing with such weighty subjects, Schmidt switched gears, focusing on a series of stories involving a small dog and his squirrel pals. And they didn’t have to look any further than their backyard for inspiration.

“We have wild squirrels that come into our backyard, and my husband started to leave them walnuts and bell seeds,” she said. “One squirrel, Stubby — aptly named as he had just a stub of a tail — became brave when all the nuts were taken. Stubby took to standing up on his hind legs on a ledge outside a picture window. He let us know he wanted more nuts. The squirrels are still wild, as we would never dream of taming one, but they did become fodder for an illustrated children’s book series, Shadow and Friends ... Shadow was chosen, as our daughter has a small dog, so we decided that the dog and the squirrels would have many adventures.”

The first book in the series is about how a small dog named Shadow strikes up a friendship with two squirrels. While the friends don’t always see eye to eye, things change when a baby squirrel goes missing and they must work together to find it.

“Our backyard squirrels have become fodder for a series of picture books,” she said. “The ‘Shadow and Friends’ series uses many of the same characters, and new ones added in during specific visits and adventures. One example is they spend Christmas in New York ... They meet up with Stubby’s twin, Shorty, who is married to a grey squirrel ... In this one, Stubby is the nutcracker king. Gingerbread men and decorations are abundant, and they have a Christmas Squirrel Parade through Central Park, they take carriage rides in the park, Foxy goes shopping at Saks — they have a grand time. I’m currently working on an ‘Ocean Adventure’ book for this series — book No. 8 in the series. “

Schmidt admits she’s learned so much during the publishing process — from editing to simply getting her first book published.

After learning her lesson and losing a good deal of money getting published, Schmidt said she took back her book and self-published it as a second edition. She also started creating her own book covers.

“It helps that I have an inner artist, and I have worked with digital design since around 1995,” Mary said.

Despite working from home, Schmidt still puts in a full work day — a day that begins with a cup of coffee and a quick check of her email. After responding to messages, she markets herself through social media before working on illustrations and graphics for a new book. She’s also helping a fellow writer by editing her book.

“I’m editing a book for a relatively new author with great potential so I can go back and forth as needed when I need to take a break or do something different,” she said. “I love being able to teach this new author what I have learned during my writing career thus far ... Early afternoon is time for my husband and me. We connect and relax before he heads for work, and I show him my latest illustrations for his approval or necessary changes ... Evenings are reserved for my downtime and to relax with a book or a show or both.”

When she isn’t writing, Schmidt said she’s always looking ahead to future deadlines and projects.

“I have self-imposed deadlines since I publish my own books through M. Schmidt Productions — except for two books — which is part of my brand,” she said. “However, the only books published through M. Schmidt Productions are mine, and that is how it will stay. I have zero interest in publishing others works. I do offer eBook cover design and promo graphics to the writing community. I’m always working in outof-state trips for doctors and new adventures, family time get-togethers and holiday planning. As for future books, I have a nice list of book ideas that I keep adding to — most will never be written by me during my lifetime.”