SOMETIMES STORMY Cover Reveal! By Amanda Davis

Introducing the cover reveal of Sometimes Stormy, a picture book written and illustrated by Amanda Davis! Published by Free Spirit Publishing, Sometimes Stormy (ages 5-8 years) launches on October 7, 2025, and was written to help children understand and cope with a parent’s substance use disorder.

Excerpts from the Publisher: “

“This empathetic book includes a note from author Amanda Davis, relaying her inspiration for the story and setting the stage for a difficult but necessary topic.

Offers an age-appropriate explanation of alcohol use disorder
Models strategies for coping with a stressful home situation
Teaches children to seek support from a trusted adult
Explains that adult addiction is not a child’s fault or responsibility to fix
Contains helpful resources for children and families

Sometimes Stormy is for children from all backgrounds and the adults who support them. It’s an excellent resource for parents, teachers, mental health professionals, and others who need to help children understand that substance use is not their fault and how to find calm and stay safe when the storm surges.”

Bicultural Mama had the opportunity to interview Amanda Davis about her inspiring new book. Read on to get a “behind the scenes” look at Sometimes Stormy!

Bicultural Mama (BM): What is the book about and what inspired you to write it?

Amanda Davis: Sometimes Stormy explores what it’s like to live with a parent struggling with alcohol use disorder. A young boy named Ezra realizes his dad is plagued by a troubling storm―the Sometimes Storm―that sometimes visits their home and changes Dad. He goes searching for the storm’s favorite thing, hoping that he can make it go away. But when the storm persists, Ezra turns to caring adults, who help him discover how to live with the Sometimes Storm instead. The book includes additional support materials, including a glossary, a message to adults from clinical psychologist Dr. Anja Ullrich, and online resources. With Sometimes Stormy, children can gain the skills and understanding to cope with a situation that is out of their control.

Sometimes Stormy started as a rhyming poem that I wrote my freshman year of college called, Monster. The poem explored the idea of what it was like to live with a father who struggled with alcohol use disorder. That’s part of my story and an experience that has shaped who I am today and my passion for telling stories that some might consider difficult. I see them as essential. Throughout my journey trying to make sense of this experience, I’ve done much research on the topic to better help me understand the disease and its repercussions on those who it affects. Also, as a former educator, this lived experience helped me relate to my students who were going through similar situations in their homes and helped them use art and writing as a way to navigate the challenges and cope with a situation that is out of their control.

I hope Sometimes Stormy fills the gap in the market of contemporary books that touch upon alcohol use disorder and helps families and children feel less alone in their challenges. I hope the book is a resource to help children cope, understand, and manage the anxiety and stress of living with a loved one who struggles with a substance use disorder. In fact, I wish there was a book or books that were given to me when I was younger to help me. I’m excited I’ll be able to offer this to readers in need.

BM: This is your first where you are both the author and illustrator. What was the process like for you to get the book published?

Amanda Davis: The book was hard to get published but I don’t think this was because I was submitting both art and writing this time. I think it was due to the subject matter. We had about 25 editors pass on the book–all of whom said some version of it was an important and necessary story but they weren’t the right fit. I am so, so grateful to Free Spirit for taking on the project. I think the story found the PERFECT home with the perfect people to make the story the best it can be.

Free Spirit publishes a lot of books that you won’t see many other publishing houses take on. They have a team of experts, such as counselors and educators, who review the book every step of the way to offer insights. This has been a huge help and made me confident that we are putting not only an amazing book into the world but also an important and accurate resource for children and families.

BM: How did you develop the cover?

Amanda Davis: The cover changed a lot in the process because the concept shifted a bit, which resulted in a change of imagery. The story was first titled, Sometimes Monster — the monster being the disease of alcohol use disorder. The visual looked more like a monster character with arms and legs, sneaking around. The monster was initially a cluster of black chaotic lines but after chatting with some friends and doing research into how the color black is often negatively depicted in books, I decided this was not the message I wanted to send. As such, I shifted the colors of the monster to blue to convey more of a sad feeling since sadness and depression can often go hand-in-hand with substance use disorders as it did for my dad.

After some discussion with the team, it was decided that the concept of the monster might be too scary for children and that some children are already afraid of monsters and we don’t want to add to those fears. So, we brainstormed other ideas and landed on the idea of a storm. I liked the idea of a storm because a storm can come and go — which felt like a good parallel to the ‘storm’ of alcohol and its unpredictability. Then the challenge became what the storm looked like. Will it change throughout the book? I went through many iterations of the storm and ended up going with a version that I created with my three-year-old daughter using finger painting. Using Photoshop, I shifted the colors from oranges and greens to blues and purples and added line work digitally. I love knowing I created this portion of the cover and book with my daughter and that a child literally had a hand in its creation.

Once I had the design of the storm approved by the team, I went through many versions of the cover. We knew we wanted Ezra, his cat, and the storm on there but we had to figure out the composition. They also wanted me to keep my line work very loose and sketchy versus clean and refined to mimic the messiness and chaos the storm can sometimes bring to the home. I drew several pencil sketches and added a bit of color digitally to get a sense of mood. Those were presented to the team and they decided they liked a simple composition focusing on Ezra and his comfort cat and the approaching storm. Ezra has an unsure/uneasy expression to capture the unpredictability of what the storm will bring but the cat is bringing some lightness to infer that the reader will be learning ways to find comfort even amidst the chaos of the storm. I chose an overall palette of cool blues and warm oranges to add contrast and feature complementary colors to catch the eye.

BM: What other books or projects do you have planned for the future?

Amanda Davis: I have three other picture books on the way. THE MEMORY MARCH was recently announced. I have another nonfiction picture book that’s unannounced about a bird and biologist and another fiction picture book about a mother-daughter adventure chasing the Northern Lights. I’m also dabbling in writing a novel-in-verse which I’m excited to flesh out more.

Preorder a Signed Copy of Sometimes Stormy Through The Silver Unicorn, and Receive a Signed Art Print and Swag!

All preorders will be signed by Amanda and include an exclusive art print from the book. If you would like a personalized copy of the book, please add this information to the Instructions/Comments box at the online checkout. Your purchase supports a local indie bookshop in Massachusetts. SILVER UNICORN BOOKSTORE PREORDER LINK: https://www.silverunicornbooks.com/item/iO57odvj2irvkIGI0UatUA

GIVEAWAY ON INSTAGRAM: To celebrate the cover reveal of SOMETIMES STORMY, Amanda is offering a 30-minute Ask Me Anything session to one winner. Hop over to her Instagram.

💜To enter the giveaway, go to Amanda’s Instagram post HERE and do one or more of the following on her post:
✨LIKE THIS POST
✨ FOLLOW ME & @biculturalmama
✨TAG ANYONE (or everyone!)

GOOD LUCK!

Amanda Davis Bio

Amanda Davis is a teacher, artist, writer, and innovator who uses her words and pictures to light up the world with kindness. She is the author of the award-winning picture books, 30,000 Stitches: The Inspiring Story of the National 9/11 Flag (illustrated by Sally Wern Comport), and Moonlight Memories (illustrated by Michelle Jing Chan). SOMETIMES STORMY is her author-illustrator debut, and she has three more picture books on the way. Learn more about Amanda on her website, Instagram , and BlueSky.