About Cathey Nickell

about me

Hi friends! I've been writing stories since I was a kid. Today I'm writing and publishing children's books and sharing my experience with students at elementary schools throughout Houston and beyond.

About Cathey Nickell

Born in New Orleans while my dad attended medical school and then raised in Shreveport, Louisiana with a few childhood detours through Florida and Virginia, I grew up on stories, sunshine, and Southern cooking. As the second-oldest of five kids (my parents are still going strong after 65+ years!), I learned early how to find my voice—and how to use it.

A lifelong word-lover, I got my start at Byrd High School on the High Life newspaper staff, then made it official with a journalism degree from Baylor University. From working on the college newspaper, The Lariat, to my first official reporter job at The Shreveport
Times, I got to do what I love: tell stories with heart.

Later, I shifted into public relations, working with hospitals and universities before moving to Houston in 1998 to join Baylor College of Medicine. That same year, I married my husband Kevin, and we started our blended family, raising two sons and two stepdaughters in Bellaire, Texas—a “city within a city” . . . aka Houston.

Cricket, our fluffy (and blind!) Havanese pup, was my loyal sidekick for 14 years and even appears in my first children’s book, Arthur Zarr’s Amazing Art Car. Kids love spotting her in the illustrations during my school visits!

In 2015, I dove back into writing by researching and authoring the 60-year history of The Institute for Spirituality and Health. That project, Uniting Faith, Medicine and Healthcare, helped me earn my master’s degree from LSU-Shreveport, and it reignited my creative spark.

Now, I create stories that celebrate kindness, self-expression, and thinking outside the box. Whether it’s a car covered in silly objects, or a playground wrapped in colorful yarn, I believe the world gets a little brighter when we dare to use our imagination.

My company is called Twenty-Eight Creative, and through it, I’ve launched two picture books: Arthur Zarr’s Amazing Art Car (2016), and Yazzy’s Amazing Yarn (2019). I’ve also written two middle grade novels (for ages 8-12), but they are still unpublished (for now!). I’m represented by Keely Boeving, an amazing agent with WordServe Literary,
and we’re currently out on submission with a batch of editors and are hoping for good news soon. While I wait, I’m drafting a third middle grade story, and I have a few ideas for new picture books. So much to do!

Thank you for visiting my website, and I’ll keep you posted on my projects.

about me

22 Fun Facts

1. I can say the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance in Latin.
2. I’m the second-oldest of five children. I have 11 first cousins. I have 22 nieces and nephews.
3. I’ve never been stung by a bee or a wasp.
4. My favorite food is macaroni and cheese.
5. My least favorite food is stinky cheese that smells like feet.
6. I was eight years old when I wrote and illustrated my first book. It was called “Susan and the Snail,” and I still have it. I also wrote “The Handsome Guy” that year.
7. I broke my femur (thigh bone) at age nine in a motorcycle accident. I was hospitalized in traction for six weeks, and then I was at home in a body cast for six weeks. Somehow I passed third grade.
8. I lived in a hospital from the ages of 14 to 21. It’s a unique story but probably not as weird as you are imagining. If you’re intrigued, here’s a blog I wrote about it.
9. I collected frogs when I was a child. But not the real kind.
10. For a 6th grade talent show, I performed “Puff the Magic Dragon” in a duet with my friend, Amy James. We sang while playing our ukuleles.

11. I can’t sing.
12. I always keep a two-dollar bill in my wallet.
13. I’m not a superstitious person.
14. I was bullied by a small pack of girls in the 7th grade. In the 8th grade, one of them apologized, and she became my friend.
15. During college, I typed research papers to make extra money. My ad said, “You party while I type.” Corny, I know; but I got a lot of business!
16. My first real job after college was as a newspaper reporter in Shreveport, Louisiana.
17. I startle easily. If you walk up behind me, I usually jump, gasp, and scream.
18. I drink a Diet Coke every day. I wish I could kick the habit.
19. I love to do laundry.
20. I also love snail mail. Sending it and receiving it!
21. My husband and I have never missed an episode of “Survivor.”
22. In high school, I was named “Hardest Working Senior.”

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About Cathey Nickell

about me

Hi friends! I've been writing stories since I was a kid. Today I'm writing and publishing children's books and sharing my experience with students at elementary schools throughout Houston and beyond.