When Pamela Carroll felt ready to take the leap, she decided her jump would be a relatively small one. The result was a perfect landing.

Carroll is a Bladen County native, who did her growing up in Bladenboro. But after getting married in 1980, she and her new husband moved to Whiteville, where they spent the next 25 years. A job transfer took the family, which by now had grown by two children, to Virginia.

That’s when Carroll made the decision to become a published author.

“I wanted to start with something small,” she said, “so I turned to some of the things I’d written over the years for skits and dramas at Galeed Baptist Church (in Bladenboro).”

She hit the jackpot when she came across a poem she had written about five years earlier for a Christmas drama, titled “God’s Little Beloved.”

“I sent a publisher an inquiry and explained what I had in mind,” Carroll said. “And they agreed to publish it.”

That’s rare in the publishing business. But once the green light is given on a project, it usually means the hard work begins. Not so for Carroll.

“The poem was already written, so I really had very little to do to get it ready,” she said. “And things like illustrations were handled by the publishing company.”

Within eight months, the book was completed.

“God’s Little Beloved” is a preschool, rhyming picture book. Carroll said the poem “talks about creation, with God telling how He created the world especially for us and how we are uniquely loved by Him.”

In addition to the book, “God’s Little Beloved” comes with an audio version of the poem, which is narrated by Carroll.

“I’m surprised they allowed me to do that,” she said. “Being from the South, of course, we tend to have an accent that might not be understood by some children. But I think it came off well and I was pleased to be able to do it.”

“God’s Little Beloved” was released May 6 and can be found at Barnes & Noble or online at amazon.com and target.com. But Bladen County residents can find it even easier than that. The book is being offered at Smellie Bloomers/Michelle’s Flower Shop on West Broad Street in Elizabethtown.

“All of this, really, is a dream come true for me,” Carroll said. “I’ve always loved to write — I wrote a lot as a child, and wish I still had some of those things today.”

“God’s Little Children” and its author have already garnered some local accolades.

“Pam ... is an outstanding servant of Christ who uses every God-given gift to full advantage for His glory,” said the Rev. Bruce Cannon, director of missions for the Bladen Baptist Association in Elizabethtown. “Having served as her pastor for years, I have often been amazed, and always blessed, at seeing the effort she puts into every task to which she commits herself. I have no doubt that God will use this latest effort to touch the lives of many children letting them know how special they are to Him.”

“I have known Pam for years and her talents are amazing,” said hometown friend Sandra Wells. “ I am so excited about ‘God’s Little Beloved’ and the way that it will surely touch people's hearts when they read the words for themselves and share them with their children and grandchildren.”

So what’s next for Carroll? How about a second book.

“It’s already in the works,” she said.

This one, tentatively titled “An Unlikely Friendship,” will be geared toward second graders and feature the road to friendship by two squirrels.

“That’s all I can really tell you,” Carroll said.

If her second book is as inspiring for children as her first, then her publisher will surely be looking for her to jump into book No. 3 soon.

— W. Curt Vincent is the editor for the Bladen Journal. He can be reached by callin g 862-4163, Ext. 259, or by e-mail at editor@bladenjournal.com.