Mississauga children’s book author, Victoria Daley, creates a dialogue for children about co-parenting in “Mia’s World Book Series”

February 1, 2022. Article by Sherri Murray, Communications Producer, Mississauga Arts Council.

Victoria Daley is a local Mississauga children’s book author, community outreach worker, avid collaborator, and educator. However, the most important role she plays is being a mother to her 7-year old daughter, Paige-Mia, where she is living out her own co-parenting experience.

She took a special interest in writing following the separation of her child’s Father. She has always had an interest in helping others through her own personal experiences. The separation inspired the chronicles of “Mia’s World Book Series”. There are two books in the series, the first book is titled “Mommy Lives Here & Daddy Lives There”, and the second “Birthday Party at Daddy’s House”. Both colorful children’s picture books that share truthful and positive messages while celebrating the dreams, and love parents have for their children despite their circumstances.

We sat down with Victoria to ask her some questions about her connection to Mississauga, her advice for those interested in self-publishing, why this book series is important to creating a dialogue about co-parenting with children, and her plans for the future.

What is your connection to Mississauga? Are you connected to any other authors from Mississauga? How do you feel connected to the arts community here? 

I have been connected to Mississauga since I was a little girl. I was raised in Mississauga and I currently reside in Mississauga. I am a fairly new author, I am trying to get connected to the arts community through joining different author groups and perhaps seeking services available to me.

I heard you are self-published, how was that experience for you? Do you have any advice for other authors that are interested in self-publishing?

It definitely has not been the easiest road to self publish however, besides motherhood, it’s the best road I’ve ever taken! I found once I was determined to learn, understand the process and continue to work hard, it became much easier. Everything is still a work in progress – “Nothing worth having comes easy”.

You mention that this book series opens up a dialogue for parents and children about the topic of co-parenting, why do you think this is important to discuss?

Creating an opportunity for positive dialogue between parents and their children is important to discuss because it creates normalcy surrounding the topic, it allows children to be open about their lived experience and perhaps not feel ashamed when in a public environment i.e school/classroom, or at all.

Do you have any plans for releasing any other books in “Mia’s World Book Series”? 

Absolutely! My dreams are endless. I plan on following the character “Mia” in age. She is currently “five” as illustrated in “Birthday Party at Daddy’s House”.

What does the future look like for you as an author?

I can only hope, continue to believe in myself and work hard, the rest is history! In the future, I see many more books in the Mia’s World Series, more exposure , community involvement, more retail support and much more. 

You can follow Mia’s World Book Club on Instagram @miasworldbookclub, Twitter @miasworldss, TikTok @miasworldbooks or visit her website miasworldbookclub.ca.

Victoria has received a variety of attention from media including:

Feature on Etalk Canada in April 2021: Click here to watch
Feature in Mississauga News in February 2020: Click here to read
Feature in Mississauga News in February 2021: Click here to read