Meet the Author and Illustrators

Valeria V. Cray, Author

Valeria V. Cordy Cray is a writer, poet and retired educator. During her education career she worked in several school districts and served in several capacities, starting as a classroom teacher in Decatur, Georgia and retiring as Director of Federal Programs in Macon, Georgia.  In retirement, she is pursuing her interest in writing.  As a writer, her focus is on sharing memories, tenets, precepts and prayers in the form of poetry, essays and picture books.  Her debut poetry book was Following A Feather Trail.  This collection included the poem Mother of My Mothers which was awarded the Seaborn Jones Poetry Award.  

Valeria was born and raised in a small town in South Georgia, Baxley, Georgia. Her grandmother lived with her family and her grandmother’s teaching had a profound influence in her life. One such teaching was to consider the power of your words.  Her most recent book is a children's book entitled Sample Your Words, See How They Taste. This book was written to be a teaching tool to start a discussion with children about the impact and power of words. In addition to the book, she has created supplemental materials that include a discussion guide that can be used by the adult reader and coloring pages for the young readers to reinforce the lessons in the book.

She currently lives in Lizella, Georgia with her husband Don. She is working on another children’s book and a book about her family’s history.