Photo courtesy Nikki Dee Ray
In June, former WTVR-CBS 6 weather forecaster Nikki-Dee Ray Wren released a children’s book, “Laura-Leigh Learns About Storms.” Wren and her husband, David, co-wrote the book, which was illustrated by Chad Thompson. The book follows the character Laura-Leigh and her friends through a storm and tornado warning and highlights safety precautions to follow. The couple live in Nashville, Tennessee, now, where Nikki-Dee is a meteorologist for News Channel 5, and they are parents to daughter Windley-Ray and son Thomas “T” Copeland. We talked with them about their faith, how Nikki-Dee’s visits to schools played a role in the writing of the book and what they have in store for “Laura-Leigh.”
Richmond magazine: Nikki-Dee, your background is in meteorology, but what made you want to write a children’s book on the topic?
Nikki-Dee Ray Wren: I go talk to a ton of schools, and if it’s geared to second grade all the way to high school and even college age, you can talk a lot about the weather, but the kindergarten and first grade teachers tend to say, “Well, why don’t you read a book?” David and I had searched up and down looking for a weather book that was meteorologically correct. I told David, “Well, I can’t find anything,” and that’s when, during my maternity leave with Windley-Ray, we sat down and wrote the book.
RM: Was there anything that inspired you from other children’s books that you wanted to incorporate into “Laura-Leigh Learns About Storms?”
David Wren: We always love books that rhyme, just the cadence and the meter of them, and T and Windley-Ray both tended to like those books better, too. We also like stories that tell lessons. We’re Christians, and we wanted to raise our kids in that faith, so to be able to teach them something spiritually, as well as practically, was kind of the goal of writing the story.
RM: What do you miss most about Richmond?
Nikki-Dee: Hugging everybody. I mean, it’s family. A lot of things happened while I was there. I met David, we got married, I was pregnant twice, and I got to have these people I leaned on for so long, because my family was back in Alabama. I never felt alone, I never felt like I was displaced. It was just perfect.
RM: The book references God several times. Was religion always something you knew you wanted to include in the book? Were you worried that would limit your audience?
Nikki-Dee: Not at all. One thing we’ve always prayed about and wanted to be is ourselves. And that’s why we knew that we wanted to incorporate it in our book. With that being said, you don’t want to come across preachy, and we want to be inviting. If someone has a question about the book, whether it be about Jesus, creation or storms, we are just an email away. We’re here to help, and we hope this book gives some insight, weather-wise, and some encouragement, life-wise, as well.
RM: This is the first book both of you have written. Are there any plans for another?
David: We’ve actually finished writing our second book. It’s going to be a series, “Laura-Leigh Learns.” She’ll learn about different things in each book. So, we’re still editing it, but we’re hoping to get it over to our publisher and start the process with them again for book No. 2.
Nikki-Dee Ray Wren will sign “Laura-Leigh Learns About Storms" at 11 a.m. on Oct. 23 at The Gilded Crown Antiques, located inside Through the Garden Gate Antiques, 10351 Chamberlayne Road, Mechanicsville.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
