Phyllis Schwartz is a former journalist living in the dreamy beach town of Encinitas, California. After many years of working in the gritty news town of Chicago, Illinois she is back near her coastal hometown writing poetry and children's books. The married mother of two combines what she draws from her experiences on the west coast and what some call the third coast for her tightly phrased and observational poetry, evoking sight and sound images much in the way one would when writing for the visual and descriptive experience of television news. Phyllis is a three time cancer survivor and her first children's book "When Mom Feels Great, Then We Do Too!" is an upbeat, rhyming book about how family can help a sick mom recover with humor and fun. Her second children's book "Mom Wombat Says Make War No More!" has an anti- bullying, pro -peace theme. Her third book released March 7th 2025 is called "Laggie And Grillo: an Unlikely Friendship." The book teaches kids about pet care responsibilities and fostering harmony between opposites, featuring a multicultural friendship story with Yiddish, Japanese, and Spanish words, plus a poetry exercise.