Candice Chaloupka is a wife and mother. She is a professed member of the Secular Franciscan Order and licensed mental health counselor. Candice is the author of the Francis Series, a collection of children's stories about St. Francis of Assisi. The series was illustrated by her then teen-age daughter, Brianna Long. Francis and Leo is the first book in the Francis Series, published in 2011, followed by Francis and the Wolf (2012). Francis and the Birds (2012). Candice has published a number of articles in magazines, newsletters, newspapers, as well as on the internet. Her poetry was published in Dubuque Area Writers Guild: Gallery 2012 Anthology. Candice is also the author of the blog "Living a Gospel Life" (livingagospellife.blogspot.com/). Follow Candice Chaloupka on the web at facebook.com/francisseries and thefrancisseries.com.