Andrea Torrey Balsara
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torreybalsara.bsky.social
Andrea Torrey Balsara
@torreybalsara.bsky.social
360 followers 420 following 200 posts
🌱 Sharing Stories, Art & Energy Healing Work
📚 Kidlit Author & Artist ⎮ Reiki Master 💜
🦋 Discover Books 🦋 Workshops 🦋 Coaching ⬇️ click link below

https://linktr.ee/andreatorreybalsara
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torreybalsara.bsky.social
Andrea Torrey Balsara @torreybalsara.bsky.social · Mar 20
In this photo I am standing with Joey, a donkey. In the post I explain that I am a children's and young adult author and illustrator, but that I'm also an energy medicine practitioner. In addition to writing and illustrating, I also work with people and animals to help them heal. I volunteer every week at a donkey sanctuary using energy medicine to help rescued donkeys to heal.
torreybalsara.bsky.social
This is a clip from a longer podcast I did. The full interview link is my bio under PODCASTS, or go to www.torreybalsara.com

#CreativeMentalHealth #ArtAsSupport #GentleCreativity #MentalHealthTools #CreativeHealing #ArtistsForMentalHealth #MindfulMaking #CreativityForWellbeing
December 18, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Reposted by Andrea Torrey Balsara
rebeccaupjohn.bsky.social
A thought provoking, layered #YA novel by @torreybalsara.bsky.social, #TheGreatandtheSmall with captivating illustrations by the author. Two points of view: a human girl & young rat, each navigating buried trauma alongside external threats in their intersecting worlds. #kidlit #CanKitLit 📚👍🏻
the cover of The Great & The Small by A.T. Balsara shows the profile of a teen girl with flowing hair, in black and red and a yellow moon against a turquoise sky.
December 15, 2025 at 4:03 PM
torreybalsara.bsky.social
I do energy medicine healing & reiki with donkeys every week. 🥹 On Sunday I got nuzzled by the sweetest boy. (Note Zack’s fancy headdress in the first photo. 🥰)

#donkeys #animalfriends #DonkeysofBluesky #animallover #energymedicine #reikiforanimals #primrosedonkeysanctuary
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Reposted by Andrea Torrey Balsara
vriccithode.bsky.social
omg yes. also request the books at your library. there's often a purchase suggestion form right on the library website
thoughtsstained.bsky.social Nicole Evans | Editor and Author @thoughtsstained.bsky.social · 9d
"I can't afford to support my favorite author right now, I—"

Reviews.

Reviews are free AND they are a gift to authors that can keep on giving (i.e., exposure, marketing, algo boosts, etc.)

Please, give the gift of reviews to your authors this holiday season. It really can make a difference!
December 10, 2025 at 3:39 AM
torreybalsara.bsky.social
This is a video I made in 2020 on mental health. This week, I heard that a loved one killed themselves & so I am sharing this 💔.
If you feel despair, there is HOPE. ✨

video link ⬇️
www.facebook.com/share/v/17GB...

#suicideprevention #LightWithin #MentalHealthSupport #EnergyMedicineHelp #LoveWins
December 10, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Reposted by Andrea Torrey Balsara
joannemerriam.bsky.social
Daily(ish) #SmallPress #books: Twentysomething, Megan Williams out today! (@bullshitlit.bsky.social): www.bullshitlit.com/shop/p/twent... & The Great & the Small, @torreybalsara.bsky.social (@commondeerpress.bsky.social): www.commondeerpress.com/books-1/the-... See alt-text. #DSPBposts 💙📚 #BookSky
Book cover for Twentysomething: poems by megan williams. A collection of poems by Megan Williams. Releasing on December 5, 2025. (Bullshit Lit‬): “there is no living poet that does soft, tender sentences as sharply edged with gutting vulnerability as she does.”-Kirsti MacKenzie https://www.bullshitlit.com/shop/p/twentysomething Book cover for The Great & the Small by A.T. Balsara (Common Deer Press). Ananda is a troubled teen who feels like a misfit at home and at her new school, and her unusual ability to connect with animals makes her feel like even more of an outsider. Fin is a Tunnel rat who lives in the passages beneath the city, in the dark places humans overlook or despise. Orphaned as a pup, he is the nephew of the Tunnel's charismatic leader, the Beloved Chairman, and is willing to do anything to please his uncle, including becoming his lead henchman. The worlds of humans and rats suddenly collide when Ananda protects Fin during a chance encounter. As the Chairman launches a plague war against the humans, both Fin and Ananda wrestle with secrets so terrible that they threaten their very existence. https://www.commondeerpress.com/books-1/the-great-and-the-small
December 5, 2025 at 11:13 AM
torreybalsara.bsky.social
Happy Friday!

Is there anything cuter than a squirrel wearing an acorn cap?? 😍 Available for downloads. Contact me! 🐿️ 💜

#ChildrensAuthor #IllustratorsLife #CreativeWellbeing #ArtWithHeart #KidLitArt #MindfulCreativity #MentalHealthMatters #NatureWhimsy #AnimalInspiredArt #StorytellingThroughArt
December 5, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Reposted by Andrea Torrey Balsara
soundawakeworld.bsky.social
#life #love #art #growth #faith #bluesky #energy #frequency #vibration #theuniverse #meaning #lifeafterdeath #infinite #eternal #meditation #meditate #philosophy #theinfinite #soundawakeworld #question #briancox #eternal #infinity #healing #thought #mission #purpose #consciousness #existence #5D
"There is only one interesting question in philosophy, and that question is: what does it mean to live a finite, fragile life in an infinite, eternal universe?" - Brian Cox ##life #love #art #growth #faith #bluesky #energy #frequency #vibration #theuniverse #meaning #lifeafterdeath #infinite #eternal #meditation #meditate #philosophy #theinfinite #soundawakeworld #question #briancox #eternal #infinity #healing #thought #mission #purpose #consciousness #existence #5D
December 3, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Andrea Torrey Balsara
debbieohi.com
If you love a book, write a nice review. It gives the author encouragement for bad days when they want to take up scorpion petting. - @lianabrooks.bsky.social

#BookSky #KidLit #BookPromo
Handwritten quote on a white sheet with an illustrated face at the bottom and pink hearts around the text. The quote reads: "If you love a book, write a nice review. It gives the author encouragement for bad days when they want to take up scorpion petting." — Liana Brooks
November 25, 2025 at 1:17 PM
torreybalsara.bsky.social
Is this just? Did Ontarians have a place at the table when these decisions were made? We are in a #democracy. Legislation should reflect that. If it doesn't, what are we in?

#DemocracyMatters #FordGovernment #Ontario #Bill68 #GovernmentOversight #DavidPiccini #DougFord #ecojustice
ecojusticecanada.bsky.social Ecojustice @ecojusticecanada.bsky.social · 22d
BREAKING: The #Ford government has just forced through legislative changes in #Bill68 that strip away provincial climate obligations — just days before critical December 1st #Mathur youth climate hearing where the government was expected to have to finally answer for its climate record. Stay tuned.
November 28, 2025 at 2:04 PM
torreybalsara.bsky.social
This Saturday! Catch me at the Brooklin Holiday Market with my children’s books and YA novels—perfect holiday gifts. 🎄📚✨

#BrooklinHolidayMarket #HolidayMarket #KidsBooks #PictureBooks #YAbooks #BookGifts #IllustratedBooks #ShopLocal #HolidayShopping #GiftIdeas
November 28, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Reposted by Andrea Torrey Balsara
barackobama.bsky.social
As a survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Viola Ford Fletcher bravely shared her story so that we’d never forget this painful part of our history. Michelle and I are grateful for her lifelong work to advance civil rights, and send our love to her family.
Viola Fletcher, Oldest Survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Dies at 111
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:45 AM
torreybalsara.bsky.social
Holiday market vibes are here! ❄️🎁 Join me for a festive day of books, stories, and art—from children’s tales to YA fiction to colorful paintings. 📚✨🎨 Would love to see you there!

#ChildrensBooks #YoungAdultFiction #HolidayMarket #ArtAndLiterature #LocalAuthors #BookSigning #bookevent #booksigning
November 25, 2025 at 2:47 PM
torreybalsara.bsky.social
💫💜 Writing is not for the faint of heart. #lionhearted
November 23, 2025 at 7:46 PM
torreybalsara.bsky.social
A photo of my girl Maisie with two little interlopers. 🥰😂 #dogs
November 20, 2025 at 3:24 PM
torreybalsara.bsky.social
In a contest that was North America-wide, judged by librarians, I am THRILLED that my YA book, The Great & the Small, was runner-up in the Young Adult category. 📚 🌟

#writer #yabook #award #awards #youngadultauthor #youngadultfiction #librarians #IAP #IndieAuthorProject #writersofbluesky #CanKidLit
November 19, 2025 at 5:52 PM
torreybalsara.bsky.social
The BEST thing about the market? Talking to people. 💜 🥰

#BookLovers #HolidayMarkets #CreativeConversations #ChildrensBooks #YoungAdultBooks #ArtistLife #MentalHealthMatters #EnergyHealing #InspirationEverywhere
November 13, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Reposted by Andrea Torrey Balsara
gingercatdusty.bsky.social
Message to our friends from our hoomom. If able plz consider donating to a group that provides food for the beloved pets of people struggling right now. Our mum grew up very poor & remembers how hard it was to feed the family & their pet. Share some kindness. Love you all 🩷
November 11, 2025 at 12:41 PM
torreybalsara.bsky.social
💜 Just for today, I'm focusing on what makes me happy--my family, my dogs, volunteering at the donkey sanctuary, enjoying the first snowfall of the season. ❄️

#MindfulCreativity #CreativeWellness #HealingThroughArt #EnergyForCreatives #FocusOnJoy #EverydayMindfulness 💜 🌟 🥰
November 10, 2025 at 2:04 PM
torreybalsara.bsky.social
I’ll be at the Holiday Market in Oshawa this Saturday, Nov 8 with my picture books & YA novels—great gifts for readers of all ages! Over 40 local makers & vendors will be there too. Come say hi! 📚✨

#CanadianAuthor #CanadianIllustrator #ChildrensBooks #YAFiction #ShopLocalCanada #ReadersOfCanada
November 6, 2025 at 2:02 PM
torreybalsara.bsky.social
A girl who can speak to animals. 🌟
A rat who serves a tyrant. 🐀
A secret that could destroy them both.The Great & The Small — a YA story of survival & finding light in the darkness. 💔 ✨

#CBCBooks #CanadianBooks #DarkYA #BookTrailer #StorytellingMatters #BookTokCanada #BookMarketing #IndieAuthor
November 5, 2025 at 2:02 PM
torreybalsara.bsky.social
This blog post is to all of us #writers who like to break the rules. 💥💥💥

#writingtips #WritingYA #CanKidLit #Writerslife #YAfiction

www.lecarmichael.ca/2025/11/a-t-...
A. T. Balsara: Why Rats? Writing the Unconventional in YA Fiction
“Why rats?” The man’s voice was thick with scorn, like he’d just stepped in something disgusting. It was 2017, and the first edition of my young adult novel, The Great & the Small, had just come out....
www.lecarmichael.ca
November 4, 2025 at 2:36 PM
torreybalsara.bsky.social
Ever notice how, no matter how much you achieve, it can still feel like you’re not enough? 🎨✍️ For many of us — especially those carrying old wounds — that feeling runs deep. 💔

#CreativeHealing #MindfulCreativity #ArtistsMentalHealth #SelfCompassion #HealingThroughArt #MentalHealthMatters
November 3, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Reposted by Andrea Torrey Balsara
inventingreality.bsky.social
#amwriting #writingcommunity #writers #author #writerscommunity #indieauthor inventingrealityediting.com/2...
I Don’t Need Permission to be Called an Author
Authors who haven’t published often like to think of themselves as an “aspiring author,” an “aspiring novelist,” or an “aspiring writer.” They act as if by not being published they are somehow…
inventingrealityediting.com
November 1, 2025 at 6:00 PM
torreybalsara.bsky.social
Going down the Halloween aisle past life-size "witches," I realized what I was seeing: older women. Here’s to us “witches.” 💜🦋

Read my blog — link in bio. 🔗

#WomenOver60 #CreativeAging #HealingThroughArt #MentalHealthMatters #EnergyMedicine #FeminineStrength #ArtistLife #AuthorLife
October 31, 2025 at 3:28 PM