Jacqueline Sullivan's book, "Girls to Pearls: A Young Woman's Guide to Living Life Freely, Loving God Naturally, and Surviving Puberty" (Lulu 2007), developed from a speech she was asked to give at her father's church in Waukegan.

"My stepmother asked me if I could say a few things," recalls Sullivan, who graduated from West Side High School in Gary in 2000 and now is a communications coordinator with the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the State Department in Washington, D.C.

At first, hesitant to speak, Sullivan thought she wouldn't know what to say.

And so her stepmother asked her to put together a workbook instead.

"This project originally started out to help out a youth group at my father's church, but it grew to be so much more," says Sullivan whose mother, Valerie Smith, lives in Glen Park (her father is Allen Smith Jr.).

"Once I started writing, I couldn't stop."

Sullivan describes "Girls to Pearls," which is geared to young women ages 11 to 15, as "an essential handbook from a Biblical perspective, on how to navigate the sometimes-scary terrain of transitioning into young adulthood."

That was because it tapped into what she had learned.

"If our girls compare themselves to what they see daily in the media, they can't help but to feel inadequate -- unable to measure up to the Rihannas, Ciaras and Beyonces of the world," writes Sullivan on her blog, www.girlstopearls.com where she also offers pointers on how parents can help develop self-worth in their children.

Sullivan, who is married and has a son, says she has ideas for many more books and has just finished one for girls who are going off to college.

"There's so much to watch for, especially if you go away to school," she says.

"Girls to Pearls" is available through Sullivan's blog and also at www.lulu.com.