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Monthly Archives: February 2013
Miss Fatty Cat and Slinky
I’m not sure exactly what Balto did to deserve a squishing, but Samantha is thoroughly enjoying his company today. If you have read my book, you’ll know this cat as Miss Fatty Cat. She loves to give the other cats in the house a good thawumping now and then. All of the characters in “Why Kimba Saved The World” are based on real people or animals from my life (that’s Tabitha, aka Slinky, hiding in the box). Most book characters are more fictional than real. I have several other books on their way to publication that involve fairies, a princess and a dragon, and ghosts. But when I began the Cats in the Mirror series, every character evolved from the personalities around me. Maybe it was the constant presence of one cat or another while I was writing. Sam was usually snoring loudly from under a sofa nearby. Kimba liked to sleep on the window ledge — just out of reach. With that much feline energy around me, it’s no wonder they all ended up in my book. Samantha and Tabitha will each get their own chance to shine later in the series (book three is titled “The Revenge of Miss Fatty Cat”), but for today they are just enjoying hanging out in my office…and cuddling with Balto. 
First Sold Book and 21st Century Friendships
This morning, I put pen to inside title page of my first sold copy of “Why Kimba Saved The World” and signed it to my dear friend Annette Bridges. I had several orders to fill today, some of them even from family, but Annette’s order was the first I received. It only seemed fitting that she should get the official “first copy.” Annette and I are the epitome of a 21st century friendship. I’m not sure how we first connected, but we bonded over a shared love of writing. She recommended me as a columnist for www.religionandspirituality.com, and I loved the year or so that I wrote “Spiritually Significant Cinema” for them. It gave me the chance to not only go to every movie preview showing in town, but also to interview the likes of Kirk Douglas, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Sylvester Stallone. Unfortunately, another job I held at the time felt these columns were a waste of my time and highly discouraged me from continuing. So I let it slide. But my friendship with Annette continued. We have kept in touch through the social magic that is Facebook. These days, as we both move into the book self-publishing game, we have begun reading and previewing each other’s work. But here’s why I think we are a perfect example of a modern friendship–we have never actually met, face to face. The power of the internet allows us to chat freely through email and follow each other’s life-journeys over Facebook. Just because I have never been in the same room with this friend doesn’t mean I don’t feel just as close to her as folks I worked side by side with for years. It doesn’t matter where in the world we end up, I have a feeling that we will still be in touch 20 years (and hopefully dozens of books between us) from now. As people who respect each other often do, I’ll share my friend’s web site so you can check out her delightful book, “The Gospel According to Mama.” I’ve already read a preview of the sequel and written a heart-felt endorsement. As my first sold copy of “Kimba” whisks its way through the mail to Annette (along with 3 other copies she ordered), I will share her web page link as the first of many people I highly recommend.
Graphic Artist Shout Out
It seems appropriate to give a moment in the spotlight to the graphic artist who conceptualized and created the cover art for “Why Kimba Saved The World”-– Leslie Hollinger Vernon. Her work was arranged through my publishing super-helper, Carol Hohle, so we never spoke directly. (I hear that Leslie has just had a new baby, so mazel tov on that too!!) In the beginning, I even had a totally different concept in mind with the image of Kimba reaching up and touching a mirror (which will make sense once you have read her story). Where we ended up, including just the exactly right color of purple for the background, is so much better. Cover art, especially in children’s books, is HUGELY important. Based on how Leslie’s work was purchased, she is not credited in the book itself, but I wanted to make sure her name is out there somewhere. Well done, Leslie!! You will be hearing from me again.
Paperback Available!
I’m thrilled to announce that paperback copies of “Why Kimba Saved The World” are now available at amazon.com! If you go to the “Kimba” page at my site, you will find links to purchase it from amazon, or you can buy a signed copy from me directly (which comes with a free bookmark). Sadly, the ebook version is still having some issues, so if you want to read it that way just hang in there a couple more days so you can get a really clean and pretty copy. It is amazing how difficult the conversion and ebook process is, and I’m grateful to have professionals helping me out there. It has really been a labor of love to see this book through so much that is normally handled by a publishing company, but I had grown tired of getting responses like “very creative, but not right for our list at this time” — if I got any response at all. Even more often, I found that good publishing houses are closed to anyone without an agent to submit for them. So…thanks to modern technology and amazing folks like Carol Hohle who know their way through the maze of book creation, I was able to share this fun story with the world myself. I hope you enjoy sharing it with all of the young people in your life…. and that you enjoy it yourself.
Publishing Even Sooner!
The process is cranking along so quickly that we may have “Kimba” ready for purchase by Valentine’s Day! I should have a copy of the book in-hand by Feb. 5th!