New Books Coming

 

[Kids and Chickens in a crossover.]

We, my boy and I, were shooting to get our Christmas-related crossover between Doomimals and Just Us Chickens out by the end of the holiday season. However, since it's about the kids and chickens fighting off a holiday curse in June, I guess it's not the end of the world that we missed. We're working on the final chapter and editing now and hope to have it up within the week. Its working title is "Slaying Christmas," but "Holiday Slay Ride" is another possibility. I have created illustrations for each chapter. 

[Calli the Silly Frenchie collection.]

Many of my picture books are Christmas-oriented, so I'll be gearing the next set to a more general time frame. In the Calli the Silly Frenchie series, all I will need to do is plug in another book instead of the Christmas one. The kitty and doggie books of the Pets Just Want to Have Fun series will have added books that don't have a particular timeframe. 

[Cover for new picture book.]

I've also spent the last month and a half working on illustrations for a winter-themed book for the Cookie and Her Sisters book series. I just finished those and will be releasing them within the week. One will be on the kittens playing in the snow. One will be on the kittens going ice skating. As we head toward spring, I'll release one about the kittens playing in warmer weather. Each one is inspired by "The Three Little Kittens" and features the kittens making a mess of some sort and cleaning it up as a team. 

[Our Logo.]

Moving forward, we will otherwise be focusing on getting word out that these books and our family publication company, Sleepy Hollow Press, exist. If you've had the chance to read any of our books, please tell us in a comment how you feel about any of them. Also, please spread the word. We'll keep you posted about any developments moving forward. 

Large Print and Steps Toward Chickens

[Doomimals, 1st illustration]

It has been a busy few weeks. As you know, Doomimals Book 1: Cockadoodle-DOOM is available and ready for you. I uploaded a refined copy to improve the reading experience of paperback and hardback editions. You can now get a large print edition. As I may have mentioned, I'm also working on a Spanish translation and an audiobook. I want this book available for everyone interested in reading it. 

[Upcoming short story]

I now have the associated freebie short stories I've mentioned revised and illustrated. One occurs in the Middle Ages and is an adaptation of "Puss in Boots." It's called "If You Give a Cat the Boot" 2nd Edition. You may have read the earlier edition, but this new one is both more refined for younger audiences and includes pictures, including a new cover. 

[Cinderella; source]

The above short story opens up a lot of new avenues for future stories, including fairy tale adaptions that occur in the same world for older audiences, youth and adults. These will be somewhat darker and include romances, which the main Doomimals tales avoid. Even planned "Cinderella, "Snow White," and similar adaptations will focus on the kids' adventures. We're working on making a newsletter available. When you sign up for that by going directly to the webpage, you'll get "If You Give a Cat the Boot." The link to the newsletter will appear on our website, sleepyhollowpress.com. This is where new books will be posted as they're done. 

[Doomimals Short 2]

The plan is that when you follow a link given in the book, you'll get a special story, one about the kids' dad when he was their age. It's called "Shadow Man Comes" and is a bit darker but still intended for the same readers. It's about how Davis and Kitt's dad first ran into the same kinds of struggles featured in the main Doomimals books. 

[Just Us Chickens Tentative Cover (working toward a new one)]

Right now, our big push is to get the first of the spinoff series published within the next couple of weeks. The first book is The Misadventures of the Just Us Chickens and is all but finished. The author, Ax the Narrator, is currently working on the dramatic finale. Most of the book is now illustrated and is going through several rounds of editing. 

[Cookie and Her Sisters Picture books.]

I'm also working quickly on three holiday picture books based on the model of "Three Little Kittens." They occur within the world and rules of Doomimals but are for a much younger audience. Cookie the black cat, a main character in Doomimals, has three little sisters to be introduced in Doomimals Book 2: Cat-a-clysm, about how the three little kittens lost the Mittens of Cataclysm. The picture books will be titled Cookie and Her Sisters Go Trick-or-Treating, Cookie and Her Sisters Make Thanksgiving Dinner, and Cookie and Her Sisters Go Christmas Shopping. Since we plan to sell books at a table in the Cache Holiday Gift Show in a month, we'll need to make those books available even earlier than planned. I have the stories written. I'm just working on the illustrations. 

[Doomimals/Chickens Crossover.]

I'm hoping to also make a Christmas-related novella, a crossover between Doomimals and Just Us Chickens, available at that time, but it's likely to be too much on top of everything else. As you see, things are moving fast at Sleepy Hollow Press. For now, I'll keep you posted here. However, the day is not long in coming that all updates will come from the newsletter. I hope to see you there soon. 

New Cover and Picture Books

[New Cover for Book 1]

I've been talking about the various projects I'm working on with my writing. As you know, I published Doomimals Book 1 recently, am working hard on revising Doomimals Book 2, and am helping my son and writing buddy, Ax the Narrator, edit Just Us Chickens. I'm hoping to publish it by the end of the month.  Book 1 has a new and improved cover as created by my child. Recently, someone pointed out that the paper and hardback copies of the book had formatting issues, so I've now fixed those with the new copies. I've also added a coming soon section that gives the first bit of both Doomimals Book 2 and Chickens. I'm meanwhile working on freebie short stories, one that was released before based on "Puss in Boots," which is getting a revision and illustrations, and one that is a prequel for book 1 on the main characters' dad as a kid. 

[Imaginings of Holidays Future: source]

Yesterday, Ax and I were thinking about how the holidays were approaching, so we decided to start working on holiday books. We're going to cross over the Doomimals kids and the Just Us Chickens in a send-up of Christmas shows and tropes. I'm hoping to release that short at the beginning of the holiday season. 

[Impish Cats: Illustration from Book 1 by Ghostelle.]

Furthermore, I've been pondering writing picture books for preschoolers about Cookie, a cat from book 1, and her three sisters, kittens from book 2. I sat down and wrote a whimsical book on the mischievous and super-powered kittens for each of the holidays. It follows the plot of "Three Little Kittens." The first one, to be released by early October, will be, "Cookie and Her Sisters Go Trick-or-treating." By early November, I will release "Cookie and Her Sisters Make Thanksgiving Dinner." The final of the set of three will come out by mid-November and will be called "Cookie and Her Sisters Go Christmas Shopping." Between now and those release dates, I'll be working on illustrating them. 

Tell me what you think of my book if you've read it. I look forward to hearing from you. 

Launched!

[The Doomimals Kids]

Doomimals features three kids striving to save the world from the evil Dog of War. She's sent the sinister Bird to hunt down three kids and their super-powered animal companions. Book 1 kicks off the whole adventure and is an action/adventure romp for kids and is based on "Chicken Little." The kids' rooster tells them the sky is falling; in other words, bad things are coming. Davis, a nerdy boy, Kitt, his heroic twin sister, and Tessa, his sweet cousin, have to fight their way through a gauntlet of animal enemies to tell the mayor the world is in trouble. Only their pets' help will help them survive. 

[Delayed launch; source]

I apologize for the delay. I thought I was ready to launch and was focused on researching how to publish on Amazon when I had my friends, Theresa Furbish and Evelyn, her daughter, play the part of final beta readers. Thanks to them. They helped me see the books still needed some work to be ready for you to enjoy. It's finally ready! Expect updates a lot more frequently now that book one is done. 

[The Cover]

Book 1 is now available for you on Amazon! Pick it up today in ebook, paperback, or hardback. Here is the link. This would be perfect for kids who love Animorphs or Percy Jackson or even "Phineas and Ferb." Included in book 1 is a link to a prequel, "If You Give a Cat the Boot," based on "Puss in Boots." If you'd just like that short story, here it is. It's free there as well. 

[Just Us Chickens]

As for what's next, five years ago, Ax the Narrator, my 13-year-old boy, won second place in the children's book category of the League of Utah Writer's annual contest. He went up against several writers like me with degrees and years of experience. My reviewers always give me feedback to help me polish. The reviewer simply loved the characters and zaniness and said, "Send me an email when it's published. I must have a copy." 

[Chickens!]

Ax has written around 20 novels and several short stories, among other things, since his first novel. They're all in various degrees of completion. With all of his years of experience behind him, he's now rewriting the original book 1 to add more depth and fun. He'll include that original award-winning manuscript for free with book 1. We're shooting to have it finished and polished in the next couple of weeks. 

[Doomimals Book 2: Cat-a-clysm]

Meanwhile, I'll be pushing to complete a final edit of Doomimals Book 2 using the help of my friends. I'm hoping to get it done in September. I'll keep you posted. Buy your copy of book 1 today.  

A New Strategy

[Typewriter/publisher-source]

Up until the end of 2021, I was sure our path to publication would be a hybrid publisher I picked out a couple of years.  I can write.  I can edit.  I have illustrated our books.  I can do all but a cover that will really sell our books and, of course, effectively market.  That is where this hybrid publisher was to come in.  All I had to do was submit a chunk of money upfront and send in about 150,000 words of semi-finalized print, and that hybrid publisher would prep everything for publication.  That sounded like a great plan because I didn't know how to market.  I've taken classes, and I've tried to execute the strategies those classes taught.  And the few things I've thrown into Amazonland hit like a drop in the bucket and disappeared in the crowd, including a preliminary Doomimals short story. 

[A new path-source]

Then, my genius son and co-creator of our multiple series got the chance to do a job shadow with an established self-published author, A.M. Luzzader, author of the Middle-Grade Mermaid series, who showed me a path, the path she took to success with self-publication.  She showed me it could be done, that she and several people she knows found a pathway to success with self-publication.  When I understand more about it, I will publish what I learn.  For now, it's simply a list of names, titles, and suggestions.  

[Investing in the future-source]

Luzzader suggested I take that same chunk of money I was going to throw at a hybrid publisher for one book and turn it into a wealth of knowledge that could lead my whole family down a path to successful self-publication.  This could lead to at least moderate success for Doomimals, Just Us Chickens, Key Lime Python, The Radiant Army vs Us (the working title for a series for older youth that we haven't started yet), and a whole pile of other projects including some about which my husband and other child have been dreaming.  

[Just Us Chickens]

In other words, within (hopefully) a month or two, I will have a strategy finalized for bringing you Cockadoodle-DOOM, the first book of Doomimals, followed by The Misadventures of the Just Us Chickens and so on, one after another.  You'll hear about it as soon as we have a formulated plan, but it should be coming soon.  Then, I can guide you along the same path.  

Facing a Major Rewrite

 

[Editing-source]

I'm wrapping up one book and embarking on another rewrite, but this one will be far more intensive than the ones I've done heretofore.  Others needed polish, emotional depth, connections, themes, and the like.  They needed to be streamlined and have greater connections made.  This one is one I knew even as I drafted it that it didn't feel right.  Some books practically write themselves once you know your characters, the overall plot, and the basic events that will go into a given chapter.   It's always exhilarating to find out what the characters are going to say and do because I don't preplan, just find out as the events unfold, just as my characters do.  But writing this book felt like pulling teeth.  I didn't fully know the main character or understand why and how of the plot, and it shows in the draft.  

[An illustration that I hope won't need to be redone-thanks again, Ghostelle.]

One complication as I rewrite this is I already had my illustrator draw an image for each chapter.  At the time, I didn't yet understand how very much would have to be rewritten.  I hope I'll be able to use most of them, but I can think of at least a few that will have to be replaced as the story reshapes itself to get more at the heart of its main character.  

[My characters by Ghostelle]

Part of the sticky part will be keeping the voice interesting. At least one beta reader found the main character dull.  The Doomimals books alternate perspectives, one for each book.  Davis, the only male protagonist, starts the first book.  Through the book, the narrative explores the thinking and adventures of a snarky, ADD peacemaker nerd in a first-person style.  I didn't even know he was a peacemaker (of the enneagram) personality type until I rewrote the book, and everything he did, said, or thought fit that character.  His voice is distinct.  The second book is from the heart and soul of his twin, Kitt, a very opinionated performer "princess," one who is all about her image and impressing people. Her voice, too, is distinct and strong.  Mostly, I needed to shift her voice toward her pain at missing her mom and her desire for her mom to be proud of her when they met again. 

[A close look at Tessa, one of my pics.]

This third book is from the perspective of the third character, Tessa, the youngest character, one I first saw as the weakest and the shyest, an animal lover pacifist.  That's a hard voice to keep fresh and interesting. But as I've rewritten the other books, her voice came out more distinctly as a thinker, an intellectual who memorizes zoology books and intellectualizes everything. I think I'll be able to get to her heart if I rewrite her first book starting with her heart, with her relationship with her parents.  So instead of starting in her cousins' world and home, where we've been until now, we start in her world.  How else can you really get to know her?  Once I get this book down, I think her other perspectival books will work better.  I look forward to introducing these three unique characters to you once I've made them ready for your enjoyment.  

Wrapping up book one

[An illustration from Cockadoodle-DOOM!]

 I was hoping to finish two of my book series by the end of the holiday, but at least I'm just about done with rewriting book one.  I really want to do Doomimals justice.  I want it to be a kids' chapter book series that transports and entertains, while having a sense of reality and groundedness. I want a structure that works within the tradition of the three-act structure, one that keeps the rules but doesn't feel dull or by-the-numbers.  Basically, I want to offer you and your kids something fun and funny but smooth and streamlined as well.  

[An illustration from Cat-a-clysm]

Book one, Cockadoodle-DOOM, has evolved a lot through the feedback from friends, my writing group, a freelance editor, and more.  But it is almost to a finished, polished state.  Then, I will move onto book two, Cat-a-clysm and treat that the same.  It's just a lot shorter, since it doesn't have to establish ground rules for the series as book one does.  It, too, should transport and entertain kids and adults.  I'll keep you posted as I finish each book and get it ready for you.  

[An image from Just Us Chickens.]

Soon, I will have the first ten books published and ready to be read in one collection for you, along with bonus materials such as a video game, a card game, and some bonus books, including the first three of my boy's superhero chicken series Just Us Chickens.  I'm looking forward to bringing these all to you soon.