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. 

Just Us Chickens Launched!

[Just Us Chickens!]

I've been preparing for the Logan Holiday Gift Show and haven't had time to blog. The most important news is Just Us Chickens is available in digital and paperback.  This epic adventure of super chickens saving Wyoming from movie monsters. Read the exciting and hilarious tale of Impeckable, a Super-man like chicken who doesn't own an IQ but can rock the world with his grab bag of powers, Shadowchicken, a Batman-like chicken with balloons that can become anything he can imagine, and Wingmaster, a superspy duck and former villain who is now the leader of a group of superhero chickens! See how they create their own villain and then save the world from his monstrous army! Imagine Looney Tunes meets Star Animorphs. You can also buy it in black and white paperback. It will very soon be in large print as well. 

[Cookie and Her Sisters Series]

If you would like a fully illustrated book about the Three Little Kittens making a mess for the holidays. They are a lot like the kittens in the fairy tale. Come read Cookie and Her Sisters Love the Holidays. Today, this book was ranked 4th in children's digital cat books on Amazon and 5th in Thanksgiving books. It was still fairly high in Christmas book rankings, in the early 20s. This book is also available until Friday for free in digital format. In the first book, Cookie and Her Sisters Make a Holiday Dinner, the three little kittens make then destroy a dinner for the holidays. Can they learn to get along? In Cookie and Her Sisters Go Trick-or-treating, they also had to learn to get along for Halloween. This one made 4th in Halloween kids' books, even several days after the holiday. More books are forthcoming, including one in which they play in the snow. I'm shooting to publish this one in the next couple of weeks. 

[Pets Just Wanna Have Fun Series]

I've also been putting together photographic paperback books. Kitties Play for the Holidays is about a cat who just wants to get comfy but can't stand kittens or puppies, a kitten she can't stand, and those crazy Pomeranian puppies. This one ranked 3rd in kids' cat books and 4th in holiday books. Doggies Love the Holidays features pomeranian puppies growing up for the holidays, a Pomchi who is all about staying home for the holidays, and a silly Frenchie who enjoys playing holiday dress up. Cali the Silly Frenchie is about a French bulldog in three separate stories. This one ranked 12th today. One of those in a separate book and premium print is Cali the Silly Frenchie Goes for a Walk.  This one ranked 18th in kids' dog books. These books, too, are available for free until the end of tomorrow. I plan to release another holiday-related cat book soon. 

[Cockadoodle-DOOM!]

Finally, once again, Doomimals is also free in digital format. It's the one attached to the large print edition. Today, it ranked 38 today in fantasy adventure fiction in children's books. I'm still working on the Spanish translation. Ax the Narrator and I are working on book 2 for Just Us Chickens, wherein the heroes face the Quesadilla of Doom, and book 2 for Doomimals wherein the three little kittens lost the mittens of Cataclysm, and the kids have to retrieve them. Even before those books release, we're working on a book 1.5 for both series, a crossover novella between Chickens and Doomimals in which they face of with a mysterious Christmas threat. That should be released by the end of the week. 

I ask you to please drop me a review if you get a moment. I appreciate your attention. Very soon, you'll need to get updates on my website, through my newsletter. But until then, I will be back here to update you. 

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. 

Free Book!

 

[Book 1 cover]

Book one is free until tomorrow in digital format. You can buy it here. These last two weeks, I've been working on getting reviews, so people understand how much fun this book is. It's an end-of-the-world tale about kids and their super pets saving the world, in case you haven't heard. It's an action-adventure rewrite of "Chicken Little." One of the hardest parts is always getting reviews. If you have time after reading my book, I'd appreciate a review. 

[Recording: source]

TPAW/TPA Wulfric sent me proofs of his audio recordings to make it available to you in another format. I know a lot of people find audiobooks a better way to consume written material, so it will be ready for you soon. It sounds really good. 

[The Chickens Are Coming: source]

Meanwhile, my son and I are making great progress on the next big thing, he with The Misadventures of the Just Us Chickens, me with Doomimals Book 2: Cat-a-Clysm. He's rewriting chapter 7 out of 10. I'm about midway through the third revision, then I will present it to my beta readers. 

[The Magic of Picture Books: Source]

We've also been researching how to spread the word of these books. One thing I learned was that audiences love freebies. Soon, I'll be starting a proper newsletter, and in order to get those freebies, you can sign up for the newsletter, which will keep you posted on the progress of these books. The short story I'm almost done with tells the backstory of the kids' dad and how he first tangled with magic. Also, I learned it may be helpful to write children's picture books, so I'll be featuring the main characters from my main series in such books. A lot of exciting things are happening. Watch for all of this. 

Plans for the Future

[Recent launch. Source: Unsplash.]

This blog is about my indie writing career and what I'm doing with it. As you probably noticed, I launched my first book and made it available to you last week. I blogged about it last week. The book is about three kids and their super animal companions fighting off the Doomsday at the talons of The Bird, the evil Dog of War's right-hand monster. It's an action-adventure coming-of-age romp based on "Chicken Little." It's perfect for kids 8-12 or readers whose skills fall in that range. Adults have also read and loved it. This book series has the tone of a Percy Jackson book and is reminiscent of Animorphs. If your kids like books like those, this is for them. 

Some years ago, I made available a prequel to this series. You can read it for free on Amazon here. It can be read before or after any of the stories. It simply expands on the lore. 

[Book 2 illustration]

My next book is called Doomimals Book 2: "Cat-a-clysm" and is based on "Three Little Kittens." The three kids from book 1 team up with three kittens to try to retrieve the Mittens of Cataclysm before they are used to destroy the world. The rough draft was written some years ago and was rewritten more recently. I'm right now working on deepening the emotional context of the tale. I'll then run it by my beta readers. I hope to launch it in October. 

[Spanish. Source: Unsplash.]

Meanwhile, I'm working on a Spanish language translation of book 1 since I'm bilingual and having my nephew, TPAW aka TPA Wulfric, and whose books you can find here, do a high-quality audio recording for Audible. I made a superhero cape for him when he was a toddler, and now, he's helping me fly. His own little ones now wear that cape. He's been one of my greatest supporters and helped me reconceptualize my story structure. With both Audible and translation, I'm hoping to make it available to more people. 

[Chickens!]

I'm now working on helping Ax the Narrator, my own right-hand man and son, rewrite his masterful spin-off of my book, Just Us Chickens. The first book is called The Misadventures of the Just Us Chickens. Mine is focused on the kids and their struggles to reunite their family and save the world. His follows the adventures of the animals, particularly a group of super chickens who will save the world if ever they can stop tripping all over their own feathers. 

He took my scaredy Chicken Little, named Drumstick, and swept him into this new team. As I said last week, he wrote the first draft when he was 13 and just learning to write. It won second place in the kids' book contest against much older writers. He's now rewriting it to make it zanier, crazier, more human but also more fun. He takes his inspiration from books like Captain Underpants and The Bad Guys, though it's for a slightly older audience. We're shooting to launch this book in September, date forthcoming. 

[Writing. Source: Unsplash.]

Meanwhile, I'm working on reaching out more to you, the reader. I'll be blogging a lot more often. I'm enrolled in an online class that will help us learn how to bring my pieces to more people. I'll be donating my books to libraries and working on getting them into bookstores. I'm eager to share my books will everyone I can. I'd also love to hear from you. What do you look for in a book? 

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.