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. 

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.  

Revving the Engines

 

[Revving Engines toward launch--source]

Update: I apologize. I'm still poised to publish the first Doomimals book. I've just been working 12-16 hour days and have not been able to squeeze out the energy and time combined to get my fully prepared manuscript posted. But the holidays and time off is coming. I should be posting a publication date soon. We have a webpage prepared to go with it. It just doesn't have links yet. Chickens should come soon after the launch of Doomimals. Also, soon after, will be the first Kindle Vella segment of my first romance novel, After the Dream. It is coming soon. I'll let you know as soon as I have dates. 

 

[My teenage child's illustration for book 1.]

I'm ready to launch Doomimals. I'm just waiting for my husband to build our new website, so we can have something to which we can direct the reader. We are working on a landing page that will give you links to our KDP Select chapter book series, the Doomimals books, very soon to the first Just Us Chickens book (I'm wrapping up editing on the first one), and Imperfections, a Christian romance series that will go up on Vella. All of them, plus my published academic theses (one on the Pimpernel and one on fairy tale adaptations into fantasy and the healing power of fiction) will be linked to from the landing page and will become central pieces on individual pages. Our webpage will give you access to this blog as well as our pieces. 

[Upcoming fanfiction, source.]

I'll also shortly be working on highlighting my writer's blog, my mourning blog, and my cat blog in individual books.  I have a small readership but hope to broaden that. Meanwhile, Ax the Narrator will be working on a Doomimals universe Wiki. He's also doing a fanfiction crossover between Just Us Chickens, "My Little Pony," "Ben 10, " "Milo Murphy," "Phineas and Ferb," "Total Drama," as well as other popular pieces. It will be free, and I'll be linking to it here and on my website.  I also have various younger children's books that have already been written and just need to be prepped for publication. We will have a lot of material on our new publication website, Sleepy Hollow Press. I will keep you posted here as we make progress. It could even be later this week. 

Coming Soon: Launch!

[Just US Chickens cover]

 In the next week or so, both Doomimals Book 1 and Misadventures of the Just US Chickens will both be coming out. I have both covers just about finalized. Doomimals Book 1: Cock-a-doodle-DOOM! has been fully edited, and its images added. It's just waiting to get formatted. Just Us Chickens is almost done with its final edit. They will both be available on KDP Select for the first few months, anyway. We'll see past that. 

[First illustration from Doomimals Book 1]

We'll meanwhile be working on Just Us Chickens Book 2 and then a backstory for one of the main characters. Then, we'll work toward launching Doomimals Book 2. A FB page for each series will come out. We're shooting to release a new book per month as much as possible. We'll announce here, on the Just Us Chickens FB page, on Twitter, on a new webpage soon to launch, and everywhere else I can think of. We'll also be working on launching an Amazon ad campaign. Be watching for forthcoming news. 

Twice the Chickens, Twice the Fun

[Super Chickens]

My teenage boy, who will be going by Ax the narrator, is the other half of my writing partnership. He's the wildly creative half of our team who is unrestricted by adult fears and limitations like I have been. All you have to do is have a slip of the tongue, throw out a crazy wordplay, or watch a movie and play with him, and he spins off into a new character, subplot, or a new book, which he can churn out in a few days. It was his slip-of-the-tongue when he said Alpacalips that my brain started churning, and Doomimals was born. I, meanwhile, have the master's in English and the practical sense of grammar, structure, writing, and literary depth. I run into writer's block frequently, and he bails me out with his wild ideas. He'll spin out a crazy scene for me, and I'll weave it into something ready to be read. 

[School of Rock-source]

Recently, we watched the Broadway musical "School of Rock," based on the early 2000s movie with Jack Black. Even though it's about a slacker scamming his way into a substitute teaching, he must have done something right because during my Master's program, my whole group of budding college English instructors was taken on a field trip to see the movie in order to learn to teach in a creative way. But in the eyes of my boy, this became the inspiration for a crazy plotline about super chickens substituting at a high-brow school, where they end up having major super battles with possessed teachers. 

[The Bad Guys, a silly book series recently adapted for movie theaters. Source]

While I'm finishing up the editing process and doing the last items to prep my first book for publication, my boy is churning out zany Captain Underpantsesque/The Bad Guys-like insane books. I was going to release one of my books then one of his books, but it's pretty clear his go a lot faster than mine. How does this translate to your experience? The new plan is to put out one of my books then, the next month, release one of his then, a month later, another of his. Doomimals will come out every third month or so while his are going to come out a lot faster. As soon as my first is done, we'll immediately focus on pumping out his, one after another. It's something to look forward to in the near future. 

Art and Character Revision

[Redrawing Just Us Chickens.] 

 As part of my preparation to launch my boy's first book, Misadventures of the Just Us Chickens, I've decided to redo the line art.  When I first started digital art about a year or two ago, I didn't know how to do line art, so I simply scanned in my sketches and used the scanned ink. Now that I re-examine that art with a year or two of experience, I can see the line art needs help. Also, as I've been revising and rewriting later books, I've realized some of the art no longer fits. I'll need to revise and update the illustrations for at least book four but probably later ones as well.  

[Key Lime] 

Also, my boy has been working on a swashbucking, world-traveling superhero snake named Key Lime Python.  Originally, he was a jaded, frustrated, and incredibly experienced.  He even wrote a novel based on this character, and I had him introduced in book four of my stories.  He's since decided to turn this series into a bildungsroman, a coming of age of a kid snake who accidentally ends up with the most powerful sword in the universe and has to figure out how to use it without destroying the universe in the process.  

[Editing: source]

In the meantime, I watched a video about paring down references to the main characters, focusing on their senses and their experience to more fully immerse the reader into the story.  Instead of writing "I looked around and saw a mountain coming up from the ground," one would write, "A mountain arose from the ice, jutting up to the sky." Instead of focusing on my character's experience, the text will take the reader there.  I thought I was all but ready, just doing a final polish, when I realized this one little tweak will take a while but improve the reading experience.  So there is a delay, but I fully plan to get the first book out for you by early summer.  

Pieces Coming Together

[Navigating toward success: source]

We were able to get into Mark Dawson's class, the one that trains you to become successfully self-published.  We're clearing our slate of other critical items, so we can start it soon.  The one piece I could never figure out for myself, even after several other classes, was how to market on the road to self-publication.  Apparently, this plus some books on the topic will start opening doors and making things clear. This is something anyone can do, even you.  It's not a cheap class, but it will be worth it in the end. 

[Cover Design-source]

Another step we'll be pursuing, likely this week, is finding a cover designer on Fiverr.  Yesterday, I picked up an audiobook on the strength of its cover and because it was for the same target audience.  Two things (other than boredom) came out of it: 1. an exciting, professional cover can bring the audience, especially on a website like Amazon; 2. doing my own audiobooks won't be outside the realm of possibility because I can read in a much more expressive way that that actor.  I don't know that I'll have time for all of them, but I can get it started and then maybe pay someone to do the rest. Getting someone to do it won't be cheap, but if the book starts making sales, it may pay for itself.  And my boy has crazy, fun voices already practiced for his audiobooks.  

[The journey begins-source]

I'm sure setting up toward successful self-publication will be time-consuming, but in the end, knowing how to do it will be one of the most important skills we can acquire.  And as we figure this out as a family, I'll share my path to success, so you can both try it yourself and learn when and how to acquire our books. It will be an adventure for all of us.  

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.  

Pausing to Enter a Contest

[A contest about Q-source]

My writing group, League of Utah Writers, sent me information on an intriguing contest.  I thought it would be a fun thing to try.  Entries are meant to be only 1000 words or fewer, and all need to have three Q words in it.  We're right now working on gathering up drafts of unpublished pieces as well as fresh brainstorms.  I know hour chances of winning aren't that high.  I've very rarely won writing contests of any type, but as with our writing series, it's something my boy and I can work on together. 

 

[Entering a contest-source]

 I've been trying to brainstorm ideas for three weeks, since I first heard of the contest.  The due date is tomorrow, so I know I don't have a lot of time.  But I finally decided rather than to tack these words onto a story that's been sitting around for a while to start afresh, to dig into those words and try to bring the meaning out of them.  We may use some stories my boy's already written, possibly including some super chickens.  If they get published, I'll announce it.  But we'll definitely also start something new.  And that's always exciting.  I recommend trying it. 

Looking forward to a Break

[The juggle continues: source]

 With the crazy juggle that has been my life this semester, I've been thankful for every scrap of time I could use for writing. I have made some progress, but much of that was with getting feedback to improve what I've already written, as I said last time.  Over the next month, the holidays pick up, and the obstacles between me and getting the time to write start fading again. I will be able to make much faster progress and actually use that feedback.  

[The publisher question: source]

I'm hoping that I'll be done with books 3 and 4 by the end of the break, so I'll be able to explore the next steps of bringing you these books. If I can make connections and find a regular publisher, I'd love that because it's likely to get more widespread readership.  

[Talking animals: source]

However, I know chapter books and middle-grade fiction are hard to place with agents and publishers because they're considered not very profitable.  Add the variety within the lore and series and the essential aspect of talking animals, and my optimism is not high.  However, I still have the plan of a hybrid publisher who can spread word of these fun series far and wide.  One way or another, I will keep working to bring these books to you.. 

Seeking Feedback

[Feedback; source]

While I'm working on book 4, I'm also looking through some detailed feedback on book 3 I got on the book before I seriously revamped it.  Some of that feedback still applies, but I'm also getting feedback on the rewritten version.  I want to make it as polished as possible.  I'm also hoping to get another beta reader for other books in this series, and this is supposed to be a way to do it.  

[Getting published-source]

Meanwhile, I have also had the recommendation to see if I can join a national children's writers' group to make connections that may help either publish or spread the word on both Doomimals and Just Us Chickens. I would very much like as wide a readership as possible. I have a hybrid publisher standing by, but it would be nice to find a traditional publisher with a wider readership.  I just know that chapter books and middle grade fiction often are hard to traditionally publish. I've tried some already with agents and publishers.  My friend, who is actually in the publishing field, suggested that the first three books of a middle-grade fiction may be enough to get someone interested but also indicated the nature of middle grade fiction is that it is hard to get published.  

One way or another, I will bring it to a publisher soon.  It may be traditionally published, or it may be via my hybrid publisher I've mentioned.  One way or another, I hope to make it available to you soon.