My first publication of a children's story was done from nerves and in a sheer rush.
I wanted to share the first re purposed story from my parents stash to see if my intuition was right that the book would be a hit, even a small one. But the first story, originally titled "Santa's Sleigh" was too short for Amazon to publish or Ingram Spark to bother with. So I was left with the idea of more content ; a second story, blooming the title to 32 pages. I hadn't spent hours in research of other titles, so I hadn't considered the option of just adding discussion questions, or coloring pages or games and puzzles. Enough of those I would have my page count.
While walking with a friend on the Syracuse Inner Harbor one Saturday, I shared my dilemma. There was an original completely reinvented story from 1947, and what could I follow with!. After a few minutes of quiet walking she just said, "how about training the reindeer?"
I was instantly grateful. My mind lit up with possibilities and by the time I got home, I could see the reindeer as young girls. Girls could come into their power in the role of helping to deliver toys all over the world and pulling a sleigh through the sky. One reindeer would want to sit in the sleigh instead of pull it because it would be too much work! One reindeer wanted to give advice so much she had trouble listening to Santa . One reindeer wanted to have a mirror to see themselves glide through the sky. I cast them as a younger generation of today and had my story in no time. Then Santa had to put his foot down to make everyone work together.
Along the way, research revealed that many species of female reindeer keep their antlers year round , whereas the male reindeer shed them. I learned other things such as their eyes change color in summer and winter. Also that their hooves are softened in summer and hardened in winter to accommodate changes in terrain. I also found out that reindeer sleep by taking little naps. The was for staying alert to predators. I only mentioned the napping briefly at the end of the book. The other research details I didn't think would be beneficial for the young mind reading or read to in the first book.
What I found is that any obstacle in writing a story is to me a fun challenge. My mind never stops dancing around, until the words come through my fingers. And even then it's to change and enhance. I have loved writing from the time I was 5 years old. It is a journey of the mind that never quits. As an added bonus I have had wonderful feedback in discussion of the story at reading/selling events. The young girls love that I cast the reindeer as all females.
This first book gave me so much inspiration that I have written a three story mini chapter book, that follows the story of the first book. I have a new and very different illustrator and I am very anxious to receive response on this new title. The content of each page is more advanced, so I have set the age of reading at 7-10. Coloring pages and discussion questions cover three stories as well. More news. teasers and launch details
by early Fall 2023. Note: there are now coloring pages from the first book that will be included for free in the sale of the first book if bought locally in Syracuse. I will find a way to make them free downloads during the launch of the new book.
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