BRINGING BACK THE OLD

In a recent blog, writer, Marie Dane Bauer brought up the question of needing courage to be a writer.  http://www.mariondanebauer.com/blog/2013/05/the-question-of-courage. In response, I had commented that what takes courage is not the writing, but the belief that what you have written is good enough for others to read; good enough for a publisher to invest thousands of dollars to publish it; a belief strong enough to sustain you through the rejection process that surely comes—to stick to it and not quit. And, it occurred to me as I am once again about to embark on a publishing venture outside of traditional publishing, how true that is. For as I move forward with my heart and mind fully engaged in the positive side of the journey, I still must deal with a gut that twists with the “what if’s” and the nay-sayers who are out there waiting for the chance to tell me I’m making a mistake.

Years ago, I created a story about an alligator who was trying to talk to the creatures (humans) on the beach. Shortly thereafter, I met a very talented song writer, Deborah Bel Pfleger, who promptly wrote four wonderful catchy tunes to go with it. We recorded it with singers, actors, sound effects and instrumentals at her recording studio, and set out to find a publisher. At the time, books-on-tape were just coming on the market and ones for children were only being done with stories from Disney, Sesame Street and the classics. The emerging market was brand new for children’s audio books.

Way back then, after trying for seven years to find a publisher, I believed in Arlie the Alligator enough to publish it on my own. Thus, Arlie the Alligator: Story-song picture book with audio tape, later CD and DVD, and a Communication Activity Guide for teachers, was born. Now, after more than two decades on the market and rave reviews from parents and educators throughout the United States, British Columbia and England alike, a new market is emerging; eBooks for children.

And so, I am thrilled to announce that come July, the communication based, newly illustrated, re-packaged Arlie the Alligator will be available to challenge a new generation of children to think and enhance their reading skills as they sing-along and follow-along on their Kindle Fires and Ipads. In addition, a newly illustrated print version will also be available through Amazon.

Bringing an old story forward again, something a traditional publisher would not do, takes a strong belief in the story, courage and a very supportive husband.

I hope you will support me on this journey.

I’d love to hear about your journey of courage.

Stay tuned for my next blog post where I will explain how this all came about.