My Christmas Book is live on sale at Amazon.com

Well, the Christmas book is live for sale at Amazon.com. It's still a little early for Christmas, but it gives me some time to get some great reviews for it.

The One Stormy Day book has received some great reviews, and I personally think A Stranger At Christmas is better.

In this one, Ben and Sarah must save their town of Porterlance from a stranger set on ruining Christmas. You'll have to buy the book to find out why. :-)

Coloring Book Pages for the Kids!

I figured it'd be nice to allow people checking this blog out to print the coloring book images here, so their kids can color the pics.

Just click on the image to download the file. When the new window displays, just print the picture. :-)

If you want, scan your kids colored in pictures and I'll post a few on here. :-)







Hope you guys like these images. I look forward to seeing how your kids can color them.

Both books are available through the menu on the left.

Let me know if you'd like me to upload more pages in coloring book format. :-)

Other Great Books by Indie Authors

I just bought the book, Karate Cat, after hearing it recommended many, many times. I'm still waiting on it to ship from Amazon.com, but I have looked at the 15 page preview on Blurb.com.

I have to say it's a great book. The story is outstanding, but it's the rich illustrations/cover that drew me in.

If you have any young children, it's definitely a book you should consider buying (but buy my books first). :-)




A Surprise for Grandmother Rabbit, is another great book.

I actually just reviewed this book. Again...the cover drew me in. I'm a sucker for a great cover. Maybe it's the Artist in me. Maybe it's just natural.

This book teaches both about sharing and responsibility. It also comes with a free download of the audio version, so it's a great deal.

Help My Amazon.com rankings

I could use some help getting my Amazon rankings up.

If you cannot afford to buy the book (though there is a $5 coupon on the left), at least goto my Amazon link (also on the left with the sales links for One Stormy Day) and scroll down to the Tags section.

It'll ask you to check the "tags" that you think are appropriate for this book. Check off a few please....this will help my book rankings.

Also, you can create "listmania" lists on Amazon, as a way to recommend to people what you like. For instance, you can make a list like:

My 10 favorite Christmas Books. And, you'd search and select the 10 books on Amazon that correspond to that. If you'd create a list and include my book, I'd be grateful.

Creating My First Book

I actually created the first book 10 years or so ago.

It, of course, started with an idea. I was actually reading another book and saw a short poem in it. That made me decide to try my hand at writing.

I love Christmas...it was always the most magical time for me as a child. So, I decided to start with that. Next thing I knew, I had the story written, and kept going to write 11 more (same series...it was my vision to release 1 for each month of the year).

Now that I had the story....it was a few years later before I was able to do anything with them. I wasn't the greatest artist, so I didn't think I could do the illustrating.

I found a place where I could self-publish...and that made me start searching for a way to get the artwork done.

I contacted different Artists/Illustrators that I found online, and asked if they'd be willing to partner on this project. I found a great one that was willing, and super talented.

I'm a control freak, so I wanted the images to fit my vision. So, I drew the characters faces, and a sketch of what I wanted on each page. I gave these to Dennis (the illustrator), and he brought them to life. A few changes here and there and we had what we needed for the first book (and did the same for the second).

Because printing costs were so high, I printed the book at a coloring book. It had a great color cover, and really THICK inside pages in coloring book style. I wanted to have people still see it in color, so I made an ebook version on CD that I included in the back of the books.

Next, it was time to try to get some sales. I did put the book on Amazon.com, and contacted small bookstores around the country. I asked them if they'd do a consignment deal or be willing to purchase 3-4 copies each. I found about 100 stores willing to take me up on the offer. And, got some good praise and some offers for book signings if I was ever in the area.

Unfortunately, I went through some hard times and had to put it all on the back burner.

Until now....

I actually picked it back up after finding out about Createspace. My sister is writing a novel for young girls, and I looked at options for her to be able to publish it herself. When I found Createspace, and heard all of the positive feedback, I decided to try my books again. It's much more cost effective now, and it gives me a creative outlet.

I am thrilled to see my first 2 books finally in color. I've also published them with Blurb.com and Unibook.com to see the hard cover versions.

Now, I'm on a quest to get reviews, win awards, and increase sales! Wish me luck! :-)

And, on the side, I'm going to help my sister illustrate a short story she recently wrote, titled: Little Glimmer

First week of Amazon Reviews for One Stormy Day

"This charmingly ilustrated book has short inventive rhymes so a child could memorize it and read it to himself. The thunder storm is the background for a scary story about the pirates' cannons. The King's navy arrives to help Captain Ben and Queen Sarah win the day atop their ship, which resembles their bed. It is cute and a child will enjoy it, even on days when there is no scary storm outside." shopper - (4/5 stars)

"This is an adorable story done in rhyme! Ben and Sarah try to come up with ideas of what to do on a rainy Saturday. Mom and Dad try to help with a few ideas, but Ben and Sarah prefer their own idea. Imagination creates a fun-filled day with a story of pirates and treasures. This book is lots of fun to read and the illustrations are colorful and very well done. Your child will enjoy this adorable story. And, you'll enjoy reading it along with your little ones." Barbara J. Smith - (5/5 stars)



So...the reviews are starting to come in. Hopefully, I can keep up the momentum. The next book has already been published, but will take about a week to get onto Amazon.com. I'm hoping to get fast reviews for it, since it's a Christmas title and has a short selling window. :-)