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A few months ago, I was sent a nice email from a new author asking if I would support her crowd-funding project. It was for a children’s book and after taking a quick look, I did just that. With the book now available to buy, I had a quick chat with the author, Jessica to find out how things have been going. Jessica, thanks for taking some time out to have a chat with me about your book. How did it all come together? I would love to share with you the story of how the three little monster's came to be. It all started when my son Dean was a baby he had difficulty sleeping and would be awake on and off all night. The only thing that calmed him down was me reading to him, we read every book he owned over and over again until one night, I decided to make up my own story about three little monster's, he loved them so much that I decided to write them all down, just in case I forgot them, but I never did. I then decided to let my two older daughter's read them and they loved them as much as Dean did, it was then with the help and encouragement from my husband I decided to go for it and get my book published. Firstly, we started our campaign with BNBS, everyone was really helpful and I enjoyed my time working with them. Was there any hesitation about seeking publication, personally I put all stuff in a drawer thinking “No-ones interested in that but me!” At first, I must admit there was a lot of hesitation that's only because my own children had read my book I was thinking to myself, did they enjoy it or are they just saying that because it was their mummy that wrote it. I decided to bite the bullet and take the book into my older daughter's school for her teacher to read at story time. I was surprised at the outcome as the whole class enjoyed it and even did their own piece of work on the monster's which was fantastic. That sounds like an excellent piece of research that you did. How long did it take you to put the book together, were there any teething troubles? it took me about 4 month's to put the book together as there were many teething trouble's like grammatical errors that I hadn't picked up on (neither did Mike) then we had the fun of trying to sort out the pages like what image's went on what page and making sure it flowed properly. The art is very distinct, were there any variations before you settled on a particular style? Originally when I started the book, the only character that looked different to what she does now, was Grumble; she still had her purple fur but was originally going to have 4 green spot's on her tummy. I met Jasmine Mill's my illustrator on Fiverr.com and I gave her a brief description of how I wanted the main character's to look and she was quite happy to work with that as for Ghost, Doctor Booshilla, Max and Melissa, I let Jasmine design them how she imagined them to be. I was really happy with the way the monster's and the rest of the characters turned out. I think Jasmine did a fantastic job with my book and look forward to working with her again in the near future. Were you nervous at all about letting somebody else visualise your creations? At first I must admit I was a little bit nervous about letting Jasmine visualise the rest of the character's, but after she had shown me the drawings she had produced, I was over the moon with all the character's I couldn't have done them any better myself. They were fantastic and not too scary that's just how I imagined them to be. Some writers talk about “Self-Isolation” a period where they won’t read or watch ANYTHING that they feel may influence their current work, is this something that you find yourself doing? It might sound a bit silly but, I prefer to write around noise as I have been used to doing that since I started writing my books. I find that I can't concentrate if it's to quite as I'm used to having my little monster's running around and playing in the background. Also they give me the inspiration for some of the argument's and fun thing's the monster's get up too lol. We’ve both tried crowdfunding through BNBS, your campaign fell just short. Was this in any way demoralising? Firstly, we started our campaign with BNBS, everyone was really helpful and I enjoyed my time working with them. I even met some really fantastic, lifelong friends, but unfortunately, we didn't reach or target and I felt quite down and just about ready to give up. My husband and my BNBS friends helped me to pick myself up and make the monsters come to life. Eventually, we got the three little monster's published on amazon and that's the story of how the three little monsters were born. I must admit that after my campaign fell through, I did feel like giving up and it was hard to motivate myself. I gained a lot from my experience with BNBS and it opened my eyes to how much work was involved. It also gave me an insight into how many people were interested in my book and I'm glad now that all my family and friends old and new never let me give up. What’s next, will you always write for children or have you any plans to work in other genres? To be honest Ben, there is 44 stories in total and after a further 14 stories Jenni (curly squidge) comes into the stories and I have a further 30 stories too with 9 of those already written and just needing typing, adjusting and illustrations done for them. So for now, definitely sticking with children's books. We certainly have a lot to look forward to. Sticking with children’s stories, what’s your favourite? I enjoy reading a lot of Roald Dahl stories my favourite one of all time has to be the BFG loved the book and the film was fantastic too. It was hard to choose which one was my favourite, but this definitely is one I could read over and over. If one of your books was going to read on “Jackanory” (showing my age here) who would you love to hear reading it? That was a really hard question, Ben lol Vincent Price would have been a great choice but since I can't have him it would have to be Christopher Ecclestone as I think he has a great voice (completely different end of the scale compared to Vincent) Thanks very much! I’ve really enjoyed chatting to you. Last question, when can we expect the next book? The answer to your last question is, early January 2016 and the name of the book will be 'Gruesome Gets a Toothache' What a scary interview, but I enjoyed it never the less. Click on the link below and follow the instructions. Everyone likes something for nothing, don't they?
https://jessicasnapebooks.wordpress.com/2015/10/15/three-little-monsters-audiobook-giveaway-2/ 9/29/2015 0 Comments Three little Monsters Feedback8 Reviews on Amazon with 1 - 4.5* and 9 - 5*
http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/1517127718/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending Update - 23 Ebooks and 20 Paperback sold. 22 of the Ebooks purchasers have taken advantage of the fantastic offer we had last weekend, where you could download it for free from Amazon. Three Little Monsters would like to thank you all who have supported them along their journey and ask that you continue to support them by asking all friends and family to get their copy for their children or grandchildren as a present for Christmas or birthdays.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Little-Monsters-Ghost-Wisdom/dp/1517127718 https://jessicasnapebooks.wordpress.com/2015/09/22/three-little-monsters-update-2 9/13/2015 0 Comments Three Little Monsters 'Who is Who' - Click on the link below to decide which of my children is which monster!! (Just for fun) Post comments below
Source: WHO IS WHO???
9/11/2015 0 Comments Three Little Monsters Are Back!!!Three Little Monsters have been on holiday since May 2015 after a long and hard-fought battle to gain a publishing deal with BNBS who were fantastic with their support and guidance. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful, they needed a break, but are now back and raring to go.
You can purchase your copy from either: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/1517127718 https://www.createspace.com/5709444 Take a look, buy a copy for Christmas, birthdays or just because your children like reading. There are many more books in the series that I am sure you will enjoy just as much too. |
AuthorA mother of 4 beautiful children who has a passion for writing children's stories. ArchivesCategories |