Can I do it again?

So, I just finished posting an awesome post over on my other blog. I can say that, because admittedly my blog posts are rather bland. Therefore, I thought that I should come over here and try and do it again. I make no promises, as that one took a lot out of me. LOL.

I have been trying to keep you up to date on everything regarding my husband's and my picture books, as well as the (in the works) chapter book. So, I thought I would try to share a little bit about these things.

First, we are looking to release I Love the Changing Seasons sometime this week. It is already available for Kindle. Here is what you can expect. I Love the Changing Seasons follows the seasons through the course of a year. It talks of the fun things that you can do during those seasons and some of the things you can expect the weather to do. Once more, I told the story entirely in rhyme. The rhythm of the story is meant to sooth a young child while entertaining an older one. Clark dabbled with watercolor for the first time (if you exclude the cover to my alter ego's recently released novel) and the illustrations turned out beautifully. We are excitedly awaiting the release of our second book.

This second book is dedicated to the students, staff and families of Gardens Elementary, where we visited just before Christmas. We were delighted by the reception there, and awed by the powerful and wondrous questions and thoughts posed by the students and staff during our visit.

I have told you some of what I am working on with my first chapter book. The idea of doing  a chapter book came from some wonderful students from the aforementioned school. When one of their students stood up to ask if I was going to write a chapter book, I had to say that I honestly had not planned on it. However, the more I mulled it over in my mind, the more fun the idea became.

This is the birth of The Adventures of Bear B. & Stone. The series is actually going to center around my dog and my husband's cat. Perhaps you would be interested in hearing a little bit about the two characters that you will be meeting when the first adventure is completed. First, there is Bear B. His real name is Bear, but one day I was attempting to call him "Bear Baby" and the two words melded together, producing his new nickname and the name of the main character in my new series. He is an interesting hybrid of Border Collie and Chow Chow. Having a hard time picture it? Here he is.

Bear B.

He is quite the character. He is an unusual dog who does not like to play outside for more than five minutes, isn't in your face needy of attention all the time, and plows into anything and everything wherever he goes. He is almost 3 years old and the sweetest, most loving dog you will ever know. There are a few things that will change about his personality during the course of the series, but much of what makes him unique will stay intact. I don't want to reveal too much, as I hope you will meet him soon enough.

The other crazy character is my husband's cat, Stone. He was a wildcat when my husband picked him up on the side of the road just over 14 years ago. He barely opened his eyes, and fit comfortably in Clark's flannel pocket. His mother had abandoned him on the side of the road, and Clark was loathe to leave him there. The first thing he fed his new kitten was Frito's. He still has a love of all things potato chip. He also loves Italian cooking (perhaps proving he is a relative of the famed feline, Garfield). He has been with Clark ever since, and by default with me since Clark and I began dating more than a decade ago. His personality is strange in itself. He is more dog than cat. In fact, he trained one of our previous dogs on how to be a dog, and has confused many a cat on the art of catness. He has absolutely no grace. He NEVER lands on his feet, and knocks things over on a regular basis. I hope that his counterpart in the new series will leave readers laughing as much as he makes us laugh on a daily basis.

Stone

Our pets are a part of our family and, thus being, will provide inspiration and entertainment to our books. Clark will be including one black and white drawing per chapter.

I hope that you have enjoyed meeting the main characters of our upcoming chapter book. They look forward to entertaining all of you in the years to come. Please remember to follow my blog to stay up to date on the latest news about all things books. We thank you for your continued support.