A New Book for a New Year by Deborah Paul
A New Book for a New Year
by Deborah Paul
Deborah Paul’s dog Lambchop, who makes special appearances in “After the Ark,” appears to be thanking heaven for the “be kind to animals” message.
My fifth children’s book, “After the Ark” came out right before Christmas in the middle of our pandemic.
You didn’t know?
I usually send out a trumpeted announcement inviting everyone I know to my house for refreshments, book signings and live reads, but the latest pandemic restrictions have certainly put the kibosh on that lively endeavor.
I’ve already sold more than a hundred “After the Ark” books from the house to people who I love and who love me back. My church friends and my retired Flying Tiger buddies have helped me launch, and so far the feedback is “score two” for the positive reactions.
In the meantime, someone described me as a small-time author with big time books.
Texas resident and retired Flying Tiger Lines 747 Captain John Dickson and his wife Jeanne bought five copies for their grandchildren and contributed this first review:
“After the Ark, by Deborah Paul, was a real joy to read to our young grandchildren, ages 6 and 9. As with her previous books, we were all captivated by the poetic flow and the rich illustrations. The most gratifying moments come after the book is read, when endless questions always abound from our young ones about the messages within. After the Ark gives the reader, young or old, the opportunity to ponder the purpose and meaning of targeted words, the story of the Bible, animal conservation and, most importantly, our purpose on this earth for all that is good. Thoughtful dialogue continues well after the book is read, a rarity for children books which is sure to make a difference in our lives.”
I’m not stoic. I cried.
Self publishing is hard or easy as you want to make it.
Work with the company, give and take advice and constructive criticism, turn in your publishing assignments in a timely manner and you will have a good experience. If your expectations are too high, say, about layout or cover illustrations, you may be setting yourself up for disappointment.
I highly recommend investing in local writers Beth and William Whittenbury’s “How to Self Publish” available on Amazon for a quick jump start. Their thoughtful suggestions save a lot of expense and heartache during the process.
About 23 years ago, I wrote my first rhyming children’s book, “The Ballad of Baby Rain,” but shelved it for 15 years. I finally had the means and drive to publish it in 2016.
The inspiration for my first book was a 15-year-old, upcoming ballerina named Misty Copeland who I interviewed on a few occasions for the South Bay Weekly section in the L.A. Times.
After I saw Misty perform in “The Nutcracker” at the Warner Grand in San Pedro, I wrote the fictional story about a little ballerina who lost her bard companion only to come across another storyteller in a field of daisies.
“Wolfe” would sing praises of her beauty and talent throughout the land and the two would become famous. I named the bard character after Cindy and Patrick Bradley’s good natured son who took ballet lessons the same time as my granddaughter, Shellby.
I made copious mistakes with my first book. I wanted my character to reflect Misty’s adorable face and gracefulness. “Baby Rain” was the nick name given to Misty by Cindy Bradley, her first ballet teacher and confidante.
The publishing company, Xlibris who I used for my Ballad series, sent me a chart for skin color and I picked out a color I thought would reflect Misty’s complexion.
To my dismay, the artist assigned to me made Baby Rain appear more like an exotic looking gypsy than a racially-mixed, light skinned young black woman.
To re-publish would cost thousands of dollars.
My next book, “The Ballad of Shellby Shores” was inspired by my granddaughter who came to live with my husband and me at the age of 13. Shellby came from a tumultuous family situation and not having children of my own, I took parenting to task and formed a solid relationship with her as best as I could.
One of the adventures we shared was being a part of a Manhattan Beach women’s surf group we collectively named “Ohana Nalu.”
“Ohana Nalu” means “wave family,” and that’s what we became. Shellby was surrounded by strong, successful women who made great role models. Those women were also part of the inspiration behind my fictional story of the curl girl who loved surfing more than anything, but took time away from a perfect waves to remove a fish hook from the beak of an injured pelican.
Book 3, “The Ballad of Alice Dare” was inspired by a certified female brigantine captain, Alice Robinson, who I had the honor of sailing to Catalina one weekend with the Los Angeles Maritime’s Top Sail program.
The crew was a group of underprivileged middle schoolers who Capt. Alice taught to raise and lower sails, launch dinghies from the side of the two-masted vessel and work together in the food galleys. She also demonstrated valuable lessons in self esteem building and kindness. I witnessed first hand how that special weekend changed on-the-edge gang mentalities into fun-loving kids with a new look at life’s possibilities.
Book 4, “The Ballad of Eques May” was inspired by Mayisha Akbar who founded the Compton Equestrian Riding Posse. After interviewing Mayisha and seeing what she accomplished in the stables behind her house in Compton, this powerful child-loving cowgirl certainly deserved to be epitomized. “The Ballad of Eques May” is the closest I’ve written to a non-fiction story.
For “After the Ark,” I decided to try a new company who has done a good job for another of our local writers, the very prolific Mary Jo Hazard who has her own new coming-of-age novel out, “Stillwater.” I read it and greatly recommend the 254-page book for young teen readers.
I’d like to say the experience with Mascot Publishing has been carefree, but halfway through the process, the illustrator went AWOL with some heartfelt personal problems. Working together with my book coordinator, we managed to find another first-rate illustrator, Stephanie Fliss Dumas, who took the story boards and added her own flair to the originals.
One of my best customers, Cathy Schinhofen of Pheland, CA said she grew up reading the Encyclopedia set her family bought when she was young. As a lover of poetry and words, she has purchased more than a half dozen of my children’s books and described what she wants to convey to young readers.
“I hope that by gifting “After the Ark” books to children in my family, it will spark a lifelong passion to appreciate God’s great, green earth and all the animals inhabiting it. Kids will be intrigued by the question of where the animals strayed, in awe of the beautiful illustrations, and captivated by the story’s poetic melody and message.”
(Sniff. Thank you, Cathy.)
Still, the most trying task with self publishing is how to market your book since the tedious process is expensive and there are all sorts of pitfalls.
At the very least I get two phone calls a week from so-called marketing companies or literary agents who want to present my books to the world. They all offer the same allurements with different slants. If you want to spend lots of money and get very little results, fall prey to one of those high pressure sales executives on the phone.
One marketer was setting me up to do a radio interview in San Diego when it finally came to the ugly truth they needed a couple thousand dollars to start the process. Another caller almost convinced me Netflix was on the other line ready to make “The Ballad of Alice Dare” into a series. Still another wanted to partner with me to publish my book all over Europe -- with me fronting thousands of dollars.
As celebrated as I’m not, I haven’t interested a Simon & Schuster or Double Day, yet.
My goal is not to be rich or famous, but if I sell enough copies to publish my next book, I’ll be happier than a book mite in a 100-year-old library.
For now, you can order my $15 books by e-mailing me at deborahpaul16@cox.net. I’ll even deliver signed books in person if you live in the South Bay. Or you can order from the usual shopping sites like Amazon, Kindle or Ebay.
You won’t be sorry.
John and Jeanne Dickson’s grandchildren Wolfie 6, and Vivienne 9, tuck in with a copy of Deborah Paul’s “After the Ark” children’s book.
Deborah Paul has played with ink since she was able to read and write. At 19, after two years of college, she left St. Louis to fly for American Airlines, and later enjoyed a long career with Flying Tiger Lines in many capacities, including flying military and their dependents all over the world as a flight attendant. Paul returned to university in the 1990s earning a journalism degree from Cal State University Dominguez Hills and was eventually hired as a newspaper reporter for the South Bay Weekly section of the Los Angeles Times. A decade later she worked for Orange Coast Magazine as their Charitable Events editor. She also taught journalism and was advisor to the campus newspaper at CSUDH and still contributes as a regular stringer for Peninsula News on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Currently, she has self-published four-of-five children's books in her ballad series. Her poetic fictional stories are inspired by real people who have left an indelible mark on the quiet display of simple human kindness. She resides in Rancho Palos Verdes married to Jim, her husband of many adventures.