Thursday, July 30, 2009

Hey Booms, Beat It--- The Beginning of a book series for kids ages 4-7.




Hey Booms, Beat It ©2008 by Carol Kalvelage
The first in a brand new series of books designed for kids ages 4-7 by Carol Kalvelage . Illustrated by Sister Diane Payne


July 29, 2009- Must be something with the 9's! I finally- or we- finally did it. The Beat It Books ©2008 by Carol Kalvelage are officially "out there". I finished the last of the copying, my mom finished the last of the editing, and I presented my first draft to a publishing house. We shall see....... This is where the fun begins. For me, anyway, because I believe in possibility. And I believe in truth.

The truth about this book series is that it is based on my personal experiences with my daughter. Every night at bedtime, I tell my daughter a story. We will read a book together, but she likes it best when I make one up. She likes it even better when I add her, her animals, her family members and her day to the story line.

One night, after I told her the Beat It Booms story, I thought to myself "You know, that one was pretty good. You should write it down." So I did. And it stayed there on my computer for a year. But I wrote it down. That was huge.

Then I shared it with others. I actually let somebody read what I wrote. I held my breath and probably turned blue as she read it, but I stayed put. And then I heard the words- " this is good. Here is some advice......." and I took the advice.

Now, here we are. Looking to get published. I believe it will happen. Perhaps not in my time frame (RIGHT NOW!), but at the right time. I'm so grateful for Sister Diane Payne the illustrator. She knows firsthand how my daughter and I interact, so she was able to construct the photos from her experience with us.

Michelle Lannoo/Wardowski gave me her time one afternoon- she didn't know that she got ambushed. I took her away from her one year old child and her 6 year old child and her husband and said "I need you alone for 5 minutes".

Of course as Michelle and I retreated into a quiet space, everyone followed us-- including my 4 year old daughter and my husband. I knew they would follow us. So I said- Beat it everyone.....and they left. Except for Edgar, the one year old. That was o.k. with me because I was able to play with him and try not freak out while Michelle read the rough copy with photos. Michelle is a gifted artist, illustrator and designer. We have known each other for 30 years, at least. I watched as Michelle went through the rough draft and worked her magic. She arranged, then re-arranged, and then gave me her professional input-- To me that was magic and I'm positive she probably has no clue as to how that helped this book materialize.

I also want to thank my sister, Mary Joyce. Mary gave me the opportunity to start writing again. She put no limits on what I could do- just said "go for it". I've struggled at times with the whole internet blogging/marketing/writing thing. It's nice to have family members who believe in and support you. Without Mary, I would not have this blog to blah, blah, blah on. You have helped me in more ways than you know.

Diane Melton, Joette Lambert, Sharon Miller, Kim Kern, Kim Retherford, Sara Arbenowski, Jenn., J.P. Gonzalez, Chris Garland, Pat Hartner, Laurie Scholler, Marge Redmond, and Meta Lothman. The best safety net in the universe.

My husband Ken, who has put up with my "idiosyncrasies" for almost 16 years- and Madison, who came into our lives as a miracle in 2004. Without her, the creativity may have come to an end.

And special thanks to Joe and Suzy Fucini, who gave me a start in the world of public relations and writing. It has been a long time since we've connected, and I will always be grateful for their guidance,

Now I truly feel like a published author-- or at least someone who won an Academy Award. Imagine, writing your thank you speech before you receive an award.........hmmmm.......................now that's an idea.

Stay tuned for more fun and exciting news from the Beat It Book series

P.S.- This is only my second post because I was too scared to write, but I did see the Secret Life of the Bees movie. While the actors were top notch entertainers, I did not feel the connection like I have with the book. To me, imagination is a much better canvas than the silver screen.