Nimpentoad's Creative Journey by Henry Herz
When my sons were five and seven years old, and I wanted to share my love of fantasy with them. They were too young for watching most of the fantasy and sci-fi movie classics, and there are only so many good fantasy books available for that age range. Struck by inspiration one day, I came up with a way to share the joy of entering the magical realms of fantasy. I would write a fantasy book for them!
What I did
not anticipate was that my boys would give me feedback on the story. They
devised some of the character (“Nimpentoad”) and creature (“Neebel”) names, and
made plot line suggestions. And who better to help make the story appealing to
kids than other kids? So, my goal of interesting my sons in fantasy transformed
into also encouraging them to write. Very cool.
Nimpentoad is the fantasy story of a courageous and resourceful little Nibling who leads his tribe through the perilous Grunwald forest, overcoming obstacles and encountering strange creatures along the way. I decided
that we would self-publish Nimpentoad, so the next step was to find an artist
who had the skill and style suitable for our book. This turned out to be the
most time-consuming part of our journey. Nimpentoad's artwork is (I think you’ll
agree) eye-catching, with incredible detail. The kind of detail that makes the
reader want to climb into the picture and go exploring.
Once again,
my sons were involved, this time helping with art direction. We would describe
what each illustration should contain. Collaborating remotely via email and
DropBox, our artist would give us a rough sketch, and we would provide feedback
on details and color palette. Nimpentoad came to life, while my boys added
another dimension to their experience. Eventually,
we had a good book, but we lacked readers. So, we then embarked upon the most
arduous part of our journey – promoting Nimpentoad.
Luckily,
my boys (dare I say it) are charismatic and precocious, and are comfortable
conducting public readings and doing book signings. At the risk
of infringing on child labor laws, I booked my sons as much as their school
schedules would allow. We’ve done readings and signings at San Diego libraries,
elementary schools, La Jolla YMCA, the New Children’s Museum, Mysterious Galaxy
Books, Readers Books, Warwick’s Books, and Barnes & Noble. At the San
Diego Public Library 46th Annual Local Author’s Exhibit, my
sons asked for autographs from Chris Ryall (of IDW Publishing) and famed
graphic novelist Eric Shanower. Both of these gentlemen then graciously asked
for my boys’ autographs. Again, very cool!
At the La
Mesa Centennial Readers & Writers Festival, we shared a booth with Ron
Noble, animator of Rugrats, Rocket Power, and Wild Thornberry's. He was very
kind, and my boys left that day with personalized Wild Thornberry sketches. Incredibly cool!
All these
experiences have further enriched the journey for my sons. They understand some
of the aspects of running a business and publishing. They are now comfortable
meeting new people, doing public speaking, and rubbing elbows with famous
authors. It has been a great ride.
Click here to enjoy their Radio Interview by Fictional Frontiers.
Click here to enjoy their Radio Interview by Fictional Frontiers.
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