10 SPANKING new stories that haven't been published.
yet.
With a bunch of help and inspiration from 12X12, SCBWI, Children's Book Academy, and Children’s Book Insider, I've written 19 picture books in three years. Then, with the input of two critique groups and the wit & wisdom of one marvelous Matt Myers, I revised and re-polished them. Here are 10, ready and willing to find the right home.
(NO, these aren't the illustrations! They're just my
stick-up-on-the-wall-to-help-me-write sketchy sketches.)
THE STORY
OGRE STORY
When Ogre bans all stories that make fun of big, creepy creatures (like ogres), the frightened forest animals comply and Story Nights turn booooring. But Shrew has a plan (and a tale) that might just turn the tables... assuming she doesn’t first become an Ogre entree.
​
(An all too timely 455-word tale on book banning.)
A CAT NAMED FIDO (494 words)
A disgruntled “Fido” explains how he got the mortifying moniker from his dog-loving owner, Maggie, and how he begrudgingly tried to morph into a mutt to please her... with disturbing results. They both end up learning love is more important than species.
It's Not Easy
Being Kind (479 words)
A Chimera is a three-bodied Greek monster that strikes terror into victims. Unless it’s Kyros, who doesn’t have a mean bone in his bodies. Can he learn to be ferocious or will he disappoint his mom and a long lineage of creepy Chimeras?
!BACKWARDS IS
EVERYTHING
​
A despicable dictator decrees everyone must do everything backwards: walk, ride, eat, smile and worst of all, nobody goes to school until retirement age! But Noswad Kram (formerly, Mark Dawson) hates stupid rules and devises a plan to get them, well, turned around. He finds out creativity can triumph over cruelty.
(How cool would it be if this book was even printed back to front, like all books in Backwardsia?!)
DOT & DASH
Two Little Characters Who Changed The World
(324 words)
Narrators • & brag about the many ways they’ve helped save lives, tame the west and change the world. It's a quirky, interactive concept book with a handy
pull-out code page that manages a few chuckles while teaching the Morse Code and even introducing
Dot 's & Dash's modern successor, the binary computer code. STEM with a SMILE, anyone?
SLUG & SLOTH, FAST FRIENDS
-in-
SPEED DREAMIN'
​
This Early Reader Series follows the misadventures of two small, slow but sweet pals. In SPEEED DREAMIN', Slug prods Sloth into fantasizing about how fast he COULD be if he could be any animal. Or any thing.
In TIME TRAVAILS, they go back in history 2,000,000 years, then one minute into the future. In THE GREAT RACE, they race each other across the width of the book. In OH MY, A.I., they write a story together with the help of A.I. In this case, Artificial Imagination.
(Each is around 200 words or less & 20 laughs or more.)
URGENT EMERGENCY DANGER ALERT!
(Food Is Biting Back!)
FLASH!: Food is fed up. Critters who usually do the eating are now the ones being eaten---all the way up the food chain! So dawdling over a dish has become downright dangerous. A 217-word cautionary tale for all kids who like to play with their food.
I'M BLEEDING!
Aimee loves to explore. All around. But disaster strikes. She gets a small cut.
Her bright red insides are leaking out!
The horrors! Eventually, she learns it's not the end of the world after all. And a small price to pay for the big joy of exploring.
(138 words)
Rrr-r-r! (828 words)
Randy Ruggles loses his ability to say "R-words" when a pirate tricks him into yelling "Rrrrrr!"into a magic seashell.
So, with the help of Rosa Ruiz and his dog, Rupert, Randy sets out to get his lost letters back from those "wotten piwates" and, along the way, also finds he's braver than he thought he was.
BICYCLES vs HORSES
(Non-Fiction 1,645 words {+ sidebars and back matter)
It happened in 1897 when a privileged, young white southerner from West Point teamed up with a son of slaves. Their mission: to prove that bicycles could
replace horses in the U.S. Army! This unlikely duo led the 20-man Buffalo Soldiers Bicycle Corps over 2,000 brutal miles. Few thought they’d succeed; many rooted against them. It became national news. In the end, both learned a new respect for their men, their machines—and for each other.