Well, the time is almost upon us. With only a few hours left on the clock, my pulse is beating faster than a bongo drum. Adrastea, the first book in the Annals of Orbis, will be launching on amazon at midnight, Pacific Time, and I can hardly keep from bursting with anticipation!
To celebrate this momentous occasion and to give all of you a peek into what it took to get this book out there, I thought it would be fun to introduce my 'team', so to speak. In other words, my siblings and my parents. They all helped in every way possible and took a huge load off my shoulders.
So, without further ado, let's jump right into it!
Green Forest Press Manager (a.k.a. Mama)
First and foremost is my mother, Mama, Christine. She is the brains behind this operation. When I don't know what to do, I go to Mama. With her own website, Books for Catholic Kids, well underway and several years experience in the writing industry (she also works at a library) she is the obvious choice when I'm befuddled by grammar, punctuation, technical conundrums, and all-around content problems and need guidance.
Having raised my six older siblings she is also versed in the ways of telling me to stop being an idiot; although she never uses that word because it is under the category of 'deplorable-modern-argot', even though it isn't modern. As my two sisters who are still at home would wholeheartedly agree, I often need to be called out for being too caught up in, well, everything.
Mama was the first person to suggest publishing to me after having read the first draft of the first version of Adrastea, which technically wasn't Adrastea at all. It was the foundation for the whole series and vastly different than the book I have today. Since she has been there from the very beginning, Mama has a good grasp of my 'vision' and is always able to help with visuals (photos), writing, editing, and marketing.
She also wrote a full review of Adrastea. Click here to read it.
Green Forest Press Chief Editor, my sister Clara (and her secretary)
Next is my sister Clara. A few months ago she decided to pack up her bags and fly to Germany to spend time with our relatives and learn the language. This, of course, gave her PLENTY of time to simply do what she loved most. Editing.
Now before you jump to conclusions, I did not force her to edit my 300-page novel. That would be virtually impossible, especially with her being thousands of miles away. No, I did not force her. She volunteered. That was when I confirmed her insanity.
Anyway, she volunteered to edit my new novel and all I can say is that she and her secretary made this book into the sparkling masterpiece it is today (I am not tooting my own horn. I refer only to Clara's magnificent ability). After reading through the entire manuscript and seeing it at its worst, she told me to write about 30,000-40,000 more words worth of scenes. Any writer out there knows what that means. Needless to say, I was not surprised by this 'request' and did so with little complaint. Although I hate to admit it, she was right. With all those extra scenes the book took on a new life (well, an improved life anyway) and I haven't looked back since!
Green Forest Press Chief Reviewer (a.k.a. Daddy)
Next is Daddy, the one who reviews all my work from the more masculine - yet still artistic - point of view. He is an artist and you can see his recent work at Studio Mark Vincent. (Please enjoy the rare photo of him and forgive me the bad quality)
Having written his own story, a children's book titled 'St. Rosaline, the Carthusian: The Saint with the Shining Eyes', and having loved to read from a young age, Daddy is obviously the first choice when wanting an opinion that doesn't come from a girl. Sometimes you need to view both sides of the spectrum and with one brother away at a monastery and one brother who only reads fishing manuals, the obvious choice is Daddy.
Of course, having been there from the start, Daddy is the one responsible for my love of good literature and cultivated my passion for anything artistic. Whether it was writing, drawing, sewing, building, he has always been one of the first people I turn to for advice and feedback.
Green Forest Press Chief Photographer, my little sister Irene
Next is Irene, my baby sister who, in her own words, is an artistic GENIUS! Although I may not go as far as to say that, especially with her around, I think I should point out that she is responsible for all my website, Facebook, and campaign photos, as well as the book cover for Adrastea. I think I should also point out that she performed some great feats in the world of stunts while taking my book cover photos.
While we were in the woods of the panhandle near our house trying to take pictures, we thought a photo from up in the trees would look fantastic. Well, it did. However, in order to get that photo, Irene had to sit on my sister Xenia's back while I climbed into the tree with the prop antlers. Once I was up there Irene had to let go of her hold on a sturdy limb to take the picture and, if I remember correctly, her exact words were: "Xenia, I'm letting go. If you move I will die."
Now that may have been an overstatement, but her deed was no less valiant, even if we ended up never using that picture. (Also, a special thank you to Xenia for being the ladder)
Honorable mentions
For the most part, that makes up my book launch team. However, there are a few other people (siblings) I would like to mention who helped in many ways that you, the audience, may never know about.
Xenia: As I mentioned earlier, my sister Xenia loaned us her body for the sake of my book cover and is also responsible for the name of this website.
Maggie: My sister Maggie, having pity on my inability to read out loud (especially in front of a camera), put her amazing theatrical abilities to use and filmed this fantastic video of her reading a scene from my book. So, as a closure, please enjoy this video!
- Anna