The Tears And Triumphs Of A New Author Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

Three Lady Justice novels are with Tate Publishing, being prepared for world-wide distribution. (One can always dream)
The first two installments wouldn't be ready for print for at least two months, so there I was again, wondering what to do next.
I had just started doing research and formulating an outline for the fourth Lady Justice novel, when fate intervened again.
My eight-year old grandson stopped by and proudly declared, "Grandpa, I'm going to write a book!"
His second grade class had been given the assignment of writing a story and he was excited to share the news with his author grandfather. Peer bonding, I guess.
A few days later, he re-appeared with his five page book complete with illustrations.
His story was about a rainbow, a leprechaun and a pot of gold coins, and it was a pretty good little story.
After bestowing the appropriate accolades and encouragement, off he went with visions of writing grandeur. I wonder where he gets that?
My wife, who had created the covers for my three Lady Justice novels, promptly created a cover for his book and we had it bound at OfficeMax. First class all the way.
During the previous year, when Blake was in the first grade, we had been introduced to 'chapter books'. He would come to spend the night and he would usually have one of these little 50-70 page booklets that were designed as the first 'real' books after the picture-book stories of kindergarten.
It was on the way home from OfficeMax that my wife was inspired to say, "I'll bet you could write a children's chapter book. After all, you're just a big kid anyway." Flattery will get you every time.
I let the idea percolate in the old gray matter. Having spent countless hours with Blake, playing the make-believe stuff that grandpas and grandchildren play, I was well aware of his vivid imagination.
Kids today, like Blake, are really into their super heroes, like Spiderman, Ironman and Superman, with all their super powers.
I can fondly recall my own fantasies at that age, only my heroes were the good guys of the wild and wooly west. My friends and I would argue about who got to be Roy Rogers or Gene Autry.
I pretended that I could ride and rope and shoot just like my heroes, so what kid today doesn't fantasize about having the super powers of these modern day heroes?
Hmmmm, rainbow, leprechaun, pot of gold, super powers. Maybe there is a story there.
I sat down at the computer and started banging away.
An eight year old boy and his six year old sister follow a rainbow and discover Rainbow Road. It leads them to the home of Lucky Leprechaun. He has a pot of gold coins that bestow super powers, and on their first visit, Blake (wonder where that name came from) is given the power of X-Ray Vision. In the story he learns how to use his special power to help people, and so the adventure begins.
I printed the story and handed it to my greatest critic, my wife.
She loved it!
So what do we do with it now?
My little story got Peg's creative juices flowing and she created a beautiful Rainbow Road cover.
I had really just written the story for fun to impress my grandson, so we took her cover and my story to OfficeMax and had it bound as well.
I was apprehensive about giving the book to Blake. He was, after all, a veteran reader of the highly successful Magic Tree House and Encyclopedia Brown chapter books.
Then, at last, the verdict came in.
"Grandpa, I loved it! Can you write another one?"
So I did, and the Rainbow Road series of children's chapter books was born.