Exciting New Children's Book On The Way

[brtmchl]

(08-15-2013 09:00 PM)Gene C Wrote:  The customer reviews on Amazon are good!
I'm not normally one for graphic novels, but yours looks much better than most I've seen. Reminds me of the old Classics Illustrated comic books (I liked those), only with more of the story.

I hope you can come to the conference. I'd like to hear your story on how you were able to accomplish this.

Thank you Gene, you are very kind.

Without going into a new novel, this all kind of just happened.

Last May, I spoke in my wife’s fifth grade class about the Lincoln assassination. She gave me a sheet containing the information that the school district requires them to pass on to their students. I was horrified at this. It basically said, “ Booth shot Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre.” Being an avid reader on this subject, I told the real story of what happened on April 14, 1865. Including the kidnapping plot, those involved, the trial, and the manhunt for Booth. The class loved it, but I was shocked that this was the first time they had heard any of the actual details. After the class I complained to my wife about how little gets taught on this subject. She issued me a challenge, It was a “put up or shut up” moment.
So I set out to create for her classroom a book. One that contained all the information, but was enjoyable for her kids. I really wanted to create something that would be a starting point, to spark interests to continue reading great novels such as American Brutus or The Day Lincoln Was Shot.. I know that Bill O’Reilly and James Swanson have books that are marketed toward young readers, while this is great, these books are just the same as their novels; just shortened versions with a few pictures thrown in. Children still find them difficult to read and lose interest.
I decided to write a comic book, or graphic novel styled book. I felt that the best way to get a child interested is by putting a picture in their mind. I was always a visual reader. Growing up I loved reading the Classics in comic book form, which I truly believe made me a lover of books.
I wish I had the computer skills, and graphic design talent that some in this forum have. I don't! So everything was hand drawn and colored using markers. I then would go to Office Max and have each page scanned so I can put it on my computer and add text and talk bubbles using photoshop.
I decided to self publish through Amazon which was really nice. I wanted to just get copies made for family and my wife's school but the feedback was more than I hoped for. I am still trying to land a traditional publisher so I can make this more affordable.
I have had a lot of interest from Comic book publishers here in Chicago and in Canada, but because of the fact that they sell $3.00 comics they have all suggested that I drop the prose so it can be more affordable in a comic book market. I simply won't do that. It was meant as a teaching aide. So I will continue to self publish until someone sees the value.
Sorry for the long post. I value all of you as experts in this field. So if anyone would like a sneak peek, I may be able to send digital. I find that even if you have read it, most people still want a hard copy to own personally or for a child. It may only cost a review. Just kidding