I recently wrote two children’s books. Here are sample illustrations, and excerpts of the text for the first one. One is scheduled for release via Amazon.com and others late in August and the other two months later. I’m working with an illustrator, interior layout and cover designer, and self-publishing consultant, all of whom have been wonderful to work with. I’m learning a lot and loving nearly every minute of it. I plan to work with an editor next week.
An excerpt from “Clyde and I” is at the end of this post.
The second book is about my carved redwood bear and my grandson Thomas (an older version of him because he is only 14 months old).
Both books will both be full-color.
I love forward to writing books about my other grandchildren too!
Other project updates:
For a variety of reasons, I’ve put the two children’s song projects on hold.
In the meantime, I’m writing two more children’s stories while I’m working on bringing to life the first two books.
An excerpt from “Clyde and I”:
Clyde and I
I went to say “hi” to new neighbors next door
And saw something I’d never seen before
When I say what I saw please don’t laugh
Because what I saw was a green giraffe!
He was standing on his head out in the rain
And the poor wet guy seemed in a lot of pain
His body swayed way up high
And his feet were stuck straight up in the sky!
I just stood there not knowing what to do
As he ate a banana that was bright blue!
—
Love,
Russ
Russ Towne's A Grateful Man 
They look fabulous, Russ! 🙂
Thank you, Ela! :-D!
How wonderful!! Congratulations, and thank you Russ for sharing your gifts with the world. Go Russ Go! 😀 Hugs, Gina
I appreciate your kind comments and good wishes, Gina! (I love the “Go Russ Go” reference too!) A big warm and fuzzy hug to you, my friend.
Russ
Awesome Russ!!! I’m so excited for you – and the kids who will get to read them!!!
Thank you, Mimi. They are certainly a labor of love.
Russ
That looks great, I love it, will they be real books or just kindle? I would love to buy it and show it in my school. So I shall watch Amazon. 🙂 You are so talented, I can imagine it is much fun writing children’s stuff. Writing with a smile. Love Ute
Thank you for your kind comment and support, Ute. They will initially be paperback books, hopefully quickly followed by E-books and possibly hardcover. So far, it has been more fun (and more challenging) writing the whimsical rhyming stories. As I understand it, very young children love them, but as they get a little older they prefer non-rhyming narrative-type longer stories. So far, I think I may be better at the rhyming books, but the public will let me know real soon.
With love,
Russ
Russ,
You’re so creative! It’s really fun to see what you’re doing with your talent.
Cathy
Thank you, Cathy. I enjoy your creations too. For instance, your photography is wonderful, and I enjoy your blog a lot.
Russ
All looking good Russ…
Thank you, bulldog.
Russ
So exciting for you my friend! This is wonderful!
I appreciate your kind comment and support!
Russ
Oh your grandchildren will love being included in a book! This is so awesome!
Thank you, Diana. I sure hope so.
Russ
I really like them both. You’ve got talent. What a gift you’re giving to the kids and the world. 🙂 I’ll also add…go Russ go Russ! Let me know when they’re available on amazon?!
Thank you, Kristi. I certainly will, and am working on a fun way that people will be able to pre-order and reserve first edition books autographed by the author, and some other fun stuff. I’ll let you know about that when it is ready to unveil.
Russ
They sound like great books
Thank you, Joanne. Time will tell as to what the public thinks of them! Russ
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CONGRATS, Russ–what an accomplishment!! I’m so excited for you!! I used to have a company with a partner and wrote ebooks for children. I wrote 12 before we folded. It, too, was a labor of love. Unfortunately, the competition in that market space was just too intense for a little company like ours. Wishing you all the best with your books–I’m sure they’ll be a huge hit! Lori
Thank you, Lori. And thank you for sharing your interesting story about your experience in the industry. Yes, it’s another labor of love, and another long-shot. I love long-shots. Maybe it is the challenge of it all. As you know, one of my mottos is “If I’m having fun, I’ve already won” in the game of life. I plan to use a Kickstarter crowd-sourcing campaign for the funding for the first two or three books and to give my friends, loved ones, and perhaps total strangers from around the world the opportunity to play a critical role in making these creations available to show youngsters how much fun reading can be. At this point, my plans include that those who participate will have opportunities to receive first edition autographed copies of the book with a personal note from me, the opportunity to donate some of the books to a library of their choice, a personalized short poem about someone they love (possibly involving a character in one of the books), and perhaps one or more of the illustrations from the book signed by the illustrator and printed on high-quality (acid-free?) paper. That way, the whole community can participate in and be rewarded by the creation of the books.