The geese of the real Selva Negra
Many times someone has said to me, “You should write a book!” And I finally did. Our first book is a children’s book for early readers with lots of pictures and only a sentence or two per page. It is called The Geese of Selva Negra, based on our real-life visit to the Selva Negra eco-lodge near Matagalpa, Nicaragua.
Sample artwork from The Geese of Selva Negra
Art by Tad Sigman
We were fortunate in our travels to meet Tad, a recent college graduate from Fairbanks, Alaska. In a chance encounter at the Backpacker Hostel in Iquique, Chile, Tad informed us he had worked as an illustrator. “Wow,” we said, “we have been looking for an illustrator!” We explained our idea for a children’s book about a real place. We then exchanged email addresses and began following one another on Facebook.
I sent Tad my script and ideas for illustrations, and he followed up with drawings that simply blew us away. Tad and I talked about what we would do with any profit the book might generate. We agreed to donate any profit from the sale of the book to a worthy nonprofit organization that helps children. We decided on St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
Sample artwork from The Geese of Selva Negra
Art by Tad Sigman
After several months of living and traveling procrastinating, Florence performed the steps necessary to get our book listed on Amazon as an eBook with a list price of 99 cents. This week the Spanish translation will also be ready for publication. We seek to promote our book to school libraries to provide copies to teachers because eBooks can easily be projected for groups or entire classrooms to view at one time. The educational content of the book comes at the end of the story with a map and a question asking readers if they can spot the geographical location of the real Selva Negra.
We both love books and we both love when children’s imaginations are stirred by fascinating stories. We now have ideas for a dozen more children’s books about the places we have traveled and the unique animals that live there. Perhaps one day we will have a series of children’s books in both English and Spanish about far-off places that actually exist. And when we do we will continue to support worthy nonprofit organizations that benefit children from the profits of book sales. For example, our next book project is set up to benefit Girls With Wings which encourages girls to learn to fly. We have set up a “Crowdfunding” drive to cover the cost of hiring an illustrator. Click here is you wish to learn more.
Applecore 