Back Story

Since I'm on vacation and not writing much, I'll take this opportunity to give some of the background for the writing of Mumsi Meets a Lion.  This was written as part of an interview some time ago.

I got the idea for Mumsi Meets a Lion from a Kenyan friend of mine named Sawaya. He is a Samburu (a tribal name) who grew up in the area that I describe in the story, a mountainous region of northern Kenya. He mentioned to me, quite matter-of-factly--as if talking about crossing the street--that every young child in his village learned what to do if they ever came face to face with a lion. My curiosity was peaked, and I asked the obvious question to which he replied that you don't do anything. In fact, the phrase that Mumsi hears over and over and repeats to himself, "Don't move, don't breathe, and whatever you do, don't run" is almost verbatim what Sawaya told me. I asked him if he'd ever been that close to a lion himself, whereupon he told me about the time that his father had experienced a stand-off with a simba much like Mumsi's encounter. Of course, I embellished the whole experience with more animals, sights, and sounds--but the core story is from real life, only it happened to an adult, not a child like Mumsi. Sawaya also told me many things about Samburu life in Kenya, which varies greatly depending on the part of the country, and many of the details of the story are things that he relayed: the toothbrush sticks (mswaki), the games the children played, the mud-mixing, the berries in the woods, the single strand of green beads on the young boys, and so on. I also did a lot of research on my own--about the climate, the topography, the people, and plant and animal life. For example, when I included the part about the joka, I looked for not just any snake but one that was quite dangerous, native to northern Kenya, a forest floor-dweller, and nocturnal. (The snake in the story is a puff adder.) I wanted the story and the illustrations to be accurate but not unimaginative, and Kimberly (Batti, the illustrator) did a great job capturing the flavor of the people, the place, and the storyline. I have children myself, and I want them and my readers to learn the same lesson that Mumsi learned: Listen to wise advice. Then do the hard thing because it's the right thing.

Doldrums?

Research continues on a possible new Mumsi story. It's rough going writing a "sequel" since the style needs to match--or at least I think it should. This will be based on another story that Sawaya told me. I'm imitating myself, yet I don't want the story to sound forced. Hmmmm.

I've kept minimally busy with some Mumsi promotion in the past couple of days, e.g., mailing an application for a local authors' fair and selling a couple of books including one in a lion package.

Vacation begins soon, so there will be most likely be very little writing activity. Perhaps some New Year's resolutions are in order.

In the Library

Karen the librarian wrote me back today. She said that she read my book, enjoyed it, and she's entered my book into the main library branch and will purchase several more for inclusion in other libraries in the system! She also invited me to a local authors expo in March. So that was a great contact.

I mailed a book and a lion to the Carol Hurst Literature site in the hopes that they will post a review of Mumsi Meets a Lion. I also filled two lion package orders for Christmas--a nice last-minute bonus. One of the orders went to a lady whose cousin owns a couple of homeschool bookstores in Georgia. The lady offered to make the contact for me about getting my book into those stores. The stores are also starting an online business, so that is a good possibility for promotion. Word of mouth strikes again!

Getting Meh About Self-Promotion

Somehow it seems wrong to self-promote at Christmastime. Christmas is so not about self. Hence, I'm slowing way down/losing momentum, focus, and steam on the publicity train. Not necessarily a bad thing, as a fellow author reminded me this morning in an email: 

"When we get what we want, we'll just want something else. We have a constant 'I want' down deep in our souls, but in today's world, with our basic needs taken care of, we don't know what else we want. Enter materialism, a shiny, attractive dead end. You need to find more substantial goals, like getting to work on the next book." (Richard O'Connor)

So . . . I've officially started the next book. (Really the third book. Mumsi was the second. The first, October Bell, still hasn't been pushed from the nest yet.) There is fog; there is/are a baboon/baboons and a garden. That's it for now.

Having said that, I did compose a letter to be sent to a children's literature site editor tomorrow and visited a bookstore that sells my book and nosed around, placing two lions strategically near my books. . . . shameless. Oh, well, perhaps I'm not that meh after all.

Forecast: Flakes and Fog

The much-anticipated Barnes & Noble book signing is over. It was not a complete bust; however, it was not as profitable (in some ways) as The Open Book signing. Many of my friends showed up--kind people--and several folks whom I did not know at all--how rewarding!--bought books. It is gratifying to see others appreciate Mumsi's story. I hope that they will read and tell their friends, who will tell their friends, and so on. But mostly folks swirled by like so many snowflakes in a pre-Christmas storm. But I do enjoy people-watching. (FYI--My husband feels that this signing was the better of the two.)

I hope to begin an attempt at writing a second Mumsi book. I've been casting and re-casting the opening sentence every night as I fall sleep. I think there will be fog.

Out of My Comfort Zone

Today seemed a bit slower paced than most recent days. I wrote Karen the Librarian (see yesterday's post) a follow-up email to my visit and asked for her advice on how to go about getting my book into the library system and/or how to get hooked up for a library storytime.

Bookmarks and more books were picked up in preparation for Saturday's signing at B & N.

This evening I visited a bookstore in Greer (mostly used books) to see whether they would be interested in carrying my new book. I'm not sure that the venue is right for Mumsi; however, Jeff felt that our going was at the very least an adventure. We did run into Nathan there, so I enjoyed making contact with another person from my Writing for Children class. But the whole incident was way outside what I felt comfortable with--the self-promotion, the atmosphere of the shop, etc.

Perhaps the most interesting happening of the day was my accessing a page on Amazon only to find Mumsi right next to Dannah Gresh's new Secret Keeper series book! (See below.) The coincidence was too wild, so I called her and left a message on a machine answered by Bob. ("What's shakin'?") What are the odds?

Reviewed and rated Danika's Totally Terrible Toss (Secret Keeper Girl) by Dannah Gresh  A Must Read for Tween Girls![Read more] 5 days ago

Reviewed and rated Mumsi Meets a Lion by Kim Stegall  A Colorful, Cultural Adventure[Read more] 5 days ago

Karen the Librarian

Another big email blast day. I sent another notice out to about 30-40 people and included the poster showing the two books to be featured at the signing: my own Mumsi Meets and Lion and Chickadee Winter by Dawn Watkins, one of my favorite children's picture books. (It reminds me of my grandfather.) In this new email I included a link to a 10% off coupon for Barnes & Noble. That seemed like a nice touch.

I made a trip to the downtown main branch of our library to speak with someone about either getting my book on the shelves or reading during a story hour or something. I wasn't very sure of what I was asking, but the librarians were very helpful and encouraged me to contact the Youth Services Manager, Karen, who was at the time in a meeting. I left her a complimentary copy of the book and a brief note telling her what I wanted and that I'd be contacting her via email soon.

Next I made a stop looking for lions at a local pharmacy. I need some more to send with some complimentary copies as well as for gift packaging. (I found more later at another store, too.) The evening finished with my ordering 200 Mumsi bookmarks for handing out at B & N Saturday. Word is that they may have a limited number of books on hand due to a shipping/handling issue.

A Capitol Idea

Well, I did it. I sent a book to the White House. Since Mrs. Bush is such a book lover, I thought that a new children's book would be appropriate at Christmastime. I also took the opportunity to thank her for conducting herself in office with dignity and grace. Perhaps I'll get a letter in response, and it can go in my Mumsi file.

I sent out several more emails about the book signing, and my sister sent out an announcement to her homeschool group.

Much of the day was spent in research about awards, and I turned up another possibility. The ALA has one that might fit the bill for my book. My publisher did nominate my book for the Africana Award that I mentioned in my last post. That would be interesting. I look upon award submission merely as a way to get the book into the hands of people who love books. That's always a good thing.

Blasting

The big task today was sending out an email blast announcing my book signing this Saturday from 5-7 PM at Barnes & Noble. I scanned the announcement poster, wrote a little blurb, and emailed to the same mailing list--minus those who showed up at The Open Book. This signing should be interesting. I'm expecting lots more traffic but many fewer people I know. Good-bye, comfort zone!

Also today I contacted a local vendor for our books and asked whether they represent a church that I'm interested in placing books in. Perhaps that avenue will prove more fruitful. I researched an award site and found an award for a book on Africa published in the U.S. I passed this information along to my publisher with a hint that perhaps we could score in such a niche. The award is called the African Studies Association Children's Africana Book Award.

On my to-do list before Christmas is to send a couple more "celebrity copies" out. I'm going to send two tomorrow--one to an online book reviewer whose name popped up first in a Google search and one to First Lady Laura Bush. I figure the Bushes could use a good Kenyan story right now. (Is "Kenyan" a noun or an adjective in that last sentence? You decide. Oooooo, I just love grammar!)

A Review Is In!

After a Lord's Day hiatus, I approached today with two goals: 1) contact a local church about carrying the book in the church bookstore and 2) mail a signed copy of the book to Kimberly Batti (the illustrator). I accomplished the first after work and the second in the car on the way to the post office. I need to figure out how getting the church the books would work since they don't really want to go through our official channels for some reason. I may run a book out to them tomorrow. One possibility might be hooking them up through a local distributor. . . . I'll have to see. Or I may just sit on things for a while and let them simmer--I am sometimes too impatient to get the ball rolling. Perhaps I'm not supposed to have the book in that venue.

While Christmas shopping today with my son, I ran into two fellow students from the writing class in which I wrote Mumsi Meets a Lion. One of them hadn't seen the book yet and was very excited that he'd been in on the ground floor. Another promptly bought the last three copies in the store and had me sign them--one for her and two for others. At work I signed four copies for gifts. God was so good to have the book come out at this time of year!

Also new today was a review on Amazon.com reprinted below. It's from Christian Review of Books. This reviewer picked up on the message I was going for (unlike the last one). 

Mumsi lives in a village in Kenya, surrounded by family and friends. All his life, he and the other children have been told fantastic stories about the most feared of all the jungle creatures--the simba, the lion. The lesson of the stories was always the same: if you see a lion, don't move. Just look it in the eye and stay very, very still. Mumsi never imagined he'd need the lesson, until one dark night when he's alone on the mountain . . . 

Mumsi Meets a Lion is a wonderful little book! It takes you on a trip to a far-off land and a culture far different from our own, capturing little ones' imaginations from the start. Throughout the story, the author introduces Swahili words for a few of the animals, which adds still more flavor. My preschooler sat enthralled through the whole thing, hiding her face from the noises Mumsi heard and clapping with pride when he stood brave. 

This children's book carries a central theme we all appreciate: the importance of listening to and remembering what your parents teach you. Mumsi Meets a Lion demonstrates the lesson in a colorful adventure, complete with gorgeous illustrations that perfectly capture the setting. I definitely recommend this book for anyone with children from preschool through early primary school. And parents, you're going to love it too! 

Friendly Help

From 7 AM start to late-night finish, today was a blur of activity. It began with a Christmas Fair where I sold out of the Mumsi roaring lion packages (sure wish I could get more of those!) and ended with a Christmas caroling dinner with friends where I sold four books out of the back of my car. In between was an email from my illustrator (we're going to trade books/signatures) and a book signing at The Open Book, a local independent bookstore. My mass mailing (sorta) and email blasts paid off with nearly every visitor to the signing (all but two) being someone that I personally invited. What wonderful friends I have to turn out like that for my new book! My own parents, co-workers, cousins, current good friends as well as those seemingly long-lost, former roommates, even my fifth-grade teacher, who has said that she always knew I had it in me, came by to get a signed copy and to wish me well. Now I just need to recuperate before next Saturday. . . .

Fainting Spells and Paparazzi (Hardly)

Today was the last day of the elementary school book fair. I think my book sold fairly well, but the best part of the event were the great comments I got from kids and parents who had read Mumsi. One little girl yesterday approached the signing table and pointing to Mumsi said, "When is she going to be here?" To which Rebecca replied, "She's right here." The girl said, "You're the one?" When I assured her that I was indeed the author, she seemed perplexed. I asked her whether she were going to get a copy of the book. She answered that her mom had said that they'd already spent enough on Christmas this year. Waaaa. It was sorta sad. Of course, I've been a parent long enough to know that that statement may have been a way to avoid ending up with two copies. Otherwise, I would've given her one.

Later a first-grade teacher announced, "Boys and girls, this is a very special day. Here is the author of Mumsi Meets a Lion." Whereupon one little boy said, "I think I'm gonna faint."

Also notable today was being stopped while out on a run for a signature. . . .

As far as self-promotion goes, my mother found out that one of the local bookstores is still not carrying my book after having told me that they would.

CBA Plug

Here's a copy of the page from the December 2008 CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) Magazine that features Mumsi Meets a Lion. (See bottom of page.) Since the text is too small to read, I'll print it here:

BJU Press released Mumsi Meets a Lion by Kimberly Stegall (p, $7.99, ISBN: 9781591668718) this month. An ethnically rich picture book with colorful illustrations and simple Swahili words, this story will capture the hearts of early readers ages 2-6. Mumsi is a Samburu boy who dawdles on his way home from a chore; so it's the dark of night when Mumsi meets a lion on the path. Faced with the lion, Mumsi finds a new courage within himself.

Of course, they missed the Christian worldview angle that it was Mumsi's listening to and heeding his parents' and others' sage advice that saved his life that night in the forest. But this was an unsolicited review/mention! I'm hoping that lots of book buyers from lots of bookstores read and heed.

Ups and Downs

First thing this morning I headed back to the book fair. It was a good time of chatting with friends old and new but only a few books sold/signed. Several folks mentioned that they were coming back for a book, but we'll see. . . .

In the middle of the day I checked to see whether the local Christian bookstore had ordered any books as they indicated that they would last week; however, they have not. That was disappointing.

Later my wonderful husband took me downtown to give a copy of the book to a local businessowner who specializes in African goods. Jeff had made a previous contact with the owner, and she had seemed interested. On this visit she was bemoaning the state of the economy, so she's probably not a good candidate for placing an order. But . . . no exposure is bad exposure, so we left a book and a contact number should the economy have a sudden upswing.

I came home to self-post a picture of Mumsi Meets a Lion on the Amazon.com website. (They still didn't have an image up.) I did this under my husband's login. Sneaky, huh? I just checked, and the image is up! Hopefully, someone will rate the book (positively) soon.

Tonight at a performance of the Gospel of Luke by actor Bruce Kuhn, Jeff told a lady at intermission about my new book and the upcoming book signing. She seemed very interested and wanted to come. After we gave her a postcard for the Open Book signing, she asked whether I would be interested in visiting a local school classroom to talk to the students as an author! (Of course, I said yes.) Word of mouth strikes again.

Baby Steps

Today was the first day of the elementary school book fair. I did sign a couple of books, but there were more lookers than buyers. It is the first day of the event, so I'll wait to pass judgment on its success until later in the week. On the bright side, many students said that their younger siblings had read and loved Mumsi. I think I may be in the wrong building. (The younger students--my target audience--are in another building.) The principal mentioned that she'd gotten rave reviews!

I've had email correspondance with a student in a class that I spoke in (I just happened to mention my book . . .) about Mumsi. He wants to get several copies for gifts. Fun!

I've just checked the CBD and Amazon sites to see whether my images or author profile has turned up. Nope. I started the uploading process only to realize that the images I have are not on my laptop. Another day. The only other thing I did marketing-wise today was to get a sign advertising the Saturday book signing in the dry cleaners near us. Nothing monumental-just baby steps today.

Book Fair News, Etc.

The marketing folks have made a poster (yet to be seen by me) for the upcoming book fair at a local elementary school. This will be on the table where those of us signing books will sit. Two of us from work went to the school today to see the set-up and to put a tablecloth on the table, set up chairs, and so on. There was considerable buzz in the hallway about the books that were already out and the coming of the authors.

On the Saturday front, I contacted the lady with whom I'll be sharing a booth at the Christmas Fair. Looks like we'll be at the church from 8-2. I'm hoping that this fair will get a lot of traffic. Those who have been before tell me that that is the case. I'll be selling books and book/lion packages--but mostly just getting the word out. I did order forty books today for the sale. Ahhh, optimism. No publicity is bad publicity, right?

Also on Saturday, I will do a book signing at The Open Book. Posters have been made by the publishing house marketing department. They have pictures of the three authors and their books. Today I placed four of them: one on my boss's door (least effective), one at the educators' resource market near us, one at a post office on the university campus nearby, and one in the hallway at work. I need to make some better placements tomorrow between work, the book fair, and other family responsibilities.

Wish List

Just a quick note to mention that a lady I run with requested a signature on a book for her granddaughter today. She wanted me to sign it at the end of our 10-mile run into downtown and back, and my hands were so nearly frozen that I could barely grip the pen. She told me that both of her granddaughters specifically requested Mumsi Meets a Lion for Christmas!

My husband and I (mostly he) finished doing a spreadsheet to keep track of the Mumsi sales out of our house. We had a difficult time remembering everything that has happened in the last month, but I think we finally re-created each sale.

Word of Mouth

What a wonderful phenomenon word of mouth is! Yesterday I got a phone call from someone wanting to order two book/lion packages (one with two lions) for gifts, so I was able to tie up two cellophane bags with raffia and make a little sale--all because a friend had told a friend who had told another friend. . . .

On the self-promotion front, I sent an email to an old school friend (from elementary school) and asked whether he would be able to put in a good word (of mouth) for me to his many contacts in the Christian bookstore business. I also sent a complimentary copy of Mumsi out in the hopes that the recipient would be interested in promoting it.

Someone (no, not me) posted a review of my book on the CBD website. Very nice. I also found out that Mumsi Meets a Lion made it into the featured children's book section of CBA magazine! This is great publicity since retailers consult this mag for their picks. The blurb was very positive. As soon as I get my hands on a copy for any length of time, I'll publish it here. This may mean that folks will start talking my book up even more. Go, big mouths everywhere!

Posting and Postcards

Today's task was to get the word out about my upcoming book signing at The Open Book in Greenville, SC. I'll be signing copies of Mumsi Meets a Lion on Saturday, December 13, from 5-7 PM. Two other authors will be signing their recent works as well. My husband helped me print up postcards yesterday, and today I addressed and mailed them. I also sent out a ridiculous number of emails announcing the event.

On the book fair front, I created an advertising flier that was eventually canned in favor of a more subtle sidebar on the weekly calendar and menu for the school. Oh, well, you win some, you lose some.

One Small Stir--er--Step

Today's To-Do List:

--Move manger scene to a more prominent location in the living room.

--Get children moving before waking husband.

--Wake husband.

--Be in to work early.

--Work.

--Email the illustrator of my new book (Kimberly Batti) and tell her what a fabulous job she did on Mumsi Meets a Lion. Her vibrant illustrations exude personality. But what I most appreciate is her attention to detail. Because the story is based on a real people group and set in a real locale, I wanted the story to have a realistic yet creative/fun feel. Her illustrations are spot-on--from the green necklace to the savannah landscape to the pretend lion's costume! In fact, I generally have to cajole people to read the words since they enjoy flipping through and looking at the dress, animals, and setting so much. Brava, Kimberly!

--Google Mumsi Meets a Lion.

--Search Google results.

--Enter author profile based on Google results. (See it at christianbook.com.)

--Do laundry, pick up kids, move manger again, make supper, call AAA to tow car, wash dishes, vacuum up moss from moving manger around, compile Christmas card list, relax.

Ahhh! What's on tap for tomorrow?

Book Promotion 101

So I'm working with a local elementary school to set up a book signing for my book, Mumsi Meets a Lion, at their annual book fair next week. It's the school my son attends, so I had an inside track in a) getting word of the book fair and b) knowing whom to contact about snagging an invite. After contacting the school office, I am in for five slots. I'll be sharing the "stage" with four other recent authors--some new, some old. I have no idea what to expect. I've done readings at this school, so some of the students will remember me--hopefully fondly. Today I nailed down the schedule for the five authors, secured tables and tablecloths, queried the publisher about signage ("signage for the signing"--what a language!), and contacted the school secretary with mildly discreet suggestions for how many books to order and what kind of wording to use in the take-home sheet for the parents.

Today I also visited a local Crossway Christian bookstore to skulk around looking for my book. As soon as my publicist/husband walked in he spied a lady with whom we are friends and who also happens to work at the store and said, "We're here to see if you're carrying Kim's new book!" This subtlety apparently worked because she ran to her desk, grabbed her copy of the book that had arrived the week before from the publisher, and replied, "This is YOUR book?!" I think that was good. Anyway, she said she'd place her order right away. Maybe I'll wear Groucho glasses on my next visit.