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Grandma and Grandpa’s Tales books 1-3 encourage early readers with fun stories incorporating difference aspects of nature. Book 1, Wild Creatures In My Neighborhood and What if I Went to the Circus, explores the wildlife around neighborhoods and introduces decision-making. Book 2, Singers of Songs and The Not Too Stubborn Humpback, explores a common, but not so common insect, and lets readers see that being stubborn isn’t always good. Book 3, Vampires in the Backyard and A Fish Tale, introduces readers to an extended metaphor and lets them decide if the fish story is real.
📙 Thank you for your time in answering our questions about getting published. Let’s begin by having you explain to us why you decided to become an author and pen this book?
Cheryl: As a teacher, my work with readers, reluctant readers, and non-readers at the high school level fueled my interest in writing stories for elementary/middle school students (ages 8/9-15) in hopes of catching the reluctant readers and non-readers early in their schooling. My vehicles for these stories are Arthurian Legend and the Ancient Worlds. My high school students loved these, even those who didn’t like to read. However, I realized that there were important age groups that I was not reaching, mainly preschoolers and beginning readers.
Finding some short stories I had written many years earlier, I decided to turn these into picture books for a new series: Grandma’s Tales. Now this series has expanded into three books containing two stories each. Each of the books also come with either a Grandma or Grandpa on the cover.
📙 Is this your first book?
Cheryl: No. In addition to this series, I have my Guinevere Trilogy (Guinevere: On the Eve of Legend; Guinevere: At the Dawn of Legend; and Guinevere: The Legend) and the stand alone The King’s Ransom (Young Knights of the Round Table). These are all set in the days of King Arthur. My ancient Egyptian tales are the time travel adventure Sons of the Sphinx and Tutankhamen Speaks. I have a new series coming out in June 2022, which features Rosa (Sphinx) and her cousin Jerome. The first book in the Feathers of the Phoenix series is The Atlantean Horse. This series will meld the ancient/modern worlds in a race to find the five feathers of the Phoenix to raise Atlantis.
📙With this particular book, how did you publish – traditional, small press, Indie, etc. – and why did you choose this method?
Cheryl: I’m an Indie Author, but I publish with Silver Quill Publishing out of England. Silver Quill is an author consortium consisting of 12 authors from England and Europe. I’m the only one from the US. I’ve also published through a small press in Canada. The traditional publishing route was 1-2 years from acceptance to print. Too long for my goals of reaching young readers.
📙Can you tell us a little about your publishing journey? The pros and cons?
Cheryl: An Indie author from the from the beginning (2009), I thrive in this environment. My writing goal of getting books into the hands of beginning/young readers remains the same. Traditional publishing, when I first started, took 1-2 years for a book to be available to the public. I didn’t want to wait that long. My first few years saw potential readers questioning whether I was self-published. Now with many popular traditionally-published authors choosing to publish their books via the Indie author platform, the public perception has changed to be more positive.
📙What lessons do you feel you learned about your particular publishing journey and about the publishing industry as a whole?
Cheryl: Over my 13 years as an Indie author, I’ve seen several significant changes. As I mentioned above, many first-time authors are choosing the self-publishing route as their road map to print. Out of these authors, an overwhelming number have chosen to take their writing to a higher level by spending the time and money to have their books done right.
📙Would you recommend this method of publishing to other authors?
Cheryl: Being an Indie author is not for the faint-hearted. Indies take great pride not only in their writing, but also in the presentation of that writing. True Indie authors spend a lot of their money on editing, layout, covers, and publishing to make sure their books are professionally presented. Covers typically run from $300 USD to $899 USD. Editing and layout can often run from $250 USD to $500 USD.
📙What’s the best advice you can give to aspiring authors?
Cheryl: My advice to aspiring authors is not to get bogged down on any one book. Have confidence in yourself and your ability to tell a story. Close down that critical side of your brain, let your creative side tell the story, and enjoy what you’re doing.
📙 Thank you for your time in answering our questions about getting published. Let’s begin by having you explain to us why you decided to become an author and pen this book?
Cheryl: As a teacher, my work with readers, reluctant readers, and non-readers at the high school level fueled my interest in writing stories for elementary/middle school students (ages 8/9-15) in hopes of catching the reluctant readers and non-readers early in their schooling. My vehicles for these stories are Arthurian Legend and the Ancient Worlds. My high school students loved these, even those who didn’t like to read. However, I realized that there were important age groups that I was not reaching, mainly preschoolers and beginning readers.
Finding some short stories I had written many years earlier, I decided to turn these into picture books for a new series: Grandma’s Tales. Now this series has expanded into three books containing two stories each. Each of the books also come with either a Grandma or Grandpa on the cover.
📙 Is this your first book?
Cheryl: No. In addition to this series, I have my Guinevere Trilogy (Guinevere: On the Eve of Legend; Guinevere: At the Dawn of Legend; and Guinevere: The Legend) and the stand alone The King’s Ransom (Young Knights of the Round Table). These are all set in the days of King Arthur. My ancient Egyptian tales are the time travel adventure Sons of the Sphinx and Tutankhamen Speaks. I have a new series coming out in June 2022, which features Rosa (Sphinx) and her cousin Jerome. The first book in the Feathers of the Phoenix series is The Atlantean Horse. This series will meld the ancient/modern worlds in a race to find the five feathers of the Phoenix to raise Atlantis.
📙With this particular book, how did you publish – traditional, small press, Indie, etc. – and why did you choose this method?
Cheryl: I’m an Indie Author, but I publish with Silver Quill Publishing out of England. Silver Quill is an author consortium consisting of 12 authors from England and Europe. I’m the only one from the US. I’ve also published through a small press in Canada. The traditional publishing route was 1-2 years from acceptance to print. Too long for my goals of reaching young readers.
📙Can you tell us a little about your publishing journey? The pros and cons?
Cheryl: An Indie author from the from the beginning (2009), I thrive in this environment. My writing goal of getting books into the hands of beginning/young readers remains the same. Traditional publishing, when I first started, took 1-2 years for a book to be available to the public. I didn’t want to wait that long. My first few years saw potential readers questioning whether I was self-published. Now with many popular traditionally-published authors choosing to publish their books via the Indie author platform, the public perception has changed to be more positive.
📙What lessons do you feel you learned about your particular publishing journey and about the publishing industry as a whole?
Cheryl: Over my 13 years as an Indie author, I’ve seen several significant changes. As I mentioned above, many first-time authors are choosing the self-publishing route as their road map to print. Out of these authors, an overwhelming number have chosen to take their writing to a higher level by spending the time and money to have their books done right.
📙Would you recommend this method of publishing to other authors?
Cheryl: Being an Indie author is not for the faint-hearted. Indies take great pride not only in their writing, but also in the presentation of that writing. True Indie authors spend a lot of their money on editing, layout, covers, and publishing to make sure their books are professionally presented. Covers typically run from $300 USD to $899 USD. Editing and layout can often run from $250 USD to $500 USD.
📙What’s the best advice you can give to aspiring authors?
Cheryl: My advice to aspiring authors is not to get bogged down on any one book. Have confidence in yourself and your ability to tell a story. Close down that critical side of your brain, let your creative side tell the story, and enjoy what you’re doing.
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