Tag: Nancy Derey Riley

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Butterfly Inn

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Welcome to today’s edition of Perfect Picture Book Friday!

I have the most gorgeous book to share!

I love butterflies, and although I’m not nearly as informed and well-organized as the wildlife biologist author of this book or the people in it, I do plant several of the flowers butterflies like, and I am careful never to cut down milkweed!

This book is wonderful both for its showcasing of beautiful butterflies and flowers and for its modeling of what kids can do to encourage butterflies to frequent their yards or windowsills and take care of butterflies so they’ll be around for future generations.

(And I apologize in advance for the picture quality of the interior shots – they look better in real life!😊)

Title: Butterfly Inn

Written & Illustrated By: Nancy Derey Riley

Publisher: Rolling Prairie Publishing, LLC, May 25, 2022

Suitable For Ages: 4-8, though there is a lot of informational back matter that older children will find interesting!

Themes/Topics: butterflies, nature, species protection

Opening: “We hop off the bus, then
we file through the door,
and enter the world
that we’ve come to explore.”

text and illustration copyright Nancy Derey Riley, 2022

Brief Synopsis: From the publisher: “When the class discovers that butterflies need help, they build a butterfly garden at their school. As the butterflies come to the BUTTERFLY INN, the children watch the life cycle of the butterfly from hungry caterpillars through metamorphosis into adults.”

Links To Resources: the book itself is a tremendous resource. The back matter includes a glossary, the sheet music for a song made up of all the text in the book, “Butterfly Basics”, “Butterfly or Moth?”, “Caterpillar Chow”, “Nectar Needs”, “What Makes A Home”, “Do I Stay Or Do I Go?”, “Threats”, “What Can You Do?”, and a selected bibliography and additional resources. If sheet music isn’t your strong suit and you’d like to learn the tune to the song, Nancy has a clip of the first verse on her website HERE!

text and illustration copyright Nancy Derey Riley, 2022

Why I Like This Book: A class field trip to a butterfly pavilion is the impetus behind the class planning and planting their own butterfly garden to help the sustain the butterflies in their part of the world. Extensive back matter gives a wealth of further information for kids who are interested in learning and doing more. The story does a lovely job of introducing young readers to many kinds of butterflies and the plants they need to flourish, the life cycle of the butterfly, and ways to help these beautiful, important creatures who are threatened by pesticides and habitat loss. Written in enjoyable rhyme which is fun to read aloud (and sing to the supplied music!), the text is both informational and entertaining. Much of it is also lovely, for example: “A shimmer of gold/and a glimmer of blue,/a splatter of spots/in a silvery hue.” The art is friendly and beautiful, and the class is nicely diverse. A great choice for home, classroom, and library!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😊

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific blog links (and any other info you feel like filling out 😊) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 😊

Ho! Ho! Ho! The 11th Annual Holiday Contest Is HERE!!!

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⭐️Deck the Halls! ⭐️ Light the menorah! ⭐️ Fill the Kikombe cha Umoja! ⭐️

It’s time for . . .

The 11th Annual Holiday Writing Contest

~ for children’s writers ~

The Contest:  Write a children’s holiday story (children here defined as age 12 and under) about a Holiday Contest!

Your contest can be anything you want! Baking, wrapping, decorating (tree or home), raising money or collecting gifts for those in need, ice skating, sledding, caroling, fancy dress, snowman or fort building. . . sky’s the limit! But it must be about a holiday contest!

Your story may be poetry or prose, silly or serious or sweet, religious or not, based on Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, New Year’s or whatever you celebrate during the Holiday Season, but is not to exceed 250 words (I know! So much freedom after the Halloweensie Contest 😊 )  (It can be as short as you like (the judges will be grateful 😊 , you are welcome and encouraged to write shorter, but no more than 250!  Title not included in word count.)  The field is wide open!  Have fun!  The more creative the better!  No illustration notes please. (And yes, if you feel compelled to submit more than one entry you may, just remember you’re competing against yourself!)

Post:  Your entry should be posted between right now this very second and Thursday December 9th at 11:59 PM EST, and must be posted below in the comment section of this post. All entries should include a title, byline (people always ask what this is – it means who the entry was written by, so, by Suzy Q. Writer or whoever 😊) and word count. You are welcome to also post your entries on your own blogs and include your blog address with your entry here if you’d like to encourage people to come visit your blog, but your entry must be posted in the comment section of this post or it will not be counted because we won’t see it. This post will remain up for your reading pleasure until I post the finalists.  There will be no regular posts (Tuesday Debut, Would You Read It, or Perfect Picture Book) for the duration of the contest so everyone will have plenty of time to visit and enjoy.  If you have trouble commenting, you can email your entry to me and I will post it for you. Please copy and paste your entry with word count and byline into the body of the email – NO ATTACHMENTS please.

The Judging: My lovely assistants and I will narrow down the entrants to approximately 12 finalists.  In the interest of finishing up the contest in a timely fashion so everyone can go about their holidays, we will do our best to post the finalists here by Tuesday December 14th for you to vote on for a winner.  (But it almost always seems to end up taking us longer. . . so it might be a day or two later.) The vote will be closed on Thursday December 16th at 5 PM EST.  Whoever gets the most votes will be first and so on down to twelfth place (or wherever we place to), and the winners will be announced on Friday December 17th. (These dates are subject to adjustment if it takes the judges longer than we anticipate to get the judging completed.)

Judging criteria will be as follows:

  • 1. Kid-appeal! – These stories are intended for a young audience (ages 12 and under), so we’re looking for stories that children will enjoy and relate to.
  • 2.  Holiday Contest! – the rules state a Holiday Contest story, so it must be crystal clear that the story is about a contest that in some way relates to Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, New Year’s, or whatever seasonal winter holiday you choose.  The story must center on the contest  – the contest must not be just an offhand mention/reference in a story about something else.
  • 3. Quality of story – entries must tell a story, including a main character of some kind and a true story arc even if it’s tiny 😊  Entries must not be merely descriptions or mood pieces.
  • 4. Quality of Writing: check your spelling, grammar, punctuation etc.  If you’re going to rhyme, give us your best 😊  Overall writing quality and use of language are also important. Please proofread!
  • 5. Originality and creativity – because that is often what sets one story above another.
  • 6. PLEASE FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS! Large numbers of entries make it easy to cut entries that haven’t been entered as we asked.

The Prizes!: Oh! Such wonderful prizes! All I can say is, how lucky are we to be part of such a talented and generous community that offers such amazing prizes!

Please join me in thanking these very generous authors and other writing professionals for contributing their books and writing expertise as prizes by visiting their websites and blogs, considering their books and services for birthday, holiday or other gift purchases, rating and/or reviewing their books on GoodReads, Amazon, B&N, or anywhere else if you like them, recommending them for school and library visits, and supporting them in any other way you can dream up! 😊

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique (Rhyming or Non-rhyming, Fiction or Nonfiction) with written feedback AND a 30-minute Zoom Chat with children’s author Vivian Kirkfield, author of PIPPA’S PASSOVER PLATE (Holiday House, 2019), SWEET DREAMS, SARAH (Creston Books, 2019), FOUR OTTERS TOBOGGAN (Pomegranate, 2019), MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD: THE INSPIRING FRIENDSHIP OF ELLA FITZGERALD AND MARILYN MONROE (Little Bee Books, 2020), FROM HERE TO THERE: INVENTIONS THAT CHANGED THE WAY THE WORLD MOVES (Clarion Books, 2021), and SHOW ME HOW! BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEM THROUGH READING, CRAFTING AND COOKING (MoneyPenny Press Ltd, 2010)

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique (Rhyming or Non-rhyming, Fiction or Nonfiction) with a recording of first read-through by children’s author and poet Sarah Meade, contributor to HOP TO IT: POEMS TO GET YOU MOVING (Pomelo Books, 2020!

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique/Zoom Chat (Non-rhyming) from children’s author Janie Reinart, author of WHEN WATER MAKES MUD: A STORY OF REFUGEE CHILDREN (Blue Whale Press, 2021)!

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique (Rhyming) PLUS Zoom Chat from developmental editor Lou Piccolo! Lou studied English Literature, creative writing and teaching at university in South Africa. After working as an EFL teacher in France for twenty years, she studied proofreading and editing before becoming a developmental editor of children’s and young adult’s literature for independent authors. She is a graduate of Renee LaTulippe’s Lyrical Language Lab – Punching Up Prose With Poetry course and Making Picture Book Magic, the in-house writer for Editions Entrefilet’s language-learning magazine ‘Go English Kids’ for children of 8-12 in France, and a traditionally published author of MG and YA fiction with Burlington Books.

Developmental Editor, Lou Piccolo

⭐️ Connecting With School Librarians! Fabulous Opportunity for published or soon to be published authors! Winner’s Choice of either a Zoom or phone chat about how to connect with school librarians and get their ear or an Ask Me Anything Zoom or phone chat about K-8th grade author visits from a librarian’s POV from Kathy Halsey. Kathy Halsey is Storyteller Academy’s Community Manager and Ambassador. She enjoys writing picture books, humor, and nonfiction. Kathy’s active in SCBWI and blogs with other kid lit writers on the GROG. She serves on the Choose to Read Ohio Advisory Council and speaks at educational and literary conferences. Kathy’s a former K-12 school librarian and children’s bookseller. She writes monthly author studies for the Reading for Research Month along with Keila Dawson.

Writer, librarian, bookseller, blogger Kathy Halsey

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique (Rhyme or Prose, fiction only) from children’s author Shelley Kinder! Shelley is the author of NOT SO SCARY JERRY (Spork 2017), THE MASTERPIECE (Spork 2018) and GOD AND ME AND THE SEA (Kregel Children’s Books, May 17, 2022)

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique (written) PLUS 15 minute Zoom Chat (no nonfiction) from Cindy Williams Schrauben author of THIS COULD BE YOU (Cardinal Rule Press, April 1, 2022)!

⭐️ Zoom Visit to a classroom or to kids at home by children’s author Ellen Leventhal! Ellen is the author of DON’T EAT THE BLUEBONNETS (Spork, 2017), LOLA CAN’T LEAP (Spork, 2018), HAYFEST: A HOLIDAY QUEST (ABCs Press, 2010), and A FLOOD OF KINDNESS (WorthyKids, 2021)

Author, Ellen Leventhal

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Heather Gale, author of HO’ONANI: HULA WARRIOR (Tundra Books, 2019) which was one of the New York Public Library’s Best Books for Kids 2019, one of the Ontario Library Association’s 2019 Top Ten Titles, Featured on the 2020 Rainbow Book List, Featured on the 2020 Rise: A Feminist Book Project List, and received a Booklist Starred Review!

⭐️ Picture Book Manuscript Critique from Maria Marshall! Maria is a children’s author, blogger, and poet passionate about making nature fun for children. She’s a judge for the Cybils Awards and the #50PreciousWords competition. Four of her poems are published in The Best Of Today’s Little Ditty anthologies. When not writing, critiquing, or reading, she bird watches, travels the world, bakes, and hikes. The Picture Book Buzz  Website  Facebook  Twitter  Instagram

Maria Marshall

⭐️ A Reversible Handmade Christmas Stocking or Other Winter or Holiday-Themed Gift Bag from Karen Gebbia PLUS a Personalized Signed Copy of CURIOSITY’S DISCOVERY by Nancy Derey Riley to fill it!

⭐️ Personalized Signed Copy of either QUEEN OF PHYSICS:How Wu Chien Shiung Helped Unlock the Secrets of the Atom (Sterling Children’s Books 2019) or TWO BICYCLES IN BEIJING (Albert Whitman 2020) (Winner’s Choice!) by Teresa Robeson

PLUS!!!

a Personalized Signed Copy of either LISTEN (Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books 2021) or TWO DOGS ON A TRIKE (Harry N. Abrams 2020) (Winner’s Choice!) by Gabi Snyder

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⭐️ Personalized Signed Copy of THE QUEEN AND THE FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE: Queen Charlotte’s Gift to England (Albert Whitman 2018) by Nancy Churnin PLUS a Digital Copy of THE STAR IN THE CHRISTMAS PLAY (Beaming Books 2018) by Lynne Marie

⭐️ Personalized Signed Copy of MY SCHOOL STINKS! (Philomel July 2021) by Becky Scharnhorst PLUS a Kindle or Audiobook Copy of either FUNNY JIMMY (AuthorHouse 2011) or THE HAUNTED HOUSE OF RIDDLES (Avid Readers Publishing Group 2011) (Winner’s Choice!) by Vanessa Rose Lee

⭐️ Winner’s Choice of 2 of the following 4 picture books, kindly donated by Dee Knabb!

With so many great prizes up for grabs I hope there will be a lot of entries – the more the merrier!  And you’ve still got a couple days to write, so you can squeeze in under the wire if you haven’t written yet.  Feel free to spread the word to your writing friends as well.  And your reading friends – parents, teachers, etc.  The more people who read and enjoy your stories, the better!!!

Contest Entrants, remember you MUST post your entry in the comment section below and include title, byline, and word count.

Eager Readers – just go along the list of links below, click on them (they’ll take you directly to whichever story you click on), and enjoy the stories!

So let the Holiday Contest begin!

Happy Writing and Happy Holidays! 😊 ☃️ ✡️ ⭐️ ❄️ 🎄🕯🕎

I can’t wait to read your entries!!!

THE ENTRIES!

  1. It Takes A Forest – Lucretia Schafroth
  2. The Kelpie Challenge – Bonnie Kelso
  4. The Cookies Of Holiday Hollow – Royal Baysinger
  5. Elf Off The Shelf – Anne Lipton
  6. The Trolls: A Winter Tale – Royal Baysinger
  7. Upon A Winter Solstice – Royal Baysinger
  8. So You Think You Can Prance – Amy Leskowski
  9. The Festive Flying Race – Nicola Beach
  11. Birdie’s Song – Beth Stillborn
  12. The Holiday Homework – Sue Lancaster
  13. How Tiny Won A Seat On Santa’s Sleigh – Elizabeth Westra
  14. The Claus’ Candy Cane Contest – Susan Schipper
  15. He Knows If You’ve Been Bad Or Good – Colleen Murphy
  16. Olive, The Other Reindeer – Lindsay Moretti
  17. Go Green For Christmas – Margaret Zotkiewicz
  18. Tree Number Nine – Lindsey Hobson
  19. Christmas Boots – P.J. Purtee
  20. Ellarose’s Sweater – Marta Cutler
  21. A Fourth Grader’s Poster Problem – Jennifer Vose
  22. A Buggie Tradition – Kay Inglis
  23. Kendy And The Solstice Solo Show – Sarah Meade
  24. Elsie And The Christmas Comedy Contest – Sarah Meade
  25. The Better Elf On The Shelf – Molly Ippolito
  26. Ernie And The Science Fair – Deborah Foster
  27. Mr. Tweedy’s Christmas Trees – Colleen Fogarty
  28. Best Wrapped Surprise – Sara Dean
  29. Christmas Eve Ride Along Contest – Dawn Young
  30. The Christmas Tree Contest – Dorothy K. Kohrherr
  31. Alfredo Learns The Secret Of Greatness – Joan Leotta
  32. The Pretty Ugly Sweater – Pamela Swanson
  34. Jamie’s Holiday Surprise – Diana Sussman
  35. Katie’s Snow Creation – Marty B.
  36. The Tasty Treat Christmas Contest – Katie Brandyberry
  37. Santa’s Secret Contest – Linda Staszak
  38. Phoebe’s Snowperson – Kelly Clasen
  40. THAT’S Not A Christmas Cookie! – Vanessa Konoval
  41. Candy Pies – Sharon McCarthy
  42. Solstice Skaters – Allison Strick
  43. The Best Gift Ever – Pen Avey
  44. The Most Christmassy House – Jen MacGregor
  45. Candy Caribou – Steena Hernandez
  46. A Christmas Pickle Story – Daniella Kaufman-Schloss
  47. Shining Star – Sarah Hawklyn
  48. Grumpy Snow Pants – Stephanie Maksymiw
  49. The Best Reading Contest Of Winter, 1959 – Beth Schmelzer
  50. Playground Games – Colleen Dougherty
  51. Simply The Best – Nicole Loos Miller
  52. Bear’s Christmas Cookie – Marta Cutler
  53. Happy Everything! – Laura Barens
  54. Dancing With The Elves – Jill Lambert
  55. A Creature Was Stirring – Judy Sobanski
  56. The Monster On Christmas Eve – Elizabeth Meyer zu Heringdorf
  57. What Christmas Means To Me – Marty Findley
  58. A Miscalculation – Emily Durant
  59. Lily And The Winter Festival – Karen J Moore
  60. 2021 Monkey Merry Xmas – Shariffa Keshavjee
  61. The Ginger Friend House – Kelly Swemba
  62. Gingerbread House Extravaganza – Elaine D’Alessandro
  63. Parol: This Little Star Of Mine – Lynn Grace Wong
  64. Christmas Song – YauMei Chiang
  65. Reindeer Games – Tiffany Hanson
  66. The Cookie Contest Caper – Kelsey E. Gross
  67. The Clean-Out-The-Clutter Contest – Sarah Demarest Guthrie
  68. The Contest – Amanda Sherlock
  69. Asher’s Chanukiah – Dina Silverberg
  70. Best Hanukkah Ever! – Paul Kurtz
  71. Cinder-Latke – Paul Kurtz
  72. Bunny Claus – Donna Kurtz
  73. Jangle Shells – Donna Kurtz
  74. Spin – Cheryl Simon
  75. Fantastical Fairytown Christmas Snowflake Contest – Ellen Crosby
  76. The Winning Recipe – Judy Abelove Shemtob
  78. The Greatest Display Of All – Barbara Kimmel
  79. Sparky’s Wish – Ingrid Boydston
  80. The Night After Christmas – Abby N. Wooldridge
  81. The Claus’s Hawaiian Vacation – C. S. Boyll
  82. Gifts For Grandma – Cindy Sommer
  83. Keep Christmas Coming – Jeannette Suhr
  84. The Most Special Ornament – Timothy Hicks
  85. Santa’s Workshop Winners – Polly Owen
  86. Elfie Selfie Contest – Stephanie Henson
  87. The Great Holiday Bake Off – Jamie Donahoe
  88. Laughing All The Way – Sarah Hetu
  90. A Sack Full Of Presents – Patricia Nozell
  91. Fairy Tale Houses – Jim Chaize
  92. Christmas…By A Nose – Jesse Anna Bornemann
  94. Reindeer Sing…Are You Listening? – Katie Schwartz
  95. Christmas Carrots – Vashti Verbowski
  96. Being Santa Lucia – Cindy Greene
  97. Nun, Gimel, Hei, Shin – Who Will Win? – Stephanie Wildman
  98. ANDRÉS BLUE RIBBON – Carmen Castillo Gilbert
  99. The Chubby Bunny Champion – Alicia Meyers
  100. Up And Away! – Kristy Roser Nuttall
  101. Christmas Isn’t – Ingrid Boydston
  102. The Christmas Pirate – Julianna Kurtz
  103. Maryam’s Happy Persian Christmas – Shadi Kafi
  104. The Most Beautiful Snowflake Of All – Cassie Silva
  105. Fire And Ice – Jyn Hall
  106. The Santa Spectacle – Mary Cathering Amadu
  107. A Jarring Contest – Bru Benson
  108. Everything – Sandhya Acharya
  109. Similarity Despite Diversity – Eva Felder
  110. O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree – Becky Goodman
  111. Solstice Wars! – Phoebe Browning
  112. Gingerbread Surprise – JC Kelly
  113. Squirrels Christmas – Charlotte Boyer
  114. The Holiday Contest – Denise Seidman
  115. The Witch’s Gingerbread House – Lauri Meyers
  116. Elf Rivalry – Michelle S. Kennedy
  117. Dream Big, Little Pip! – Sally Yorke-Viney
  118. An Extraordinary Elf – Becky Kimbrough
  119. Jasmine Jingletoes And The Christmas Stocking Contest – Brenda Covert
  120. Let There Be (MORE!) Lights – Judy Carey Nevin
  121. Laughing All The Way – Samantha Gassman

Tuesday Debut – Presenting Nancy Derey Riley!

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Welcome to Tuesday Debut, everyone!

Today’s guest we has written and illustrated a fun story in rhyme that also includes interesting, educational, nonfiction back matter. And she self-published. Talk about doing it all!

I know we’re all going to learn a lot, so let’s get right to it and meet today’s debut-ess, Nancy Derey Riley, and have a look at Curiosity’s Discovery!

CURIOSITY’S DISCOVERY
written and illustrated by Nancy Derey Riley
Self-published/print-on-demand through IngramSpark – Rolling Prairie Publishing LLC
November 10, 2020
Rhyming fiction with NF back matter
For ages 4-8

CURIOSITY’S DISCOVERY takes the reader on a mystery adventure on Mars as the trusty rover hears an unknown radio signal. She discovers an older rover, Spirit, just as his batteries crash and his transmission ends. Now, she must revive him if she has any chance of having a friend.


SUSANNA: Welcome, Nancy! We are so thrilled to have you here today to share your journey to publication! As you know, I am especially fond of this story for a reason I know you’re about to explain 😊, and because I share your interest in the Mars missions and have a Mars book of my own! Where did the idea for this book come from?

NANCY: The idea for this story came from you, Susanna, and Valentiny! Last year’s 2020 Valentiny Contest rules were: write a child-friendly Valentine’s story, no more than 214 words, and show someone or something being curious. I immediately thought of Curiosity, the Mars rover—nothing more curious than Curiosity, right? Well, I wrote a rhyming story entitled, Finding a Friend, and miracle of miracles, I came in 4th! I was so excited.

I find writing contests for kid-lit writers help me generate ideas for stories beyond just a particular contest. Plus, there are prizes, often critiques from published authors and, even, agents. These critiques have helped me polish my stories for submission to agents and publishers.

SUSANNA: How long did it take you to write this book?

NANCY: After basking in my 4th place finish for a few days, I decided to transform it into a complete picture book manuscript. Since it is a rhyming story, this took me a couple of weeks. In March 2020, as the pandemic was beginning, it was critiqued by all my critique partners (I’m in three different groups, one is dedicated to rhyming picture books).

SUSANNA: Did you go through many revisions?

NANCY: I didn’t go through many revisions, certainly not major rewrites or anything. The back matter took much longer to decide what to put in and what to leave out. The moment I discovered your website and your books, Susanna, I loved the idea of back matter at the end of a fictional tale. Since I’m a biologist, I wanted to include facts on Mars, the rovers, and, for this story, Morse code.

SUSANNA: It’s really an added value for young readers and for their parents and teachers! And something I haven’t seen as much in self-published titles. So kudos to you! When did you know your manuscript was ready for publication?

NANCY: In the middle of April 2020, after a final review by my rhyming partners, I submitted query letters to nine publishing houses that accept unagented manuscripts. In June, I subbed to 13 agents who were open to submissions. Also, I participate in Twitter pitch contests as they come along, but I have yet to have any success with them.

SUSANNA: At what point did you decide to self-publish rather than submit to traditional publishers?  Did you try traditional first? Or did you have specific reasons for wanting to self-publish?

NANCY: In May 2020, came a long road trip to visit my stepdaughter in Oklahoma and a LONG discussion with my husband about my writing journey. I’d been writing picture books for nearly four years and submitting to agents/publishers for three. I’ve only gotten a couple “champagne” rejections, the rest either form letters or no response at all. I told my husband that even if I got an agent in one day and that agent sold my manuscript to a publisher the next day (impossible, but I simplified it for the sake of our discussion), it could be two years before I held a book in my hands. I was 63 and not getting any younger. I’d researched independent publishing a little at that point. That is when I decided to self-publish this story. I did submit the story to agents in June figuring I would work both ends and see what happened first—an agent or a book in hand.

SUSANNA: How did you find an illustrator?

NANCY: The smart aleck answer is, I looked in the mirror. I’m very left-handed and right-brained. I love to draw when I make the time. I did a lot of illustrations for handouts and handbooks in my federal career. I’m even a sometime silversmith. My husband says I’m a serial hobbyist! I have rough book dummies for several stories and I when I subbed to agents, I asked them to consider me as an author-illustrator. I did receive one response from an agent who liked my story and the rhyme (often hard to get a positive response), but my art style did not resonate with her AND she was ONLY taking on author-illustrators. Sigh.

So, I decided to try my own illustrations. I find humans hard to draw, so luckily, there are no humans in Curiosity’s Discovery! LOL!

text and illustration copyright Nancy Derey Riley 2020 (p.11)


SUSANNA:  Since you illustrated your own book, I’m guessing you were able to talk your illustrator into working for a very reasonable price 😊 But were there any costs associated with illustrating?

NANCY: The biggest cost for me was buying the whole Adobe Creative Cloud package for a year. I started out trying to use watercolor pens, but decided that Photoshop was my best medium for these illustrations. That cost me around $360. I’m a member of the Colorado Independent Publishers Association and there are several service providers. One illustrator said his price is around $5000-$10000!  One of my critique partners, who self-published, found an illustrator in eastern Europe, maybe Romania, and that was around $150 for the whole picture book. She was very pleased with the product. I believe she found her illustrator on Fiverr.com. I have heard mixed reviews about this service.

SUSANNA: How did you format your book for publication?

NANCY: It was written in Microsoft Word and then the sentences were added to the artwork Photoshop. Then the pages were converted into pdfs. I’ve been told that the NEXT time to create the pages in Adobe InDesign because it is even more compatible with the print service I use.

SUSANNA:  How did you select a printing service?

NANCY: I read up and researched print-on-demand services, such as, Amazon’s KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), IngramSpark, BookBaby, Draft2Digital, etc. I knew that I would not want to afford a printing company. IngramSpark prints both hardcover and paperback whereas KDP only does paperback. I also met another wonderful self-published author, Barbara Renner, online. I contacted her and asked if we could video chat about her publication process. She is beyond helpful.

SUSANNA: Did you do a print run so you’d have inventory, or is your book print-on-demand?

NANCY: My book is both. It is print-on-demand, but I can order my books at cost plus shipping so I do have a small inventory. My book is available online at: Amazon (around the world), Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Target, eBay, Waterstones (in the UK), and more. IngramSpark distributes their list to many outlets. Currently, the only physical place that has my book on consignment is the Fort Collins, Colorado Discovery Museum.

SUSANNA:  How long was the process from writing through publication of your book?

NANCY: The story was started in mid-February 2020 for Valentiny. The full story was complete and critiqued by mid-April 2020. I spent last summer working on the illustrations and the publication date was November 10, 2020. So, around 11 months. There was a steep learning curve relearning Photoshop and getting the whole book formatted properly for IngramSpark.

SUSANNA:  Were you able to get your book reviewed by Kirkus, SLJ, Hornbook, Booklist etc.?

NANCY: No, Kirkus is pricey, over $300. I’m not sure about the others. I did have it reviewed by Readers’ Favorite (for free!) and earned a 5-star review. Book review of Curiosity’s Discovery – Readers’ Favorite: Book Reviews and Award Contest I know this is a very small thing, but it still helps put the word out about my book.

Also, I entered the Colorado Book Awards and the SCBWI Spark Award. Fingers crossed!

SUSANNA: Describe any marketing/promotion you did for this book.

NANCY: I’m still figuring this out! I did have my website revamped and we had a countdown to release, trailer which we also put it on YouTube, word search, maze, and coloring pages available on my website. I tried to have a book launch or signing locally, but late November saw an upswing in Covid cases and stores stopped all in-person events. I didn’t know how or where to do a virtual event. I still have much to learn in the marketing arena.

The other place I want to reach are schools. I would love to do author visits and talk about the rover programs, Mars, space, whatever the kids dream up!

SUSANNA:Anything else you’d like to share about your book’s journey from inspiration to publication?

NANCY: I’m still smiling that I can hold this book in my hands! A pandemic is a funny time, but maybe the best time to try this! I haven’t given up on traditional publishing as well. Now I have a much better appreciation for what an agent and publishing company do for you! With that said however, I must toot my horn a little more.

This year I placed 3rd in the 2021 Valentiny with a story about the Perseverance rover landing on Mars. I’m working on a longer non-Valentine story for Percy and Ingenuity, the little helicopter that went with him. I will self-publish this one too because I want the art to match with Curiosity. Who knows, it might lead to a whole Mars series.

Nancy reading Curiosity’s Discovery to Perseverance (Percy) – apparently you can do this on NASA’s website which is so cool I may have to try it with MARS’ FIRST FRIENDS!


SUSANNA: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us today, Nancy! We’ve learned so much! I know I speak for everyone when I say we wish you the best of luck with this and future titles, and I think we’re all looking forward to the continuation of your Mars series!

NANCY: Thank you, Susanna for being such an inspiration to me and many others in the children’s literature field. Without your writing contests, I doubt this book would exist.

Author/Illustrator Nancy Derey Riley

Website: nancyrileynovelist.com
Twitter: @NancyDereyRiley
Facebook: Nancy Riley Novelist or Nancy Derey Riley (personal page)
Instagram . . . soon for an author site
ISBN-hardcover – 9781735737102 
ISBN-paperback – 9781735737119 

About Nancy: I’m a retired wildlife biologist living with my husband, dog, Scout, and our 2 horses on 35 acres north of Fort Collins, Colorado. I have a grown daughter, stepdaughter, and stepson, and two fantastic teenaged granddaughters. I split my time between writing, enjoying our land and life, and being a competitive adult figure skater.

Readers, if you have questions for Nancy, please post them in the comments below and if she has time I’m sure she’ll respond!

You may purchase Nancy’s book at:
(all links below are book-specific)

Indiebound
Amazon
Barnes&Noble

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– purchasing their books

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– sharing their books on social media

– reviewing their books on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and other sites where people go to learn about books.

Thank you all for stopping by to read today!  Have a lovely, inspiration-filled Tuesday!  Maybe today is the day you’ll write your debut picture book 😊

Missed any previous Tuesday Debuts?  Check them out!

Christy Mihaly – Hey! Hey! Hay! A Tale of Bales And The Machines That Make Them

Jessie Oliveros – The Remember Balloons

Beth Anderson – An Inconvenient Alphabet: Ben Franklin And Noah Webster’s Spelling Revolution

Hannah Holt – The Diamond And The Boy

Laura Renauld – Porcupine’s Pie

Annie Romano – Before You Sleep: A Bedtime Book Of Gratitude

Melissa Stoller – Scarlet’s Magic Paintbrush

Sherry Howard – Rock And Roll Woods

Kate Narita – 100 Bugs! A Counting Book

Vivian Kirkfield – Pippa’s Passover Plate

Laura Roettiger – Aliana Reaches For The Moon

Matthew Lasley – Pedro’s Pan: A Gold Rush Story

Natalee Creech – When Day Is Done

Margaret Chiu Greanias – Maximillian Villainous

Wendy Greenley – Lola Shapes The Sky

Danielle Dufayet – You Are Your Strong

B.J. Lee – There Was An Old Gator Who Swallowed A Moth

Cathy Ballou Mealey – When A Tree Grows

Pippa Chorley – Counting Sheep

Sandra Sutter – The Real Farmer In The Dell

June Smalls – Odd Animals ABC

Jill Mangel Weisfeld – Riley The Retriever Wants A New Job (self pub)

Kathleen Cornell Berman – The Birth Of Cool: How Jazz Great Miles Davis Found His Sound

Eleanor Ann Peterson – Jurassic Rat

Sarah Hoppe – Who Will? Will You?

Marla LeSage – Pirate Year Round

Stacey Corrigan – The Pencil Eater

Shannon Stocker – Can U Save The Day?

Nadine Poper – Randall And Randall

Christine Evans – Evelyn The Adventurous Entomologist

Karen Kiefer – Drawing God (religious market)

Susan Richmond – Bird Count

Dawn Young – The Night Baafore Christmas

Heather Gale – Ho’onani: Hula Warrior

Ciara O’Neal – Flamingo Hugs Aren’t For Everyone (self pub)

Theresa Kiser – A Little Catholic’s Book Of Liturgical Colors (religious market)

Lindsey Hobson – Blossom’s Wish (self pub)

Kirsten Larson – Wood, Wire, Wings: Emma Lilian Todd Invents An Airplane

Valerie Bolling – Let’s Dance!

Janet Johnson – Help Wanted: Must Love Books

Susi Schaefer – Cat Ladies

Heather Kinser – Small Matters: The Hidden Power of the Unseen

Kelly Carey – How Long Is Forever?

Mary Wagley Copp – Wherever I Go

Nell Cross Beckerman – Down Under The Pier

Claire Noland – Evie’s Field Day: More Than One Way To Win

Sharon Giltrow – Bedtime, Daddy!

Gabi Snyder – Two Dogs On A Trike

Sarah Kurpiel – Lone Wolf

Vicky Fang – Invent-a-Pet

Lisa Katzenberger – National Regular Average Ordinary Day

Pam Webb – Someday We Will

Abi Cushman – Soaked!

Teresa Krager – Before Your Birth Day

Lindsay H. Metcalf – Beatrix Potter, Scientist

Nancy Roe Pimm – Fly, Girl, Fly! Shaesta Waiz Soars Around The World

Jolene Gutiérrez – Mac And Cheese And The Personal Space Invader

Julie Rowan-Zoch – Louis (picture book illustration debut!)

Janie Emaus – Latkes For Santa

Amy Mucha – A Girl’s Bill Of Rights

Hope Lim – I Am A Bird

Melanie Ellsworth – Hip,Hip…Beret!

Rebecca Kraft Rector – Squish Squash Squished

Gnome Road Publishing (publishing house debut)

Sue Heavenrich – 13 Ways To Eat A Fly

Julie Rowan-Zoch – I’m A Hare So There (author/illustrator debut)