The reviews are in!

I've now had three reviews of Otter and Arthur posted on Amazon. You can read the original posts there or check them out here.

Full disclosure: Amazon does have problems with "fake reviews," but these are completely legitimate. However, in the name of full disclosure these are reviews from friends and family. Also, despite the picture atop this page, I confess that no kittens have read my book...as far as I know.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful adventure for your child August 26, 2012

"This is a wonderful take on the sword and the stone from the perspective of Otter, young Arthur's mouse friend. Not only will your children love this story of adventure, but as a parent you will love reading it. Fast-paced an action-packed (while being age-appropriate), this will be a cherished bed time story for years to come." - Christine L. Williams

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5.0 out of 5 stars Great Perspective on a Classic Tale! September 17, 2012

"Whitaker takes this classic tale by the tail, adapting it for elementary school children through the eyes of Otter, an adventurous mouse. Otter's perspective is a fun and clever approach to meeting the soon-to-be King Arthur. This "chapter book" allows kids to travel with the young mouse into Camelot, above Dragon's Head, and on to the field for jousting. In addition to learning a few new vocabulary words, I (yes, the adult and parent!) enjoyed the good values of the great Otter and his side-kick, the adolescent Arthur." - ShotByGunn

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5.0 out of 5 stars Let's Read It Again! September 18, 2012

"I just finished reading Otter and Arthur and I am really pleased with it. I figured if your son's friend insisted on reading it in one sitting, I should try that, too. This story will wear well with parents reading it multiple times. As a teacher, I used to read chapter books with my fourth grade classes; they would have loved this one. Otter has PERSONALITY with a capital P; from the outset, I was chuckling out loud. And as the book progressed, I saw expressions of Otter's other emotions along with engrossing adventures. Arthur is a believable character, nicely developed. I expected to like the book, but I wasn't sure just how you could pull off the combination of a mouse and the child who becomes King Arthur -- you really did it well!" - Beverly Whitaker

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Don't forget - you can buy the book right here on the blog via the Buy the Book tab. While it is available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble, your best bet is to buy it directly from me. It is cheaper and I can autograph it if you wish. The "Add to Cart" button below will process credit cards through PayPal, but you do not need a PayPal account.

If you are interested in a signed copy, just send me a message and let me know. Thanks to everyone for the support!

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Acknowledgements

image from hellaheaven-ana.blogspot.com

Getting a book made is a long process involving many people. Obviously the writer bears the brunt of the responsibility in taking a book from its initial idea to a final version. That process requires a lot of note taking, plenty of rough drafts, and a great deal of editing.

There are, however, many people involved in making a book become a reality. I have self-published books and have used traditional publishing (see all of my books here or check out my Amazon Author Page). There are pros and cons to each. The latter means someone else takes responsibility for editing the book, developing the cover art, and promoting it. If, however, an author self-publishes, that means taking on the responsibility and cost of getting all that work done. I chose to self-publish because of the satisfaction of having a book hit the market as soon as it is ready. Traditional publishing can take a year or more even after the book is "done."

My book started in the spring of 2011 with an idea which developed because of my kids (see "The Origin of Otter and Arthur"). My first acknowledgement is to them for letting me brainstorm ideas with them and reading them early drafts of the book. I never would have been inspired to write this book if it weren't for my boys' love of books.

I put together my basic story idea and started sharing it with my writers' group. By the way, for any budding writers who are reading this, I highly recommend this process. I got great feedback from fellow writers which went a long way toward shaping this book. Thank you so much to Rachel Ellyn, Julia Flowers, Greg Gildersleeve, Kara Hoffmann, Ken Hursh, Susan Grace Napier, Christine Williams, and Denny Young for all your work in helping my book become a reality! You can learn more about their works here.

I finished up my final draft this summer. Then I turned to Joyce Jackson to edit my book. She had edited three of my books before when she worked at School-Age Notes and I was pleased at the opportunity to work with her again.

I also wanted strong cover art which not only gave potential readers a glimpse of what they'd find inside, but would make people want to pick it up. I definitely got that with Gen Goering's wonderful cover art. She had done lots of work in the art field, such as set designs for Kansas City's Lyric Opera, but this was her first stab at book cover art. I am overjoyed with the results.

Thank you to everyone for your help in making Otter and Arthur and the Sword in the Stone a reality!