Fetch my Button on Etsy is running a giveaway on facebook for a Tardis wineglass!!
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Tardis wine glass giveaway!! Perfect for Father's Day!!
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Free ebook April 27th! Eat Your Vegeatbles and Other Tales I find perfectly strange: A set of absurdly original tongue twisters and some gems lost in the public domain
Free Today on Amazon!
How quickly can you say "Zombie zucchini zone watching zippy zigzagging zebras?"
Eat your Vegetables features 12 new outrageous vegetable themed tongue twisters that will leave you saying "Better eat your vegetables before your vegetables eat you!" and a collection of odd and wonderful rhymes that have fallen into the public domain.
Eat Your Vegeatbles and Other Tales I find perfectly strange: A set of absurdly original tongue twisters and some gems lost in the public domain
Eat your Vegetables features 12 new outrageous vegetable themed tongue twisters that will leave you saying "Better eat your vegetables before your vegetables eat you!" and a collection of odd and wonderful rhymes that have fallen into the public domain.
Kickstarter Campaign for a really excellent set of Children's books! Help these two creative minds get their ideas into the world.
I love the idea of a kickstarter campaign for children's books! What is more important then spreading the love of reading to children? Please help them if you can! Read all about the ChinyChin project below - from ChinyChin.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/469327260/5-childrens-ebooks-1-print-book
We have been working on these first 5 stories as eBooks to get our company off and rolling. In addition, we have chosen one, "A Salty Treasure," that we would love to see as an always-popular hard cover picture book. This will be beautifully illustrated in watercolor (see image below) as a fun, rhyming story about a brother and sister who find a bottle floating in a river. They discover that there is salt water inside and their curiosity leads them to the ocean.
"The birds were soaring high on a cheery, warm spring day.
We hurried up and ran outside,
Not a care got in our way."
"Up the river from the ocean, past the smelly mill,
It drifted to our treasure cove
And didn't even spill!"
✎ THE OTHER BOOKS:
"Hickory Horse" is an extremely kind horse who was born under a Hickory tree, and amazingly the tree leaves transferred to his mane and tail! He finds some forest animals visiting the farm and escorts them back to their homes for the night. Narrated with characters, and this one makes a nice bedtime story!
"The Talking Space Monster" has a great character voice that is so fun for kids to hear. This monster starts with a hole in his tummy, then gets a patch so he can eat and grow big and strong. Emphasis is on eating nutritional meals and includes a bonus recipe (with tiny green aliens - zucchini) at the end. Yum!
"Runaway Lollipop" is highly entertaining when you follow the rolling "Popsie" (his name once he loses his stick) on his day-long adventure. He finds similar "circle" friends to hang out with, but, in the end, the dog gets the last lick!
In "The Blurry-Eyed Parrot," this bird finds it hard to see the chalkboard in school. Why is the teacher writing with "fuzzy chalk"? He moves to a seat closer in class, but, it doesn't help. Finally, he discovers that a cool pair of glasses are in order...and whaala!
✎ OUR CONCEPT:
We are targeting kids in the preschool - K range with a variety of stories that children this age can easily understand. Our stories have a gentle blend of real life mixed with a world of imagination.
Here's the best part - we are taking these delightful children's stories and sprinkling them with full character narration when applicable. A basic narration style suits others. By creating more of a simple eBook, and not a distracting interactive experience, the child will be able to listen to, or read, a wonderful story full of charm! Our primary thought process in creating these books is just good, old-fashioned reading enjoyment for children, with a twist of fun narration.
We enjoy creating all different types of stories, so you will not see any two alike. For instance...
...some are rhyming, some have animals, maybe there's a surprise, or friendship and playtime. You will see things like an adventurous lollipop living life to the fullest or a space monster stating the importance of eating veggies.
The characters appeal to both boys and girls and some stories have great bedtime endings. All stories are fun and keep the child's attention through easy-to-follow story telling. They have been thoroughly tested on our inspirational kids ages 2 and 5! ☺
✎ WHERE WILL THE MONEY GO?
Our goal of $16,700 is comprised of the following expenses:
Illustrations = $3200
File conversion for all eBook formats = $2800
Company branding/logo design = $400
Website/hosting = $700
Global distribution = $1200
Marketing/blogging = $2100
Hard cover print book = $4800
Rewards = $800
Fees = $700
✎ MORE TO COME:
We already have over 7 more books written and waiting for illustrations! Once we get these first 5 eBooks going, we'd love to fill our website with many others for kids to enjoy.
Speaking of up and coming...here is an audio clip from one of our next books, "Larry the Llama Loves the Letter L" where there are lots of 'L' words!
In addition, we have plans to translate our books into other languages around the world. We love working on this project and are passionate about creating these books and eBooks for children. We hope we have sincerely expressed this to you.
Risks and challengesLearn about accountability on Kickstarter
The children's book market can be competitive, no doubt. We've done quite a bit of research involving eBook creation and marketing and have found a distribution company that is solid and reputable. We look forward to being able to work with them to produce our children's eBooks including appropriate text highlighting. To help our book sales, their global distribution channels include all of the big league companies such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple and Google Play.
We feel confident that once it's in their hands, it's smooth sailing from there! Well, then there is the marketing...but, we've got that covered, too! With a great website and some wonderful blogging, ChinyChin will be on everyone's "go to" list for fabulous children's books!!"
Kiddie Story 365 - A place where storytellers can collaborate
From the Website -
"Kiddie Stories 365 is all about imaginative, simple and easy to narrate stories for kids. But they are not only for parents to tell their kids. It is also for teachers to teach, challenge and strengthen children academically. It is also for authors and cartoonists. And even those who want to rediscover their childhood.
Stories help people to connect. It teaches and tells. And it grows our imagination. As a parent I am asked by my child to tell her a story everyday. When she is bored with this 365 Fairy Tales then it is about a topic of her choice. And for each I try and weave in learning too. After all this is the age when children grasp the most and learn the most. While some are easy to spin, for some I have had to wonder what story to tell her. Hence this site."
I love the idea of continuing the time honored practice of teaching through story. It is intricate that we focus on
new technology to continue time honored techniques. The internet and the digital age are here to stay and if we want stories to be a major part of our child's life we need to combine digital technology and reading whenever possible. If your child reaches for your tablet every time they sit down make sure it is filled with ebooks and websites that nurture their growth.
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Free Fully Illustrated Children's Ebook! Free today on Amazon!
Eat Your Vegeatbles and Other Tales I find perfectly strange: A set of absurdly original tongue twisters and some gems lost in the public domain
Free today! A set of absurdly silly tongue twisters sure to tickle your
and your child's funny bone!
How fast can you say
"Zombie zucchini zone watching zippy zigzagging zebras"
If the the phrase got you to silently giggle wait until you see the absurd full page illustration!!
The book is fully illustrated with 13 original tongue twister and an array of gems lost to the public domain. This book is a great precursor to a more traditional bed time tale.
I would love to read and review your children's books with my almost 4 year old twin boys!
https://www.facebook.com/ChildrenBookReview
or follow me for book reviews at @cjpurcell09
Thursday, April 24, 2014
The ABC Train - Learn the alphabet!: A book with fruits and vegetables! By Andrew Becket
The ABC Train - Learn the alphabet!: A book with fruits and vegetables!
Learning the alphabet can be fun!
From the Author - Andrew Becket
"This book is full with 26 photos of fruits and vegetables, one for each letter of the alphabet! Some of the fruits look really funny and your child will like them a lot.
Is the ugli fruit really ugli? Has your child ever seen a dragon fruit? Now your child can discover new fruits and learn the alphabet at the same time!"
My almost 4 years olds loved this book!! They couldn't wait to show off their color knowledge and learn a couple new fruits and vegetables in the process. I love the quiet time aspect of the book. It is a great primer to bedtime. It helps get my kids in bed with its active participation aspect. Follow this book up with a traditional story and my kids are out like a light.
Don't miss other books by this author.
The Adventures of Bob and Andrew
The Adventures of Bob and Andrew: Who's Going to Save the Ducks?!
Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter for more great Indie Children's storybooks.
I would love to review your Children's Book!!
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
I would love to Review your children's book for ages 2-6
I would love to review your children's storybook on my blog, social media and any sites it is available that allow user reviews. I will be reviewing 3 children's storybooks a week starting April 27th. Please send me a link to your free ebook or send me a copy of your physical book.
You can contact me at
You can contact me at
Free Children's Book! April 26, 2014 - April 28, 2014 - Eat Your Vegeatbles and Other Tales I find perfectly strange!!
Eat Your Vegetables and Other Tales I find Perfectly Strange!
How quickly can you say "Zombie zucchini zone watching zippy zigzagging zebras"?
My book will be FREE April 26, 2014 - April 28, 2014 and I would love you to review it. I am more than happy to trade a review for a review!!
DID I MENTION IT IS FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME?
Thursday, April 10, 2014
TBT - Dream Train Page. An oldie but a goodie.
My husband loves armadillos!!!
If you have a little one in your life that absolutely loves trains you can buy Dream Train here.
Monday, April 7, 2014
Trains - Free Promotion April 7 - April 14th
Trains will be available free on Amazon April 7 - April 14th. I would love for you to download and review my book. Trains is great for babies - young toddlers that love trains.
If you have an older toddler - preschooler that loves trains please check out Dream Trains also available on Amazon.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Friday, April 4, 2014
Eat Your Vegetables.
Allied artichokes antagonize angry American alligator. 
I have been working on a goofy tongue twister book for my boys this month and hope to be done with it and have it published at the end of April.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Feature through amazon deals email!!
Today I was featured in an amazon deal through email!!! How very exciting! I even sold another copy of the book. I guess I have been clicking on my books a little to much but hopefully I'm not the only one to receive this email!!
Sunday, March 23, 2014
The most interesting fictional places and some other locations
I spent my Sunday making a fictional places sign and I couldn't be happier with how I spent my day!! My husband claims it's Harry Potter heavy but I do not see it. Lol
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Homemade Bread
I haven't gotten any new tongue twister pages done but I made homemade bread. I count that as a win! This bread is delicious, new recipe for home style white bread. I used King Arthur flour for the first time and definitely see a difference! Tonight I get back into tongue twisters, hopefully I can be done before the boys birthday.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Last Day for HELPFUL MONSTERS for .99cents
Friday, March 14, 2014
Amazon Countdown Deal Live Now!
You will have all weekend to snatch up this fun active book for your kids!
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Amazon KDP Countdown Scheduled
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Helpful Monsters
I reworked and cleaned up my Helpful Monsters field guide. It is now a field guide with helpful hints for little monster hunters. I am really pleased with the changes and excited to be working in Photoshop and illustrater again.
My children's favorite monster is the Sock Monster. I really revamped the layout of the books and am really pleased with the outcome. I added a field guide diagram
motif to the images. Used a grid overlay to give a scientific sketchbook feel and added basic notes to help little monster hunters. I hope this adds to the interaction
between the book and my boys.
Another addition at the back of the book is an
activity area. I added a count the cuddle bugs page.
A maze that asks the reader to reunite the sock monster
with his socks and a name the helpful monster book.
These extra pages are just experimental. I will try them out
on my boys later today to check how they are received.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Mud puddles before the snow
Mud puddles before the snow might not be a bad idea for a new book. Anyway, the boys and I went mud puddle hunting before the giant snow storm heading our way tomorrow. We can expect 6-10 inches just when everyone was finally allowing themselves to think spring. Well, everyone except my snow loving son who was desperately sad when the snow started melting. Lol. We will have to get the snow pants ready to enjoy what is hopefully our last snow of the season!
I know blogs are filled with tons of hands on unique craft and learning activities, but sometimes you just need to jump in the mud.
If you are looking for an activity for tomorrow's snow day check out my book for free! I listed my book The Dream Train for free for a couple of days. I've gotten 50 new downloads so far and another day or two to go. You can download the title for free here
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00D3B9D4W/ref=redir_mdp_mobile
if you have a toddler or preschooler that loves trains!
Friday, March 7, 2014
Stranger Danger and productive promises
Admitting I have a problem with launching myself into a project and then ceremoniously abandoning said project for my next shinny new idea was step one.
This morning I tweeted. "Making to do lists about goal setting. Active procrastination? Tweeting about active procrastination = denial #help"
I like to make lists and dream about the end result of a project. Devout a month or two to building the dream then getting bored or discouraged and jumping off the train. A mix of fears, impulsiveness and inquisitiveness often sideline projects before they have barely begun to live.
I have steadily grown into an adequate gardener and make an acceptable income baking (hopefully this becomes a hobby and not an income stream soon!) but I have a sculpture degree collecting dust, a tiny ceramic kiln that should be fired a lot more often; not to mention my circuit cutter, button maker and metal stamping kits.
Over the last year I placed three books on Amazon through there KDP (kindle direct publishing) site and without any promotion made roughly 100 dollar plus 8 Euro. The 8 Euro I will only see if it can make 92 friends allowing kdp to cut me a 100 Euro check. (I have dreams of cashing the check with my phone and then hanging it above my desk). It is time to consider the real possibility of giving the hobby and lifetime dream of creating books (which my gorgeous and grammar fanatic of a husband will edit) a chance at being a real career pursuit.
Promises
Give it a full year of active pursuit to see improvement
Learn to Tweet and blog in a productive way
Actively participate with other "e"people
Create and publish multiple new works
Make more use of my dusty "A" type personalty ( my introvert is trembling, stranger danger)
I WILL NOT SELF SABOTAGE
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Toddler Train book 99 cent download March 7th and 8th!
 |
| Trains by CJ Purcell |
Trains. Trains going slow. Trains going fast. Trains with wheels going clickety-clack.
I made this book when my boys were 1 year old and loved anything and everything to do with trains. Being twin boys with lots of energy I made the book bright, simple and fast paced. They still enjoy this book today and will soon be four.
Trains will be priced at 99 cents for a limited time March 7th and 8th! Hurry over and snatch up this great deal!
Dream Trains
I finally revised and reformatted The Dream Train for kindle. My boys still like it after a year, but I need to start working on older books for my almost 4 YEAR OLDS (I really cannot get over them growing up). The Dream Train is a silly train adventure meant to put my boys to sleep and sometimes it even works!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Kindle Comic Creator
I finally figured out how to format children's books for kdp! I mostly make books for my twin boys who are almost 4 years old now. WHERE DOES THE TIME GO!!I started with a really simple book called Trains and formatting the book for an e-reader was a mess. I tried a pdf, jpegs, a word document with jpegs embedded etc. and nothing left me with a an easy page turing experience. Recently, I came a crossed a free download for kdp that allows you to upload jpegs and it formats everything for you!
The formatting is better than most overdrive books I read with my boys and I could not be happier.
Check out the free download here and start making books/memories today.
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