Innovation, Revolution and 2012!

Six months ago when Rebekah Grace was just an idea in my head and a partial manuscript I began the tedious research process all authors endure in order to understand the world of publishing.

My google prowess is quite strong, but link after link left me with a very dismal view of my chances of becoming published and the certain failure and heartbreak that would occur if I even contemplated self publishing.

Wow sign me up for this please!

Enter stage left my sister, who kindly reminded me that perhaps the reason the major publishers were so negative on children's literature was in large part due to the fact that Amazon and other digital formats for books seem to be kicking traditional book retailers bums in the competition market.

New and hopeful research began again. Here's a few of the self publishing success stories I found:

Twenty-six-year-old self-publishing sensation Amanda Hocking made headlines earlier this year when it was revealed that the then-unsigned author (she now has a contract with St. Martin’s Press) had managed to sell more than a million copies of her paranormal novels as e-books.

Another self-published author reached a significant milestone: John Locke sold his millionth e-book on Amazon.

I remember reading that a prestigious official of the patent office in the late 1800's felt that it was time to close up shop as everything that could ever be invented had already happened and no new progress would be forthcoming. Goodness was indoor plumbing even a part of every household at that time?

Now is a revolutionary time for the publishing world. We as consumers are much more savvy and technologically linked. We know what we like and we can find it with or without the big publishing houses and their gatekeepers.

This is a very exciting time for self publishers and I truly look forward to being a part of this "new" publishing world and the innovations that will come because of it's existence.

Cheers to all of the innovators and revolutionary self publishers out there. Here we come 2012!

"Shhhhhhhhh"

My sister and I were working with a children's book editor in New York City. The only time Jen and I could fit a conference call in was on a Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately for us, there was no way we could ditch Nicholas, Caleb and Rebekah. I put all three in Nick's room and told them to be good, be quiet or there would be blood.

As Jen and I were trying to listen to our editor, I could hear Nicholas and Caleb saying "shhhhhhhh" and Rebekah complaining in the background. I walked into Nick's room and gave all three of them the dreaded "mom look", warning them that heads would roll if I had to come back here one more time. My children, as well as my older nieces and nephews, have heard me make these types of threats their whole life and have basically learned to ignore me.

Rebekah on the other hand followed me out of the room, climbed on her mother's lap and told her how much she loved her.

I think she was pretty happy that I was not her mother.

But honestly, I have never once made a child's head roll.

Just how divine are those shoes Rebekah?

I am sure this will come as no surprise, but many of the scenes that can be found in the Rebekah Grace book are pulled directly from the real life parenting experiences both Nicki and I have had.

Here's a funny one that happened today while shopping with my two Princesses. Rebekah picked up a pair of shoes and loudly asked me, "Mommy aren't these shoes just too divine?"

The aisle we were on was very crowded and several women turned to look and see who the little fashionista was who could so colorfully describe a pair of shoes.

I turned as well and looked at the face of my smiling preschooler as she caressed the soft leather of a pair of red stiletto heels. I asked her where she had heard that word, and she informed me that, "Everybody knows what the word divine means!".

Carefully she tried on the "divine" shoes and hobbled across the floor hand in hand with her sister who herself had on a blue pair of stilettos.

The shoes proved too hard for the girls to walk in, so they happily slipped back into their sneakers and together we left the store laughing.

Thank heavens for little girls!

A Little Real Life Princess Inspiration

Let's start at the beginning, at least for me. I was the youngest child of a large family and as my mother likes to remind me, quite frequently, I believed the word Princess bespoke of me and my royal lineage. Never mind that my family were farmers and immigrants from Mexico and from all over the world, this did not deter my belief in the fact that ALL little girls are Princesses.

Flash forward to 2001, sitting in the Dr's office waiting for the ultrasound on my first baby. When the nurse informed me it was a little girl it was as if mountains of pink tutus and ballet shoes and glitter and sparkles enveloped me. Hooray!

I think my husband got a little nervous after that Dr's appointment as I explained my visions of pink to him, but nonetheless when our first little girl was born together she and I created our own version of what it means to be a Princess.

Next came a little Prince into our family and oh what fun they are. His older sister saw him as the perfect addition to her stories, a Princess always needs a very good and noble sidekick to help her fight bad guys and transport her dolls on his trains.

Now to the last Little Princess in our family. Much like her sister before her, it is not unusual for us to leave the house arrayed in some form of Princess attire; a pair of fluffy pink play heels, a crown, tutu, wings, etc.

One day at a library storytime while she was thus attired I looked around and saw just how many other little girls were dressed similarly.

After storytime onto the shelves of the library I went yet again in my constant quest for some form of Princess book to meet my child's interest. Yes, there was the selection of perfectly beautiful and grown up real Princesses who are learning to teach dwarfs baseball, feeding horses apples, doing ballet etc., but is there not one book about a preschooler who believes she is a Princess and how she interacts with the world? No, hmm why did this realization take 10 years and 3 children to dawn on me? 

I started asking other mothers of Little Princesses if they knew of such a book. I was again directed to the dwarfs, castles and horse book selections.

Now not to be to intimate or anything, but I was looking at a bathroom reader book shortly after that and saw a quote by Tony Morrison that struck me, " “If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”

Thus began a new project.

Months later and many hours of research and banging my head against whatever available surface I could find, I am at this point in the self publication process. Luckily, my sister came on board and I have been able to have my best friend on the journey. Although at times scary and frustrating, this is something I feel really good about. As I see my 10 year old surge into the tween years and older, I am forever grateful for the hours and years she and I spent together creating an incredible Princess play world. Today our children's world is so very grown-up and  magic is able to exist for such a short time. I hope to create literature for other parents with Little Princesses just like me who believe in Princesses.

I'm glad you found us, keep checking back often and we'll fill you in along the way about the book, a little Princess drama and other silly and funny stories.

The Next Stage

Hello Everyone,

I am incredibly blessed in my life with family, friends and work. My only problem is in finding enough time in the day. So what did I decide to do? I added one more thing. 

My sister Jen and I were sitting at the pool watching our children swim when she told me she had begun writing a children's book and submitted it to a few publishers. I questioned why she was waiting for a publisher to tell her that her work was good. The computer age, Amazon and facebook, have changed traditional publishing and opened up a whole new world for us. My sister invited me into her creation and that afternoon we created Rebekah Grace, the Practically Perfect Princess. I invited the first family princess, my daughter Erica to help and off we went into the unknown.

The three of us have spent many late nights creating a story about an adorable three and half year old who believes she is a princess and the family that humors her. We have just begun on the illustrations and hope to have our first book out in March of 2012. I have not quit my day job, but I am so excited about this new adventure.

The Story Behind The Practically Perfect Princess

Welcome!

We are excited you found this site and can't wait to introduce you to someone.

Meet Rebekah Grace!

A very busy 3 year old little girl, who just KNOWS she is a Princess. 

She has style, fashion sense, charm and a few small Princess antics up her sleeve. 

Why Is She Only Practically Perfect?

ALL little girls are Princesses, no matter who they are, but that doesn't mean they have to be perfect. Sometimes, even Princesses make mistakes.

Get Ready For Her First Book!

Rebekah Grace's first book arrives on the market in March of 2012.  Stay tuned for more exciting details about the book and event details for the Princess Palooza!