Yay, it has been quite the journey but I can officially announce that my first book Animania is available in both print and as an e-book. I have inflated my arm bands, donned the flippers and ready to take that dip into the huge self publishing ocean.
GIVEAWAY TIME
To celebrate this huge milestone I am giving away the following bundle.
Comprising of:
1 signed copy of Animania, 2 crochet mice, colouring sheets, an original sketch and some handmade cards.
The winner will be announced on Sunday the 23rd of August. To enter either visit my Twitter or Facebook page or subscribe to my blog so that I can contact you if you have won :)
What is Animania?
For those that don’t know, Animania is an animal alphabet book with a twist... the twist being that these are not your normal animals! This book shows the true essence of what my work is about and that is to create some giggles out there.
An utterly ridiculous rhyming picture book aimed at the 4-8 year age range. The book is made up of short catchy 4 lined verses for each letter of the alphabet, and is full of characters that will leave a lasting impression, and hopefully give you and the little ones much to talk about.
I am afraid this is going to be a bit of a self indulgent post based on Animania. I have worked my socks off the past year to get to this point. There have been highs and there have been lows. It has been a roller coaster of emotions, and there were moments of “why am I doing this”. Seeing the reactions from the children so far has been priceless and to me the book is already a success regardless of whether it sells or not. So I shall continue my self indulgent journey in this post by sharing links to some of the guest posts and interviews I have been blessed to be part of during the last couple of months to promote the book. Thank you so much to everyone for the continued support.
The Fantastic Support Behind Animania So Far:
First up an interview that bought a tear to my eye, hosted by the lovely Nelson Ward at Inkspokes.
Inkspokes is an online literary magazine that publishes articles on indie book trends, book reviews of independently published and small press works and author interviews. They also showcase some of the incredible work being produced by book illustrators, especially those working independently, and provide resources for indie authors and publishers to assist them in their writing, book craft and the publishing of their works.
Their goal is to build an inviting, supportive community where authors, readers, illustrators and other publishing creatives can make connections.
I am also proud to say that Animania has been given the Inskspokes select book award. Chick here for Review by Inkspokes
A. J. Cosmo's stories are crafted to help parents teach their children simple everyday lessons in an easy to understand manner. By artfully marrying beautiful illustrations and language, children are challenged to explore his magical worlds.
A mother-daughter team who love to read. They have created a space where kids under the age of 13 (sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, grandsons, granddaughters, stepkids) and their grown-ups (mom, dad, grandpa, grandma, aunt, uncle, babysitter) can share their opinions about some of the books they’ve read.
Success Skunks are an organization that helps inspire children globally. They interview a variety of people from different professions to show children, how they "Wished Upon A Time " and with Passion, Compassion and hard work created a life they can't wait to wake up to.
Here are some of my favourite reviews so far on Amazon:
We love it! We are just starting to teach my daughter her phonics, so it is perfect as it is a cheerful way to remember letters and sounds. She loved Naughty Nipper and Inky Stinky. It is very colourful and creative. We played spot the mice and we talked about what the mice were doing. She found it highly amusing that the mice were using a flower like an umbrella to protect them from Booger Bat's runny nose!
I loved that it rhymes. A rhyming book is always a favourite for me 
I will definitely be buying copies for my friend's children.
This book is an absolute joy to read. The words and colourful illustrations are extremely well executed. It contains imaginative creatures and hilarious descriptions of what each letter in the alphabet stands for, in a way that's never been thought of before. My daughter and I were thoroughly entertained from the beginning to the end. I would definitely recommend this book to put a smile on any little one's face and adults of course. Excellent value for a lot of fun and entertainment.
What a wonderful children's learning book! Filled with a group of colourful and cute characters, Animania will make reading fun for youngsters (I'm sure it will make their parents smile too!). The rhyming verse compliments the illustrations very well and will allow kids to think of their favourite creatures when learning the alphabet. I’m sure this book would do great in any young class library, so recommended for teachers also. If you have young children, work in a school, or are just a big kid at heart, certainly give Animania a read!
Whimsical does not begin to adequately describe this beautiful book. Author, artist Corrina Holyoake has created a wonderful book for boys and girls that may well be one of the best children's books of all time. I would go so far as to call this fine work unique within the genre.
ANIMANIA is the whole package for children, parents, and grandparents of all ages.
Looking so forward to seeing more works in print by this author.
I love this book!
The author's art is amazing. Her highly creative story and characters from A to Z are simply brilliant and dazzling.
ANIMANIA is the whole package for children, parents, and grandparents of all ages.
Looking so forward to seeing more works in print by this author.
I love this book!
What happens next?
Right now I am still at the beginning stages of marketing Animania, so that is taking up all of my free time. I have so many fun things happening in the background, here are just a few of the things I am most excited about.
17th August Interview on the Ron Shaw Show on the Artist Finder network
25th August I am meeting Dale from Critterish Allsorts and his 65 critters. I can’t wait to finally meet Stoosh and Skittles. Animania is sponsoring Critterish Allsorts and I am donating a percentage of my royalties to them so I am really excited about this visit. More details about the sponsosrship can be found here: Animania sponsors Critterish Allsorts
September Date to be confirmed for a book signing and press release in Chichester.
October 13th Author school visit with Dale and a few furry friends
25th August I am meeting Dale from Critterish Allsorts and his 65 critters. I can’t wait to finally meet Stoosh and Skittles. Animania is sponsoring Critterish Allsorts and I am donating a percentage of my royalties to them so I am really excited about this visit. More details about the sponsosrship can be found here: Animania sponsors Critterish Allsorts
September Date to be confirmed for a book signing and press release in Chichester.
October 13th Author school visit with Dale and a few furry friends
The next priority is to get a colouring book published, where kids have the chance to colour in their own copy of Animania. I am aiming to get that published for my school visit in October. Once Animania calms down then I will think about the next book. It will tie in with Animania, but how is something I have yet to figure out. I am hoping this is the start of many more silly books from yours truly. I have no idea where this little journey of mine is taking me, but one thing’s for sure, there is never a dull moment!
