July 2008 Archives

This week's book is Too Many Murkles, written by Heidi Charissa Schmidt and illustrated by Mary Gregg Byrne (who also illustrated the very-popular One Smile). Too Many Murkles is a whimsical take on embracing differences and letting nature take its course.

Every year, the dreaded Murkles come to invade Summerville with their terrible stench. And every year, the townspeople fend them off. When Juliana lets one Murkle through their defenses, she follows it to its destination--and something wonderful happens. She must convince the mayor to leave nature to its own devices.

The town experiences two more invasions of creatures, and each one turns out to be a blessing in disguise. Though the plants and animals in the book are entirely made up, Too Many Murkles would make a good lesson for kids on how ecosystems work. Plus, it's just a fun story!

Washington residents and fans of The Tree will want to check out author Dana Lyons in concert over the next couple months. Dana performs folk music under the name Cows With Guns. He will be doing shows in the following Western Washington locations:

July 26: Mt Vernon
July 26: Olympia
Aug 1: Warming up for Dr. Demento in Seattle
Aug 9 or 10 (tentative): Arlington Stillaguamish River Festival
Sept 20: Seattle
Sept 21: Bellevue
Sept 27: Woodinville

For more details on these shows, read below the fold.

As the first line of defense for Illumination Arts' email, I often get questions on submissions, not just for our company, but for getting published in general. Below are some answers I gave one recent questioner, which you may find useful.

I was hoping you could tell me the best way to get it published. Do I just send it to as many publishers as possible? Is there something else I should do before sending out my copies of this children's book? I can't really draw cartoons, but should I pay for an illustrator? They are very expensive.

Before you send your story out, make sure it as polished as humanly possible. There should be no typos, misspellings, or bad grammar. Have a friend who's good with words look over your manuscript for you; they may find things you missed.

After that, the best strategy is for you to do your research on publishers, and find out where your book fits best. Get yourself a copy of Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market, which has contact info and submissions guidelines for just about every children's publisher in the country. After you've narrowed down the field, select three or four of those publishers to send your manuscript to. After you've heard back from those three or four, you can send it out to another set of three or four publishers. This can be a very long, tedious process, but don't give up hope. Almost everybody who gets published has gone through it.

As for an illustrator, it's actually preferable that you send your manuscript in without illustrations. When you include illustrations, the acquisitions editor may find that they like your story, but can't stand the artwork, leading them to reject a good story. Instead, send it in with no illustrations. After a publisher accepts your manuscript, they will set about commissioning an illustrator to create the artwork.

Good luck finding a publisher for your story!

Illumination Arts has its own MySpace account now! Head on over and make us your friend. While you're there, you can check out our trailer for God's Promise, if you missed it the first time around.

We've also got a new podcast on iTunes! Subscribe now. At the moment, all that's up is the trailer, yet again, but the hope is that we'll soon be developing more content for it.

Illumination Arts was founded as a New Age publisher and, though we've since moved away from the adult market, that New Age worldview still permeates the majority of our books. We know that as a New Age parent, it can be difficult to find quality books that speak to your value system. Try taking a peek at the following books:

• All I See is Part of Me: The book that started it all! Sister Star teaches a young boy to find the light within himself, and he discovers his common link with all Life.


• God's Promise: Though the title may sound Christian, this book does not necessarily espouse the beliefs of organized religion. As God prepares a child for her life on Earth, he shows that he can be found throughout all of nature and humanity.


• How Far to Heaven?: When a girl wonders how far away her grandfather is in heaven, her grandmother shows her that heaven is everywhere--from the sounds of nature to the hugs of little girls.


• Inside Out: Karly's invisible friend, Natasha, helps her discover her own "shiny spirit" within. But when Natasha goes away, Karly must rediscover her connection to her "shiny spirit."

There are 14 13 kittens included in the illustrations of our inspiring book, Fun is a Feeling. Can you find them all? Visit this book at http://www.illumin.com/funisafeeling and click on "Read this book on BigUniverse.com!" At BigUniverse, click the "Read Now" button and start hunting!

When you have found all 14 13 kittens, send an email to contest@illumin.com listing the location of each kitten. Do not include the front or back cover in your count.

Entries must be received by August 31, 2008 at 11:59 PM PST. Eligible entries correctly identifying the locations of all the kittens will be entered in a drawing to win Illumination Arts books! One (1) Grand Prize winner will receive any ten (10) Illumination Arts books of the winner's choice. Five (5) additional First Place winners will receive five (5) Illumination Arts books of their choice.

CORRECTION: It turns out one of the pages was inadvertently left of the book on BigUniverse. You now only need to find 13 kittens to be eligible to win.

This week, I'd like to highlight the DragonFire Trilogy by Jody Bergsma. This Celtic-inspired series begins with Dragon. The first installment focuses on a prince and a dragon who share a destiny due to their synchronous births.

Prince Langilor of Lugin is a kind and gentle boy; the dragon Saras, however, grows into a bully who terrorizes his clan and the kingdom of Lugin. The subjects of Langilor's kingdom worry that the boy is too peaceful to deal with the growing threat of the fire-breathing dragon in the north. To prove his worthiness, the young prince goes in search of Saras.

I won't give away the ending, of course, but suffice to say that the prince must find a way to reconcile his gentle nature with the demands of kingship.

This book, and the others in the trilogy, are frequent favorites of fantasy lovers at the trade shows we attend. Bergsma's ethereal illustrations capture the imagination and draw you into her vibrant world. It's not without reason that Bergsma is so well known throughout the Northwest.

Book trailers are all the rage in the publishing industry these days, and now God's Promise is the very first Illumination Arts book to have a trailer of its very own! I created this video to give you a taste of what God's Promise is all about. Please enjoy!

And since this is my first trailer, feel free to let me know what you like or dislike about the video. I'm eager for feedback!