Adventures in Self Publishing

It is hard to believe it’s been five years since we began writing The Adventures of Lucy G. Bohannon. As we make the final edits and carefully lay out our book before we go to press, I am reflecting on this exciting, and at times, challenging journey. We started with a humorous, photo-journal style portrait book of Lucy and ended up in a whole different place. Flexibility has been the key in the making of our full length, hand-painted hardcover children's book. 

Meeting Lucy and Kathleen was a real gift. She was funny and crazy enough to dress her dog up in wild costumes, and Lucy was silly enough to go along with our photo shoots! We shopped for costumes at the Halloween store, staging photo shoots of Lucy on trains, Lucy at the pagoda, Lucy in the fields, Lucy with the llamas, and more. Some of those images are what became the outline of the story and later the inspiration for the illustrations. This collaboration has brought us laugh-out-loud moments and has been one of the true joys of self publishing.

We were committed to the idea of self publishing early on, and became more engaged as we learned the process - from editing, to layout, to print proofing, to production, shipping, and all of the communications in between. 

And then there was the unexpected collaboration with Claire. It was as if we picked up a thread from the past, when we lived next to the old Yocum Art Institute on Belmont Ave in Wyomissing, PA. Storytelling and art making was a big part of our life raising Claire and her sisters, our four little girls. By a twist of fate, the pandemic brought Claire and her family back home from Philly in 2020. As we sheltered in place, the three of us accidentally ended up working together on this story, with Claire painting over 100 illustrations while Kathleen and I fine-tuned our story and rhyme. It was a real joy and blessing to collaborate with them!

What evolved is a work of art and a true work from the heart!  The Lucy book defies the norms of the contemporary 32 page children's book, and is set into six parts. It's a children's novella, where Lucy, a formerly feral pup runs wild along the banks of the Delaware River to find where she belongs. Lucy has a wily personality, and her journey to meet Kathleen, her best friend, was the true-story inspiration for our book. The Adventures of Lucy G. Bohannon is a hardcover book we can't wait to share with kids and their families.

Many of us have memories of reading or telling stories together at night. As each of us become accustomed to our personal screen, singular experiences become more the norm. We are happy to bring our hardcover picture book to readers who still seek the tradition and belief that stories are better shared together.

I am so excited to read the story of Lucy to children of all different ages. Grab your blankets and cozy up together. It’s time to settle in, side by side, and enjoy the story of a little red dog on her unusual journey home. 

Brought to you by Wee Wild Press, an imprint of Mr. Hoppins Library LLC - our little publishing company! 

With love- 

Cindi (aka Zsa Zsa)