For Anne O’Farrell-Schultz, the timing just felt right.
It was nearly 11 months ago when the Penetanguishene woman told her husband Keith that she was ready to start writing the children’s book that she’d been thinking about for years.
“After Christmas, I sat down and looked at my husband and said, ‘you know what, I'm gonna write the book,’” she recalls.
“So, I sat down and wrote it within a day and then showed it to my husband and a close friend, so they could review it and make some minor changes. And then I started checking out self publishing versus going to a larger publishing company. I felt that self publishing was the way I wanted to go.”
To confirm her intuition, she consulted Vancouver author Robert French as well as legendary children’s writer Robert Munsch about her plans and how to best proceed.
“I was able to just bounce stuff off them,” she said, “and that’s how I made my decision to self-publish.”
Fast-forward to the present and the book entitled What’s in the Box? has been published by Midland Printers with illustrations by Mike Motz and she’s actively marketing it to area bookstores, including Georgian Bay Books in Midland, Chapters Indigo in Barrie and Manticore Books in Orillia where it retails for $12.99.
“I like keeping everything as local as I can, in our area, or within Ontario, and I was able to do that,” she said, adding the book can also be purchased through her ([email protected]) for $10.
Geared toward the lower primary grades, the book is based on the “crazy antics” of her daughters and one fo their good friends when they were younger. In it, the trio find a mysterious box and try to figure out what might be inside.
“They're now in their 20s,” O’Farrell-Schultz said. “They knew I was writing a book, but they didn't see it until I got the first draft. And I sent it off to them. And they just couldn't believe it.”
With a background in social services, O’Farrell-Schultz has been working as a photographer and artist for the past decade, but wanted to try her hand at writing a kids’ book.
“It’s been such an exciting adventure,” she said, adding the pandemic has also played its role with O’Farrell-Schultz having to cancel a few events related to the book that was printed in March.
“I did some farmers market this summer and also got the word out through my Facebook page, my Instagram and through a lot of friends. We just keep trying to get the word out the best we can. I'm sort of a grassroots type person.”
O’Farrell-Schultz said she now has plans for a second book and hopes to have it published by next spring.
“It's been a very, very fun journey for me. It's absolutely amazing.”
