Book it for Friday Book Review: An Adventure with Peter & Penny at Hudson Bay

2016-02-23T16:13:34-08:00October 30th, 2015|

Did you know polar bears, at birth, are about the size of a stick of butter?


My good friend and member of my writers critique group, Karla Locke, just published a delightful children’s book that will appeal to children of all ages. The story of two young polar bears venturing out into the world with their mother and the accompanying photos will win your heart. Peter and Penny are two cubs experiencing their first year of life. Their mother takes them to Hudson Bay where the two cubs encounter what life on the tundra has in store. Karla uses the photographs of wildlife photographer Joan Silling to tell the story along with some amazing “Bear Facts” provided by Polar Bear International.


Buy now for Christmas. At ten dollars a book, they make perfect Christmas gifts. http://goo.gl/3ZqwPI


Portions of the proceeds from this book will be donated to the Polar Bear International Organization. Their mission is to conserve polar bears and the sea ice they depend on. They also work to inspire people to care about the Arctic and its connection to our global climate.  We thank them for providing us the facts about polar bears used in this book.

An Adventure with Peter & Penny at Hudson Bay was inspired by wildlife photographer Joan Silling while on her last trip to Hudson Bay. Silling passed away in 2014 from cancer, leaving her entire thirty-year photo library to Karla Locke. Silling’s love for these creatures was expressed in her photography. These images are part of her legacy, and we are honored to share them in this fun and educational story.

I asked Karla to tell us a little more about her book and her company. 
What gave you the idea to take Joan Silling’s photographs and use them in your story?

Before she passed away, one of the things we discussed was having her images in books. When I was going through her photo library to organize them, I saw these and just knew they needed to be a children’s book.

Will we see other Peter and Penny stories, or other books utilizing Silling’s photography?

Yes. The cubs in this book are around 8-9 months old. She has some photos of bears around 2-3 yrs old from another trip. I am thinking of doing one of Peter and Penny as teenagers with those images. I am also in the planning stage of an alphabet and numbers children’s book using her photos. Joan Silling visited over 30 countries in the last 30 years, this gives me lots of material to chose from.

What do yo consider is the best part of the writing process?

Exploring. Developing the story. I get to let go and let my imagination take over. 

Tell the readers more about your business eArmchair PUblishing business. What should they do if they are interested in working with eArmchair?

Armchair Publishing is a service business (not a publisher) for authors who want to self-publish. Some of our clients have written memoirs and want to leave a legacy in the form of a book for friends and family, but the book is not for sale. Others, want to share their stories (fiction or non) with the world. What makes us unique is we actually work with the author, they become a collaborative part of the team. We provide the ‘technical’ pieces they need to self-publish. We can then walk them through the steps needed to get their work out there. 
What advice do you have for writers who want to self-publish?

Don’t be afraid of it. Why wait, just do it. Traditional is great, but it is not for everyone. 

For additional information contact Karla Locke at 206-518-8209 or email armchairepub@gmail.com

Karla Locke
Armchair ePublishing
armchair-epublishing.weebly.com

 
Author Bio:
 As a long time reader, Karla Locke now explores the world of writing and has self-published a few short stories and her first children’s book. She lives in the beautiful and inspirational Pacific Northwest, surrounded by water, wildlife and writers. Her business, Armchair ePublishing, provides a service to authors in helping them prepare their stories for self-publishing. Being surrounded by so much talent made her creative juices explode and the craving to write burst out.