Blog - Page 49 of 54 - AuthorBookBeat

In The Closet and Under the Bed is a book about children’s imaginations as they confront those scary things that go bump in the night.

It is quite hard to explain those unexplainable feeling that you get when you are a grandpa. They are precious and it is a love so deep that you truly want to do things to make them proud to be your grandsons. This book came from my heart. I cold picture myself setting on their beds at night reading them to sleep with a book I had authored. Originally, I was committed to illustrating the book myself. I have not art training, but my drawing was improving. The problem was that it took me so long to complete one illustration. I was fortunate to have met a man who is a wonderful artist. My first glimpses of his work came in 2001 on a visit to England on business. His works caught my eye, and I found myself staring at them for hours to get every detail. I called him up and explained the book and asked him to join with me in this process and engage his great talents to bring this book to life. It is truly a work of art. In fact, it has twenty-seven separate works of art. Each is an original watercolor by David. The results are stunning, I think. In an age of computer-generated illustrating individual artwork is a dying breed. In truth in our discussions David and I believe we will do it no other way.

I remember my times at this age. The sounds of an old house as it settles or the wind blowing against the window came make some very scary noises. In reality they are nothing but as a child with a pure and fertile imagination they can mean many things. I would curl up on my bed and surround myself head to foot with my stuffed animal collection to protect me from my own monsters. They were my best friends, and they stood their watch successfully for many years. With that in mind a touch of the pure childhood imagination took over and once it started to flow it did not stop until I got to the end.

In the Closet and Under the Bed explores the time in life where a boy comes to terms with his own monsters. He is very creative in his solutions and will probably someday be very successful in business. David was a great resource in reconciling the words to the visuals and we joined those visions successfully in his art. Rosie acted as our go between and spent many hours on the phone relaying messages back and forth. During David’s work he suffered a medical crisis and a major surgery. During the middle part of this process, he sat at his easel in great pain to produce this wonderful art and story. By this time, I think we both had invested in the book from our hearts, and nothing would stop its completion. I hope you enjoy it. I hope you can spend that time curled on the bed with your own children and in the end, they can make their own peace with their own monsters.

Gary Repetto

I grew up in Chicago near Wrigley Field and attended the University of New Mexico on a football scholarship, having played on 3 conference championship teams in addition to lettering in baseball. After several years coaching on the high school and major college level, I worked as a recruiter locating and hiring several thousand engineers in the defense and mining industries. I recently retired, enabling me to spend more time writing novels. My first to be published, Prairie Fire, is scheduled to be released by TotalRecall Press in August, 2015.

Bruce Moran

Bruce Moran is a book publisher world wide with TotalRecall Publications.

Mina Mauerstein Bail has written a large-format chapter book series for young readers

Mina Mauerstein Bail has written a large-format chapter book series for young readers. The first installment in the series is a two-part story (each with six chapters) that encourages readers to get along with others.

In part one, readers are introduced to Max, a kitten that has been adopted by the Cupcake family. The Cupcake family has a dog at their home, so Max resides permanently in the family’s bakery. Although Max enjoys the company and snacking on croissants during the daytime, he becomes lonely during the evenings when the Cupcake family return home to their dog. Madame Cupcake finds him a new home with a lovely customer, Madame Rosemarie, who already has three cats. Each cat has their own personality and, through mutual respect, all of the cats learn to adapt to each other’s traits so that they can all get along. Something they all have in common, however, is a fear of dogs.

In part two, Madame Rosemarie adopts a dog that was in need of more attention than his family could offer. This dog is aptly named after a famous French writer, Voltaire, who wrote about tolerance and respect for others. Once again the cats must adjust to a newcomer and in doing so they learn that there is no need to be afraid of others simply because they are different.
Short sentences and color illustrations are used to facilitate comprehension of the easy to digest chapters. Children will enjoy reading the story and learning about the power of kindness and helping others. The fun names (Madame Cupcake), the snippets of humor that are interjected throughout, and the French backdrop and glossary of French words will further enhance the reading experience.

Max & Voltaire: Getting to Know You would make a nice read-aloud for a group setting and is also suited to individuals who are newly independent readers.

Add this book to your collection: Max & Voltaire: Getting to Know You, by Mina Mauerstein Bail; Illustrated by Gabriel Choquette.

Gary Repetto

After growing up in Chicago, I attended the University of New Mexico on a football scholarship, playing on three conference championship teams, in addition to lettering in baseball. I then coached at the high school and major college level for several years before becoming a corporate recruiter. After thirty-eight years of recruiting and hiring several thousand engineers in the defense and mining industries, I recently retired and am able to now spend more time writing novels. Prairie Fire is my first novel to be published. It is scheduled for an August, 2015 date to be released by TotalRecall Press.

Diana Taylor

Writer and speaker, Diana published her first poem at the age of 12. After years of writing poetry, magazine and newspaper articles, and short stories, her first book of Biblical Fiction was published by Revell in 2009. Since then, she has published nine more books. She lives with her husband in San Diego, California.

Dian Stirn Groh

Dian Groh is a freelance writer, short story author and poet. Her works have appeared in “Twins Magazine: The Magazine for Multiples Since 1984”, “California Teachers Study Report Card,” “LIFE IS GOOD! Gulf Coast Healthy Lifestyles: A Health and Wellness Magazine for Everyone” and various organization newsletters. Her first picture book, “My Maumee”, is coming soon.

Tracey Mixon

Tracey is a Registered Nurse in the Houston area. Tracey assists in alleviating the suffering of those with autoimmune diseases by way of holistic healing.

DICK MORRIS AUTHOR OF “POWER GRAB”

Dick Morris New York Times best-selling author is interviewed on his upcoming release of “Power Grab” by Humanix Books, contend that President Obama is at war with the Constitution and its provisions that provide for checks and balances.