The print version has a square cover rather than the horizontal-rectangular cover that the e-book version uses.
Welcome to the world of Ellandria! I began writing these stories around 2009 in an effort to create a backstory for Penny and the Seer's Ballad, which I had started in 2008. I started by creating the map:
To make things interesting, I included different elements of geography such as a desert, a mountain range, a bay, a sand spit, rivers, lakes, valleys, and so on. I enjoyed coming up with names for these places, and with each name, a character was born.
For each character, I had to decide what type of animal and what traits that animal possessed. I researched each animal, looking for interesting pictures and details about the animal's diet and habits.
For each story, I had to decide what problem or challenge the character(s) needed to face. Sometimes real-life problems became the inspiration for the story. For example, one day I was having lunch with a friend, and she complained that her children did nothing but fight. I wove that problem into the story "Ladd and the Path Finder."
Other times, a combination of elements provided inspiration. For example, I was re-reading Lucy Maude Montgomery's stories, and she has several about two spinster sisters at odds with each other. That reminded me of two clients I once had when I worked in the personal trust division of a bank. The beavers Gassie and Jossie were loosely fashioned after them.
I was blessed to "stumble" across a great illustrator, Scotty Roberts, after my sister connected with him on FaceBook and I read his book The Rollicking Adventures of Tam O'Hare. I fell in love with the way he brought his own animal characters to life and knew immediately that I wanted him to illustrate my book.
Editing and revising was a long and tedious process. Fortunately, I was able to hire an experienced editor, Susan Korman, who provided me with good insight as well as encouragement. She pinpointed inconsistencies and problems such as not enough story line or too much detail or repetitive approaches.
Overall, the book took about seven years start-to-finish. I enjoyed writing and polishing the stories, and I hope you enjoy reading them.
