National Eat Your Vegetables Day Launches Kids' Book

Today is national Eat Your Vegetables Day and the launch of The Prisoner of Carrot Castle print book. Originally published as an interactive picture book on the Apple AppStore, the book is now available in print.

The book app has been downloaded more than 40,000 times AND hit the #1 Spot in Top Free iPad Book Apps during a recent Memorial Day promotion. The print edition of The Prisoner of Carrot Castle hit the Direct-to-Consumer market June 15th. Visit the website www.purplecarrotbooks.com

From the Press Release:

Brought to young readers aged 2 – 8 by the independent publishing partnership of Purple Carrot Books and Possibility Books. For founder/author and wellness coach and blogger Chris Pedersen, creating children’s healthy eating books is all about getting kids to learn good eating habits now so they won’t face the life-altering cancer she fought by changing her diet completely. Says Pedersen, “I have a passion for healthy eating and teaching others how to be healthy. Out of this passion, being a children’s writer and wishing to contribute to the fight against childhood obesity, I wrote The Prisoner of Carrot Castle.”

Have you read The Prisoner of Carrot Castle? Love to hear your reaction.

Unveiling The Prisoner of Carrot Castle Book at A Day on the Farm

THIS IS A RAIN OR SHINE EVENT

A Day on the Farm Learn, Eat & Celebrate! Sunday • May 19 • 10am - 3pm • $5 per person American River Ranch • Next to Hagan Park • Rancho Cordova

$5 per person kids & adults
(2 yrs and under free)
pay at the gate (cash only)

proceeds benefit  Soil Born Farms

The Day's Events Include: 
Farm Stand Purchase fresh, local, organic vegetables & fruit

Cooking Classes & Workshops
Farm Tours & Nature Walks
Kid's Garden Activities
Face Painting & Photo Booth
Community Education Tables
Local Arts & Crafts
Live Music: Mind X Quartet & More!
Morning Food, Snacks & Lunch 

Learn About:
American River's Native Plants
Gardening • Composting
Raising Chickens
Beekeeping • Cooking
Native Edibles • More

Mark your calendars! I will be at A Day on the Farm at Soil Born Farm in Rancho Cordova. Buy a copy of The Prisoner of Carrot Castle and get it signed. Buy carrots and broccoli. Enjoy a salad toss. Juggle veggies. Lots of fun things to see and do.

To celebrate the launch of the book in print, the iPad version is FREE for the first time ever! Hurry! FREE offer is good from May 16-19!

Install The Prisoner of Carrot Castle on your iPad for FREE

(May 16-19)

Could You Create a Book App?

Have you written a Picture Book and wondered if you might want to turn it into an app? Here's a great resource to help you think through the possibilities. Karen Robertson just released her latest eBook "What is a Book App and Could YOU Create One? How 27 Writers Did!"

This eBook is a must read for any children's writer considering digital publishing for their book. You'll learn from children’s book app author, speaker and coach, Karen Robertson:

• What is a book app
• Why it’s such an exciting publishing option
• What you need to know about this opportunity
• How it's done, so you can decide if it’s right for you

After reading the stories of 27 writers who've turned their books into book apps, you'll see there are many ways to achieve this publishing dream and deliver your book to a worldwide audience. You're sure to identify a story or two that makes a book app happen in a way that meets your objectives and budget, even if you aren’t technically inclined.

Ah hem! Did you notice that yours truly is on the cover of this awesome eBook? Yes, I am one of the 27 writers featured in this book. Read my story and those of my brave fellow app developers in this valuable eBook.

Download What is a Book App and Could YOU Create One? How 27 Writers Did! for Kindle on Amazon.

If you don't have a Kindle reader, you can download the FREE Kindle app for iPad, iPhone and iTouch and for Android.

If you haven't already, download The Prisoner of Carrot Castle iPad book app.

Go on! Take the leap. Test the waters. Have you ever thought about creating an app of your book?

 

Author Interview: Chris Pedersen for The Next Big Thing

Tag... I'm it! As part of The NEXT Big Thing blog event to bring awareness to authors books, I'll be sharing about my next book release. I received my tag from author Karen Robertson and just as Karen did, at the end of the interview I'll tag a few of my friends so you can see what they have written when they blog NEXT week.

1) What is the working title of your next book?

The Prisoner of Carrot Castle, already an iPad app, is arriving in print January, 2013. In this first book of the Veggie Chronicles series, kids discover that eating vegetables is what heroes do, that is, if they want to eat their way out of a wicked King's clutches. The book is beautifully illustrated by Kate Jeong. With vivid colors and new discoveries at every turn, readers quickly become invested in Aiden's delimma and want to help him along in his adventure.

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

A late-in-life discovery found me with cancer from a genetic condition. Believing that my healthy lifestyle had saved me from a more serious prognosis, I radically changed my diet, beat the odds and returned to a healthful state. Now I want to make others aware of healthy eating, especially at this time of alarming childhood obesity trends. I love crafting stories for kids. Out of that love I wrote the first in the adventure series The Veggie Chronicles, called The Prisoner of Carrot Castle.

3) What genre does your book fall under?

A children's picture book AND interactive digital iPad app.

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

I think the child actors Gattlin Griffith or Jake Vaughn look a lot like Aiden in the story.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book series?

Aiden's dislike for vegetables takes him on adventures to far away places across the globe and throughout history.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

All future books and apps are being published by Possibility Media Group and their collaborative partners.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

I wrote the first draft of The Prisoner of Carrot Castle in about 20 hours over a two-month period.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Here are a few picture books that may inspire healthy eating in kids: Jody's Beans: Read and Wonder by Malachy Doyle, Pickin' Peas by Margaret Read MacDonald, Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White, The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin. Different from these books, The Prisoner of Carrot Castle is the first in a series about Aiden and his imaginative adventures involving vegetables that subliminally encourage kids to eat vegetables.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I desire to teach kids about the life-giving qualities of vegetables and fruits in a fun and engaging way that doesn't feel like teaching. After I wrote the story, my husband and son spurred me on to pursue publication of the book as an interactive iPad app.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

The book will include curriculum for teachers and parents emphasizing aspects of the story as well as the health benefits of the featured vegetables, which are carrots and broccoli in The Prisoner of Carrot Castle.

Now passing it on to the following authors for their Next Big Thing blog post.

• Lori Mortensen http://lorimortensen.blogspot.com/
• Lance Pyle www.peterblueberry.blogspot.com/
• Linda Joy Singleton  www.lindajsingleton.livejournal.com/ 

Face To Face For The First Time

I'm typing this blog on the last leg of a trip my husband and I made to Vancouver B.C. via a cruise ship being repositioned from San Francisco to Vancouver.

After working over a year with Kate Jeong, the illustrator for Purple Carrot Books, I was determined to find a way to meet her in person. We had never met face to face. An email from Princess Cruises presented the perfect opportunity—take a cruise for two nights, spend a day with Kate and her family and fly back home.

The Jeong family (Kate, husband Don and their three boisterous boys, Steven, Danny and Harry) met us after we disembarked from the ship at the docks in Vancouver. It was like a reunion with a long-time friend. Up to that point Kate and I had only communicated via email and Skype video conferencing.

They took us to Granville Island where we browsed through the Public Market then had coffee and visited while the boys chased pigeons along the waterfront. Later we found a kids park where the boys played until they collapsed with hunger.

After lunch we checked into our hotel and rested until Don and Harry picked us up to deliver us to their home where Kate and Don put the finishing touches on a traditional Korean dinner with lots of vegetables served on a bed of rice. Delicious!

Today Kate and I spent two and a half hours working on our latest app, Goldilocks and The Three Bears. We worked through the storyboard and added all the animation, interaction and sound notes. Now Kate can begin producing the finished color scenes. Kids are going to love this app.

Have you had a relationship where you didn't meet the person face to face until some time later?

Have you seen The Prisoner of Carrot Castle iPad app with Kate's beautiful illustrations?
 

Fun Stuff at Purple Carrot Books

The Purple Carrot Books website now has Fun Stuff for kids to do—coloring sheets to print and color. Plus finger puppets of your favorite characters from The Prisoner of Carrot Castle kids iPad app.

Click on a coloring page at Fun Stuff. Then print it, get your color pencils or crayons and make the picture come alive! Don't miss the Finger Puppets of your soon to be favorite characters from The Prisoner of Carrot Castle. Color them, then cut them out and tape them around a finger. Create your own stories about the imaginative adventures of Aiden in The Prisoner of Carrot Castle.

Sign up to receive email updates on the app release. Start talking about The Prisoner of Carrot Castle on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

Developing an iPad App: Step Nine

You might be thinking by now that the steps to developing an iPad app never end. Well... it sometimes feels like that to us too. Since none of us have ever done an iPad app before, there's been a roller coaster learning curve and unforeseen setbacks in the schedule. Each of us on the team (Kate, Nur and myself) moved. Kate moved completely across the country last summer and I moved over Christmas.

Step Nine:

A. Beta Test
Now we're back on track and actually in beta. For those who think I'm referring to a vitamin, a beta test is when your product moves (look at that.. even the app moved) from in-house testing to actual user testing. I have volunteers with young children using the app to see if they encounter bugs or any speed/performance issues needing to be addressed before we go to launch.

Preliminary input from our testers look good on the bug front—no crashes or obvious errors. I few tweaks have been suggested to make the user experience more satisfying.

B. Fix and Upload to App Store
Based on input from our beta testers, we'll fix any problems that came up, adjust a few details in the presentation and tweak a few activities (I have a list). Then we upload it to the App Store for approval and launch.

C. Tell the World
Then I get to work contacting reviewers, telling everyone on Twitter, Facebook and Google+, notifying  newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and alerting my writer's network to spread the word to their contacts and on their blogs.

You can help by going to Purple Carrot Books and signing up to get an email when the launch happens.

Do you have experience at spreading the word about a good product?

What's your best technique to get something out there for the "world" to know about?

 

Presenting: Purple Carrot Books Website

Drum roll please! Announcing the website for Purple Carrot Books. The e-publisher for The Prisoner of Carrot Castle is on the web. Please go there and sign up for the email service so you can be notified when we launch and when we add more to the site, especially fun stuff.

Features and information on the website include:

• Buttons at the top to follow Purple Carrot Books on Twitter and Like it on Facebook.
• Plays the Book Trailer of The Prisoner of Carrot Castle.
• Sign up to be notified by email when the launch happens and anything new is posted.
• Post Purple Carrot Books to your Twitter feed.
• Like Purple Carrot Books on Facebook.
• Read about the app.
• Read the mission statement.
• Contact us with your comments and questions.
• Download a press release, logo, screen shots, and author headshot individually or the whole package as a zipped file.

Go to Purple Carrot Books and help us spread the word about The Prisoner of Carrot Castle by tweeting Purple Carrot Books on Twitter and Liking us on Facebook.

The Prisoner of Carrot Castle Book Trailer

Grab your cape and watch the excitement grow. I'm thrilled to present the book trailer for The Prisoner of Carrot Castle. The team is working diligently to finish the app.

Please share the video with your friends, colleagues and anyone owning an iPad. Follow @prplcarrotbooks on Twitter and watch for the website launch at www.purplecarrotbooks.com. LIKE us on Facebook at Purple Carrot Books fan page.

Developing an iPad App: Step Eight

Yikes, we have been busy! It may have been quiet on the blog, but it's far from quiet on the actual iPad app development front. Kate has been cranking out the final scenes and animation pieces. Nur has been coding like a mad man. I've been tweeting, facebooking, Google+ing, writing press releases, working to set up the website for Purple Carrot Books...blah, blah, blah. Are we there yet?

Step Eight:
A. Run to the Finish
We are technically in alpha test phase. Nur has been sending regular app builds and we have been putting it to the test trying to break it or find issues that need tweaking. Of course passing it off to our 3-year-old mini-testers is part of that too.

Not much else to say here except this is when it gets pretty exciting. We begin to see all our hard work coming to fruition as the app comes alive with all its fun animations and interactions. It puts a smile on our faces.

B. Get the Word Out
As with all products, it may be the greatest, but if no one knows about it, how can they buy it?

I've subscribed to HARO (Help A Reporter Out) to receive requests for queries from reporters needing qualified input for articles being developed. I've done one interview with Alice Walton, associate editor for TheDoctorWillSeeYouNow.com. She was fascinated by my story of beating genetic cancer with my diet.

The Purple Carrot Books website is under development with hopes of going live shortly.

Meanwhile, please go to the Purple Carrot Books Facebook fan page and LIKE it to get regular updates. And please tell your friends and family about The Prisoner of Carrot Castle iPad app coming soon. Published by Purple Carrot Books.

Follow @prplcarrotbooks on Twitter to get news about the launch and watch for and tweet #CarrotCastle.

Developing an iPad App: Step Seven

Things are going warp speed now. I worked on a detailed schedule for development, illustration and project management/marketing—there is a lot to accomplish to get the app out by mid fall. What do you think of our final title page? It still needs the buttons for music, read to me, etc., but here it is.

Step Seven:
A. Illustration Tasks to Complete
Settling into her new home outside Vancouver (BC, Canada), Kate is working on completing the scenes with animation elements that go with each scene—there are three types of animation in the app:

• Happening with the narration
• Activated by touching the screen
• Triggered by some aspect of a game

Four scenes have now been completed with their animation elements. Way to go, Kate! Right on schedule.

B. App Development
Nur completed a draft build of the app using the rough colored scenes, built the games readers can enjoy at the end of the book, and developed a unique page turning style (passed by our 3-year-old app testers). He is putting the final touches on the accelerometer game for the tunnel scene and building the final scenes with their animations, sound, text and narration as Kate completes the scenes.

C. Project Management/Marketing
Our small yet determined and dedicated team is working hard, making my job as manager easy.

My most challenging job has been doing the sound effects. Besides knowing there are lots of websites offering sound effects, I knew very little. Finding an open-source editing program called Audacity, I was able to poke around and learn to use it effectively. I purchased sound files (.wav) from:

• Soundsnap
• Audio Jungle
• Sound Dogs

About half the files were perfect as purchased. Others I edited to get the right length or combined to achieve the perfect sound effect.

I even recorded my own files with my iPod—a fountain and a branch dropping. Finding just the right owl "hoot" became a difficult search until my husband, Bob, came home and performed an awesome impression of an owl. I got my owl. Thanks, Honey!

I would love to insert the owl for you to hear, but no easy way to do it. You'll just have to wait until the app comes out.

This week I'm creating the narration files. Yes, yours truly will be narrating the story.

I also put up a fan page for Purple Carrot Books on Facebook. Please go to the page and Like it. I'm connecting with people on Google+—writers, reviewers, app developers, teachers, and other interesting people.

If you haven't been following the series, you might want to check out the previous steps for developing an iPad app: Step One, Step Two, Step Three, Step Four, Step Five and Step Six.

Developing an iPad App: Step Six

The Prisoner of Carrot Castle © 2011

Haven't heard from me in a while about the app progress, but rest assured things are moving ahead like gang busters. The work has been heavily concentrated on the illustrations, Kate working hard at painting each scene. And next month my uber illustrator is moving to Vancouver where her husband works. Kate and the boys are very excited to be together as a family again.

Step Six:
A. Illustrate Each Scene
All the scenes for the book and the title page have been colored. What do you think of the title page? Some of the scenes were adjusted as Kate moved through the story scenes. You saw some of the gorgeous scenes in Developing an iPad App: Step Five.

B. Build the App Pages and Functions
Plugging all the colored scenes from Kate's work into a build of the app, Nur has provided a web location for us to download the progressive builds onto our iPads. That allows us to test things and give him feedback. He's experimenting with page turning styles, built and debugged one of the games and laid-out the extended scene where the accelerometer will be used. Are those teasers enough for you?

C. Begin Foley Work & Plan for Marketing

I have my hands full as I figure out how to put the sound together. There's narration for each scene, music that plays throughout the story (with an off/on button) and sound affects that happen either as a one-off (happening once during narration) event, or when a spot on the screen is touched usually involving animation.

Nur's job is to make it all work, but I need to get all the sound files for him to insert. A good friend has offered his professional sound studio to do the sound work. Sound a bit overwhelming?

Then there's marketing. I need to create a marketing program to introduce and get the market buzz going about the app. I'm convinced the app will sell itself, but the rub is people need to know its out there in the sea of millions of iPad apps.

Just a few things I'll be doing:

• Set-up Fan Page on Facebook
• Look into targeted Facebook ads
• Send out app to reviewers
• Send out press kits to media

Marketing gurus out there, what else do I need to do?

BTW, the production company for The Prisoner of Carrot Castle is called Purple Carrot Books. Did you know that carrots were originally purple? The dark-colored carrots are making a comeback. Give them a try if you see them in your local market.

It's getting exciting, isn't it?

What is it you'd like to know about building an iPad app? Scroll down and leave a comment.

Developing an iPad App: Step Five

The Prisoner of Carrot Castle © 2011

Wow! It's been a month since I posted Developing an iPad App: Step Four. Plenty has been happening. Kate has been doing color studies to determine the coloring for scenes and characters. Nur has been using the roughs and color studies to start to build the app.

Step Five: Aiden In Color
Here is our little hero straight from medieval knight play-acting. What do you think?

After a few color studies for scene one, here's how it turns out. The squiggly lines represent the narration. Notice the knight's helmet, sword and shield.

Can you see how beautiful and fun this app will turn out for the iPad. And with the even more brilliant display of the new iPad2. Yeow!

Deep into the story, scene 13 finds our hero trying to escape capture in a narrow courtyard of the castle.

I love the colors, don't you?

One more sneak peek. The Carrot Castle royal family (since this is a week with eyes on royals).

You can see why we're so excited about this project. We have lots of fun things in store for the app, such as reader participation to help Aiden in his quest.

Look for a Facebook Fan page coming soon! 

Please leave your comments below.

Developing an iPad App: Step Four

The storyboard is now well defined, coming alive with sketches and interactive features. In Step Two I laid out each scene and identified interaction, animation and sound. As we got more into the process, seeing scene sketches from Kate, we added new interactions to many scenes.

Step Four: Merge Sketches with Storyboard

There are two types of animation that may occur in a scene:

• One time animation that coincides with the narration
• Interactive animation that happens when the reader interacts by touching or moving the iPad.

In the example scene (Scene 4) shown above, our main character, Aiden, developed during Step Three, feels hopeless finding himself in a prison cell. He just met the ugly prison guard who informed him he would face the King of Carrot Castle before the sun goes down.

(Narrator) “What am I going to do? I have to get out of here!” he whispered, burying his head in his hands.
A shuffling sound startled him. (1) He looked up to see a mouse scurry into a small hole in the carrot cell wall. “Hmmmm.” Aiden studied the hole in the wall. “The mouse eats carrots, but I don’t like carrots,” he said, wrinkling his face.

(Art Notes) Aiden sitting in the middle of the prison cell with his head buried in his hands, his dinner fork in his pocket. (spot illus.) Aiden's head up to see mouse. (spot illus.) Mouse running (two views--legs stretched out, legs in).

(One time animation) (1) Aiden looks up, mouse runs into hole

(Continuous animation) sparkling dust flying around in light from window. Shake iPad to make it move.

(Interactive animation) Touch hole to see mouse pop out.

(Sound notes) shuffling sound, mouse squeaks

At narration point (1), Aiden changes pose to see the mouse scurry across the floor and disappear in a hole. Those are the one-time animations for Scene 4. Interactive animations include a continuous animation that the reader can interact with—you see dust floating in the beam of light cast by the cell window that scatters when you shake the iPad. Also, touching the mouse hole makes the mouse appear with a squeak.

Kate came up with several fun games for the reader to do that helps move the story along. In addition, an entertaining sidebar enlists the reader to dress a knight in his armor, making him ready for the big castle search when Aiden escapes.

Our next actions include:

1. Nur animating Scene 4 and 5 using rough sketches and spot poses.
2. Kate working on color studies of Aiden and some scenes.
3. I am putting together a payment agreement for the three of us with an attorney.

Stay tuned for the next step when I am sure to have color for you to marvel over.

Developing an iPad App: Step Three

Meet Aiden—exuberant and full of imagination

We are one month into our project to make The Prisoner of Carrot Castle into an iPad app. If you're just joining us, you'll want to catch up by reading Step One: Assemble the Team and Step Two: Complete Storyboard.

Step Three: Meet the Characters
While I worked on the storyboard, Kate Jeong, armed with a copy of the manuscript, roughed out the characters so she could begin the scene sketches once the storyboard was complete. You might say this is actually Step Two B.

Our lively and exuberant protagonist, Aiden, appears alone at the dinner table. With disheveled hair and disinterest in finishing his veggies, his imagination launches him to a far away place. To his amazement, he finds himself alone in a prison cell. Aiden's exciting adventure begins!

Kate worked on several versions of the King of Carrot Castle to arrive at this larger-than-life, arrogant King... and his aloof Queen.

The ugly guard who frightens Aiden when he suddenly appears through the cell door hatch would scare anyone confronted with such an oaf.

Numerous guards and people of the court will be seen in various scenes as Aiden attempts to escape from Carrot Castle. Kate developed several versions of Castle people, who might be spotted in the throne room or passing through the courtyard as they search for the escaped prisoner. These are just two people that might be seen in the app.

Join us for the next step in our project.

What do you think of Aiden and his castle adversaries?