Meet The Authors Of Nimpentoad

Today I'm excited to introduce three new authors through this guest post; meet Henry Herz and his sons Josh and Harrison of Nimpentoad, and read on to find out more about their journey into the exciting world of children's literature.  



Nimpentoad's Creative Journey by Henry Herz


When my sons were five and seven years old, and I wanted to share my love of fantasy with them. They were too young for watching most of the fantasy and sci-fi movie classics, and there are only so many good fantasy books available for that age range. Struck by inspiration one day, I came up with a way to share the joy of entering the magical realms of fantasy. I would write a fantasy book for them!

What I did not anticipate was that my boys would give me feedback on the story. They devised some of the character (“Nimpentoad”) and creature (“Neebel”) names, and made plot line suggestions. And who better to help make the story appealing to kids than other kids? So, my goal of interesting my sons in fantasy transformed into also encouraging them to write. Very cool.

Nimpentoad is the fantasy story of a courageous and resourceful little Nibling who leads his tribe through the perilous Grunwald forest, overcoming obstacles and encountering strange creatures along the way.  I decided that we would self-publish Nimpentoad, so the next step was to find an artist who had the skill and style suitable for our book. This turned out to be the most time-consuming part of our journey. Nimpentoad's artwork is (I think you’ll agree) eye-catching, with incredible detail. The kind of detail that makes the reader want to climb into the picture and go exploring.

Once again, my sons were involved, this time helping with art direction. We would describe what each illustration should contain. Collaborating remotely via email and DropBox, our artist would give us a rough sketch, and we would provide feedback on details and color palette. Nimpentoad came to life, while my boys added another dimension to their experience. Eventually, we had a good book, but we lacked readers. So, we then embarked upon the most arduous part of our journey – promoting Nimpentoad

Luckily, my boys (dare I say it) are charismatic and precocious, and are comfortable conducting public readings and doing book signings. At the risk of infringing on child labor laws, I booked my sons as much as their school schedules would allow. We’ve done readings and signings at San Diego libraries, elementary schools, La Jolla YMCA, the New Children’s Museum, Mysterious Galaxy Books, Readers Books, Warwick’s Books, and Barnes & Noble. At the San Diego Public Library 46th Annual Local Author’s Exhibit, my sons asked for autographs from Chris Ryall (of IDW Publishing) and famed graphic novelist Eric Shanower. Both of these gentlemen then graciously asked for my boys’ autographs. Again, very cool!

At the La Mesa Centennial Readers & Writers Festival, we shared a booth with Ron Noble, animator of Rugrats, Rocket Power, and Wild Thornberry's. He was very kind, and my boys left that day with personalized Wild Thornberry sketches. Incredibly cool!

All these experiences have further enriched the journey for my sons. They understand some of the aspects of running a business and publishing. They are now comfortable meeting new people, doing public speaking, and rubbing elbows with famous authors. It has been a great ride.


Click here to enjoy their Radio Interview by Fictional Frontiers.

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