Karl Van Loo
After 31 + years of doing Custodial work with the Vacaville Unified School District, I finally gave in to the love of my life, writing Children’s books.
Even though the task involved in the publishing of my book: The Adventures of Marvin Pickering In: The Miracle at Weston Falls, was somewhat exhausting, the outcome was well worth all the effort! My fist book in print, available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and soon in many books stores nearby, is a delight to read, beautiful, and very nicely constructed.
The idea of Self publishing was an overwhelming thought, but with the support of family, friends, plus plenty of research into the world of Self Publishing, and lots of prayer, I found a very good “Full-Service” Publisher, that offered a very competitive package, at a fair price!
What a privilege it is to have the gift of writing, and also illustrating! I wrote this book nine years ago, and it simply got filed away. I was stymied because of the cost it would take to publish the work, and then discouragement overwhelmed me, so I simply gave up!
After years of allowing the manuscript to sit untouched, I decided to have a friend in my local Church read my book; he even offered to edit the first edition-at no cost! After he read the book he reported back to me that he thought the work was very good, perhaps a little ‘wordy’ for the age group I was trying to reach, but very engaging, and it kept the reader moving though the story. I was very thankful for his advice and all the work he had done, but the book sat in this writer’s dead-file for yet another 3 years!
Then a spark of inspiration had come upon me when I had illustrated a book for a friend at the School where I work, Dalene Sovine, Author of: The Path of the Butterfly. The work was so well received, and many of the staff, and parents bought the book without hesitation! This was an epiphany for me; I thought, why haven’t I done this for my book?
Soon I was working on my manuscript once again, making the revisions Tom had requested, and feeling very inspired! I asked my wife if we could get a loan to publish my book, and she fondly agreed! I was overjoyed by the thought of having my lonesome book published after all these years! Now after approximately 1 year of hard work, toiling through the manuscript over, and over, and even over it again in the editing process, it finally started to take shape.
Then the Illustrations had to be developed, edited, and finalized into high definition pictures for scanning; then placed in proper order into the manuscript. The building, Cover design, and over-all development of the galley was, time consuming, but when they sent me the final galley I was overwhelmed with emotion! It all seemed so surreal, yet there it was, my book!
I have to thank God, and all my supporters for their unwavering faith, and encouragement! To my wife, family, church members, and my School site staff members at Alamo School, I can’t thank you enough! It is because of all the wonderful people in my life, and a gift from our creator, that I have the privilege to hold a book in my hand, but not just any book--The Adventures of Marvin Pickering in: The Miracle at Weston Falls--my Book, and to finally share it with the whole world! Thank you (again) for all your support!
Karl J. Van Loo Author/Illustrator my book is available at – Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, or e-versions at: kindle books, Nook books. Also look for it (soon) in your area Book Stores.
