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The readers of the Sun Zebra

10/15/2013

4 Comments

 
I have written a bit about my book The Sun Zebra, but today I decided to take a look at what others have written about it. So I copied all the 70 reviews that my book has on amazon into a document and eliminated obvious words like the names of the characters or the stories. Then I downloaded the remaining words into tagcrowd.com to  to produce a tag cloud. In the results below the size of the word and its shade of blue is proportional to the number of times it is mentioned.
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But this is a bird’s eye view of the book reviews. When you go into the actual reviews a very complex picture emerges. Although I’ve seen it happen many times, still it never ceases to amaze me how people can look at the same thing and arrive at different conclusions.

Consider the following opinions:

“Over all, this is a mediocre read that could use some polishing and a bit more flair.”

and

“By the way, this is the first E-book I've read that was properly edited! Sentence structure, spelling, punctuation are all perfect.”

Or consider:

“Nothing spectacular to keep the reader wanting more. I finished it but it was more like a chore.”

and

“This book was such a dramatic change of pace from everything I've read recently that I was surprised by it. It was absolutely beautiful.”

And there were some unexpected things too. Some of the readers did not state accurately in their reviews how many stories there are in the book. Some wrote that there are four stories in the book while others wrote there are seven (the actual number is five). Also several reviewers seemed to think the events described in the book are real! They are actually a mix of fact and fiction, but it has much more of the latter (I will probably write about this in a future post). Additionally several people were bothered by the parenting approach of Nell’s father who sometimes lies to his daughter to either protect her or to not “burst her bubble.”

Several readers named a favorite story. If we assign one point per favorite (including ties) and 0.5 points per second favorite the tally is:

The meaningless Christmas Tree   8.5

The Sun Zebra                                5.5

Bob The Intrepid Insectnaut!           1

Raven-Lenore                                  1

The Meaningless Christmas Tree is indeed a very powerful story, so it is fitting that it is at the top of the list. The only story that so far no one has named as their favorite is Birdman and the Fairytale.

One reviewer wrote that my stories were reminiscent of the stories written by James Herriot because of the animals in some of the stories. Several reviewers stated that the stories reminded them of moments they spent with their kids, and some even shared them with their children. This was interesting as I had conceived this book as a “children’s book for adults” because all the stories deal in one way or another with death and aging.

Ray Bradbury once wrote that when he read his old books he would think “wow, did I write that?” I guess that it is unavoidable for authors to fall in love with their work. However, it has been said that when your own work moves you to tears or makes you laugh that is not good, as you end up invariably becoming too full of yourself. And I think that is my problem. Every time I reread The Sun Zebra I laugh or shed a tear. But since many readers have stated in their reviews or messages to me that the stories made them laugh and cry, I guess then that I am not alone!

So today I want to thank all the wonderful complex people that read The Sun Zebra, and I hope that when I publish my next book you will like it too.

Take care,

Rolando

                                  ***
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The Birth of A Zebra

4/7/2012

2 Comments

 
The adult world is in many ways a betrayal of all the magic and wonder we experienced as a child. When we grow up we discover that most of the time grinches do not return the stolen toys, wolves devour little pigs, Bambi gets shot or eaten, tornados will kill you rather than take you to Oz, and wishing upon balls of burning gas hurtling thought the cold void of space millions of light years away doesn’t achieve much. More often than not, when we become adults, all the stories that wowed us as children are shelved under “fantasy.”

And this is understandable. Growing up facing the endless stream of challenges and frustrations that the average person faces has a way of dulling our senses. Sure we survive, and we have our victories. But the scars of our battles, the accumulation of unrealized dreams, and stifled hopes tends to make many people cynical. Some look back upon childhood as a cruel hoax. Others do view it as a precious experience that they long for and cherish, but still an experience with little practical application for grownups. And finally others forget it or don’t think about it that much. After all, they may reason, to survive in the adult world we cannot be like children. And what can the world of a child possibly teach us about dealing with the complexities and brutal realities of the real world?

My opinion of childhood used to be a mix of the above: until I began to write. Then one day I saw a picture of an animal in a particular situation and a little girl came out of nowhere in my mind. The girl took a look at the animal and excitedly went over to tell her dad she had found a “zebra.” This dad was skeptical of the discovery made by this girl whose name is Nell. Nevertheless he and his wife Rhonda chose to take Nell to look for the zebra and, to quote Robert Frost’s immortal poem, “that…made all the difference.” I won’t tell you the ending of this short story but suffice it to say that the animal Nell saw turned out to be part flesh and part metaphor.

To my surprise, four other stories involving Nell and her family followed. A brave insect set forth on an unusual trek, Poe’s poem “The Raven” came to life in a very peculiar way, a Christmas tree revealed its secrets, and a long forgotten superhero made a spectacular return.

In these five stories the skeptical world of adults collided with the magical world of childhood and sparks of wisdom flew everywhere. I had rediscovered the ability to see the world through the eyes of a child. I say “rediscovered” because it was always there, only I didn’t use it. So I gathered these tales together in a book of “children’s stories for grownups,” and I published them on Amazon as an e-book to share my epiphany with others. The stated aim of the book is to help us discover or rediscover some of the amazing things that children can teach us adults about life.

I want to end this post by admitting that seeing the world through the eyes of a child is hard even after you have rediscovered this ability. The adult world has a way of bogging you down. There are just too many responsibilities and uncertainties. I try to ask myself: what would Nell have to say about this or that? The answers don’t always come right away, but as I discover more of them I will write more stories!


My e-book The Sun Zebra will be free on the Amazon store from November 17 to 18. Please download it (it's a quick read), and let me know what you think.

You don’t have a Kindle? No problem, you can download the following safe and free application from Amazon that will allow you to read Kindle books with your PC or Mac.

Rolando


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Where did Nell come from?

2/4/2012

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Some people have asked me where Nell came from. Nell, of course, is the unusual little girl that is at the center of my book of stories The Sun Zebra. Part of Nell comes from my real life daughter and my own experiences as a child, but I think another part comes from the comics I have read or watched on TV over the years.

There is a long tradition in the world of cartooning that involves viewing the complexity of the world of adults through the prism of precocious children in order to expose its follies. Let me take you on a tour of some of the influences that may be behind my Nell.

Little Lulu was created in 1935 by Marjorie Henderson Buell (Marge) and went on to become a hugely successful cartoon running for almost half a century in the nation's funny pages. Marge was also the first female cartoonist in the United States to achieve international success. Lulu is a lively and independent little girl who always outsmarted the boys (and sometimes the grownups) around her.
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Nancy was introduced in 1933 by Ernie Bushmiller into the comic Fritzi Ritz which he inherited from Larry Whittington. Within a few years the character became so popular that the comic strip was renamed simply "Nancy" or later "Nancy and Sluggo", referencing her boy friend from "the wrong side of the tracks". At its peak in the seventies it ran in 800 plus newspapers and inspired artists such as Andy Warhol. Nancy always found the funny and the unusual in everyday things.
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The comic strip Peanuts created by Charles Shultz was one of the most influential and longest running in the United States (from 1950 to 2000). It has become an American icon popularizing terms like "security blanket" and metaphors regarding someone removing the ball just when you are about to kick it. In the strip the children interact with adults that are never seen but they mostly interact with each other in a manner that constantly shifts from child- to adult-like behavior and back.
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Lesser known in the States but very popular in Latin America and Europe is the comic strip "Mafalda" drawn in Argentina from 1964 to 1973 by cartoonist Joaquín Salvador Lavado better known by his pen name "Quino." Mafalda is a soup-hating shrewd little girl concerned about the state of the world and her country. She often rattles her parent's nerves with age-inappropriate questions (e.g. "Daddy, what is a sex maniac?") and mixes with a band of friends of very unique idiosyncrasies. For example one of her friends "Libertad" (Spanish for liberty) is a tiny girl. When Libertad meets someone she asks, "Have you drawn your stupid conclusion? Everyone who meets me draws their stupid conclusion." The strip often addressed contemporary issues like those stemming from the conflict between communism and democracy.
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Bill Watterson's strip Calvin & Hobbes about a hyperkinetic albeit imaginative kid and his alter ego tiger ran from 1985 to 1996 in the United States. Calvin is the quintessential brat who strains the nerves of his suffering parents. His only friend is a stuffed tiger that comes to life when no one is looking. Despite being a child Calvin often wrestles with extremely grownup themes which often end up parodied in one way or another.
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The Simpsons created by Matt Groening in 1987 needs no introduction. It's the most popular and longest running animated sitcom in the United States. The character I like is Lisa. She is a level headed precocious girl who often acts as the only voice of rationality amidst the utter chaos generated by her brat of a brother and the incompetent grownups around her.
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My Nell is concerned about the how and why of things like Lisa or Mafalda, she has a great imagination like Calvin, and she can display a combination of traits of both an adult and a child like Little Lulu, Nancy, or any of the characters in Peanuts. But I think Nell is more subtle. This may be because I am not constrained to delivering a gag in a small amount of panels. Or it may be because when you write a story, as oppose to drawing the characters, you can rely on the reader's imagination to fill in the blanks. I think Nell is different because first and foremost she remains a child.

Check out my e-book The Sun Zebra It's a quick and inspiring read, and it will be free from November 17 to 18 on Amazon.

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Christmas Promotion!

12/16/2011

0 Comments

 
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I wish you the best for these holidays and a wonderful new year 2012!

I would be honored if in this season to be jolly you can join Nell and her family as they go looking for the zebra and the meaningful Christmas here!



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