1st Kid Review Is A Hit!

Posted by Jaime Buckley in Jaimes Journal, WANTED HERO, Work | 8 comments

The first child review is in. Granted it was by my own children, but I have playfully kept them in the dark on the new changes of the story for the past six months. That’s right, Jaime Buckley CAN keep a secret!

And you thought I could only yodel and pop popcorn…

So I printed out the 181 typed pages, punched holes in them and placed them in a three ring binder. Then I handed the project to Cesilea, who is our resident bedtime story technician. If she can’t read a story to little kids and have them excited, it ain’t gonna happen for the ordinary mortals. Trust me on this one.

So we gathered around the living room nook and listened as she started reading…and I started flinching. I hated it from the third sentence on and I found Kathi holding my hand and smiling. “Just let them have the experience. No corrects this time–just the story and how they feel about it.”

So I gritted my teeth and zipped my lips shut.

Bedtime is at 7pm, lights out at 8:30pm…but there was roaring laughter, tears at times (from the laughter) and a series of boo’s and hisses from the children under 12 when we called it bedtime at 11:12pm. It was a total success. Kathi had to wrestle the binder from Ditto to make sure she didn’t read it into the night or try and get up early to do the same. Jessica also had to be watched like a hawk, for she wanted to know where we would be setting the book down in our bedroom!

My oldest girls gave mountains of feedback, but the best comment I received was from Cesilea. I asked what she thought and when she had stopped giggling, she said: “Dad, I think it’s a HIT!” All my concerns were explained away by my kids, who laughed at all the jokes, even the hidden ones. This included Jami Taylor (age 7) and Ethany (age 6), who didn’t understand the larger words, but laughed at the reactions and dialogue between the characters. What made me smile however, was when Cesilea would laugh so hard, she couldn’t read and we had to wait for her to dry her eyes. The bouts of laughter were usually followed by “Oh my heck dad, Wendell is a MOTARD!”

No feedback from outside readers yet, but Kathi and Ditto have always been my harshest critics. Last night gave me a ton of hope that, well…I don’t actually suck as a story teller.  The cover design for the novel is underway as we speak.

SPECIAL Pre-Order Offer:

You can help me make this project a success by purchasing a copy of the book before it goes to publication.  For those willing to pre-order, they will receive a signed copy for $15 (which includes shipping). The book price has already been set at $12.99 (not including shipping) and will be avalable May 27th 2010. If you would be interested in pre-ordering a signed copy of Prelude to a Hero, you can do so by making a contribution.

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