My daughter Scarlet is in 5th grade. When she was in 1st grade, the two of us worked on a book together. The book, “Scarlet’s Superpower,” is about my daughter’s deafness. Because Scarlet has bilateral cochlear implants, she can “hear” from both “ears.” However, she has the unique ability to remove the magnetically attached head pieces that connect her cochlear implants to a microphone. This instantly renders her completely deaf. The ability to switch from hearing to 100% non-hearing is what Scarlet and I devised as her “superpower.”
My aim was to preempt any negativity Scarlet may experience, being different. I wanted to meet this head on; “Yes, I’m different, and it is awesome!” was the attitude (mantra) I hoped to instill in my daughter. It was a powerful and cute idea. Together, we came up with some ways that her “power” of NOT being able to hear might be advantageous.
Scarlet and I were dabbling with the idea of turning our stories into a book, when one day I saw a tweet that ignited the fire that I needed to fuel our project. A principal from California was asking the Twitter community to recommend books about superheroes to share with his school. I told him that my daughter and I were working on a book about her being a superhero!
By simply sharing this news, my intent was made public and real. I both decided and committed Scarlet and I to doing this. We would share our story via book, one way or another!
On April 28th, which happens to be National Superhero Day (I didn’t actually know that at the time:), I made “Scarlet’s Superpower” available publicly. That is to say Scarlet and I completed a version of our book that was good enough to be viewed publicly and I figured out a way to get it into a free Apple book version that could be accessed with Apple devices. Within a day or two I would get it onto Amazon, but people would have to pay around $3.
The book got some positive attention. It seemed like it had potential. People inquired about a physical copy of the book; It was only available in digital format. After looking into some self-publishing companies, I settled on using Lulu. I purchased a package that would provide several hard copies of the book, as well as a website and more.
While the original book was only 13 pages, Lulu’s publishing package would provide 26 full color pages. This seemed good at the time, but meant that I had several additional pages to fill. This pressure proved paralyzing. I have not worked on the book since.
It’s time to make it happen. This blog is meant to not only inspire (breathe life into) me, but act as a contract of commitment. It is a “Blog of Intent.” I am binding myself to finishing this publishing project this year.
Along the way I intend to write blogs, sharing the process of making the book. Part of my problem is that I have too many ideas for an illustrated kids’ book. I will parse some of them here.
Finally, if ever the book ends up amounting to anything important, this blog will serve as a collection of behind the scenes information. There is a lot that goes into making a book. The writing process involves tons of revising and editing. And then, there’s the marketing.
There is also a lot that doesn’t make it into a book. This is one of the things that is holding me up right now. I have tons of ideas that I want to use, but I’m struggling to weave it all in. I know that I’ll have to let go of a lot. By writing blogs about my thoughts, I hope to release the fireflies to brighten their own skies, and I can fine-tune the book to be published.
The word intent is related to the Latin intendere meaning “stretch out, lean toward, strain,” and I feel like I’ll have to do all three of those actions to make it. But, I intend to make this happen. So, with this “Blog of Intent” I contract myself to wrap this up. “Scarlet’s Super Power” will be empowered by getting published.
A. (2019, February 8). Court Holds that a Letter of Intent is a Binding Contract When It Contains All the Material Terms of An Agreement. Freiberger Haber LLP. Retrieved January 3, 2023, from https://fhnylaw.com/court-holds-letter-intent-binding-contract-contains-material-terms-agreement/
intent | Etymology, origin and meaning of intent by etymonline. (2015, December 13). Intent | Etymology, Origin and Meaning of Intent by Etymonline. Retrieved January 3, 2023, from https://www.etymonline.com/word/intent
The Captain of Class 