Moose Musings from THE MOOSE ROOM!: What a nice surprise!

Thursday, December 12, 2013

What a nice surprise!

I received a message the other day from newspaper columnist Kevin Bradley telling me to keep an eye out in The Shopper because he wrote a PART 2 about my books. I was pleasantly surprised. As Bradley writes, " Giving a child the gift of a book can help them develop a lifelong interest in literature, expanding their imagination and stimulating their mind." I couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks Kevin!

Original Article in The Shopper written by Kevin Bradley -
http://www.shoppersource.com/articles/2013/12/10/columnists/bradley/120413-bradley.txt

"Chicago School Teacher, Lisa Tortorello first ventured into the world of writing with a memoir (My Hero, My Ding) detailing the special relationship she had with her grandfather growing up. Her subsequent inspirations have developed into a children’s book series with two installments published and a third in the thought process.

Lisa has long loved the moose. She and her husband, Charlie, share their home with dozens of the creatures in stuffed animal form, providing plenty of ‘moosespiration’ (inspiration derived from moose) for her storybooks. Mark the Missing Moose and The Moose at the Manger are written for children in kindergarten to grade four or five, although Lisa says, “Sometimes my sixth graders also like the books and their message.”

The Moose at the Manger is a Christmas story, published in June of 2012, featuring a moose lost in the forest who follows a Christmas star and sees Jesus. Mark the Missing Moose is inspired by real life events, but toned down to children’s level. It is a story to help kids understand dealing with a loss. These titles are available at www.amazon.com, or by purchasing signed copies direct from the author, available at her moose blog, musethemoose.blogspot.com.

After Lisa has completed a story and self-edited; she then submits it to her publisher, Tate Publishing, who edits the story for grammar or content issues, returning the manuscript to Lisa for revisions. Following the editing and revision process, Lisa is paired with one of Tate’s illustrators, who, Lisa says, “Have done a wonderful job of bringing my stories to life.”

Lisa also has a marketing representative, assigned by Tate, who helps find local events for her to do book signings and helps her market her books on the internet; but the reality is: In today’s world of decreased marketing budgets among publishers, the bulk of this duty lies with the author. This is why Lisa ranks marketing highest on her current priority list as an author. She sells more paperbacks than electronic editions, and mostly during face to face events.

Giving a child the gift of a book can help them develop a lifelong interest in literature, expanding their imagination and stimulating their mind. A signed book can make the gift a little extra special. Helping kids develop good habits and find inspiration is a lasting and positive influence. Questions or comments may be sent to kevinbradley@columnist.com. Good luck, K.B."

There is just one slight addition to this article - as my regular readers know, the amount of moose we have is well over a dozen dozen-