All December you’ve told your kids to behave or else Santa won’t bring them presents. But, what happens on December 26? Emme chatted with author Karen Tomko about her children’s book, Rodney the Repo Reindeer.
Emme: Why did you decide to write a children’s book?
Karen Tomko: We came up with this idea because I have three small children and so does she [my co-author.] We would always hear moms complaining after Christmas that they didn’t have the threat of Santa not coming and the behavior fell apart after they got their gifts. We felt there was a need to address that issue of post- holiday behavior.
What’s the premise of the book?
Rodney is one of Santa’s B- team reindeer. His job is to visit the homes of children after Christmas. If they’re misbehaving, he temporarily reposes their toys until they change their ways. Then, he will return the toys. It’s a tool parents can use in a fun way for their kids.
What response have you gotten from young children?
Our response has been more from parents who bought it. The parents have all been thrilled. We’ve gotten so much feedback!
Tell me about the process of publishing with Tate.
They liked the premise of our book, and we sent it to them. It went through edits and we would tell them our suggestions and we made corrections. Then someone at Tate illustrated the book.
So they provided the illustrations?
We had a vision of what we wanted, and they were great. We would tell them what we wanted, and they would make adjustments. They were great! Now we’re in the exciting selling part.
How long did it take to write the book?
From start to finish, it took about two years. From writing it, re-writing it, going through edits and illustrations, two years.
How did you and Laura write a book together?
Luckily, our backyards touch. We’re a hop, skip and a jump away from each other. We usually worked at unconventional times because we both have small children. That would be in the middle of the day, after the kids were in bed, it just kind of depended when we could squeeze it in.
What will you be doing to get the word out about your book?
Because it’s a post- Christmas book, we’re promoting it as a stocking stuffer that parents can use after the holidays. We’re going to any sort of Christmas events out there. We’re going to every craft show, Christmas event, Christmas bazaars. Tate has been good by contacting the media about these types of events. We’ve been in the newspaper. We did an event on the South Side of Chicago so we’ll be in the Sun Times. We’re going to be on the CBS Morning Show at the end of the month. We’re also on amazon.com. You can order directly from Tate Publishing or from us.
How much is the book?
The soft cover is $9.99. The hard cover is more of a special edition and that’s $14.95.
Do you plan on using Rodney as a cautionary tale for your kids?
Absolutely! Come December 26, we will be reading this to our kids! I think it will hit home after Christmas. On the back of the book there’s a door hanger. So, if your child is misbehaving, you hang the “Repo” sign on their door, and that means Rodney is going to take their toys away. Once we put it into action like that, it will have a big impact!
How many books have you sold?
We don’t have a quarterly statement yet, but Amazon has had restock it several times.
Order Tomko’s Book:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_11?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=rodney+the+repo+reindeer&sprefix=rodney+the+%2Caps%2C234
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