My Inner Child

I'm no expert, but it seems that the best way for an author to write a children's book is to "get in touch" with their inner child. For some people, that may be a stretch. For me, it was pretty simple. I never got out of touch with my inner child.

So, the big news is that the first book in The Adventures of Boathouse Mouse series is available. There is time to get it for Christmas if you so happen to want to give it as a gift to someone. And there are numerous ways a person can get a copy.
1) Any local book store should be able to look it up and order it. The information they will need is at the bottom of this post.
2) If you are local to me, you can purchase directly from me. The information you need is ... just tell me.
3) If you are local to Shawna, the illustrator, you can purchase directly from her.
4) You can order it from Shawna's Etsy store. #BackToTheDrawingBoardArt

When ordering ask for:
A New Adventure, A New Name
By RV Hodge
ISBN 9781682730140

And The Winner Is …

Manthom House Books, of San Clemente, California: Come On Down!
You have the distinguished honor of being the first retail bookstore in the world to order A New Adventure, A New Name in The Adventures of Boathouse Mouse series!

On behalf of Shawna and myself, thank you!

Dear friends, if you are in the San Clemente area and looking for a good read, be sure to check out Manthom House Books.

Introducing Boathouse Mouse

Ladies and Gentlemen! It is my distinguished pleasure to introduce to you <pause for dramatic effect> Boathouse Mouse!

A New Adventure, A New Name is now available for purchase through your local bookstore!

He was an ordinary mouse, much like any other mouse who was raised in a boathouse. He loved his job building boats. When the beautiful trade schooner Wanderer was finished, the little mouse had to make the decision of a lifetime. Wanderer was going to sail off to who-knows-where.
Would the mouse from the boathouse stay home with his family and friends?
Or would he jump on the ship and have an adventure?

A New Adventure, A New Name
Book 1 in the series The Adventures of Boathouse Mouse.

24 pages delightfully illustrated   List $9.99
Available for purchase through your local book retailer.

No Thumb Twiddling for Me

What does a writer do while he is awaiting the arrival of a proof copy? Well, this one writes.

Book One in the Boathouse Mouse Series is on the way here for approval. Book Two in the Boathouse Mouse Series is on Shawna's easel being illustrated. Cheers for #BackToTheDrawingBoardArt
Book Three in the Boathouse Mouse Series is about half finished.

In the Falcon Series, Books One through Three are on the market. And Book Four is … intense. No spoilers here, but this book is making the hair on my neck stand up as I write it. It is an odd sensation, for sure. I am restricting my editor in residence, also known as my wife, from reading it until I can complete some parts. The last thing I need is for her to have trouble sleeping.

Actually, that's the second to last thing I need. The last thing I need is for her to cause me to have trouble sleeping.

There will be more posts about this book as it progresses. But I will likely not say much more about it until after the New Year, which is only twelve weeks away! Yikes! June will be upon us before we know it. I had best get back to my writing.

Thundering Silence

Waiting for a book to come in the mail is like being on a diet. You have to take it one day at a time. I'm sure you have all heard about that guy who went on the Weight Watcher's Diet plan and ate a month's worth in one week. He thought he was going to lose weight four times faster than scheduled. If only it worked like that.

It's the same thing with the mailbox. I can check it as many times a day as I want, but it will not bring the package any sooner. I just have to wait the prescribed number of days.

Staying busy helps. It keeps my overly-imaginative mind occupied with lesser tasks like work, mowing the lawn, eating, and so forth. Those things, however, are temporary remedies at best.

It's too bad the Postal Service does not put GPS trackers on each package. Then I could track the pings on some giant interactive global map, in real time. It would be even more awesome if I could upload a tiny Boathouse Mouse icon that would show up as the blinking light. Maybe he could even alternate pictures with a right foot forward then left foot forward. Although, that may be taking it one step too far.

Fantasy over. Back to reality.

I do have a tracking number. Sadly, the online Postal Tracking Service gizmo does not recognize it. Sigh. It is their own number, generated in their system. I'm not sure why they even bother.

Ultimately, I am relegated to a silent wait.

Sooner or later, without forewarning, we will find a package in the mailbox and it will be Boathouse Mouse.

When I think about it in those terms, it almost sounds like Boathouse is a ninja …