A giant thank you to everyone! We did it!
The file was delivered to the printers just in the nick of time on Monday, and the UPS truck arrived this morning with the proofs already! We are on track for delivery in time for Christmas!
Please keep sharing the GoFundMe campaign…I still need to pre-sell 78 more copies by December 10th to pay the balance for the printers. Thanks so much for all your support with this!!
Wow, a lot is happening over here all of the sudden! After so much time feeling stuck with the progress, it feels incredible to be moving forward on both the house and the next book.
We actually finished the roof! And by “we”, I mean Jonathan and all the incredible help he has had from friends and family. It even poured rain yesterday, and it didn’t matter…because we have a roof now!
So, as promised, here are some photos of the house as it’s coming together.
The insulation went down really fast last Sunday, with the help of many friends. Then the rubber under-layment had to be stretched out straight on a curved roof…super fun.
And then came the beautiful copper roof! (We found it at a 2nd hand lumber store, and I was so excited to have this yummy color!)
Now that the curved edges are all cut, and the trim is in place…it is officially done!
So, as Jonathan has been working on the house every ounce of daylight, I’ve been doing the night shift finishing the illustrations for Lily & the Fox so the books can be printed for Christmas.
Thank you to all of you who helped me raise over half the goal in 24 hours! That’s incredible! I’ve only got 3 more days to get all the illustrations complete, and to raise the the rest of the deposit for the printers.
If you haven’t already, please check out the campaign and pre-order your signed hardcover copy at 25% off the cover price!
https://www.gofundme.com/yt8kzu44
I just need to pre-sell 43 more copies to be able to get the printing started! I would be so very thankful if you could share this campaign with anyone you know who has kids in their lives, (or kids at heart).
In case you missed the scoop on the book…
This fully illustrated 8.5″x11″ hardcover book is perfect for elementary aged kids, but is a story for all ages. Lily is a shy girl, and is too timid to make friends with the boys at her fishing spot (you may remember them from the last book!). But after a meeting with a wild red fox, Lily learns to be brave and reach out for new connections.
You can pre-order your copy HERE.
I am so excited to see all this coming together! Both the house…AND the book!
Thank you so much for your ongoing support!
There are a lot of changes happening around here, but I will share more about that later.
For now, I have a favor to ask, and this has been on my plate for over a year. I am a bit shy to ask this, but would you be willing to help write the ending to Lily & the Fox?
Most of you know about Peter & the Owl, the first children’s book I wrote. (If you haven’t read it yet, you can download a free ebook copy HERE.)
If you know me at all, you know that writing and illustrating the book was one of the most joyful things I have ever done. And you know that the full vision is that it will become a whole series of books about kids reconnecting with nature, and meeting an animal that helps them in their life.
Well, a long story short…the next one is Lily & the Fox, and I’ve had it 95% written for the past year and a half.
Every morning I hike up the hill to say good morning to the land, to give thanks, and to “check in” with Spirit. Every morning I hear the words, “Are you working on the book? You need to finish the book. Why are you not working on the book?” A variety of things crept up to keep me from finishing it, including plenty of logistics like finances and our house build…but the most notable to point out was the thought, “Do I really deserve to be THAT happy?”
Wow. Yes, that’s right. Please tell me I’m not the only one who has experienced this disabling thought.
Anyways…it is time. It is actually well past time to bring this book into the world and into the hands of as many kids as possible. The story is not even my own. It was whispered in my ear by the fox herself. And so with that said, I am humbly sharing my rough draft with you, with the hopes that you read it with the kids in your life, are inspired, and help create the ending of the story together with me.
The working rough draft can be read in full HERE.
I started working on the cover for the first time today, and I’ve included it above. What do you think? It’s a good start, yes?
Please cozy up on the couch with some tea, light a candle together, and let me know your ideas for what Lily should do at the end of the story.
This was the best first day of “school” ever. The Tree of Life Homeschool Co-op did a canoe trip today, and I am so proud of us!
As I was paddling on this gorgeous day, I had so many thoughts about how perfect this was. Just like with homeschooling, many of us were nervous to take this on with our kids, but once we courageously stepped into the boat and were on the water, the beauty was inspiring. Sometimes the wind tried to blow us off course, just like many of us deal almost daily with others’ concerns, scoffing, and judgement. But here was our fleet of friends, working together to navigate our little families with the flow that works best for us, and I was moved to tears. My final analogy is that I could never have taken this on so courageously without this community support. My heart is full of gratitude!
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Joel Glanzberg has been a builder, farmer, teacher, writer, storyteller, naturalist, and permaculturalist for over 30 years. His early work establishing the site and research behind Flowering Tree Permaculture is featured in the book Gaia’s Garden, among others. He is one of the founding partners of Regenesis Collaborative, which is an integration between permaculture and Living Systems Thinking technologies. And his work with the Tracking Project provides yet another approach to working with the patterns of the natural world, as well as techniques for accessing the minds required. You can find him on his own website patternmind.org.