Book: Edward The Egg: Coloring Tales Of Adventure
Q1. Hello Ma’am, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
Hello everyone. My name is Julia Fagundus and I am the author of Edward the Egg, Coloring Tales of Adventure. (Bilingual English-Spanish version also available). I am a North Carolina native who loves enjoying both the mountains, river, and beach whenever I get time away from teaching at our local community college or attending soccer, baseball or golf events with my three kids.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing ‘Edward The Egg: Coloring Tales Of Adventure’ book?
The main challenge were the many years between telling Edward the Egg stories to my kids and actually writing the stories down on paper. Jogging my memory back to all the details of each story took some time. The tales in the book were first told to my oldest son when he was four. He’s now 17. I wish I had written them all down as I told them, I have so many I couldn’t possibly remember them all.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
My love for reading started later in life. It wasn’t until my 30s that I really started to enjoy sitting down with a book. One children’s book that influenced, or I would say confirmed to me that it was ok to include a drawing that you could color as my illustrations, would be Shel Silverstein’s books. My educational background in technical writing influenced the format and writing style I chose for the book.
Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
My very favourite place to visit is the river right by my hometown. Wonderful memories of my family swimming, boating, tubing, wakeboarding flood my mind. It’s a place we all go and get away from the cares of the world for a couple hours and get to enjoy the breeze and sunshine on the water. The family time, that’s hard to find sometimes these days, makes it pretty special too.
Q5. Is there lots to do before you drive in and start writing a book?
When you are self-publishing I would say yes. I did SO MUCH research. I spent several hours watching videos to make sure I didn’t miss any steps I needed to take in order to successfully self-publish (and I’m still hoping I didn’t miss any!). Writing the first draft of the book ended up being one of the easiest steps. It was a little challenging but I eventually learned, through lots of googling and videos, how to: start my own publishing company, apply for copyright, write a copyright page, get ISBN’s, design and create my own cover, learn correct formatting to successfully upload my book to different platforms, and the list goes on.
Q6. How long did it take you to write ‘Edward The Egg: Coloring Tales Of Adventure’ book?
Writing the first draft of the book took around one month. However, the entire process starting from typing the first story, to the day it went live on Amazon and Barnes and Noble was two and a half years. It took around one month to write the first draft of the book which contains five short stories. The editing process along with the other items listed above in question 5 attributed to the overall length of the process along with only being able to work on the book part-time.
Q7. On what platforms can readers find ‘Edward The Egg: Coloring Tales Of Adventure’ book to buy?
My author website, RoyalKIND.org; Amazon; Barnes and Noble; Itunes; Walmart
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘Edward The Egg: Coloring Tales Of Adventure’?
My illustrator, Madi Mirra, is one of my daughter’s best friends. She spent many nights at my house and heard many Edward the Egg stories. When I told her I was going to put the stories in a book she asked if she could illustrate them. She illustrated the pictures inside the book and the title artwork. I took the title artwork along with the Edward the Egg graphic and used cover software to create the background they would be on. When I saw the window with the sky and clouds background option I knew it was perfect. The stories had always been bedtime stories for my kids. I wanted the cover to look like Edward was climbing out his bedroom window to go on an adventure, hoping that kids as they read the stories would feel that they were going on an adventure too.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
Writing Edward the Egg sparked the creation of RoyalKIND, my publishing company. I had no idea that once I chose the name RoyalKIND, an even bigger vision would be birthed. RoyalKIND became not only a publishing company, but a lifestyle brand as well.
In order to keep things “fresh” I wanted RoyalKIND books to go beyond the book. This lead to an Instagram page where readers can connect (@royalkind.edwardtheegg) with coloring contests along with encouragement for readers to write and share their own stories. Just like in the Edward the Egg stories, we can tape people up too! I wanted RoyalKIND to inspire others to encourage those around them.
RoyalKIND.org was created to help make this happen. I knew I needed a website to help spread the message that we are all RoyalKIND: chosen, loved, approved and powerfully equipped to positively change our world in an instant. Merchandise and stickers can be purchased at RoyalKIND.org to help spread the message! I am also working on a contest to post soon at @royalkind.take.the.time to win a RoyalKIND sweatshirt and stickers. My goal is for everyone to know they are Royal. I believe once when you know you are RoyalKIND you will be inspired to “Take the Time” to share the message.
Book Is Available On Amazon
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