Meet Henry L. Herz, Author of Nimpentoad
What inspired you to become a children's author?
I wanted to share my love of fantasy with my (at the time), five- and seven-year old sons. They were too young for watching most of the fantasy and sci-fi movie classics, and there are only so many good fantasy books available for that age range. Struck by inspiration one day, I came up with a way to share the joy of entering the magical realms of fantasy. I would write a fantasy book for them.
How did you come up with the idea for Nimpentoad?
I was inspired by Tolkien's The Hobbit. I wanted to do a journey within a world populated by fantastic creatures like goblins and trolls. I also wanted the story to convey positive messages.
What I did not anticipate was that my boys would give me feedback on the story. They devised some of the character (Nimpentoad) and creature (Neebel) names, and made plot line suggestions. And who better to help make the story appealing to kids than other kids? So, my goal of interesting my sons in fantasy transformed into also encouraging them to write.
Originally, I only shared the story of Nimpentoad with family, for their own enjoyment. I had no thoughts of having the book published. But one day, my sister-in-law suggested that I consider publication because she felt the story was much better than a good deal of the books she was seeing for her similarly-aged kids. I thought about it for a while, and decided to give it a try.
The next step was to have the book illustrated. Once again, my sons were involved, this time in providing art direction. We would explain in words what each illustration should contain. Collaborating remotely via email and DropBox, our artist would give us a rough sketch, and we would provide feedback on details and color palette. Nimpentoad came to life, while my boys added another dimension to their experience.
What do you think children will enjoy most about your book?
Children will enjoy that the Niblings (cute little fuzzy folk with whom they can identify) triumph, the humorous elements of the story, and absolutely the stunning illustrations.
What advice would you give to a new author trying to get their book published?
Understand and commit to the process of being published before you write your story. Writing the story is the fun part. But, it isn't the entire picture. Finding an agent or publisher is very challenging. Then, whether published traditionally or self-published, comes the hardest part - promoting your book. You need to have your marketing platform established before you publish (sadly, something we learned only after the fact). You need to be willing to put in a lot of effort over a long period of time to sell your book.
Are you currently working on other books?
We are indeed working on another children's fiction book. It is not a sequel to Nimpentoad, but we would happily write a sequel if the demand for the story justifies it.
You can find out more about Henry L. Herz and Nimpentoad by visiting www.nimpentoad.com.
I wanted to share my love of fantasy with my (at the time), five- and seven-year old sons. They were too young for watching most of the fantasy and sci-fi movie classics, and there are only so many good fantasy books available for that age range. Struck by inspiration one day, I came up with a way to share the joy of entering the magical realms of fantasy. I would write a fantasy book for them.
How did you come up with the idea for Nimpentoad?
I was inspired by Tolkien's The Hobbit. I wanted to do a journey within a world populated by fantastic creatures like goblins and trolls. I also wanted the story to convey positive messages.
What I did not anticipate was that my boys would give me feedback on the story. They devised some of the character (Nimpentoad) and creature (Neebel) names, and made plot line suggestions. And who better to help make the story appealing to kids than other kids? So, my goal of interesting my sons in fantasy transformed into also encouraging them to write.
Originally, I only shared the story of Nimpentoad with family, for their own enjoyment. I had no thoughts of having the book published. But one day, my sister-in-law suggested that I consider publication because she felt the story was much better than a good deal of the books she was seeing for her similarly-aged kids. I thought about it for a while, and decided to give it a try.
The next step was to have the book illustrated. Once again, my sons were involved, this time in providing art direction. We would explain in words what each illustration should contain. Collaborating remotely via email and DropBox, our artist would give us a rough sketch, and we would provide feedback on details and color palette. Nimpentoad came to life, while my boys added another dimension to their experience.
What do you think children will enjoy most about your book?
Children will enjoy that the Niblings (cute little fuzzy folk with whom they can identify) triumph, the humorous elements of the story, and absolutely the stunning illustrations.
What advice would you give to a new author trying to get their book published?
Understand and commit to the process of being published before you write your story. Writing the story is the fun part. But, it isn't the entire picture. Finding an agent or publisher is very challenging. Then, whether published traditionally or self-published, comes the hardest part - promoting your book. You need to have your marketing platform established before you publish (sadly, something we learned only after the fact). You need to be willing to put in a lot of effort over a long period of time to sell your book.
Are you currently working on other books?
We are indeed working on another children's fiction book. It is not a sequel to Nimpentoad, but we would happily write a sequel if the demand for the story justifies it.
You can find out more about Henry L. Herz and Nimpentoad by visiting www.nimpentoad.com.
Stacie Theis / beachboundbooks@yahoo.com / copyright 2012
