Calee M. Lee

“Things I Over Think” by Wendy McNaughton

Instead of writing a fantastic essay about how all of the things I’m thinking about coalese into a comprehensive view of the world, here’s a short list:

• Being an artist means taking things in and spitting new things out.
• It is not easy
• It is not easy to not be an artist
• Life is not supposed to be easy
• I should read Dostoevsky more often
• Instead, I am reading this through Lent. And it’s beautiful.
• It’s very annoying that Western Easter and Pascha (Eastern Orthodox Easter) are so far apart this year
• And that Google Reader is going away
• Although that is probably a good thing, because there are too many interesting things to think about.
• And I dare anyone to have a more schizophrenic reading experience than this, this and this.  All interesting.
• Did you know I’m horrible at recognizing people. Even people I know? My brain doesn’t catalog faces very well.
• But I can tell you where, approximately what page, and where to find it on the page I read just about anything on.
• Sadly, this is a problem with eReading.
• But I’m reading loads more these days.
• So I’m thinking about more things.

I wrote my last post, oh 6 months ago.
There’s been some serious limbo going on, and not just on this blog.
BUT
I’m proud to announce that Xist Publishing has signed a bunch of NDAs.

So I don’t really have anything to announce, other than the fact that someone (indirectly) compared me to Ender Wiggin the other day.
That was pretty awesome.
Now to just make good.

Tomorrow I’m headed up to Santa Monica for the Amazon Press Release.   Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, is scheduled to speak about new Kindle products and I’m hoping to thank him personally for opening up the Kindle sales platform to authors.  Just in case I don’t get a chance to speak with Jeff or another member of the Kindle team, I thought I’d post an open letter of thanks.

To Jeff Bezos and the Kindle Team:

Thank you.

Because of your Kindle Direct Publishing program, our talented children’s authors and illustrators are sharing new stories for the touchscreen generation.

Because of your work to bring ebooks to kids, we’re bringing jobs to our community.

Because of what you’ve created, I get to write royalty checks to single moms, recent grads and out-of-work teachers for the 20,000+ books sold in the last few months.

My name is Calee M. Lee and Amazon has changed my life.  Just over a year ago, I heard that authors could make their books available for the Kindle through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) program. My daughter was 4-years-old and always asking me to read to her on my Kindle and at that time there were few illustrated children’s books available for the platform.

I began writing and publishing my children’s stories. As sales started to roll in, I found other talented authors and illustrators and grew a side project into a children’s publishing company, Xist Publishing.

Xist Publishing creates books for the touchscreen generation.   All of our children’s picture books are designed for the devices kids crave and we are committed to encouraging a lifetime love of reading in children, no matter the form it takes.

We’re now working with 14 different authors and illustrators and have published more than a hundred picture books for the Kindle.  We’re regularly hearing from fans about how much their children love our books and we can’t wait to watch as this generation grows up, embraces technology and can’t stop reading.

Thank you Amazon.com

…for making my company possible.

…for making it easy for parents to read to their children anywhere.

…for bringing books to a new generation of readers

Sincerely,

Calee M. Lee

I’ve never pretended to be a great blogger.  Clearly, gentle reader, you know that by now.

That doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy. Writing. (a little.) Publishing (a lot.)  Running our other business.

There are all sorts of exciting things happening around our house, least of all someone starting Kindergarten in 6 days.

So I leave you with a treat for your imagination:

If I had a Little Boat
I’d sail it out to sea…

Now available on Amazon

“Why do we have so much when other people have so little?”

When my husband began spending his Sunday evenings serving food to homeless families, our daughter, Audrey, was 4 years old. As we told her about Daddy’s new job, she struggled to wrap her mind around the realities that so many people face every day. Hunger. Homelessness. Poverty.

One day when she was playing pretend, I asked her why she was filling boxes with plastic food.  She said she was “serving the poor” and that if I wanted to be a homeless person, she would give me something to eat. Later, she took her favorite pair of pants (the ones with rhinestones!) down to her father and asked him to give them to a kid “who didn’t have pants.”

I know we all strive to teach our children to share and be kind, but rarely do we have the vocabulary to explain our motivations behind the lessons.  When Audrey asked me the question at the top of this email, I stuttered and stammered and wished I could change the subject.  Whatever I told her that day, I replayed the scenario over and over again, wishing I could have had the perfect answer.

I’ll assure you that my own child can be as bratty and self-centered as any, but when we named her, we looked to history and found a woman we hoped she would someday emulate. Saint Audrey of Ely was a real English princess who gave up everything to devote her life to prayer and to serving others. When I was struggling with the “why” of giving, her story was where I looked.

A Necklace of Virtues is the result of my research and imagination.  I’ve created a story of historical fiction, grounded in the reality of Audrey’s life and targeted to little girls ages 3-8 who love playing princess.

Both paperback and ebook copies are available on Amazon and I’d be honored if you’d share this story with a little girl in your life.

Thank you so much for all your support as I work on creating more books like these for kids.

Calee

P.S. It makes a big difference when people write reviews.  It also makes my day. If you like this book, please leave a review here.

Thanks!

TODAY ONLY!
Xist Publishing is giving away 3 books just for boys (but we all know that girls can get in on the action too!)

Map Candy: 7 Sweet Stories for Early Readers (Candy School)
by Katrina Streza

This is the 3rd book in the Candy School series featuring  two grade school boys who find learning is much more fun when candy is involved.  In Map Candy, kids can take a journey around the world, learning geography and about the candy of different cultures.

Cars: Discover Series Picture Book for Children (Kindle Kids Library)
from Xist Publishing

This Discover Series Title features full-color photographs of cars, buses, trucks and more, CARS is ideal for children who love seeing things that go. Each page features a brilliantly photographed image along with a title so the next time your preschooler is debating the merits of SUVs versus Jeeps, you can join in the fun.

Secret Spy Numbers: An illustrated Secret Agent Josephine counting book
by Brenda Ponnay

Secret Agent Josephine is willing to reveal the contents of her stealthy, super expanding spy bag–but are you ready? In this fresh and funny book, Brenda Ponnay, aka Secret Agent Josephine, gets kids counting spy glasses, micro-cameras and more super-secret spy gear. Little ones will love the bright colors and big numbers, older children (and their parents) will delight in the detailed descriptions of the spy paraphernalia.

When I was in the process of making my book a reality, I had a crazy thought–if I’m going to go through all this hassle for one book, I might as well start a little company and do this for other people.  Several days later, I stood in the living room of my friend Brenda Ponnay, aka Secret Agent Josephine, and pitched her a crazy little idea:

What if I turned those ABC flashcards you designed and sold out of into a picture book for the Kindle?

And what if you wrote and illustrated two more books?

And released them in time for the release of the new Kindle Fire?

Well, that time has come. I am incredibly proud to announce that Secret Agent Josephine has been doing her share to take over the internet in the past three days–and she’s not going anywhere any time soon.

Brenda kicked off a 26-stop blog tour on Monday (one blog for each letter of the alphabet) and we’re giving away signed prints of her letters at each stop.  Plus, those books I asked her to create? They are fabulous and already garnering praise (and sales!).

I’ve been honored to play a small role in bringing these books to audiences, but now it’s your turn!  Visit Secret Agent Josephine to get all the blog tour info–follow along for a chance to win the daily print giveaway AND a super prize for collecting all the secret clues along the way. But first- make sure you pick up at least one of her books! They’re available in ebook and paperback editions and I’ve heard rumors that kids are ignoring snack time and the TV for a chance to flip through the books on Mommy’s iPad. (But you didn’t hear that from me…)

Ready, set, download!

Amazon Kindle eBooks for smart phones, computers, laptops, and tablets AND the new Kindle FIRE, plus paperbacks: ABC’s, Colors, and Numbers.

Nook eBooks: ABC’s, Colors, and Numbers.

iBooks for iPads/iPods: ABC’s, Colors, and Numbers.

Click here to download the Amazon Kindle apps.
Click here to download the Barnes & Noble Nook apps.

For the next stop on the tour, visit Brenda’s website.

My husband inherited a first-generation hide-a-bed sofa that once belonged to his great-great grandfather. The steel springs have been covered by a series of reupholsterings and its current incarnation is a respectable cream, chosen not for its innate beauty, but because I could buy eight yards of fabric on the spot and rid our master bedroom of  the mauve velvet chosen sometime in the early eighties. It’s a lovely piece of antique furniture, but we rarely sit on it.  Strike that. We never sit on it.
The sofa is laundry central and even though I promised myself I would never be one of those mothers who lets the laundry pile up, I am.  And it may be the best thing that ever happened to me.

On March 30th, I found myself with an extra couple of hours before my mother was scheduled to bring my children home. I’d finished up my freelance projects for the week and looked at the pile of laundry located all of two feet from my desk. I posted a tweet, “I have 2 (unplanned for) hours until the kids come home. I know @lvanderkam would not approve, but I’m considering doing laundry.”

I didn’t need to wait for her reply. I knew the best way to spend those hours would not be folding clothes while watching Tivo’ed So You Think You Can Dance. As much as I love a good dance-off, TV and chores are for hours when my brain is done. Instead of completing one task, I started a new one—I began writing the children’s story I’d been telling for years.

Six months later, that book is available on Amazon. I’d never bothered writing the story because frankly, I didn’t think I had the time.  The Queen and the Cats is based on a story I heard while traveling in Cyprus a couple of years back. Our family (yes, we did 15 hours of flight time with a 2-year-old) had gone to visit friends and explore the country’s churches and monasteries. When we found an equal number of cats as monks, we asked around and heard that the present-day felines were descended from a ship load of cats sent by Saint Helena—Emperor Constantine’s mother—when she visited the island in the 4^th century.  She had found the population almost decimated and the churches infested with snakes. Cats were her ingenious solution and they’ve been a part of the religious landscape ever since.

Because I’m impatient and stubborn, I chose to take advantage of new technology, enlist an artist friend, and publish the book myself in print and ebook editions. We had always talked about having more stories like this available for our kids and so have planned a whole series of “princess-alternative” picture books focusing on great royal women from Christian history.

On another afternoon (when I wasn’t doing laundry) I realized if I was going to go through the hassle of developing a contract, learning how to make an ebook and figuring out how to market from my home office, I figured I might as well build a little company and do this for others. Xist Publishing was born, I now have 3 additional authors signed, and we’re planning on releasing nearly 20 books in 2012.

A month ago, I launched my book and it’s held on to the #1 spot on the Christian Children’s biography chart. Last night, I called our monthly cleaning service and requested they come more frequently.

I could have done laundry. Instead, I played with one dream and ended up making many more come true.

Note: this post appeared last week on Laura Vanderkam’s supremely helpful 168 Hours blog.  If you’ve ever wondered how to make more of your time, Laura’s book 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think
is THE book to read.

As much as I would like to pretend I’m a regular suburban mom with my fancy gym membership and the overzealous HOA, I’m a ranch girl at heart.

My parents whisked us out of the suburbs when I was seven and even though I attended a crowded high school in the middle of The OC, I still had to feed the pig before I left for class.

I loved ranch living. Not enough to do it for my family, but still, it was great. We rode horses. We climbed trees. And…we developed a relationship with animals that wasn’t necessarily the kind my school friends had. They took their dogs to the groomers. Ours took baths in the horse trough. A classmate mistook my sister’s pet goat for a dog (really!) and many could not believe that we ate food that previously had a name. In the ten years I lived on the ranch, we lost nearly as many cats to coyotes and while I mourned many of them, I developed a certain amount of perspective when it came to the loss of animal life.

This is one big lead up to a very concerning situation that is currently occurring in our back yard. Something is killing the praying mantis population. That something is white and furry and named Pangur Ban, and while I love the kitty, I am distraught over the loss of each big-eyed green bug.

If I would point to a book that has invaded my consciousness, slowly transforming my vision and my soul, it would be Annie Dillard’s  Pilgrim at Tinker Creek .  I can’t remember when I first read it, but every couple of months, I find myself in a garden or forest or the lawn of an abandoned Irish church and her words come to mind.  She writes of the mantis:

“In late summer I often see a winged adult stalking the insects that swarm about my porch light. Its body is a clear, warm green; its naked, triangular head can revolve uncannily, so that I often see one twist its head to gaze at me as it were over its shoulder” (56).

My son has about a dozen recognizable words. One of them is mantis.

We had watched one grow from a nymph the size of a lady bug. All summer, she glided up and down the growing sunflowers, her body growing as she captured gnats and aphids, small spiders and ants.  She grew into a lovely lithe creature and then I found her corpse beneath our dining room table.

Tonight I found our cat’s third victim, not yet dead, but wounded beyond repair.  As a child, Dillard watched newly hatched nymphs duel to the death in an elementary school mason jar. She remembers:

“I felt as though I myself should swallow the corpses, shutting my eyes and washing them down like jagged pills, so that all that life wouldn’t be lost” (57).

Every time I see a living mantis, something in me leaps with joy. They are vicious hunters, but their grace seems so wasted in the lifeless jumble of legs and antennae in my kitchen.

My daughter spent months convinced she would someday be an entomologist. We read hundreds of library books about bugs. I spent many hours listening to stories of her imaginary friend—an ant named Ben.  The bug phase is waning, but she still loves the creatures of our garden. In all the months that BUGS were the big topic of conversation, I made sure to include a little classic poetry amidst the talk of cocoon vs. chrysalis.  If you’re curious about what the great poets have to say about insects, you can save yourself hours of work and check out We Love BUGS: 31 Classic Insect Poems for Kids
, my edited collection. Also, several weeks ago, we found caterpillars and Audrey helped me put together a little story about them.  Caterpillars Don’t Check Email: An illustrated picture book for children is currently available on Amazon for only $.99.

Every time the cat kills a praying mantis, another takes its place. I didn’t think our 80 square foot green patch could sustain more than one, much less three.  Here’s hoping there is always one to greet us.

Photo credit: kakisky from morguefile.com
A few days before my book was set to launch on Amazon, someone asked me a question that made me stammer and stick my hands back in the quiche ingredients I was prepping. The quiche was fantastic, my answer—not so much.  After hearing my little elevator pitch about The Queen and the Cats, she basically asked “Why?”

Here is the answer I wish I could have given. Thankfully, as a writer I’m not known for thinking on my feet and most of the time, people understand when it takes me a few goes with a pen and paper to get my thoughts out

***

Plenty has been said about the damaging power of contemporary narratives on our daughters. From the earliest ages they strive to emulate The Princess, a figure set apart from her fellow citizens, allegedly the epitome of beauty, grace and good fortune. I don’t have a problem with a pair of strappy shoes or sparkly jewels but I have always been adamantly against any sub-culture that glorifies consumerism and elevates one play narrative above all others.  Don’t get me wrong: we have plenty of Cinderella, Ariel, Belle and Rapunzel in our home. But the dress-up box skews more butterfly/pirate/doctor/scientist than princess.

I know moms love their Disney. I know they love seeing their little girl embrace the stories of their childhoods. I do too. But I also know that while these stories are often good, there are plenty of other stories out there (of princesses and queens, nonetheless) that are great.

When my preschool daughter aspires to be a princess, I want her to know that along with the fancy dresses, also comes a great responsibility. Christian history has given us scores of women who were both strong and beautiful. They placed their trust in God above their thrones and worked to create a world where prayer was more valuable than silk.  These princesses—they used their titles and wealth and even their feminine grace to challenge all people to be better.

The Queen and the Cats: A Story of Saint Helena is just one of these stories. Nearly two thousand years ago, a woman traveled halfway around the known world in search of the greatest of treasures. Once it was found, she shared it, and came up with an ingenious solution to ensure the safety of children and their parents.  This is the type of woman I hope my daughter grows up to be. These are the stories I want to seep into her consciousness.

This is why I wrote The Queen and the Cats and hope to write many more of these stories for children. Stories are powerful things. They have a way of penetrating our hearts and perpetuating the beliefs that shape our lives.

The Queen of the Cats is available in paperback (for bedtime reading) from Amazon and is available in ebook format (for the doctor’s office, the school pick-up line and anywhere else all you have is a phone with the free app) from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.