Rebecca Emberley Gets Adventurous
This story originally appeared in Children's Bookshelf on Nov. 10, 2005 Sign up now!
by Judith Rosen, Children's Bookshelf -- Publishers Weekly, 11/10/2005
After 40 books for children, author and illustrator Rebecca Emberley decided to start a house of her own, Pebble in the Pond Press, in the barn behind her home in Kittery, Me. The publishing venture, which will kick off with a series of books for preteen girls, is very much a family affair. Her father, the well-known children's book author and illustrator Ed Emberley, lent her money for the start-up, brother Michael Emberley co-illustrated the first book, Adventure Girls: Book One, to be published later this month, and daughter, Adrian Carney, a student at Berklee College of Music, cowrote with Michael Doyle the words and music for the Adventure Girls theme song printed in book one. She also recorded it for a promotional CD available to booksellers. In addition, Emberley partnered with former Little, Brown Children's Books staffer Linda Jackson, with whom she worked on a number of previous books.
For Emberley, getting the first book written, illustrated, designed and edited has provided plenty of adventure. "My biggest surprise," she said, "was the way other people do business." And, no wonder. Adventure Girls was originally scheduled to be published last May. But the oversize hardcover (9-1/2"×11-1/4") with hidden wire binding turned out to be difficult for her printer to produce. Emberley rejected two print runs before the third run of 600 copies arrived at her barn last week.
Now she is gearing up to promote the book with hands-on workshops for girls. Booksellers can order the books directly from her, including signed copies, and contact her for an appearance at: rebecca@adventuregirlbooks.com. The second book in the series is due next fall, and after that Emberley hopes to begin publishing other writers as well.
