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Tag: Hamilton
We’re In the News, Dale Shipley
May 4, 2021– I absolutely had to share this article by our very own Dale Shipley. Her book Empowering Parents is out now and available here: Empowering Parents Meeting Children’s Learning Needs in the Kindergarten and Primary Years – Pandamonium Publishing House Click on the link to read her article in today’s edition of the Hamilton Spectator: The challenge of remote learning for younger students | TheSpec.com
Way to go, Dale! We absolutely need educational reform in Canada.
Our Guest Blogger, Jake Evanoff
January 24, 2020- Today, I have the pleasure of introducing fellow author, Jake Evanoff, creator of the children’s storybooks Jacob’s Ladder and Oswald’s Surprise. Check out what he has to say, below. Be sure to click on the links to purchase your copies!
https://pandamoniumpublishing.com/product/jacobs-ladder-by-jake-evanoff/
https://pandamoniumpublishing.com/product/oswalds-surprise-by-jake-evanoff/
Hey there! My name is Jake Evanoff and I’m really excited to be able to share my story with you, but first I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to Lacey Bakker and Pandamonium Publishing House for making this possible.
I was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario and I’ve had a love for storytelling ever since I was a child. I shot my first film on my parent’s camcorder when I was 7 years old and I’ve been hooked ever since. All throughout high school, my friends and I filmed and posted comedic shorts to YouTube, which eventually brought me to Humber College where I took Film and Media Production. After deciding that I still didn’t quite know what I wanted to write, I went back for one more year to attend their Television Writing and Producing program. It was in this program that I discovered my passion for writing children’s content. I started out by writing spec scripts for my favourite kids’ shows and from there moved onto some original concepts.
After school, I knew that I wanted to be writing children’s content and I also wanted to get it out into the world in a way that would give me full control of the entire process. That was when I decided to start self-publishing my work. The first book I wrote was ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ – It’s about two best friends, Jacob and Halley. They meet up in Jacob’s treehouse every day after school to start their next adventure, but one day Halley doesn’t show up! We follow Jacob on his mission to find out just how far he’ll go to find her. The entire process from jotting down my first idea to physically holding a copy in my hands was about 7 months in total. I couldn’t believe how much I had learned in that time! From editing to working with an illustrator, to marketing not only my books but myself as an author
Writing Jacob’s Ladder was such a fun and exciting experience because it was something new to me. I was used to writing scripts for films and tv shows, where you had all of this time to lay down exposition and explore the world you’ve created at any pace you see fit. Whereas with kid’s books, you’ve got this extra challenge because you’re typically working with 24 pages of content and that’s it. Now, I’ve always written in a non-linear fashion, so what I’ll do first is jot all of my ideas down onto cue cards. It could be anything from a single word or phrase, to a specific interaction between characters or even just what I want the underlying message to convey. From there, I start to move them around like puzzle pieces until I find my story. I remember when I was doing this for Jacob’s Ladder, I wanted to be sure that every single page had value. So I wrote out all of my cue cards and if one could be removed without being a hindrance to the progression of the story, it would be scrapped. I’m incredibly happy with the way the book turned out, and if you want to check it out for yourself it’s available on the Pandamonium Publishing shop along with so many other wonderful books! I also just released my second book ‘Oswald’s Surprise’ and it’s about a golden retriever that wants nothing more than a family that will love him with all of their hearts. He finds just that when a young couple adopts him from the shelter, but over time he worries that his parents might be getting ready to bring home a new puppy and Oswald isn’t sure if he’s quite ready for a new sibling. It’s a story that I hold dear to my heart because it’s actually true!
If there’s one thing I can leave you with it’s that if you’ve got a story inside of you, I would strongly encourage you to share it in any way you can. Whether that’s with a book, or music, even an interpretive dance! Let’s all take a moment to put down the screens and pick up the pens because there’s a whole world out there waiting to hear your story.
-JE
Publisher’s Corner…
July 26, 2019– Here’s another great question from a reader! If you have a question for my team or myself, send us an email at pandapublishing8@gmail.com.
Q: “Lacey, you have a ton of content on your site, how do you think of fresh ideas all of the time?”Â
A: Thank you for noticing first of all! I try so hard to bring fresh ideas and new things for us to talk about! Some days it can be a struggle that’s for sure, especially when we have a blog, Youtube channel, podcast, and various social media to keep up with. I do my best not to duplicate content, so you won’t get a podcast that has the same info or material as on our blog, etc. When it comes to finding inspiration for content, here’s what I do:Â
- I scour the news. Yep, it’s depressing at times, but I look for things that I can talk or write about especially when it comes to creative writing. Sometimes the headlines can inspire a book idea or a skewed perspective for a topic that I can share.
- I listen to conversations. Eavesdropping? Check. When I’m out getting coffee or I’m shopping, or anywhere in public, I listen to the people around me. Sometimes waiting in line at a place can provide lots of great ideas!
- I read trade publications like Writer’s Digest and subscribe to magazines in my field of work. This allows for a lot of ideas on topics that are relevant for our readers and writers who visit and subscribe to our content. It also means that staying up to date on all things publishing is essential in bringing the most relevant topics to our media.
Thank you for all of the questions! X LLB
How Far…
July 3, 2019-Â This is a really cool graph about travel that will serve our historical fiction writers well! If there are any vessels that you are unsure about, Google them to find out more information and the time periods in which they were used. Remember, just because you’re writing fiction, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be credible in your research. Happy writing! X LLB
Publisher’s Corner…
June 21, 2019– Wow, this is an excellent question! Let’s dive right in.
Q: “Lacey, my family doesn’t support my dream of becoming a writer. They tell me that I won’t make any money and that I should focus on getting a real job. Writing is something I love, but I understand that I will need to pay my bills at the same time. How do I convince them that I’m doing something that I love and that this will pay off?”
A: Whoa…for a second after reading this, I was at a loss for words. I’ll break it down because there are a couple of hidden questions in here and I don’t want to miss them.
- My family doesn’t support my dream of becoming a writer. Sometimes, families aren’t supportive of our dreams. They mean well, but then again, some of them don’t. Some families don’t support the arts, and they don’t understand or appreciate any form of artistic expression. This can be very difficult. You have to follow your OWN path and whatever journey that leads you on. No one can decide what you should do with your life. If you want to be a writer, by all means, do it! Find others that will support you in all of your endeavours no matter what they are.
- They tell me I won’t make any money and I should focus on getting a real job. I can tell you from first-hand experience that this has been said to me time and time again. “Writer’s don’t make any money,” “How are you going to pay your bills?” “No one is going to buy your books,” “Who do you think you are?” Yep, it hurts. But, that’s what makes victory so sweet. The fact is, there are millions of writers out there who make plenty of money writing books. And there are so many ways to make a living writing! You can write for magazines, you can do copywriting, editing, content creation, blogging, journalism, and hundreds of other things that revolve around writing. Focus on honing your skills and getting as much experience as possible. Last time I checked, which was 56 seconds ago, writing was a real job.
- How can I convince them that I’m doing something I love and that this will pay off? You can’t and you never will convince them so stop trying. Do what you want to do because YOU want to do it. Life is way too short to be living your life based on what other people want you to do, say, or think. Getting up in the morning is a gamble, crossing the street is a gamble, travelling is a gamble, and the list goes on. There are no guarantees in life except that we only have one shot at it. Don’t spend your life wondering what if. If this is what you want to do, you don’t need anyone else’s approval. I can’t tell you that this will pay off, but what I can tell you is that you won’t regret trying. We only regret the chances we never take.
Keep your head up. If you don’t believe in yourself, who will?
If you have a question you’d like answered, please send us an email to pandapublishing8@gmail.com.
X LLB
Neuro-Diversity…
June 19, 2019– It was in the Harvard Business Review magazine where I read that employers are starting to (finally) hire people who are of different abilities. The publication called it Neuro-Diversity and the article featured a young man named John who is on the autism spectrum. Many people with ASD are of higher than average intelligence and possess special skills that relate to exceptional memory and pattern recognition among many other things. (https://hbr.org/2017/05/neurodiversity-as-a-competitive-advantage)
I recently had the pleasure of meeting with a gentleman who is on the Autism Spectrum. During our meeting, he was witty and super intelligent; his knowledge of a specific topic was staggering. He told me that he had written a book and he wanted me to take a look at it. I happily agreed and now we are working on the publication of his work. His suggestions will change the way that we format books going forward! I was in awe of his attention to detail and his ability to remember stats and facts; he was a more skilled writer than many I have come across (including myself) with his technique and I admired his ability to write with such flow and ease. He taught me so many things in a matter of minutes and has forever changed the way that my company will create books in the future.
The point is, we need more neuro-diversity in our lines of work. There are gifted people out there who are not given a fair chance to display and use their gifts because perhaps they lack social skills or they don’t make eye contact or they have what some people would call obsessive behaviours. Those with different cognitive abilities have amazing work ethics, they are laser-focused and extremely creative and innovative. They see the world in a different way, in a way that we may not be able to see. But, if we give them a chance to join us in our line of work and at our workplaces, we’ll have a new perspective on creativity, friendship, abilities, and Neuro-Diversity.
X LLB
May Schedule
May 1, 2018- Alright friends, here is the May schedule of book signings and upcoming events! I hope to see you out and about because I love meeting old and new friends!
May 3, 2018– I have the privilege of speaking to a fantastic group of women about the Business of Writing and Memoirs at the Westover Women’s Institute. I can’t wait to share some ideas and chat with some fabulous ladies!
May 4, 2018– I will be the guest author at a school in Hamilton where I will be sharing all of our picture book titles, Panda the Very Bad Cat, Phillip Star, and Deer Diary with the students. These visits are as much fun for me as they hopefully are for the students.
May 12, 2018– Author L.L. Colling will be signing copies of her newest thriller, Obsessed with Her at Indigo Erin Mills from 12:00-3:00; Stop by to say hello and get your copy signed!
May 19, 2018– Obsessed with Her book signing event. Meet the author, L.L. Colling at Indigo Burlington from 12:00-3:00!
May 26, 2018-L.L. Colling continues her tour of Obsessed with Her and will be stopping by Coles in Welland. You’ll be able to get your very own copy signed and chat with the author.
More events to come! Stay tuned for updates.
Upcoming Events! September 2017
September 4, 2017- I just want to keep everyone updated on what’s going on regarding events and appearances by Pandamonium Publishing House and their authors. You will be able to purchase Unfrogged, by Tamara Botting and Panda the Very Bad Cat by Lacey L. Bakker…some exciting news…Deer Diary will be available in time for BOTH FAIRS!Â
Here is our schedule for September; wait until you see October!
Super Crawl:Â
Friday, September 8th– 6:00 pm to 12:00 am– Super Crawl (Lacey L. Bakker)
Saturday, September 9th– 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm– Super Crawl (Lacey L. Bakker)
– 6:00 pm to 12:00 am– Super Crawl (Tamara Botting)
Sunday, September 10th– 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm–Super Crawl (Lacey L. Bakker)
– 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm– Super Crawl (Tamara Botting)
Binbrook Fair:Â
Friday, September 15th– 5:00 pm to 10:30 pm– Binbrook Fair (Lacey L. Bakker)
Saturday, September 16th– 10:00 am to 5:30 pm– Binbrook Fair (Lacey L. Bakker)
– 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm– Binbrook Fair (Tamara Botting)
Sunday, September 17th– 10:30 am to 2:00 pm–Binbrook Fair (Lacey L. Bakker)
– 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm–  Binbrook Fair (Tamara Botting)
Ancaster Fair:Â
Thursday, September 21st– 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm– Ancaster Fair (Lacey L. Bakker)
Friday, September 22nd– 10:00 am to 6:00 pm– Ancaster Fair (Lacey L. Bakker)
– 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm– Ancaster Fair (Tamara Botting)
Saturday, September 23rd – 10:00 am to 5:00 pm– Ancaster Fair (Tamara Botting)
– 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm– Ancaster Fair (Lacey L. Bakker)
Sunday, September 24th– 10:00 am to 2:00 pm–Ancaster Fair (Lacey L. Bakker)
– 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm– Ancaster Fair (Tamara Botting)
Other Dates:Â
You’ll also be able to get your copy of Unfrogged signed by the author, Tamara Botting during September at the following locations:Â
Chapters Burlington–SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9TH FROM 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
(Woodview Place, 3315 Fairview, Burlington, ON L7N 3N9)
Indigo Stoney Creek-Â SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH FROM 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm (Heritage Greene Shopping Centre, 1783 Stone Church Rd. East, Stoney Creek, ON L8J 0B4)Â
See You at Supercrawl Hamilton! Is There a Pre-Release of Deer Diary?…Wait and See!
August 11, 2017-We are so excited! Know why? Because we’re going to SUPERCRAWL! That’s right, the whole weekend of September 8th to 10th we will be on James St. North with our books. Tamara Botting, author of Unfrogged, will be there and so will I. There’s a rumour going around that Deer Diary may be released in time for this event. I have no comment;)  We have a ton of surprises in store and a few more up our sleeves during the event. We hope that you’ll join us and that you’ll stop by our Pandamonium Publishing House booth and say hello! Looking forward to it Hamilton! See you in a few weeks:)
XO LLB
