A Little Different Rambling Blog Post

Well, this post is a little different, so please bear with me for a few moments…

I frequently mention my family in my weekly “rambling” posts as they usually keep me grounded in reality. With school just starting this week in the Houston area, we now have an 8th grade daughter and a 5th grade son: they keep my wife and me on our toes!

Both of the kids have shown an entrepreneurial spirit since they were younger, always looking for ways to start their own business, make extra money, you name it. They have both said for the past few years they were going to write a book and put it up for sale on the Amazon Kindle storefront – I always replied “sure, what’s your topic or subject?”

That usually started a conversation over the years of random things such as the relatively unknown (yet obviously in high demand) guide to crazy blue frogs, a book of limericks or riddles, a kid’s book review club, a pirate adventure book, or even a guide to playing Pokemon; I still don’t understand Pokemon after all of these years, and I doubt many parents ever will. As with many great ideas for both kids and adults, the idea was always there but the execution never seemed to happen.

On preparation of the new school year, my daughter told us a couple of weeks ago her class is planning a school trip to Washington, D.C. during spring break (in March of next year), and she wanted to know if she could go – my answer, typical of many parents, was “absolutely, how are you going to pay for it?”

Little brother chimed in with “I want to go, too!”

I replied back to both of them with “Sure, you both can go, but you need to find a way to pay for it because the money tree growing in the back yard is suffering from the drought. Why don’t you two write a Kindle book like you’ve been talking about for years to pay for it?”

So, they did – start to finish.

I will tell you they spent days compiling and editing the book, collaborating, making corrections, you name it. Most important to me they learned a heck of a lot, did quite a bit of research, discussed what they wanted to do and compromised with each other (after a little arguing and some refereeing by Mom and Dad), worked on creating a book cover, and did what a lot of adults can’t do and figured out how to convert a text document to the Kindle format.

What’s the title or subject, you may ask (if you didn’t ask I was going to tell you anyway)? They have created a neat little book called Quote of the Day 2013, which provides a daily inspirational or humorous quote, and what they believe is something to inspire you each day or make you chuckle in your walk of life. Each quote was hand-selected by them, and features quotes from the famous and not-so-famous everyday people to begin your day.

Of course, I’d love for each of you to buy a copy not only for yourself but gift several copies of the Kindle book to your friends and family! After Amazon takes their cut and the government demands their fair share, each copy sold will contribute $1.36 to their Washington D.C. trip.

 

 

USA subscribers: click here or type in http://bit.ly/quotes2013 into your web browser.

UK subscribers: click here or type in http://bit.ly/quotes2013uk into your web browser

In addition to my daughter and son thanking you if you purchase the book, my wife and I will be thanking you more as we try to let them enjoy a spring break they will remember for the rest of their lives. If you do purchase a copy, you have my appreciation – if this Kindle book venture of theirs is a success or otherwise, I’ll keep you updated on their status!

Thanks for listening, and your regularly-scheduled programing will resume soon!

Michael