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February 27, 2007
Some Good Ink
We were delighted to receive an email the other day from a Williams student wanting to do an interview on Robbi and me and our books. We had a pleasant conversation, answered her questions, and lo! a few days later, the story appeared in the Williams Record, the fine weekly newspaper put out by Williams students.
Here's a link to the article.
And here's the photo that was included in the paper version.
After learning that we were going to be interviewed, it occured to me that we should try to interest Water Street Books (bookstore in Williamstown where students by books for their classes) in selling our stuff. I sent a package of books to the manager, who was kind enough to add our books to the store's offerings. For those of you in the Williamstown environs, please stop by and spend a lot of time looking at the books, a lot of money buying the books, and please tell Richard, the manager, how glad you are that the books are now available at Water Street.
Idiots'Books was also mentioned this month in Chesapeake Life magazine, a monthly that focuses on all things in the Chesapeake Bay surround. I have not yet seen the magazine, but apparently there is an image from Ten Thousand Stories and a little blurb about what Robbi and I are up to. Here it is, transcribed for me by a friend who saw the magazine:
Like a kid again
If your little one has become too precocious for The Berenstain Bears, they'll love the Idiots'Book children's stories, a monthly book series written by Matthew Swanson and illustrated by his wife, Robbi Behr. In the Chestertown duo's newest release, Ten Thousand Stories, every page is divided into four strips, each with its own random prose that allows young readers to create "10,000 tales of triumph and woe," with each flip of the page. For a $100 yearly subscription, fans receive a new Idiots'Book each
month (there are currently six in the series), covering topics from God to French colonialism. $12 to $25, idiotsbooks.com.
Notice the problem? Would you let YOUR kids read our books? Admittedly, some of you must, and we try to shy away from the overtly offensive or inappropriate, but the books are full of adult themes, adult situations. We are reminded again of the genre challenge we face as we try to define ourselves. But this much is clear: other than My Henderson Robot, we are NOT producing "children's books." We are NOT trying to appeal to "young readers." Perhaps we will receive new subscriptions as a result of the article, but if we do, I'll have to make sure the person doing the ordering is aware of our PG-13 rating.
Posted by bogenamp at February 27, 2007 09:46 PM